Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a top-tier combination for Lockdown Protocol, an FPS title released on 2024-03-11. The measured data shows this system delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the RTX 4090's 24 GB GDDR6X memory and 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 compute providing the foundation for these results. The i7-12700KF, with its 12 cores and 20 threads boosting up to 5.00 GHz, sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, while the RTX 4090 ranks in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, indicating both components are well above average for their respective categories.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, show that the i7-12700KF is positioned in a tight performance cluster. The Intel Core i7-13700T has an average score of 35403, which is only -0.1% different from the i7-12700KF's score of 35365. This means the 13700T would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol, despite being a lower-power variant in the newer 13th generation. Similarly, the Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305, a 0.2% difference, making it another close alternative that would produce virtually indistinguishable frame rates in this game. The Intel Core 5 213PE (35428, -0.2%) and the Intel Core i7-12700K (35287, 0.2%) round out the immediate competition, with the 12700K being the most obvious direct alternative given it is the same chip with an unlocked multiplier, just without the "F" suffix indicating no integrated graphics.

For the GPU side, the RTX 4090's nearest rivals are somewhat surprising given its flagship status. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches with a 0% delta, scoring 60326 versus the RTX 4090's 60347 average. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% behind at 60140, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% ahead at 61896. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 trails by 2.9% with a score of 58657. These professional-grade cards would behave similarly in terms of raw compute throughput, though the RTX 4090's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores give it unique advantages in ray-traced and AI-enhanced workloads that these rivals may not match. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the data indicates that any of these GPU alternatives would produce frame rates within a few percent of the RTX 4090, assuming no other bottlenecks exist.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i7-12700KF and RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 109 out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places the system in the top 3% of all possible CPU-GPU pairings tested, which is remarkable but not the absolute top. The rank suggests that while this hardware is extremely powerful, there are 108 other combinations that deliver higher average FPS in this specific game, likely involving newer CPUs like the 14th generation or specialized variants with higher clock speeds. The percentile positions of the individual components (85th for CPU, 88th for GPU) hint that neither part is the absolute best in its class, yet their combination still lands in the 97th percentile of all combos. This indicates strong synergy between the 12th-gen Alder Lake architecture and the Ada Lovelace GPU, with the i7-12700KF's 20 threads providing sufficient parallelism to keep the RTX 4090 adequately fed in most scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution where CPU bottlenecks are most likely, the system demonstrates staggering performance. Low settings produce an average of 313.7 FPS, which drops to 264.6 FPS at Medium, 230.1 FPS at High, and 169.3 FPS at Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 46% reduction in frame rate, indicating that the game's graphics settings have a substantial impact even at this resolution. The jump from Medium to High is 34.5 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 60.8 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset includes particularly demanding effects.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high but show the expected resolution penalty. Low settings average 268.3 FPS, Medium 190.9 FPS, High 168.2 FPS, and Ultra 123.7 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings costs 45.6 FPS (from 169.3 to 123.7), which represents a 26.9% reduction. At Low settings, the penalty is also significant: 313.7 down to 268.3, a 45.4 FPS drop. This pattern suggests the RTX 4090 is still the primary driver at 1440p, with the CPU able to maintain high throughput.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates across all presets, though Ultra dips below the 100 FPS mark. Low averages 176.2 FPS, Medium 121.6 FPS, High 110.1 FPS, and Ultra 82.2 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is particularly steep: 123.7 down to 82.2, a 41.5 FPS or 33.5% reduction. Interestingly, the gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 27.9 FPS (from 110.1 to 82.2), which is proportionally larger than at lower resolutions. This indicates that the Ultra preset includes effects that scale disproportionately with pixel count, likely including higher-resolution shadows and reflections.

The Verdict

The data clearly shows that this system can run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS or above in every tested scenario. At 3840x2160, all four presets—Low (176.2 FPS), Medium (121.6 FPS), High (110.1 FPS), and Ultra (82.2 FPS)—exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict for 4K is Ultra as the best settings, with an average FPS of 82.2, meaning users can enjoy maximum visual fidelity while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the system is even more capable, with Ultra averaging 123.7 FPS and Low reaching 268.3 FPS. The 1080p results are almost excessive, with even Ultra settings posting 169.3 FPS, which is more than double the playable threshold. For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p (313.7 FPS) would be ideal for maximizing refresh rate potential on high-end monitors.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system averages 82.2 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 deliver 123.7 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that still maintains a high frame rate.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest competitor?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365 in average benchmarks, which is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-12700K (35287) and the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305).

Q: Is the RTX 4090 significantly faster than its nearest GPU rivals?

A: No. The RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 60347 is essentially tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60140, 0.3% delta).

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

A: The system averages 230.1 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the system rank among all tested combinations?

A: It ranks 109th out of 3714 total combinations tested, placing it in the top 3% of all CPU-GPU pairings for this game.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 82.2 FPS. This provides the full visual experience at 4K with a comfortable buffer above the 60 FPS minimum. At 2560x1440, Ultra is also the recommended choice, delivering 123.7 FPS, which is high enough for smooth gameplay on most high-refresh-rate monitors. For 1920x1080, Ultra settings reach 169.3 FPS, making it the clear choice for maximum quality without sacrificing performance. In all three resolutions, the system has enough headroom that even the most demanding preset remains playable, which reflects the RTX 4090's raw horsepower and the i7-12700KF's ability to feed it data efficiently.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals an interesting shift in bottleneck behavior across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role, as evidenced by the relatively smaller FPS differences between Low (313.7) and Medium (264.6) compared to the larger drops at higher resolutions. This suggests that at 1080p, the i7-12700KF's 20 threads are occasionally limiting, though the 3.60 GHz base and 5.00 GHz boost clocks keep performance high. The Ultra preset at 1080p (169.3 FPS) versus High (230.1 FPS) shows a 60.8 FPS drop, which is less about CPU limitations and more about GPU workload.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to dominate. The scaling from Low to Ultra (268.3 down to 123.7) shows a 144.6 FPS range, which is larger than the 1080p range (313.7 down to 169.3, a 144.4 FPS difference). This indicates that as resolution increases, the RTX 4090's 16,384 shading units and 512 TMUs become the primary constraint, while the CPU's role diminishes. The 4K results confirm this trend: the range from Low (176.2) to Ultra (82.2) is 94 FPS, but the percentage drop from High to Ultra (27.9 FPS on a 110.1 base, or 25.3%) is the largest of any resolution, highlighting that the Ultra preset's additional GPU workloads—likely ray tracing or high-res shadows—scale aggressively with pixel count.

For competitive players at 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, and the i7-12700KF's 3dmark_max_threads score of 9983 and passmark_multithread score of 34092 suggest it can handle high-refresh-rate scenarios. However, at 4K, the RTX 4090's 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth and 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate are the decisive factors, meaning users should focus on GPU settings for visual quality rather than CPU-related tweaks. The benchmark data indicates that this system is balanced enough that neither component becomes a severe bottleneck at any tested setting, with the GPU increasingly mattering more as resolution and preset complexity rise.