Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p gaming experience in Lockdown Protocol, but struggles to maintain a consistent 60 FPS at 4K on higher presets. Benchmark data shows this pairing ranks in the 59th percentile of all tested combos for this specific title, placing it firmly in the mid-range tier for performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 is 83 on Low, 59 on Medium, 51 on High, and 39 on Ultra. Only the Low preset stays above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 achieves exactly 60 FPS average, making it the most demanding playable option at this resolution. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS threshold here.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to the RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The RX 9060's average benchmark score is 16014, while the RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, making the RX 9060 approximately 0.7% slower. These two GPUs are effectively performance equivalents in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Is the Core i7-12700K a bottleneck for the RX 9060?

A: The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs and strong multi-threaded scores (9979 in 3dmark_max_threads, 19784 in Cinebench R23 multicore) suggest it provides ample processing headroom. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking indicates the graphics card is the primary performance limiter.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 on High settings, the measured average FPS is 109. For comparison, the Ultra preset delivers 81 FPS, Medium delivers 124 FPS, and Low delivers 175 FPS at this resolution.

Q: Which resolution offers the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: 2560x1440 on Ultra settings provides 60 FPS average, which is the playable threshold. If you prefer higher frame rates, the High preset at 1440p delivers 80 FPS, while the Medium preset achieves 91 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals how the workload shifts between the Core i7-12700K and the RX 9060. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 175 FPS on Low settings, indicating that the CPU has significant headroom and the GPU is handling the rendering load efficiently. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset still achieves 128 FPS, showing that the GPU maintains strong throughput as resolution increases.

The transition from 1440p to 4K demonstrates the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck. At 3840x2160, the Low preset drops to 83 FPS, a 35% reduction from 1440p Low. This scaling pattern indicates that the RX 9060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors at higher pixel counts, particularly on more demanding presets. The GPU's 128-bit memory bus width and 1792 shading units constrain performance as resolution increases.

Preset scaling at each resolution further illustrates the GPU's dominance in determining frame rates. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 94 FPS (175 to 81), while at 4K, the same preset range shows a 44 FPS difference (83 to 39). The CPU's role becomes relatively more important at lower resolutions and lower presets, where the 12 cores and 20 threads of the i7-12700K can help maintain high frame rates. The CPU's 3dmark_16_threads score of 9276 and single-thread score of 1043 indicate it can sustain the frame pacing required for competitive FPS gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 2194 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. That places the system in the 59th percentile of all combinations tested, meaning roughly 59% of all tested pairings perform similarly or better. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning rather than the CPU, since the i7-12700K sits in the 84th percentile among all CPUs.

The combo's ranking suggests it will handle the game comfortably at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K performance ceiling at Low settings prevents it from being a top-tier configuration. For context, the GPU's nearest rivals include the RTX 3060 Ti (0.7% faster), Radeon R9 370X (1% slower), RX 7700 (1% slower), and Radeon Pro W5500 (2.1% slower). These comparable GPUs would likely produce similar combo rankings when paired with equivalent CPUs.

The 4K Ultra preset's 39 FPS average represents the weakest performance point for this combo, illustrating why the overall ranking sits in the lower half of the upper percentile range. The CPU's strong benchmark scores (9979 max threads, 19784 Cinebench R23 multicore) do not compensate for the GPU's limitations at extreme resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals to the Core i7-12700K include the Intel Core i5-13600T (0.1% slower), i7-12700KF (0.2% slower), i7-13700T (0.3% slower), and Intel Core 5 213PE (0.4% slower). These processors would deliver nearly identical gaming performance in Lockdown Protocol when paired with the RX 9060. The i7-12700KF is essentially the same chip without integrated graphics, making it a direct substitute for builds with a discrete GPU.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3060 Ti is the closest performance match, with an average score 0.7% higher than the RX 9060. The AMD Radeon R9 370X and RX 7700 are both approximately 1% slower, while the Radeon Pro W5500 trails by 2.1%. Swapping the RX 9060 for any of these cards would result in nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, with differences of only a few FPS at most.

For a system targeting the same performance tier, pairing the i7-12700K with an RTX 3060 Ti would yield the closest overall experience, as both components' nearest rivals align at the same performance level. Alternatively, combining the RX 9060 with an i5-13600T would trade a small amount of CPU headroom for potentially lower platform costs, though the gaming impact would be minimal given the GPU-bound nature of higher resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 81 FPS average, which comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. All presets are playable at this resolution, with Low achieving 175 FPS, Medium reaching 124 FPS, and High hitting 109 FPS. The Ultra preset at 81 FPS represents the most demanding settings that maintain smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves exactly 60 FPS average, meeting the playable threshold precisely. The High preset provides 80 FPS, Medium delivers 91 FPS, and Low reaches 128 FPS. For players who prioritize frame rate stability over maximum visual quality, the Medium preset at 91 FPS offers a significant safety margin while still providing good visuals.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset remains playable, with an average of 83 FPS. The Medium preset falls just short at 59 FPS (with a minimum of 50 FPS), while High and Ultra deliver 51 FPS and 39 FPS respectively. The 4K resolution demands compromises on visual fidelity to maintain playable frame rates with this hardware combination.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol successfully at 1080p and 1440p across all settings presets, with the Ultra preset at both resolutions meeting or exceeding the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 81 FPS, and at 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves exactly 60 FPS. These results confirm the system as a capable 1440p gaming configuration for this title.

At 3840x2160, the system is only playable on the Low preset, which delivers 83 FPS. The Medium preset's 59 FPS average falls just below the playable threshold, making 4K gaming viable only with significant visual compromises. Players targeting 4K should consider the RX 9060's 8 GB memory capacity and 128-bit bus as limiting factors, or alternatively stick to 1440p where the hardware performs much more comfortably.

The overall verdict is positive for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with the system providing excellent frame rates at both resolutions. The combination of the i7-12700K's strong single-thread performance (1043 in 3dmark_single_thread) and the RX 9060's balanced mid-range capabilities makes this a solid choice for competitive FPS play at mainstream resolutions. The 4K experience is technically possible but requires Low settings, which may not be acceptable for players seeking high-fidelity visuals at that resolution.