Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p gaming experience in Lockdown Protocol, though 4K performance is limited. Measured data shows the combo ranks 2482 out of 3714 tested configurations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. At 1920x1080, the system comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold across all four tested presets, with average frame rates ranging from 74.8 FPS at Ultra settings to 159.3 FPS at Low. The 2560x1440 results remain strong, with three of four presets clearing 60 FPS, while 3840x2160 proves challenging, with only the Low preset maintaining playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 3840x2160, the system produces an average of 78.4 FPS on Low settings, 56.3 FPS on Medium, 47.7 FPS on High, and 38.3 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a steep drop-off as graphical demands increase; the gap between Low and Ultra is 40.1 FPS, indicating that the RX 7600’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus become a limiting factor at 4K. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth appears insufficient for the higher texture and shading workloads at this resolution, particularly at Ultra where the average falls well below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance picture improves substantially. Low settings yield 117.4 FPS, Medium delivers 86.2 FPS, High produces 76 FPS, and Ultra drops to 54.3 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium costs 31.2 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 21.7 FPS. Notably, the High preset at 1440p achieves 76 FPS, which is 16 FPS above the playable threshold, making it a viable option for users who prioritize visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The Ultra preset at this resolution falls 5.7 FPS short of 60 FPS, suggesting that the GPU’s compute resources—21.75 TFLOPS FP32—are adequate for most settings but not the highest one.

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its strongest performance. Low settings reach 159.3 FPS, Medium achieves 117 FPS, High delivers 98.2 FPS, and Ultra maintains 74.8 FPS. Every preset clears the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable margin, with even the most demanding Ultra setting providing 14.8 FPS of headroom. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average reduction of roughly 26-30% across presets, while the scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe, averaging a 38-45% drop. This pattern indicates that the RX 7600’s 8 GB frame buffer and 2048 shading units are better matched to 1080p and 1440p workloads, where the 169.9 GPixel/s pixel rate can keep pace with the render demands.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2482 out of 3714 tested combinations places the i5-12600KF and RX 7600 in the 33rd percentile of all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol. This ranking reflects a configuration that is capable but not exceptional; it outperforms roughly one-third of tested combos while trailing two-thirds. The CPU’s benchmark percentile of 79 places it in the top quintile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 27799, while the GPU’s percentile of 57 puts it slightly above the median for graphics cards, with an average score of 15171. The discrepancy between the CPU’s high percentile and the GPU’s middling percentile suggests that the RX 7600 is the primary constraint in this pairing.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K (avgScore 27872, deltaPct -0.3), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (avgScore 27896, deltaPct -0.3), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (avgScore 27887, deltaPct -0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (avgScore 27712, deltaPct 0.3). These deltaPct values indicate that the i5-12600KF’s synthetic performance is virtually indistinguishable from these alternatives, with differences under 0.5%. For gaming, this means users upgrading from a Ryzen 7 5800X3D or Core i9-10900K would see no meaningful CPU-bound change in Lockdown Protocol.

On the GPU side, the RX 7600’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (avgScore 15199, deltaPct -0.2), the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (avgScore 15082, deltaPct 0.6), the AMD Radeon 680M (avgScore 15270, deltaPct -0.7), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (avgScore 15063, deltaPct 0.7). The small deltaPct values again show that these GPUs deliver near-identical aggregate benchmark performance, although real-world gaming differences may emerge due to architectural features like the RX 7600’s 32 ray accelerators and DirectX 12 Ultimate support. In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the measured FPS data indicates that the RX 7600 behaves comparably to these alternatives, with the 1080p Ultra result of 74.8 FPS being the key differentiator.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS defines the best playable settings. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset qualifies, delivering 78.4 FPS. Medium settings at 4K fall short at 56.3 FPS, which is 3.7 FPS below the playable threshold. The verdict data confirms that Low is the best 4K setting, and users targeting 4K should accept reduced visual fidelity to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best option, achieving 76 FPS. This provides a 16 FPS margin over the 60 FPS threshold, allowing for some frame rate fluctuation without dropping below playable levels. Medium settings at 1440p produce 86.2 FPS, but High offers superior visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable buffer. The Ultra preset at 54.3 FPS is not viable for sustained play, despite being only 5.7 FPS below the threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 74.8 FPS, making it the best settings choice. This leaves 14.8 FPS of headroom, which is adequate for most gameplay scenarios, though intense combat with many on-screen effects could occasionally dip closer to the threshold. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Medium preset at 117 FPS or Low at 159.3 FPS would provide a smoother experience, but for the 60 FPS playable standard, Ultra is the optimal balance of quality and performance.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which produce an average of 78.4 FPS. Medium settings at 4K average 56.3 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The High preset is the best choice, averaging 76 FPS. This exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by 16 FPS while providing better visual quality than Medium, which runs at 86.2 FPS.

Q: How much performance headroom is there at 1080p Ultra?

A: The Ultra preset averages 74.8 FPS, providing 14.8 FPS of headroom above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This allows for some frame rate variability during demanding scenes.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K, the RX 7600’s 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus constrain performance, while the i5-12600KF’s 20 MB L3 cache and 16 threads provide ample CPU headroom.

Q: How does this combo compare to the average tested system?

A: It ranks 2482 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier. The CPU ranks in the 79th percentile, while the GPU ranks in the 57th percentile, indicating the GPU holds back overall performance.

Q: What is the highest resolution that maintains 60+ FPS on all presets?

A: Only 1920x1080 achieves playable frame rates on all four presets. The lowest preset at this resolution, Ultra, averages 74.8 FPS, while at 1440p the Ultra preset drops to 54.3 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear division of labor between the i5-12600KF and RX 7600 across resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU’s strong single-thread performance—evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1016 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302—ensures that the GPU is not starved of draw calls. The frame rate scaling from Low (159.3 FPS) to Ultra (74.8 FPS) shows a 53% reduction, which is consistent with GPU-bound rendering at higher settings. The CPU’s 16 threads and 20 MB of L3 cache provide sufficient bandwidth for the game’s physics and AI workloads, as indicated by the Passmark physics score of 1539.

At 1440p, the GPU becomes more dominant. The average FPS drops from 117.4 at Low to 54.3 at Ultra, a 53.7% reduction, which is similar to the 1080p scaling pattern. However, the absolute frame rates are lower due to the increased pixel count—2560x1440 has 78% more pixels than 1920x1080. The RX 7600’s 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 339.8 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for Medium and High presets, but the Ultra preset’s additional shading and texture demands exceed the GPU’s capacity. The 8 GB frame buffer becomes a constraint here, as 1440p Ultra textures can approach this limit.

At 4K, the GPU bottleneck is unmistakable. The frame rate drops from 78.4 at Low to 38.3 at Ultra, a 51.1% reduction, but even the Low preset at 4K (78.4 FPS) is slower than the 1080p Ultra result (74.8 FPS). This indicates that the pixel fill rate—169.9 GPixel/s—is the limiting factor, rather than shading or texture throughput. The CPU’s role at 4K is minimal; even a weaker processor would likely produce similar results because the GPU is fully saturated. The i5-12600KF’s 3dmark 16-thread score of 7956 and max threads score of 7952 show it has plenty of processing headroom that goes unused at this resolution.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the playable resolutions and settings are clearly defined by the verdict data. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with average frame rates of 159.3, 117, 98.2, and 74.8 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset clears the 60 FPS threshold by 14.8 FPS, making it a suitable choice for users who want maximum visual quality at standard HD resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best playable option at 76 FPS, while Low and Medium also qualify at 117.4 and 86.2 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset falls short at 54.3 FPS, so users must sacrifice some visual fidelity to maintain smooth gameplay at this resolution. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset is playable, achieving 78.4 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS, making 4K gaming impractical beyond the lowest settings.

Overall, this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming at high or ultra settings, or 1440p gaming at high settings. Users with 4K displays should either lower settings to Low or consider a more powerful GPU, as the RX 7600’s 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit memory interface are insufficient for demanding 4K workloads in this title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearest rival data, several hardware combinations would produce similar performance in Lockdown Protocol. On the CPU side, the Intel Core i9-10900K (avgScore 27872, deltaPct -0.3) is the closest match, with aggregate benchmark performance within 0.3% of the i5-12600KF. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (avgScore 27896, deltaPct -0.3) and AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (avgScore 27887, deltaPct -0.3) are also effectively equivalent in synthetic tests, though the 5800X3D’s 3D V-Cache architecture may offer slightly different gaming characteristics. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (avgScore 27712, deltaPct 0.3) is marginally slower, but the difference is negligible for real-world gaming.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (avgScore 15199, deltaPct -0.2) is the nearest equivalent, with benchmark scores nearly identical to the RX 7600. The AMD Radeon 680M (avgScore 15270, deltaPct -0.7) is slightly faster in aggregate, while the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (avgScore 15082, deltaPct 0.6) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (avgScore 15063, deltaPct 0.7) are marginally slower. In Lockdown Protocol specifically, these GPUs would likely produce frame rates within a few FPS of the RX 7600 at each resolution and preset combination, though the RX 7600’s newer RDNA 3.0 architecture and DirectX 12 Ultimate support may provide better feature compatibility.

Users considering alternative hardware should note that the CPU has more headroom than the GPU in this pairing. Swapping the i5-12600KF for a Ryzen 7 5800X3D would yield no measurable performance change, while swapping the RX 7600 for an RTX 3050 OEM would also result in similar frame rates. The bottleneck is consistently the GPU at 1440p and 4K, so upgrading the graphics card to a higher-tier model would provide the most benefit for Lockdown Protocol performance.