Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, with 4K requiring a significant settings reduction. Benchmark data shows the combo is fully playable at 1080p on Ultra settings, achieves high refresh rates at 1440p on High, but falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K unless settings are dropped to Low. The measured frame rates indicate a balanced pairing where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck only at higher resolutions, while the CPU holds up well across all tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces a wide performance envelope depending on the graphics preset. On Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 159 FPS, providing an exceptionally smooth experience for competitive play. Medium settings yield an average of 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing. High settings drop the average to 99 FPS, while Ultra settings still maintain a respectable 74 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 85 FPS, showing that the GPU has substantial headroom even at the highest quality preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scaling remains strong but the impact of increased resolution becomes evident. Low settings produce an average of 117 FPS, which is 42 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 83 FPS, with a minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 95 FPS, keeping the experience comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold. High settings average 72 FPS, while Ultra drops to 54 FPS, falling just below the playable mark. The transition from 1080p to 1440p on High settings represents a 27 FPS loss, highlighting the resolution's cost.

At 3840x2160, the RX 6600 XT begins to struggle with the most demanding presets. Low settings average 75 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS, showing noticeable frame dips during intense scenes. High settings average 47 FPS, and Ultra settings drop further to 35 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 40 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU's 8 GB memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors at this resolution.

The frame rate data reveals a consistent pattern: the combo scales predictably with resolution and preset changes. Across all three resolutions, Low settings always deliver the highest average FPS, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra in descending order. The only configuration with min/max data is Medium at each resolution, which shows the frame variance tightens as resolution decreases—the 96-130 FPS range at 1080p is wider in absolute terms but proportionally similar to the 70-95 FPS range at 1440p.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i5-12400, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides a stable foundation for Lockdown Protocol across all tested settings. The CPU's benchmark scores—including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and a single-core score of 2257—suggest it has ample processing power for the game's FPS mechanics. The PassMark multi-thread score of 18747 and single-thread score of 3456 further confirm that the CPU does not become a limiting factor even at lower resolutions where frame rates are highest.

At 1920x1080, the GPU is clearly the dominant component, as evidenced by the 85 FPS spread between Low and Ultra presets. The RX 6600 XT's 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 2048 shading units handle the majority of the workload, with the CPU easily keeping pace. The data shows that at 1080p, the combo achieves 159 FPS on Low, which is a CPU-friendly scenario, yet the CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 and max-thread score of 5890 indicate it can support such high frame rates without bottlenecking.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The average FPS drops by 42 FPS at Low settings compared to 1080p, while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant. This scaling suggests the GPU is now the primary constraint, as the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth—256.0 GB/s—become more critical. The RX 6600 XT's pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1440p High at 72 FPS, but the 54 FPS Ultra result shows the GPU's limits.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck. The 75 FPS Low result versus the 35 FPS Ultra result demonstrates that the RX 6600 XT cannot sustain high-quality rendering at 4K. The CPU's performance remains unchanged regardless of resolution, as its 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and PassMark single-thread score of 3456 show it has the headroom to feed the GPU even at lower frame rates. The data indicates that players targeting 4K should focus on GPU-limited settings, while 1080p players can rely on the CPU to deliver high frame rates consistently.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-12400's nearest rivals provide context for its performance in Lockdown Protocol. The AMD EPYC 7643 has an average benchmark score of 18697, which is 0.1% lower than the i5-12400's 18683 average. This indicates the EPYC 7643 would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in the game. The Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730, 0.3% higher, while the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18811, 0.7% higher. The Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18519, which is 0.9% lower than the i5-12400. These small deltas mean that swapping the i5-12400 for any of these alternatives would result in virtually indistinguishable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, as the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios.

On the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT's nearest rivals show similar performance characteristics. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 has an average score of 24277, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 6600 XT's 24442 average. The Intel Arc A350M scores 24647, 0.8% lower, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 24236, 0.8% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170, which is 1.1% lower. These delta percentages translate to frame rate differences of 1-2 FPS in most scenarios, meaning any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical results in Lockdown Protocol at the same settings and resolution.

For the full combo, the practical implication is that players with any of these rival components would experience similar performance. The i5-12400's 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the RX 6600 XT's 70th percentile ranking among all GPUs place this pairing in the mid-to-upper tier of hardware. A system using the Intel Core i3-14100F with a GTX 1630 would perform within 1-2% of this combo, while a setup with the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 and RTX 2080 SUPER would be marginally faster but not noticeably different in actual gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination ranks 2630 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the 29th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 71% of tested combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 72nd percentile standing and the GPU's 70th percentile standing, with the overall combo landing slightly below what those individual percentiles might suggest.

The ranking indicates that while this is a competent mid-range setup, it is not among the top performers for Lockdown Protocol. The 1080p Ultra average of 74 FPS and 1440p High average of 72 FPS are playable but not exceptional when compared to higher-end combinations. The 4K results, where only Low settings achieve playable frame rates, contribute to the lower ranking, as many competing combos can handle 4K Medium or High settings. The combo's rank of 2630 suggests that users seeking maximum performance in this game would need to consider more powerful hardware, but for standard 1080p and 1440p gaming, this pairing remains a viable option.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p on Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 74 FPS at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 deliver an average of 72 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at that resolution.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with the Intel Core i5-12400 and RX 6600 XT?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which produce an average of 75 FPS at 3840x2160. Medium settings drop to 53 FPS, which is below the playable threshold.

Q: How does this combo compare to using an RTX 2080 SUPER instead?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 24170, which is 1.1% lower than the RX 6600 XT's 24442, so performance in Lockdown Protocol would be nearly identical.

Q: What frame rates can players expect at 1440p on Medium settings?

A: The data shows an average of 83 FPS, with a minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 95 FPS, providing a smooth experience with minimal frame dips.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The 159 FPS average at 1080p Low indicates no significant bottleneck, as the CPU's single-thread performance and the GPU's capabilities are well-matched for this scenario.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 74 FPS. This allows players to enable the highest quality settings without sacrificing playability. The 1080p Medium preset averages 113 FPS, and Low averages 159 FPS, providing additional headroom for high refresh rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the best settings preset is High, which achieves an average of 72 FPS. This is the highest quality option that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 83 FPS, while Low averages 117 FPS, but High offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings are playable, with an average of 75 FPS. Medium settings fall to 53 FPS, which is below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. Players targeting 4K must accept Low settings to maintain smooth gameplay, as the RX 6600 XT cannot sustain higher quality presets at this resolution.