Lockdown Protocol

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT shows a clear hierarchy across settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 167.2 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium drops to 117.9 FPS, High to 104.9 FPS, and Ultra to 78.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 49.3 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 26.8 FPS, indicating diminishing returns as settings climb.

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p is the optimal choice. The 167.2 FPS average provides substantial headroom above typical 144 Hz displays, and the jump from Low to Medium costs 49.3 FPS, which is a steep penalty for visual gains. At 2560x1440, the Low preset still manages 119.8 FPS, making it viable for high-refresh 1440p monitors. The High preset at 1440p yields 74.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced FPS action. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset crosses the 60 FPS threshold with 81 FPS; Medium sits at 57 FPS, High at 48.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35.3 FPS. For 4K, the data strongly favors Low settings.

The Ultra preset is the least efficient choice across all resolutions. At 1080p it produces 78.1 FPS, which is 89.1 FPS below Low. At 1440p, Ultra yields 58 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 35.3 FPS. These numbers suggest Ultra is reserved for scenarios where visual fidelity outweighs frame rate, but for a competitive FPS title, the measured data indicates Low or Medium as the sweet spot.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock is 2755 MHz, with a game clock of 2470 MHz and a base clock of 1980 MHz. The card has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 32 ray-tracing cores. Its FP32 performance is rated at 22.57 TFLOPS.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role becomes increasingly prominent at higher resolutions. The measured FPS drops from 167.2 at 1080p Low to 119.8 at 1440p Low, a 47.4 FPS reduction, and then to 81 at 4K Low, another 38.8 FPS drop. This scaling pattern indicates that the RX 7600 XT is the limiting factor as resolution increases. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is not stressed by this game's measured settings, as even Ultra at 4K produces playable frame rates, suggesting memory capacity is sufficient.

The GPU's benchmark percentile ranks at 63 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20146. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600, scores 20258 with a deltaPct of -0.6, meaning the RX 7600 XT is 0.6% behind its non-XT sibling. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER scores 19774 with a deltaPct of 1.9, placing the RX 7600 XT 1.9% ahead. These margins are minimal, indicating the RX 7600 XT sits in a tightly contested performance band.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals consistent FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K across all settings. At Low, the progression is 167.2 FPS (1080p) to 119.8 FPS (1440p) to 81 FPS (4K). This represents a 28.3% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 32.4% drop from 1440p to 4K. At High, the progression is 104.9 to 74.7 to 48.3 FPS, with drops of 28.8% and 35.3% respectively. Medium shows 117.9 to 88.7 to 57 FPS, with drops of 24.8% and 35.7%. Ultra shows 78.1 to 58 to 35.3 FPS, with drops of 25.7% and 39.1%.

The pattern shows that resolution scaling becomes more punishing at higher settings. The 4K-to-1440p drop percentage increases from 32.4% at Low to 39.1% at Ultra. This suggests that as settings increase, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are taxed more heavily at 4K. The RX 7600 XT's 288.0 GB/s bandwidth and 22.57 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but 4K Ultra pushes the card to its limits, resulting in 35.3 FPS.

The limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads may constrain performance in CPU-bound scenarios, but the measured FPS values are high enough that the GPU remains the primary driver. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops. The data indicates that for this combo, 1440p is the practical ceiling for high-refresh gaming, with 4K reserved for Low or Medium settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination ranks 1060 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the lower-middle tier of the database, with 577 combos ranking below it. The rank reflects the CPU's modest multi-threaded performance relative to other tested processors.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 13516, ranking in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, scores 13534 with a deltaPct of -0.1, meaning the i3-12100F is 0.1% behind the Threadripper. The Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13462 with a deltaPct of 0.4, putting the i3-12100F 0.4% ahead. The Intel Core i3-10105 scores 13430 with a deltaPct of 0.6, and the Intel Core i7-7700K scores 13280 with a deltaPct of 1.8. These tight margins show that the i3-12100F's overall benchmark score is competitive with much more expensive processors, but in Lockdown Protocol, the combo's rank of 1060 indicates that game-specific performance is lower than the CPU's general benchmark would suggest.

The GPU's rank of 63rd percentile among all GPUs, combined with the CPU's 72nd percentile, produces a combo that is adequate for 1080p gaming but struggles at higher resolutions. The 1060 rank out of 1637 combos means this setup is better suited for 1080p competitive play than for 4K high-fidelity gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The CPU has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, with a TDP of 58 W.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p where frame rates are highest. At 1080p Low, the measured 167.2 FPS suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU sufficiently. However, the CPU's benchmark scores indicate its limitations: the 3dmark_16_threads score is 4051, while the 3dmark_4_threads score is 2859. The single-thread score is 893 in 3dmark and 3444 in PassMark. These scores show that the i3-12100F has strong single-thread performance but limited multi-threaded capability.

The CPU's nearest rival comparisons highlight its position. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX scores 13534 with a deltaPct of -0.1, essentially a tie. The Intel Core i7-7700K scores 13280 with a deltaPct of 1.8, placing the i3-12100F 1.8% ahead. This indicates that the i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads, despite being fewer than many rivals, deliver competitive aggregate performance thanks to high clock speeds and efficient architecture.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's 4 cores may become a bottleneck in scenarios with many simultaneous actors or complex physics, but the measured FPS data does not reveal such a limitation. At 1080p Low, the 167.2 FPS average suggests the CPU is not the primary constraint. The CPU's Cinebench R23 scores of 11912 multi-core and 1681 single-core reinforce that this processor handles single-threaded tasks well but is not designed for heavy multi-threaded workloads.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for competitive play at 1080p?

A: The Low preset delivers 167.2 FPS average at 1080p, which is 49.3 FPS higher than Medium (117.9 FPS) and 89.1 FPS higher than Ultra (78.1 FPS). Low provides the highest frame rate margin for competitive FPS play.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: At 4K, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS with 81 FPS average. Medium produces 57 FPS, High produces 48.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 35.3 FPS. The data indicates 4K is playable only at Low or Medium settings.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its closest rival?

A: The RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 20146, which is 0.6% behind the RX 7600 (20258) and 1.9% ahead of the RTX 2060 SUPER (19774). These are marginal differences in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 1080p Low, the measured 167.2 FPS suggests the CPU is not the primary limiting factor. The i3-12100F's single-thread score of 3444 in PassMark indicates strong per-core performance, though its 4 cores may limit multi-threaded scenarios.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1440p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, 1440p produces 74.7 FPS while 4K produces 48.3 FPS, a drop of 26.4 FPS or 35.3%. This indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combos?

A: This combo ranks 1060 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower-middle tier. The CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 63rd percentile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 167.2 FPS average
• Medium: 117.9 FPS average
• High: 104.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 78.1 FPS average

The spread from Low to Ultra is 89.1 FPS. Low is 49.3 FPS above Medium, Medium is 13 FPS above High, and High is 26.8 FPS above Ultra. The largest single-step drop is from Low to Medium, indicating that Medium settings introduce a significant GPU load increase.

2560x1440:

• Low: 119.8 FPS average
• Medium: 88.7 FPS average
• High: 74.7 FPS average
• Ultra: 58 FPS average

The spread from Low to Ultra is 61.8 FPS. Low is 31.1 FPS above Medium, Medium is 14 FPS above High, and High is 16.7 FPS above Ultra. At 1440p, the gaps between settings are more balanced than at 1080p, with no single dominant step.

3840x2160:

• Low: 81 FPS average
• Medium: 57 FPS average
• High: 48.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 35.3 FPS average

The spread from Low to Ultra is 45.7 FPS. Low is 24 FPS above Medium, Medium is 8.7 FPS above High, and High is 13 FPS above Ultra. At 4K, only Low crosses the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra falls below 40 FPS.

Resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K at each setting: Low drops from 167.2 to 81 FPS (a 86.2 FPS loss), Medium from 117.9 to 57 FPS (a 60.9 FPS loss), High from 104.9 to 48.3 FPS (a 56.6 FPS loss), and Ultra from 78.1 to 35.3 FPS (a 42.8 FPS loss). The absolute FPS loss is largest at Low settings, but the percentage loss is smallest at Low (51.5%) and largest at Ultra (54.8%). This consistent pattern confirms the GPU is the primary scaling bottleneck across all settings.