Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K on higher presets. Benchmark data shows the combo is fully playable at Ultra settings for both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, while 4K requires dropping to Low settings to maintain smooth performance. The measured results place this combination in the 59th percentile for GPUs and the 72nd percentile for CPUs, indicating a balanced pairing where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates across all presets. The Low preset produces an average of 175 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this configuration. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 124 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. The High preset yields an average of 109 FPS, while the Ultra preset—the most demanding setting—still maintains a strong 81 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system has substantial headroom above the 60 FPS playable threshold, even at maximum quality.

At 2560x1440, performance remains robust but shows the expected scaling penalty from the increased pixel count. The Low preset averages 128 FPS, which is 47 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce an average of 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS and a maximum of 105 FPS. High settings drop to an 80 FPS average, while Ultra settings land exactly at the 60 FPS playable threshold with an average of 60 FPS. The data shows that 1440p Ultra is the boundary case—it is technically playable but leaves no margin for frame rate dips.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes dramatically. Only the Low preset achieves a playable average, hitting 83 FPS. Medium settings average 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, which falls just below the 60 FPS threshold. High settings drop further to a 51 FPS average, and Ultra settings bottom out at 39 FPS. The 4K results show a steep scaling curve: moving from Low to Medium costs 24 FPS, from Medium to High costs 8 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs another 12 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core i5-12400 and the AMD Radeon RX 9060. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role, as evidenced by the 175 FPS Low preset result—a figure that approaches the practical limits of what the six-core, twelve-thread processor can feed to the GPU. The CPU's 3dmark single-thread score of 910 and passmark single-thread score of 3456 indicate strong per-core performance, which is essential for high-frame-rate FPS gaming at lower resolutions.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to dominate the performance equation. The 128 FPS Low result at 1440p represents a 26.9% drop from the 1080p Low result, while the 60 FPS Ultra result shows a 25.9% drop from the 81 FPS 1080p Ultra result. This proportional scaling suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the CPU workload remains relatively constant while the pixel rendering load increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck. The 83 FPS Low result at 4K represents a 52.6% drop from the 175 FPS 1080p Low result, which is close to the 4x pixel count increase. The RX 9060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, combined with its 21.43 TFLOPS FP32 compute, are simply insufficient for high-fidelity 4K rendering. The CPU's role diminishes further, as the frame rates are low enough that the i5-12400's 3dmark 16-thread score of 5873 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 provide ample headroom.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, achieving an average of 81 FPS. This is the optimal configuration for this resolution, offering maximum visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the playable threshold. The 81 FPS average provides enough headroom for action-heavy scenes without dropping below smooth gameplay.

For 2560x1440, the best playable setting is also Ultra, with an average of exactly 60 FPS. While this meets the minimum playable threshold, it leaves no buffer for frame time spikes. The data shows this is the boundary case—the High preset at 80 FPS would offer more consistent performance, but Ultra technically qualifies as playable. For users prioritizing smoothness over maximum quality, the High preset would be the safer choice.

For 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, delivering an average of 83 FPS. Medium settings fall just short at 59 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is significant—24 FPS—so users who want 4K gaming with this combo must accept reduced visual fidelity. The 83 FPS Low result is respectable for 4K, but the visual tradeoff is substantial.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Comparing the AMD Radeon RX 9060 to its nearest rivals, the data shows it sits within 2.1% of several comparable GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 16129, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 9060's 16014 average. This means users with an RTX 3060 Ti would see nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol at all resolutions and settings. The AMD Radeon R9 370X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 both score within 1% of the RX 9060—15862 and 15852 respectively—indicating they would produce similar performance, though the R9 370X is a much older architecture with different feature support. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 trails by 2.1% with a score of 15679, so it would deliver slightly lower frame rates in demanding 4K scenarios.

For the Intel Core i5-12400, the nearest rivals show a tight cluster of similar performance. The AMD EPYC 7643 scores 18697, a negligible 0.1% difference from the i5-12400's 18683 average. The Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18811 (0.7% higher). The Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18519, which is 0.9% lower. These small deltas mean that swapping the i5-12400 for any of these CPUs would produce virtually identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, assuming the GPU remains the same. The CPU choice matters little at 4K where the GPU dominates, and even at 1080p the differences would be within measurement error.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 2194 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 59th percentile of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the GPU's modest performance class—the RX 9060 sits in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is notably stronger at the 72nd percentile. The disparity between CPU and GPU percentiles explains why the combo performs better at lower resolutions where the CPU can compensate for GPU limitations.

The ranking suggests that this combination is positioned in the mid-range of the benchmark database. The 3714 total combos include both much weaker and much stronger configurations, and the 2194 rank places this pairing in the upper-middle tier. For a 1080p-focused gaming setup, this rank is competitive, but for 4K enthusiasts, the ranking reflects the GPU's limitations. The data indicates that users with this combo should prioritize 1080p or 1440p gaming to get the most value from the hardware.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings. The measured data shows an average of 83 FPS at 3840x2160 with Low presets. Medium settings fall below the playable threshold at 59 FPS.

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

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 60 FPS, which meets the playable threshold. The High preset offers 80 FPS for more headroom if users prefer smoother performance over maximum quality.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to the RTX 3060 Ti in this game?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 16129, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 9060's 16014. In practice, this means nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol across all resolutions and settings.

Q: Is the i5-12400 a bottleneck for the RX 9060?

A: At 1080p, the CPU plays a larger role, with the Low preset hitting 175 FPS. At higher resolutions like 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the 52.6% frame rate drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low.

Q: What 4K settings should I use to stay above 60 FPS?

A: Only the Low preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average above 60 FPS, coming in at 83 FPS. Medium settings average 59 FPS, so they narrowly miss the playable threshold.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 2194 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 59th percentile. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking and the CPU's 72nd percentile ranking both contribute to this mid-upper tier position.