Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT presents an interesting study in bottleneck dynamics. The data shows a configuration where a high-end, 20 GB graphics card is paired with a quad-core processor, and the resulting frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a complex interplay between CPU and GPU limits. This analysis examines the measured performance data to understand where the boundaries lie.

Resolution Scaling

The most telling metric in this dataset is the frame rate collapse as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 269.5 at 1080p to 132.4 at 4K, a reduction of roughly 51%. This halving of performance when pixel count quadruples suggests the GPU is doing substantial work at the lower resolution, but the scaling is not perfectly linear, which hints at other limiting factors. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 produces a smaller relative drop, from 206.2 to 132.4, indicating that the system is becoming more GPU-bound at higher pixel densities.

The scaling behavior changes dramatically with settings. At Ultra, the 1080p score of 130.2 FPS falls to 61.3 FPS at 4K, a 53% decrease. This consistent halving across Low and Ultra suggests the RX 7900 XT is the primary driver of performance at these extremes. However, the gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings—269.5 versus 206.2—is only a 23% drop, which is less than the 25% pixel increase. This compression of the performance delta indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU begins to constrain the frame rate, preventing the GPU from fully scaling with reduced resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a formidable component, featuring 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. Its boost clock reaches 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. These specifications position it as a high-end card, and the benchmark data reflects this, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623 and a Passmark G3D score of 29009, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is evident in the 4K results. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the card produces 61.3 FPS, which is playable but not high-refresh territory. The VRAM capacity of 20 GB is ample for this title, as even at 4K Ultra, there is no indication of memory throttling in the data. The GPU's performance is further contextualized by its nearest rivals; it sits within 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile and 0.3% of the NVIDIA CMP 70HX, showing it is competitive with those parts in synthetic benchmarks.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Core i3-12100F and RX 7900 XT achieves a combo rank of 342 out of 1637 tested configurations. This places it in the top 21% of all combos, which is a strong showing given the modest CPU. The rank suggests that while the GPU is powerful, the CPU is a limiting factor that prevents this combo from reaching the top tiers.

The CPU itself has a percentile ranking of 72 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, scores 13534, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the i3-12100F is statistically on par with that high-end workstation processor in average benchmarks. This is notable because the i3 has only 4 cores and 8 threads, while the Threadripper has far more, indicating that the i3's single-thread performance and boost clock of 4.30 GHz are carrying its score.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a complete matrix of resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 269.5 FPS, Medium hits 199.7, High manages 175, and Ultra drops to 130.2. These numbers show a clear progression, with the gap between Low and Medium being 69.8 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 44.8 FPS. This suggests diminishing returns as settings increase, with the Ultra preset demanding significantly more GPU resources.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scores are 206.2 FPS at Low, 148.8 at Medium, 126 at High, and 95.3 at Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, averaging around 25-30%. At 3840x2160, the results are 132.4 FPS at Low, 92.6 at Medium, 84.6 at High, and 61.3 at Ultra. The 4K Low result is particularly interesting, as it nearly matches the 1440p Ultra score of 95.3, showing that resolution has a greater impact on performance than the settings preset.

FAQ

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data indicates yes, particularly at 1080p Low. The 269.5 FPS result is high, but the scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (269.5 to 206.2) is only a 23% drop, which is less than the 25% pixel increase, suggesting the CPU's 4 cores limit the GPU's ability to render frames faster at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 126 FPS, which is above the 100 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset offers 148.8 FPS, but the visual quality difference may not be worth the extra 22.8 FPS, making High the more balanced option based on the measured data.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the High preset achieves 84.6 FPS, which is playable. The Ultra preset drops to 61.3 FPS, which is still above 60, but the Low preset at 132.4 FPS shows the GPU can push higher if settings are reduced.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i3-12100F scores 11912 in Cinebench R23 multicore. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-7700K, has an average score 1.8% higher, while the Intel Core i3-10105 is 0.6% higher. This shows the i3 is competitive despite having fewer threads.

Q: Is the 20 GB VRAM necessary for this game?

A: At the tested settings and resolutions, the data does not show any VRAM-related performance drops. The 20 GB capacity is sufficient for Lockdown Protocol, and the 800.0 GB/s bandwidth allows the card to maintain high frame rates at 4K, as evidenced by the 132.4 FPS result at Low settings.

Q: What causes the 4K Ultra score to be so much lower than 4K Low?

A: The difference between 4K Ultra (61.3 FPS) and 4K Low (132.4 FPS) is 71.1 FPS. This is driven by the GPU's workload, as Ultra settings increase shading and texture demands. The RX 7900 XT's FP32 performance of 51.48 TFLOPS is taxed more heavily, while the CPU becomes less of a factor at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores show a strong single-thread capability, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3444.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is most apparent in the 1080p Low setting, where the frame rate reaches 269.5 FPS. This is a very high number, but the 4-core design shows its limits when compared to the GPU's potential. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 4051 is nearly identical to its 8-thread score of 4026, indicating that it does not scale well beyond 8 threads. This is expected for a quad-core, but it means the CPU can struggle in CPU-bound scenarios. The data shows that at 1440p and 4K, the GPU takes over as the primary limiter, but at 1080p, the CPU's 4 cores prevent the RX 7900 XT from fully tapping its power.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing frame rate, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers 269.5 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can showcase, making it a waste of GPU potential. The Medium preset at 1080p, with 199.7 FPS, is a better balance, offering higher visual fidelity while still maintaining a very high frame rate. For competitive play, the High preset at 1080p (175 FPS) is the highest visual quality that still provides a significant margin above 144 Hz.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 148.8 FPS is the sweet spot, as it offers a high frame rate for fast-paced FPS action while providing better visuals than Low. The High preset at 126 FPS is also viable, but the 22.8 FPS difference may be noticeable on a 144 Hz monitor. For 4K users, the High preset at 84.6 FPS is the most balanced option, as it remains above 60 FPS and provides a rich visual experience. The Ultra preset, at 61.3 FPS, is only suitable for players who prioritize image quality over smoothness, as it sits close to the 60 FPS minimum. The data suggests that the High preset is the universal recommendation, as it provides strong performance across all three resolutions without pushing the system to its limits.