Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that stresses both the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and settings selected. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, using only the provided benchmark data to interpret how the components interact across different configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of how performance scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 200.3 FPS, but this drops to 148.6 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 93.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 53.5% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

The scaling pattern shifts when looking at High settings. At 1080p High, the system delivers 122.7 FPS, which falls to 92.6 FPS at 1440p, and then to 59.6 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, showing a 35.6% performance loss. This suggests that at High settings, the GPU workload increases dramatically at 4K, pushing the RX 6750 XT closer to its limits.

For Ultra settings, the trend continues but with lower absolute numbers. The system manages 93.2 FPS at 1080p Ultra, 66.3 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and 41.5 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is notably below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this combination cannot maintain smooth gameplay at the highest settings and resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra shows a 55.5% performance drop, which is the largest percentage decrease across all settings presets.

Medium settings provide an interesting middle ground. At 1080p Medium, the system reaches 140.4 FPS, dropping to 105.8 FPS at 1440p, and then to 66.8 FPS at 4K. The relative consistency of these drops suggests that the CPU is still contributing meaningfully at Medium settings, especially at lower resolutions where the frame rates remain high.

The data overall indicates that the limiting component shifts depending on resolution. At 1080p, the high frame rates across all settings suggest the CPU is more involved, as the GPU has headroom to render frames quickly. As resolution increases to 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with frame rates dropping significantly regardless of the settings preset. The 4K Ultra result of 41.5 FPS versus the 1080p Low result of 200.3 FPS illustrates this GPU-bound behavior clearly.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is substantial for a mid-range GPU, and the benchmark results show it is well-utilized in Lockdown Protocol. The GPU's game clock is rated at 2495 MHz with a boost clock of 2600 MHz, and these clock speeds are reflected in the strong performance at 1080p and 1440p.

The GPU's compute resources include 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The pixel rate of 166.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 416.0 GTexel/s help explain why the card performs well at lower resolutions where fill rate matters less. The FP32 performance of 13.31 TFLOPS provides a baseline for understanding the card's raw compute capability in this DX12 title.

The RX 6750 XT's 12 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for the textures used in Lockdown Protocol at all tested settings, as there are no signs of memory-related performance cliffs in the measured data. The card's memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s appears adequate for the game's needs, as the scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a predictable pattern rather than showing sudden drops that would indicate VRAM or bandwidth limitations.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 79 against all GPUs places it in the upper tier of graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 35327 is very close to several rivals, including the AMD Radeon RX 5600M with a score of 35264 (0.2% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 with a score of 35787 (-1.3% delta). This proximity in synthetic benchmarks suggests the RX 6750 XT performs at a level comparable to these other options, which is consistent with the measured FPS results in this game.

The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures it can handle the latest rendering features, and the measured performance indicates the game effectively uses the GPU's capabilities. The 40 ray tracing cores are present but their impact on Lockdown Protocol is not directly measurable from the provided data, as the game may or may not use RT features depending on the settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 provides a good balance, with 92.6 FPS at High settings and 66.3 FPS at Ultra settings. This resolution keeps frame rates above 60 FPS at most settings while offering better visual detail than 1080p.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 4K, the system achieves 59.6 FPS on High settings and 41.5 FPS on Ultra settings. While playable at High settings, the Ultra preset drops below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting 4K is only viable with reduced settings.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the frame rates are high across all settings, ranging from 93.2 FPS at Ultra to 200.3 FPS at Low. This indicates the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at this resolution, with the Core i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads being sufficient.

Q: Which settings preset offers the highest frame rate at 1080p?

A: The Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 200.3, followed by Medium at 140.4 FPS, High at 122.7 FPS, and Ultra at 93.2 FPS. The scaling between settings shows a predictable trade-off between visual quality and performance.

Q: Is the GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes, the data indicates the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 3840x2160. The frame rate differences between settings at 4K (from 41.5 FPS at Ultra to 93.2 FPS at Low) show that the RX 6750 XT's rendering capabilities, rather than the CPU, determine performance at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 842nd out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the middle of the distribution. This ranking reflects the balanced performance of the CPU and GPU pair.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves 200.3 FPS, which is the fastest result across all tested configurations. Medium settings produce 140.4 FPS, while High settings yield 122.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 93.2 FPS, showing that even at the highest settings, the system remains well above playable thresholds.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops but remains strong. The Low preset still delivers 148.6 FPS, which is higher than the 1080p Ultra result. Medium settings produce 105.8 FPS, and High settings achieve 92.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p delivers 66.3 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS mark for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance becomes more constrained. The Low preset achieves 93.2 FPS, which is identical to the 1080p Ultra result. Medium settings produce 66.8 FPS, and High settings deliver 59.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K yields 41.5 FPS, which is the lowest result in the entire measured dataset.

The progression across resolutions shows a consistent pattern. For each settings preset, the frame rate decreases as resolution increases. The Low preset scales from 200.3 FPS at 1080p to 148.6 FPS at 1440p to 93.2 FPS at 4K. The High preset scales from 122.7 FPS at 1080p to 92.6 FPS at 1440p to 59.6 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset scales from 93.2 FPS at 1080p to 66.3 FPS at 1440p to 41.5 FPS at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination ranks 842nd out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the system in the middle of the performance distribution, with slightly more than half of all tested combinations performing better. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where neither component severely bottlenecks the other.

The CPU's individual performance metrics help contextualize this ranking. The Core i3-12100F scores 11912 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1681 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its percentile ranking of 72 against all CPUs indicates it outperforms nearly three-quarters of tested processors. The nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX with an average score of 13534 (-0.1% delta) and the Intel Core i7-7700K with a score of 13280 (1.8% delta).

The GPU's individual performance also contributes to the overall ranking. The RX 6750 XT has an average benchmark score of 35327 and a percentile ranking of 79 against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile with a score of 35435 (-0.3% delta) and the AMD Radeon 880M with a score of 35646 (-0.9% delta). These close scores indicate the GPU is well-positioned in the mid-range segment.

The combo ranking of 842 out of 1637 suggests that while each component performs well individually, the combination does not achieve top-tier results in this specific game. This could be due to the game's optimization or the balance between the CPU's 4 cores and the GPU's capabilities. The measured FPS data shows the system is capable of high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the ranking indicates other combinations may achieve better results at higher resolutions or settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. For 1080p gaming, the High preset delivers 122.7 FPS, which provides an excellent balance between visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 140.4 FPS offers higher frame rates with slightly reduced visual fidelity, while the Ultra preset at 93.2 FPS still maintains smooth gameplay for most users.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 92.6 FPS is the recommended choice for a balance of quality and speed. The Medium preset at 105.8 FPS provides a smoother experience if frame rate is prioritized, while the Ultra preset at 66.3 FPS remains playable for those who prefer maximum visual detail. The Low preset at 148.6 FPS is suitable for competitive play where maximum responsiveness is desired.

At 3840x2160, the settings recommendations change due to the GPU becoming the limiting factor. The Low preset at 93.2 FPS provides the smoothest experience at this resolution, while the Medium preset at 66.8 FPS offers a good compromise. The High preset at 59.6 FPS is borderline playable, but the Ultra preset at 41.5 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

The data suggests that the High settings preset provides the best overall experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, it offers 122.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, it delivers 92.6 FPS, maintaining good performance. At 4K, it achieves 59.6 FPS, which is just below the ideal 60 FPS mark but still playable. For users who prefer maximum frame rates, the Medium preset provides a significant boost at all resolutions while maintaining reasonable visual quality.