Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a demanding modern FPS released in March 2024, and the pairing of Intel's Core i7-12700KF with AMD's Radeon RX 7700 XT handles it well at every mainstream resolution. Measured data shows this combo clearing the 60 FPS playability threshold at 1080p and 1440p on every preset, and at 4K on three of four presets — only Ultra at 3840x2160 falls short. The i7-12700KF sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35365, while the RX 7700 XT ranks in the 67th percentile of GPUs with an average score of 22549, so this is a balanced build with a strong CPU driving a solid upper-midrange graphics card.

How This Combo Ranks

Across 3714 tested CPU+GPU combinations in Lockdown Protocol, the i7-12700KF plus RX 7700 XT ranks 1474th. That places it comfortably in the upper half of the database — roughly the 40th percentile of tested pairings — which is consistent with where the hardware itself sits. The CPU's 85th-percentile ranking against all CPUs means it is far from the bottleneck here, and the GPU's 67th-percentile position against all GPUs defines the performance ceiling.

In practical terms, this is not a chart-topping configuration, but it is not supposed to be. The i7-12700KF's nearest rivals — the Intel Core i7-13700T at an average score of 35403 (deltaPct -0.1), the Intel Core i5-13600T at 35305 (deltaPct 0.2), the Intel Core 5 213PE at 35428 (deltaPct -0.2), and the Intel Core i7-12700K at 35287 (deltaPct 0.2) — are all effectively identical in aggregate CPU performance, differing by fractions of a percent. Any of those processors would deliver essentially the same frame delivery in this game. The differentiation between combos at this rank comes almost entirely from the GPU.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling data tells a clear story: Lockdown Protocol on this combo is GPU-bound at every tested resolution. Going from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Ultra drops the average from 104.9 to 75.6 FPS — a loss of roughly 28 percent of the frame rate for a 78 percent increase in pixel count. Pushing further to 3840x2160 Ultra falls to 46.6 FPS. If the CPU were the limiting factor, frame rates would stay flat as resolution climbs; they do not.

At 1080p, the headroom is enormous: 220.6 FPS on Low, 154.2 on Medium, 132.7 on High, and 104.9 on Ultra. Those numbers confirm the i7-12700KF — with 12 cores, 20 threads, a 5.00 GHz boost clock, a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and single-core score of 4071 — feeds frames to the RX 7700 XT faster than the card can render them. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput is what determines your final frame rate at every setting tier.

The practical implication for a builder: upgrading the CPU from here would change nothing in this game. Upgrading the GPU would raise frame rates at 1440p and 4K nearly proportionally. Spend accordingly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data is unambiguous. Low averages 220.6 FPS, Medium 154.2, High 132.7, and Ultra 104.9. Every preset not only clears 60 FPS but clears 100 FPS. For a competitive FPS player, even the Low preset's 220.6 FPS average leaves room for high-refresh monitors.

At 2560x1440, the averages step down to 159.6 FPS on Low, 112.7 on Medium, 97.5 on High, and 75.6 on Ultra. The critical number is 75.6: Ultra remains above the 60 FPS playability threshold with a 25 percent cushion, so 1440p Ultra is a fully viable daily setting rather than a marginal one.

At 3840x2160, the RX 7700 XT starts to strain. Low holds 102 FPS, Medium 72.5, and High 66.8 — all above 60. Ultra drops to 46.6 FPS, which is below the threshold and delivers a visibly choppy experience in an FPS where frame consistency matters. The gap between High (66.8) and Ultra (46.6) at 4K is the single largest preset-to-preset drop in the dataset, roughly 30 percent of the frame rate lost to that final quality tier.

Note that min and max frame rates were not captured in this dataset, so these are average-only figures. Averages above 60 generally imply playable 1 percent lows at 1080p and 1440p given the margins involved, but at 4K High (66.8 average) the cushion is thin enough that occasional dips below 60 are plausible.

FAQ

Q: Can the i7-12700KF + RX 7700 XT run Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: Yes, with one caveat. High is the best preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, averaging 66.8 FPS. Low (102) and Medium (72.5) also qualify. Ultra at 46.6 FPS is not playable at the 60 FPS threshold and should be avoided at this resolution.

Q: What is the best overall setting for this combo?

A: 2560x1440 Ultra at 75.6 FPS average. It is the most demanding preset that clears 60 FPS with a comfortable margin, and 1440p is the resolution where the RX 7700 XT's 12 GB of VRAM and 432 GB/s of memory bandwidth are best utilized without the 4K penalty.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the weak link?

A: The GPU. Frame rates scale down with resolution at every preset — 104.9 to 75.6 to 46.6 FPS on Ultra going from 1080p to 1440p to 4K — which is the signature of a GPU-limited configuration. The i7-12700KF, in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, has ample headroom.

Q: Does this build support high-refresh-rate gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 1080p, yes. Low averages 220.6 FPS and Medium 154.2, covering high-refresh displays. At 1440p, Low's 159.6 FPS average still suits high-refresh play.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to rival GPUs in general performance?

A: Its average benchmark score of 22549 places it within a couple of percent of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (22435, deltaPct 0.5), RTX 4060 Mobile (22729, deltaPct -0.8), RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct -1.5), and AMD Radeon RX 5700 (22170, deltaPct 1.7) — all effectively equivalent in aggregate throughput.

Q: Does the CPU have integrated graphics as a fallback?

A: No. The i7-12700KF has no integrated graphics, so the RX 7700 XT is the only display output path in this build.

Similar Performance Alternatives

On the CPU side, the choice barely matters. The i7-12700K (avgScore 35287, deltaPct 0.2), i7-13700T (35403, -0.1), i5-13600T (35305, 0.2), and Core 5 213PE (35428, -0.2) are all statistically indistinguishable from the i7-12700KF in aggregate benchmarks. Any of these paired with the same GPU would reproduce these frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, because the game is GPU-bound at every tested resolution and preset.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals cluster tightly: the RTX 5060 Mobile, RTX 4060 Mobile, RTX 2080, and RX 5700 all sit within 1.7 percent of the RX 7700 XT's average score. Substituting any of these for the RX 7700 XT would produce broadly similar Lockdown Protocol behavior — comfortable at 1080p and 1440p across all presets, playable at 4K on everything except Ultra. The RX 7700 XT does carry 12 GB of GDDR6 versus what rivals in this cluster offer, which is a qualitative durability advantage as game memory demands grow, though this dataset does not test VRAM-limited scenarios.

The one component swap that would change this combo's rank meaningfully is a faster GPU tier; a CPU swap within its rival group would leave the 1474th-place ranking essentially untouched.

Best Settings per Resolution

• 1920x1080 — Ultra, 104.9 FPS average. No compromise needed. Every preset clears 100 FPS at this resolution; Ultra is the most demanding option and still posts a 75 percent margin over the 60 FPS threshold.
• 2560x1440 — Ultra, 75.6 FPS average. The sweet spot for this build. High (97.5 FPS) offers more headroom if you want extra cushion for frame-time consistency, but Ultra is comfortably playable as measured.
• 3840x2160 — High, 66.8 FPS average. Ultra's 46.6 FPS falls below the playability threshold, so High is the most demanding preset that qualifies. The margin over 60 is slim; Medium at 72.5 FPS is the safer 4K choice if dips bother you.

The overall verdict: for Lockdown Protocol specifically, run 1440p Ultra. It is the point where this combo delivers maximum image quality with a genuinely comfortable frame rate, and it is exactly what the hardware was measured to do best.