Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a broadly capable experience in Lockdown Protocol, with performance scaling predictably across the three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combination averages 190.8 FPS on Low settings and remains above 89.7 FPS even at Ultra, indicating a strong headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS at Ultra drops to 62.6, which still clears the 60 FPS playability threshold, while the High preset yields 86.2 FPS. The most demanding scenario, 3840x2160, sees the combo fall short of 60 FPS on High (57.3 FPS) and Ultra (40.9 FPS), but Medium settings hold at 66 FPS. The data indicates that this system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring a reduction in graphical fidelity to maintain smooth frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol covers three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a clear picture of how the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 handle the game’s load. At 1920x1080, the lowest preset tested, Low, produces an average of 190.8 FPS. This is the highest average recorded across all configurations. The Medium preset averages 131.4 FPS, High averages 116.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 89.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with the gap between Low and Ultra being approximately 101 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample resources at this resolution but is still sensitive to the increased shading and post-processing demands of higher presets.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges but with lower absolute values. Low settings average 136.2 FPS, which is still well above the playable threshold. Medium averages 100.2 FPS, High averages 86.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 62.6 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is about 74 FPS, a smaller absolute drop than at 1080p but proportionally similar. The Ultra preset at 1440p sits just above the 60 FPS line, suggesting that the RTX 4060 is working near its limits at this resolution with maximum quality settings. The High preset, at 86.2 FPS, offers a more comfortable margin for sustained frame rates during intense combat sequences.

The 3840x2160 results show a significant performance cliff. Low settings average 91.8 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 66 FPS. High falls to 57.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 40.9 FPS. The transition from Medium to High at 4K is particularly steep, representing a decline of roughly 9 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 16 FPS. This suggests that the 8 GB GDDR6 memory buffer and the 128-bit memory bus become limiting factors at 4K, as the higher preset demands exceed what the card can efficiently deliver. The lack of min and max FPS values in the data means the analysis relies solely on averages, but the trend is unambiguous: 4K Ultra is not viable for this combo.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average at or above 60 FPS is identified as the best setting. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset qualifies with an average of 89.7 FPS. This is the highest quality option available in the test set, and it clears the 60 FPS threshold by nearly 30 FPS, leaving room for occasional dips without dropping below playability. The data shows that even the most demanding settings at 1080p are well within the capabilities of this hardware combination.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also qualifies as the best setting, with an average of 62.6 FPS. This is a marginal pass, sitting just 2.6 FPS above the playable threshold. While it is technically playable, the margin is slim, and users with variable refresh rate monitors may notice frame drops in heavy scenes. The High preset, at 86.2 FPS, would provide a more stable experience, but the data indicates Ultra is achievable. For 3840x2160, the best setting is Medium, which averages 66 FPS. High and Ultra both fail to reach 60 FPS, so Medium represents the highest quality preset that remains playable. The jump from Medium to High at 4K costs roughly 9 FPS, pushing the average below the threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component is the primary bottleneck for Lockdown Protocol. At 1920x1080, the CPU’s role is more prominent, as the GPU is less stressed at lower pixel counts. The Intel Core i5-12600KF, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, provides sufficient processing power to keep the RTX 4060 fed. The difference between Low (190.8 FPS) and Ultra (89.7 FPS) at 1080p is largely driven by GPU-side effects like shadows, textures, and anti-aliasing, but the CPU’s single-thread performance, as indicated by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1016, ensures that frame times remain consistent.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The average FPS at Ultra drops from 89.7 at 1080p to 62.6 at 1440p, a decline of 27.1 FPS, which is a direct result of the increased pixel count and the RTX 4060’s fixed compute resources. The CPU’s 3DMark multi-thread score of 7956 suggests it has headroom to handle the game’s logic at this resolution, but the GPU’s 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the ceiling. At 3840x2160, the GPU bottleneck is even more pronounced. The average FPS at Ultra falls to 40.9, and even Low settings only reach 91.8 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s and 8 GB VRAM are insufficient for the highest presets.

The data shows that the CPU’s influence diminishes as resolution rises. At 1080p, the 12600KF’s high boost clock of 4.90 GHz helps maintain high frame rates, but at 4K, the GPU’s pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s become the determining factors. The verdict per resolution confirms this: 4K is only playable on Low and Medium, while 1440p and 1080p can handle Ultra. This suggests that for Lockdown Protocol, users with this combo should prioritize GPU settings at higher resolutions, while at 1080p, the CPU is less of a concern.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-12600KF provide context for its CPU-level performance. The data lists the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D with an average score of 27896 and a delta of -0.3%, meaning the 12600KF’s average benchmark score of 27799 is within a fraction of a percent. Similarly, the Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872 (-0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887 (-0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712 (+0.3%). These deltas are all under 0.5%, indicating that in synthetic multi-threaded benchmarks, these processors are effectively interchangeable. For Lockdown Protocol, a system with any of these CPUs would likely produce similar frame rates, assuming the same GPU and RAM configuration.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the nearest rivals are less obvious. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 has an average score of 17666 (-0.2%), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (+0.3%), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 (+0.5%), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509 (+0.7%). These are all older or integrated-class GPUs, but their benchmark scores are remarkably close to the RTX 4060’s average of 17639. This suggests that in terms of raw compute, the RTX 4060’s performance is comparable to these older parts, though the RTX 4060 benefits from modern features like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 support. In practice, for Lockdown Protocol, a system with an RTX 4060 would see similar FPS to one with an AMD Radeon 780M, based on the benchmark deltas.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 89.7, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best setting for 2560x1440 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: The Ultra preset averages 62.6 FPS at 2560x1440, making it the most demanding playable setting. High averages 86.2 FPS for a safer margin.

Q: Is 3840x2160 playable with this hardware?

A: Yes, but only on Low (91.8 FPS) or Medium (66 FPS) settings. High averages 57.3 FPS and Ultra averages 40.9 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU, specifically the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, is the limiting factor at 3840x2160. Its 8 GB VRAM and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for High and Ultra presets.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, which is within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896) and Intel Core i9-10900K (27872). Performance in-game would be nearly identical.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 2000 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower-middle range of all systems tested.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the playable settings vary significantly by resolution. At 1920x1080, the system handles all presets, with Ultra averaging 89.7 FPS, making it fully capable of high-refresh-rate gaming. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 62.6 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold, but the margin is thin; users seeking consistent performance might prefer the High preset at 86.2 FPS. At 3840x2160, the situation is more restrictive. The verdict by resolution lists Low and Medium as playable, with Medium being the best setting at an average of 66 FPS. High and Ultra are not playable, falling to 57.3 and 40.9 FPS respectively. Overall, this combo is a strong 1080p and acceptable 1440p machine, but 4K requires sacrificing visual quality to maintain smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this particular pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2000 out of 3714. This places it in the 54th percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly half of the tested configurations perform better and half perform worse. The CPU’s percentile against all CPUs is 79, indicating it is a strong processor, while the GPU’s percentile against all GPUs is 61, showing it is above average but not top-tier. The rank reflects the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions, as the CPU has more headroom than the GPU can utilize. For users targeting 1080p or 1440p, this rank is acceptable, but those seeking 4K Ultra performance would need a more powerful GPU. The combination’s mid-pack ranking is consistent with its measured FPS, which excels at lower resolutions but struggles at the highest settings.