Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable experience in Lockdown Protocol, but the headroom available depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, this combo can push the Ultra preset past 60 FPS, while at 1440p it settles into High settings, and at 4K it is limited to Low settings. The benchmark data reveals a clear progression of performance scaling that defines the limits of this hardware configuration.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160 (4K), the most demanding preset that maintains an average at or above 60 FPS is Low, which produces an average of 64 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 46 FPS, High falls to 40 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30 FPS. This makes 4K a constrained scenario where visual fidelity must be sacrificed for playability.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the best playable preset is High, achieving an average of 62 FPS. This sits just above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset runs at 71 FPS, and Low reaches 100 FPS, but High represents the ceiling for quality settings while still clearing the playable threshold. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 46 FPS, which falls short of 60 FPS.

For 1920x1080 (1080p), the Ultra preset is fully playable with an average of 63 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available in the benchmark data. Lower presets deliver progressively higher frame rates: High at 84 FPS, Medium at 96 FPS, and Low at 136 FPS. The 1080p resolution is the only one where the Ultra preset clears the 60 FPS bar.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with High settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 40, which is well below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Only the Low preset at 4K achieves playable performance, with an average of 64 FPS.

Q: What is the highest preset available at 1440p that stays above 60 FPS?

A: The High preset is the most demanding option at 2560x1440 that remains playable, averaging 62 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 46 FPS and is therefore not considered playable.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 63 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. All four tested presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This Intel Core i7-12700K + Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2987 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower portion of the overall distribution.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The gap is substantial. Low settings average 136 FPS, while Ultra averages 63 FPS, a difference of 73 FPS. This shows that the Ultra preset costs more than half the frame rate of the Low preset at 1080p.

Q: Which resolution provides the smoothest experience with the highest preset?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the Ultra preset clears 60 FPS, averaging 63 FPS. At 1440p the highest playable preset is High (62 FPS), and at 4K it is Low (64 FPS).

How This Combo Ranks

The combined performance of the Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B570 places this configuration at rank 2987 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This position indicates that roughly 80% of tested hardware combinations deliver higher frame rates in this game. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the Arc B570 sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is stronger at the 84th percentile among all CPUs. The bottleneck in this pairing is clearly the graphics card, which limits the overall ranking despite the capable processor.

The rank also varies by resolution. At 4K, the combo is severely constrained, with only the Low preset reaching playable levels. At 1440p, the situation improves with three playable presets. At 1080p, all presets are playable, including Ultra. This pattern suggests the combo is better suited to lower resolutions where the GPU's workload is reduced.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals to the Intel Core i7-12700K are all within a fraction of a percent in average benchmark score. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365 (0.2% lower), the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403 (0.3% lower), and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428 (0.4% lower). Any of these processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B570's nearest rivals are similarly close. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (0.1% higher), the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582 (0.1% lower), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662 (0.5% lower). These GPUs would produce comparable frame rates in this game, meaning a system with any of these graphics cards combined with the i7-12700K would behave very similarly to the tested configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 64 FPS, Medium averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS, High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 34 FPS, showing significant performance scaling with preset quality at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the results improve notably. Low settings average 100 FPS, Medium averages 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS, High averages 62 FPS, and Ultra averages 46 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 60 FPS is notable because it exactly touches the playable threshold, confirming that even momentary dips stay within playable range.

At 1920x1080, the performance is strongest. Low settings average 136 FPS, Medium averages 96 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 111 FPS, High averages 84 FPS, and Ultra averages 63 FPS. The frame rate gap between Medium and Ultra is 33 FPS, while the gap between Low and Ultra is 73 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy load on the GPU.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the playable settings vary by resolution. At 3840x2160, the system is playable only on the Low preset, which averages 64 FPS. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 46, 40, and 30 FPS respectively.

At 2560x1440, the system is playable on Low (100 FPS), Medium (71 FPS), and High (62 FPS) presets. The High preset is the best visual option that remains playable. The Ultra preset at 46 FPS is not playable by the 60 FPS standard.

At 1920x1080, the system is playable on all four presets. The Ultra preset averages 63 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS threshold. This makes 1080p the only resolution where the maximum quality settings are viable. For users prioritizing visual quality, 1080p Ultra is the clear choice. For those needing higher resolution, 1440p High offers a balanced experience, while 4K requires dropping to Low settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rates scale dramatically with preset quality: Low at 64 FPS, Medium at 46 FPS, High at 40 FPS, and Ultra at 30 FPS. This steep drop-off is characteristic of GPU-bound performance, where the Arc B570's rendering capabilities are the bottleneck.

At 1440p, the same pattern continues but with higher overall frame rates. The jump from Low (100 FPS) to Medium (71 FPS) represents a 29% reduction, and the drop to High (62 FPS) is another 13% reduction. The Ultra preset at 46 FPS shows that the GPU cannot sustain high-quality rendering at this resolution.

At 1080p, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent. The Low preset at 136 FPS and Medium at 96 FPS suggest that the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU at these frame rates. However, the Ultra preset at 63 FPS shows the GPU becoming the constraint again, as the increased shader and texture work overwhelms the Arc B570's 2304 shading units and 10 GB of GDDR6 memory.

The scaling between resolutions reinforces this interpretation. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 136 FPS at 1080p to 100 FPS at 1440p (a 26% reduction) and then to 64 FPS at 4K (a 36% reduction from 1440p). This progressive decline tracks with the pixel count increase, confirming that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary determinants of performance. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads, with a max-thread 3DMark score of 9979, are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at all tested settings and resolutions.