Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded data shows a clear playable experience across most presets. Low settings deliver an average of 123 FPS, Medium settings produce 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100, and High settings hold an average of 76 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 57 FPS average, which falls short of the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down predictably. Low settings average 90 FPS, Medium settings average 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 and a maximum of 73, and High settings drop to 56 FPS. Ultra settings fall further to 42 FPS average. The Medium preset is the only setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the data shows a demanding scenario for this combination. Low settings reach 58 FPS average, which narrowly misses the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 47, High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 27 FPS. None of the presets at 4K achieve a playable average frame rate.

The minimum and maximum values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the frame time variance spans from 74 to 100 FPS, indicating a 26 FPS range. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 19 FPS, from 54 to 73. At 4K Medium, the range is 12 FPS, from 35 to 47. This suggests that higher resolutions compress the frame rate variance, likely due to the GPU becoming the consistent bottleneck.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER features 1408 shading units, 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. The benchmark data reveals which component dominates at each resolution based on how frame rates scale.

At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role relative to the GPU. The jump from Low to Ultra settings produces a frame rate drop from 123 to 57 FPS, a 54% reduction. This large sensitivity to settings indicates the GPU is not fully saturated at lower presets, allowing the CPU to drive higher frame rates. The i5-12400's single-thread score of 910 in 3dmark and Passmark single-thread score of 3456 suggest sufficient headroom for high-refresh gameplay at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take a more dominant role. The frame rate difference between Low and Ultra narrows to a 53% drop, from 90 to 42 FPS, but the absolute values are lower across the board. The Medium preset's 64 FPS average versus High's 56 FPS shows that each settings tier exacts a meaningful toll, pointing to the GTX 1660 SUPER's 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 throughput as the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The maximum average frame rate across any preset is 58 FPS on Low settings, and even dropping to Low only yields a 31 FPS improvement over Ultra (58 versus 27 FPS). The pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s are insufficient for 4K rendering at this game's engine demands. The CPU's role diminishes significantly, as the i5-12400's multicore scores (Cinebench R23 multicore of 15989, Passmark multithread of 18747) provide ample processing power that remains underutilized.

The scaling pattern confirms a standard balance shift: at 1080p, the system is more CPU-bound at lower settings; at 1440p, the load balances more evenly; at 4K, the GPU saturates completely. The i5-12400 ranks in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, while the GTX 1660 SUPER sits in the 53rd percentile among GPUs, which aligns with the observed behavior where the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on 1080p?

A: Yes. The data shows 123 FPS on Low, 87 FPS on Medium, and 76 FPS on High at 1920x1080. Ultra settings dip to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: Medium settings deliver a 64 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS at 2560x1440. This is the only preset above the 60 FPS average threshold at this resolution. Low settings reach 90 FPS, but Medium offers a better visual balance while staying playable.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. The highest average frame rate at 3840x2160 is 58 FPS on Low settings, which misses the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 41 FPS, High averages 36 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. No preset reaches the playable threshold.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to similar GPUs?

A: The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with a delta of 0.4%, meaning the 1660 SUPER scores essentially the same. The AMD Radeon RX 580 also matches at 0.4% delta. The AMD Radeon 740M trails by 0.9%, while the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 is 0.7% ahead.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the i5-12400 has enough single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 910, Passmark single-thread score of 3456) to keep up with the GPU up to High settings. The drop to 57 FPS on Ultra indicates the GPU becomes the constraint, not the CPU.

Q: What frame rate variance can be expected on Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the range is 74 to 100 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 54 to 73 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 35 to 47 FPS. Variance narrows as resolution increases, indicating more consistent GPU-bound frame times.

The Verdict

This system can run Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 with High settings, maintaining a 76 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium settings are also viable at 87 FPS, and Low settings reach 123 FPS for higher refresh rate displays. Ultra settings fall short at 57 FPS, so they should be avoided.

At 2560x1440, the system remains playable on Medium settings with a 64 FPS average, though the minimum dips to 54 FPS, which may cause occasional stutters in intense scenes. Low settings provide a comfortable 90 FPS average for smoother gameplay, but High and Ultra are not recommended as they drop to 56 and 42 FPS respectively.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot achieve playable frame rates on any preset. The best case is Low settings at 58 FPS, which still misses the 60 FPS target. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall further behind at 41, 36, and 27 FPS. The verdict is clear: stick to 1080p or 1440p for this game.

The combination ranks 3166 out of 3714 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower half of the database. This reflects the GPU's mid-range position (53rd percentile) rather than the CPU's stronger standing (72nd percentile). The i5-12400 is not the limiting factor; the GTX 1660 SUPER's hardware ceiling prevents higher preset usage at demanding resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12400's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 7643 at 0.1% lower, the Intel Core i7-1355U at 0.3% lower, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 at 0.7% lower, and the Intel Core i3-14100F at 0.9% higher. These processors would deliver nearly identical frame pacing in Lockdown Protocol, assuming the same GPU is paired with them. The i3-14100F is particularly relevant for gaming builds, as its slightly higher average score suggests it could sustain comparable CPU-bound performance at 1080p.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile at 0.4% higher, the AMD Radeon RX 580 at 0.4% higher, the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 at 0.7% lower, and the AMD Radeon 740M at 0.9% lower. The RX 580 is a direct desktop alternative that would produce nearly identical FPS numbers at every resolution and preset. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, despite being a mobile part, scores comparably in synthetic benchmarks, so expect similar in-game performance. The Radeon 740M integrated GPU would trail slightly, while the Tesla M2090, a compute-oriented card, would behave similarly in this game's rendering workload.

Pairing any of these CPU rivals with the GTX 1660 SUPER would shift the bottleneck analysis only marginally. At 1080p, the i3-14100F's slight edge could yield a few extra frames on Low settings, but at 1440p and 4K, the GPU constraints would dominate regardless of which rival CPU is installed. Conversely, swapping the GPU for an RX 580 would produce statistically identical results across all measured presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with a recorded average of 76 FPS. This provides the best visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the playability threshold. Medium is also viable at 87 FPS, and Low reaches 123 FPS for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 64 FPS. The minimum of 54 FPS indicates some frame drops below the threshold, but the average remains playable. Low settings at 90 FPS offer a safer alternative if frame consistency is prioritized.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a 60 FPS average. The closest is Low at 58 FPS, which is not playable according to the database's 60 FPS threshold. Users who absolutely must run at 4K should select Low settings and accept the sub-60 FPS experience, or lower the resolution to 1440p for a playable result. The data does not support any 4K preset as meeting the playability criterion.