Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB presents a specific performance profile in Lockdown Protocol. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the GPU's 4 GB memory capacity acting as a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The following analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) data, compares the hardware to nearby alternatives, and determines the playable envelope for this combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol reveals a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance. With Low settings, the average FPS reaches 112, providing a substantial margin above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium settings at this resolution produce an average of 80 FPS, with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS, indicating consistent frame delivery. High settings at 1920x1080 yield an average of 70 FPS, still comfortably above the playable threshold. The Ultra preset, however, drops the average to 52 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS standard. This pattern shows that the 1080p resolution is well-suited for this hardware, with three of four settings presets maintaining playable frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance impact becomes more pronounced. Low settings produce an average of 82 FPS, which remains solidly playable. Medium settings at this resolution average 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS. This average sits just one frame below the playable threshold, indicating that Medium at 1440p is borderline. High settings drop further to an average of 51 FPS, while Ultra falls to 38 FPS. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p shows a consistent reduction in average FPS across all settings, with Low settings decreasing from 112 to 82 FPS, a reduction of approximately 27%. Medium settings decrease from 80 to 59 FPS, and High settings from 70 to 51 FPS. This resolution scaling demonstrates that the RTX 3050 4 GB becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 38 FPS, with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 43 FPS. High settings average 33 FPS, while Ultra drops to 25 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 2160p is substantial; for instance, Low settings fall from 82 FPS at 1440p to 53 FPS at 2160p, a reduction of 35%. This steep decline indicates that the 4 GB memory buffer and the GPU's processing capabilities are insufficient for 4K rendering in this title. None of the settings at 3840x2160 reach the 60 FPS playability threshold.

The measured data includes minimum and maximum FPS values only for Medium settings across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range spans 68 to 92 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range narrows to 50 to 67 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the range is 32 to 43 FPS. This limited data on frame variance suggests that the Medium preset provides the most consistent frame pacing information, though the overall averages remain the primary indicator of playability.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, provide context for how this processor compares to other options. The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19,039, with a percentile rank of 73 among all CPUs. The nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, which has an average score of 19,047, representing a delta of 0% from the i5-12400F. This indicates near-identical multi-threaded performance between these two processors. The Intel Core 3 201E follows with an average score of 19,056, a delta of -0.1%, meaning it performs essentially the same as the i5-12400F within a rounding error. The Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18,982, a delta of 0.3%, placing it slightly below the i5-12400F. The AMD EPYC 7773X also scores 18,979, with a delta of 0.3%. These four rivals all fall within a 0.4% performance band, meaning that for Lockdown Protocol, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance. The i5-12400F's 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, provide ample processing power for this FPS title, which does not appear to be heavily CPU-limited based on the performance scaling observed.

The GPU has no nearest rivals listed in the data, which means no directly comparable graphics cards are available for benchmarking context. The RTX 3050 4 GB holds a percentile rank of 50 among all GPUs, placing it at the median of tested graphics hardware. Its 4 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 7.127 TFLOPS indicates the compute capacity available for rendering. In Lockdown Protocol, this GPU configuration is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as demonstrated by the significant FPS drops when moving from 1080p to 1440p to 2160p.

CPU and GPU Roles

Examining the performance scaling between resolutions clarifies which component dominates in this game. The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings reduces average FPS from 112 to 82, a 27% decrease. At Medium settings, the drop from 80 to 59 FPS represents a 26% decrease. High settings fall from 70 to 51 FPS, a 27% reduction. This consistent 26-27% decline across all settings when increasing resolution by 77% in pixel count suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor. A CPU-bound scenario would show more stable FPS across resolutions, as the processor's workload does not scale linearly with pixel count.

The scaling from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is even more dramatic. Low settings drop from 82 to 53 FPS, a 35% decrease. Medium settings fall from 59 to 38 FPS, a 36% reduction. High settings go from 51 to 33 FPS, a 35% decline. Ultra settings drop from 38 to 25 FPS, a 34% decrease. The steeper percentage decline at higher resolutions reinforces the GPU-bound nature of this workload. The 4 GB memory capacity likely contributes to this degradation, as texture data and frame buffers exceed the available VRAM at 4K resolution.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent when examining the differences between settings presets at a fixed resolution. At 1920x1080, the delta between Low and Ultra is 60 FPS (112 to 52), indicating that the GPU handles the increased graphical load. At 2560x1440, the delta between Low and Ultra is 44 FPS (82 to 38), and at 3840x2160, the delta is 28 FPS (53 to 25). The shrinking delta between settings as resolution increases suggests that the GPU reaches its absolute limits at 4K, where even Low settings cannot achieve playable performance. The CPU, with its 12 threads and strong single-core performance, appears capable of feeding the GPU adequately, as evidenced by the smooth frame delivery at 1080p where the GPU has more headroom.

The Verdict

The question of whether this PC can run Lockdown Protocol depends entirely on the target resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold on High, Medium, and Low settings. High settings produce an average of 70 FPS, Medium 80 FPS, and Low 112 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p falls short with 52 FPS, making it the only non-playable option at this resolution. The best playable setting at 1080p is High, with an average of 70 FPS.

At 2560x1440, only Low settings maintain playable performance, averaging 82 FPS. Medium settings average 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold, and High and Ultra fall further behind at 51 FPS and 38 FPS respectively. The verdict data confirms that Low is the best playable setting at 1440p, with the 82 FPS average providing a comfortable margin.

At 3840x2160, no settings achieve playable performance. Low settings come closest with 53 FPS, but this remains 7 FPS below the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra produce 38, 33, and 25 FPS respectively. The verdict data lists no playable settings for this resolution. Based on the measured data, this system can run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p with up to High settings and at 1440p with Low settings, but cannot sustain 60 FPS at 4K under any tested preset.

FAQ

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1920x1080?

A: High settings provide the highest quality playable experience, with an average of 70 FPS. Medium averages 80 FPS and Low 112 FPS, but High offers the best balance of visual quality and performance above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 2560x1440?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which average 82 FPS. Medium settings fall just short at 59 FPS average, and High and Ultra produce 51 and 38 FPS respectively.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, Low settings average 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra produce 38, 33, and 25 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400F compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400F averages 19,039 in benchmark scores. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS scores 19,047, a 0% difference. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19,056, a -0.1% difference. The Intel Core i5-1335U and AMD EPYC 7773X both score approximately 18,980, a 0.3% difference.

Q: What is the FPS range at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the range is 68 to 92 FPS with an 80 FPS average. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 50 to 67 FPS with a 59 FPS average. At 3840x2160 Medium, the range is 32 to 43 FPS with a 38 FPS average.

Q: What percentile does the RTX 3050 4 GB rank among all GPUs?

A: The GPU holds a percentile rank of 50, placing it at the median of all tested graphics cards. It has no nearest rivals listed for direct comparison.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB ranks 3,269 out of 3,714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the system in the lower 12% of all tested hardware configurations for this game. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, particularly the 4 GB memory capacity which prevents playable performance at 3840x2160. The CPU's strong benchmark position, ranking in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, does not compensate for the GPU bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At 1080p, the system performs adequately, but the overall ranking is dragged down by the inability to handle 4K rendering. This rank suggests that while the system can run the game at lower resolutions and settings, it sits well below the median performance level for all tested hardware in Lockdown Protocol.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that maintains 60 FPS or higher is High, with an average of 70 FPS. This provides a 10 FPS margin above the playability threshold. Medium settings average 80 FPS and Low 112 FPS, but High represents the optimal visual quality while staying playable.

At 2560x1440, the only playable setting is Low, averaging 82 FPS. This provides a 22 FPS margin above the threshold. Medium settings average 59 FPS, which is 1 FPS below playable, and High and Ultra fall further short.

At 3840x2160, no settings achieve the 60 FPS threshold. Low settings come closest with 53 FPS, but this falls 7 FPS short of playable performance. The system should be configured for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with the understanding that 4K is not viable for this title with this hardware combination.