Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a playable experience in Lockdown Protocol across all tested resolutions, though the margin of comfort varies significantly depending on the graphical preset selected. Benchmark data for this combination shows that the system clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 even at the highest Ultra settings, while 3840x2160 requires dropping to Medium or Low to maintain smooth performance. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is more than capable at lower resolutions, but one that hits a clear GPU-bound ceiling at 4K with maximum detail.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide spread of performance across the four tested presets. Low settings produce an average of 200 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this combo at any resolution or setting. Medium settings drop the average to 142 FPS, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS. High settings yield an average of 124 FPS. Ultra settings, the most demanding preset, still maintain an average of 93 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 107 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom even when pushed to maximum detail at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a tighter spread. Low settings deliver an average of 147 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 104 FPS, with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. High settings average 91 FPS. Ultra settings still clear the 60 FPS threshold comfortably with an average of 68 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 79 FPS, a narrower margin than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes markedly. Low settings produce an average of 95 FPS, which is still well above the playable threshold. Medium settings average 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. High settings fall to an average of 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings drop to an average of 44 FPS, which is not playable by the stated threshold. The step from Low to Medium at this resolution costs 28 FPS on average, while Medium to High costs another 8 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 15 FPS. This indicates that each tier of settings has a meaningful impact on performance at 4K.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data identifies the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS for each resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, and the best settings are Ultra with an average of 93 FPS. This gives the user full graphical freedom at this resolution, as even the maximum preset leaves a comfortable margin above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, all four presets also remain playable. The best settings are Ultra with an average of 68 FPS. This is a narrower margin than at 1080p, but the system still maintains an 8 FPS cushion above the 60 FPS threshold at maximum detail.

At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium are playable according to the verdict data. The best settings are Medium with an average of 67 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium is 57, which dips below the threshold momentarily, but the average stays above 60. High settings fall short with an average of 59 FPS, and Ultra is not viable at 44 FPS average.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets in the measured data indicates that the GPU becomes the dominant factor as resolution increases, while the CPU maintains a consistent baseline of performance. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high enough across all presets that neither component appears to be a severe bottleneck; the 200 FPS average at Low settings suggests the CPU can feed frames at a very high rate when the GPU load is low.

At 2560x1440, the drop from Low to Ultra is 79 FPS, compared to 107 FPS at 1080p. This narrower spread suggests that the GPU is starting to carry more of the workload, as the same preset changes produce smaller absolute differences when the pixel count is higher. The Ultra average of 68 FPS at 1440p versus 93 FPS at 1080p is a 25 FPS reduction, which is a moderate penalty for the resolution increase.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The Ultra preset averages 44 FPS, which is a 49 FPS drop from the 1080p Ultra result. The Low preset at 4K averages 95 FPS, compared to 200 FPS at 1080p Low, a 105 FPS reduction. This massive scaling penalty at 4K indicates that the RX 7700's rendering throughput, not the i7-12700K's processing power, determines the frame rate at this resolution. The CPU's role is more apparent at lower resolutions, where high FPS values at Low settings demonstrate that the 12-core, 20-thread processor can keep up with the GPU's output.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank data places this pairing at rank 1709 out of 3714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol. This puts the system in the upper half of tested hardware, though not at the top tier. The CPU has a percentile rank of 84 among all tested CPUs, meaning the i7-12700K outperforms a substantial majority of processors in general benchmarks. The GPU has a percentile rank of 58 among all tested GPUs, placing it just above the median.

The combination of a strong CPU with a mid-tier GPU explains the ranking position. The CPU's high percentile score ensures that it is not a limiting factor in most scenarios, while the GPU's more modest percentile means that the system's overall performance is capped by the graphics card in GPU-intensive situations, particularly at higher resolutions. The rank of 1709 out of 3714 suggests that roughly 46% of tested combos perform better in this game, and roughly 54% perform worse.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU provide context for how other processors would behave in this system. The Intel Core i5-13600T has an average benchmark score of 35305, which is 0.1% lower than the i7-12700K's average of 35287. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365, a 0.2% delta, and would be expected to perform nearly identically. The Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403, a 0.3% delta, and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428, a 0.4% delta. All of these processors are within a fraction of a percent of the i7-12700K in average benchmark score, meaning that swapping to any of them would produce essentially indistinguishable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar clustering. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862, a 0.1% delta from the RX 7700's 15852. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014, a 1% delta, and would be slightly faster. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679, a 1.1% delta, and would be slightly slower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, a 1.7% delta, and would be the fastest of the listed alternatives. None of these GPUs differ from the RX 7700 by more than 1.7% in average benchmark score, so real-world performance differences in this game would be minor, likely within a few frames per second at any given setting.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at a playable level across all three tested resolutions, but the quality ceiling depends on where the display resolution is set. At 1920x1080, the system clears 60 FPS at every preset, with Ultra settings averaging 93 FPS. At 2560x1440, all presets also clear 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 68 FPS. At 3840x2160, the system clears 60 FPS only at Low and Medium settings, with Medium averaging 67 FPS. High settings at 4K fall just short at 59 FPS average, and Ultra is not playable at 44 FPS.

The verdict data confirms that the most demanding playable configuration is Ultra at 2560x1440, which averages 68 FPS. At 4K, the best playable configuration is Medium at 67 FPS average, though the minimum of 57 FPS indicates occasional dips below the threshold. For users targeting a consistent 60 FPS minimum rather than average, 4K Medium may be borderline, and dropping to Low at 95 FPS average would provide a larger safety margin.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1920x1080?

A: Ultra settings are playable at 1920x1080, with an average frame rate of 93 FPS. All four presets, Low, Medium, High, and Ultra, clear the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 44 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest playable preset at 4K is Medium, which averages 67 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T?

A: The Intel Core i5-13600T has an average benchmark score of 35305, which is 0.1% lower than the i7-12700K's 35287. This difference is negligible, and the two processors would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 88 FPS, with an average of 104 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7700 rank among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 has a percentile rank of 58 among all tested GPUs, meaning it outperforms 58% of the tested graphics cards in general benchmark scores.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 200 FPS and Ultra settings average 93 FPS, a difference of 107 FPS between the two presets.