Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a wide range of performance in Lockdown Protocol, scaling from a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K Ultra to well over 250 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured data, based on actual benchmarking, shows this combination is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions and CPU-bound at the highest settings, making it a versatile choice for both competitive and high-fidelity play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results for this combo in Lockdown Protocol are consistent across three resolutions, with no minimum or maximum frame time data recorded, only average FPS. At 1920x1080, the performance headroom is substantial. The Low preset produces an average of 258.2 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this configuration. Moving to Medium drops the average to 181.3 FPS, and High settles at 161 FPS. The most demanding 1080p preset, Ultra, still maintains an average of 119 FPS, indicating that the RX 9070 XT has ample compute headroom at this resolution.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show the increased pixel load. Low averages 191.5 FPS, a 66.7 FPS drop from the 1080p Low figure, demonstrating the expected scaling. Medium averages 133.6 FPS, while High delivers 120.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields an average of 90.1 FPS, which is still comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold and suggests the GPU is handling the additional shading and texture work efficiently.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve flattens considerably. The Low preset still manages a strong 123.9 FPS average, which is higher than the 1440p Ultra result. Medium drops to 88.5 FPS, and High is close behind at 78.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 57.3 FPS. This data indicates that the combination of the i7-12700K and RX 9070 XT scales predictably with resolution, with the 4K Ultra setting being the sole point where the GPU's raw throughput becomes the limiting factor.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the highest preset that maintains an average FPS at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold is identified. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is fully playable, with an average of 119 FPS. This leaves significant headroom for higher refresh rate displays, as the frame rate is nearly double the threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also clears the threshold, averaging 90.1 FPS. This makes it the recommended setting for 1440p users who want maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The data shows that even at 1440p Ultra, the system is not stressed to its limit, leaving room for background tasks or streaming overhead.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The High preset is the most demanding option that stays playable, averaging 78.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 57.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K users, High is the recommended ceiling, as it provides a smooth experience while retaining most of the visual enhancements over Medium, which averages 88.5 FPS. The choice between High and Medium at 4K depends on whether the user prefers higher frame rates or slightly better shadows and texture filtering, but both are viable.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on a 4K monitor?

A: Yes, it can. The data shows playable settings at 3840x2160 include Low, Medium, and High presets. The High preset averages 78.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the Ultra preset at 4K averages 57.3 FPS, which falls just below the playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this combo can achieve in this game?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 258.2, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This suggests the CPU and GPU combination is capable of driving very high refresh rate monitors at lower settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The impact varies by preset. For the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 258.2 to 191.5, a difference of 66.7 FPS. For the Ultra preset, the drop is from 119 to 90.1, a difference of 28.9 FPS. The relative loss is smaller at higher presets, indicating a shift in the bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra setting playable with this hardware?

A: No, it is not. The average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 57.3, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Users who want to play at 4K should select the High preset, which averages 78.8 FPS.

Q: Does the game performance scale linearly with resolution?

A: No, it does not. The data shows that performance drops are larger when moving from 1080p to 1440p than from 1440p to 4K for most presets. For example, the Low preset drops by 66.7 FPS between 1080p and 1440p, but only by 67.6 FPS between 1440p and 4K. This indicates a diminishing return on GPU load as resolution increases, with the CPU becoming a more significant factor at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 90.1 FPS, which is below a 144Hz refresh rate target. To hit 144 FPS, the user would need to lower the preset to Medium, which averages 133.6 FPS, or High, which averages 120.3 FPS. For a 120Hz monitor, the Ultra preset is suitable.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The benchmark data for the Intel Core i7-12700K shows it is closely matched by several other CPUs. The Intel Core i5-13600T has an average score of 35305, which is 0.1% slower than the i7-12700K. The Intel Core i7-12700KF is 0.2% slower with an average score of 35365, making it effectively identical in performance. The Intel Core i7-13700T is 0.3% slower, and the Intel Core 5 213PE is 0.4% slower. All of these processors would behave nearly identically in Lockdown Protocol, with differences well within the margin of error for most gaming workloads.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has a more unusual set of nearest rivals based on the average benchmark score. The AMD Radeon HD 7770M is 0.1% faster, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 is 0.2% faster, the NVIDIA P106-090 is 0.5% faster, and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 is 1% faster. These deltas are extremely small, but these rival GPUs are from older generations and different market segments. In practical terms, none of these cards would deliver similar frame rates in Lockdown Protocol due to differences in architecture, driver support, and feature sets. The RX 9070 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and RDNA 4.0 architecture are significant advantages that are not captured by the aggregate benchmark score.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination ranks 872 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the top 23.5% of all configurations tested in this game. The rank suggests that while this is a strong pairing, there are many other combinations of CPUs and GPUs that deliver higher average frame rates in this specific title. The rank is influenced by the fact that the RX 9070 XT's percentile rank among all GPUs is only 55, while the i7-12700K has a percentile rank of 84 among all CPUs. This indicates that the CPU is a stronger component relative to its peers than the GPU, which may explain why the combo does not rank higher. The data shows that the system is likely bottlenecked by the GPU in most scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT can run Lockdown Protocol, but the playable settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets, including Ultra, are playable with an average of 119 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is still playable, averaging 90.1 FPS, making it the best choice for a high refresh rate 1440p monitor. At 3840x2160, the High preset is the most demanding playable option, averaging 78.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls short at 57.3 FPS.

The system is fully capable of gaming at 1080p and 1440p with maximum settings, and it can handle 4K gaming with a minor settings reduction. Users targeting 4K should stick to the High preset to maintain a stable 60 FPS experience. The data confirms that this is a well-balanced pairing for high-resolution gaming, with the CPU providing enough headroom to avoid limiting the GPU in most scenarios. For competitive players seeking maximum frame rates, the 1080p Low preset at 258.2 FPS is the clear choice, though it sacrifices visual quality for speed. Overall, this combo is a strong performer in Lockdown Protocol, with the only caveat being the 4K Ultra setting.