Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER sits at rank 1168 out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This position suggests the pairing delivers playable but not exceptional performance, and the data indicates a system where the GPU frequently becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs. The combo’s ranking reflects a balance between a modest quad-core processor and a mid-range graphics card, with the measured frame rates showing significant variation depending on the selected preset and resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1168 out of 1637 places it in the 29th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 71% of combinations deliver higher average frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. This is a modest standing, but the data shows the pairing is far from inadequate. The CPU itself holds a 72nd percentile ranking among all processors, while the GPU sits at a 63rd percentile among all graphics cards, indicating that the bottleneck is more likely the graphics card than the processor. The gap between the CPU’s strong percentile and the combo’s overall rank suggests that Lockdown Protocol is heavily GPU-bound, particularly at higher resolutions. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s average benchmark score of 19774 places it just 0.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN and 0.5% below the RTX 2070, showing it operates in a tightly contested performance band where minor clock differences dictate positioning. The i3-12100F, with an average score of 13516, sits a mere 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX and 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-1250U, demonstrating that its four cores are competitive with much larger processors in synthetic tests. For Lockdown Protocol, the combo’s rank indicates that users should expect smooth gameplay at 1080p with adjustments, but 4K Ultra will push the hardware to its limits.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides 4 cores and 8 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, built on the Alder Lake architecture using a 10 nm process. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache supports the processor’s synthetic scores, which show a single-thread performance of 893 in 3DMark and 1681 in Cinebench R23, while multi-threaded results reach 4023 in 3DMark max threads and 11912 in Cinebench R23. In Lockdown Protocol, a fast-paced FPS, the single-thread performance is critical for game logic and physics, and the i3-12100F’s boost clock of 4.30 GHz helps maintain responsiveness. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 is particularly relevant, as the game likely utilizes fewer threads, and this score indicates the CPU can handle the workload without becoming a severe bottleneck at 1080p. However, the data shows that as resolution increases, the CPU’s influence diminishes. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 160.4 FPS, but at 3840x2160 with Low settings, it drops to 75.2 FPS, a decline that correlates more with GPU load than CPU capability. The processor’s 72nd percentile ranking suggests it is above average, but the 4-core limit means it may struggle in scenarios with heavy background processes or future game updates that demand more threads. Benchmark results indicate the CPU is well-matched to the GPU for this title, providing enough headroom to avoid limiting frame rates at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The measured data shows the combo delivers 97 FPS at 1920x1080 High settings and 74.5 FPS at 2560x1440 High settings, indicating 1080p provides a smoother experience, while 1440p remains playable but closer to the edge of high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER’s average benchmark score is 19774, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX 2070’s score of 19680, a negligible difference that suggests nearly identical real-world performance in most scenarios.

Q: What is the best preset for maintaining frame rates above 60 FPS at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves an average FPS above 60, hitting 75.2 FPS, while Medium drops to 56.5 FPS, so Low is the only viable option for 60+ FPS at 4K.

Q: Does the i3-12100F bottleneck the RTX 2060 SUPER in this game?

A: The CPU’s 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 and the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K suggest the GPU becomes the primary limiter at higher resolutions, while at 1080p Low the CPU still delivers 160.4 FPS, indicating no severe bottleneck.

Q: How does the combo’s rank compare to the CPU’s individual percentile?

A: The CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile among all processors, but the combo ranks 1168 out of 1637, showing that the graphics card’s lower 63rd percentile pulls the overall performance down in this GPU-intensive game.

Q: What frame rate can users expect at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows 55.5 FPS at 2560x1440 Ultra, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, so users may need to lower to High or Medium for smoother gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 160.4 FPS on Low, 114 FPS on Medium, 97 FPS on High, and 76.6 FPS on Ultra. This range demonstrates that the system can handle competitive frame rates even at the highest preset, with Ultra still delivering above 60 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the scores drop to 114.7 FPS on Low, 84.4 FPS on Medium, 74.5 FPS on High, and 55.5 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS mark, signaling that users must compromise on settings to maintain smoothness. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding: Low yields 75.2 FPS, Medium 56.5 FPS, High 46.1 FPS, and Ultra 33.8 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is particularly low, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are stretched thin at this resolution. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step down from 1080p to 4K reduces frame rates by roughly 30-50%, depending on the preset. The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution also widens as resolution increases, from a difference of 83.8 FPS at 1080p to 41.4 FPS at 4K, suggesting that the GPU’s compute resources are the limiting factor at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and reveals the system’s bottleneck characteristics. At Low settings, the combo falls from 160.4 FPS at 1080p to 114.7 FPS at 1440p and then to 75.2 FPS at 4K, a total decline of 53.1% from 1080p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the drop is more severe: 76.6 FPS at 1080p, 55.5 FPS at 1440p, and 33.8 FPS at 4K, representing a 55.9% reduction. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the frame rate drops roughly in line with that increased workload. The CPU’s influence is minimal at higher resolutions because the i3-12100F’s 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU frames, but the RTX 2060 SUPER’s 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance cannot keep pace with the 4K pixel throughput. The data implies that users seeking higher resolutions must prioritize the GPU, as the CPU retains headroom even at 4K, evidenced by the fact that the Low preset at 4K still achieves 75.2 FPS, which is higher than the Ultra preset at 1440p. This suggests that the game’s settings have a more significant impact on performance than resolution alone, and the limiting factor shifts from the CPU at 1080p Low to the GPU at 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points to specific presets that offer the best experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 76.6 FPS is the best choice for visual fidelity while maintaining a high refresh rate, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold and provides the most detailed graphics. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 74.5 FPS is the optimal balance, delivering smooth gameplay with solid visuals, while Ultra drops to 55.5 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering on 60 Hz displays. At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 75.2 FPS is the only option that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, but users who prioritize image quality over smoothness might accept the Medium preset at 56.5 FPS, which is still playable but below the ideal threshold. The data shows that the Medium preset at 1440p, at 84.4 FPS, offers a good middle ground for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, providing a significant frame rate boost over High with only a minor visual downgrade. For 4K, the recommendation is clear: stick to Low settings to avoid frame rates dipping below 60 FPS, as the jump from Low to Medium costs 18.7 FPS, which is a substantial sacrifice for incremental graphical improvements. The overall pattern suggests that the combo performs best when settings are tuned down at higher resolutions, and users should prioritize frame rate over ultra-quality presets to get the most out of the hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the 12 nm Turing architecture with 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for handling high-resolution textures in Lockdown Protocol. The GPU’s boost clock of 1650 MHz and base clock of 1470 MHz contribute to its 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, a figure that places it in the mid-range of the GeForce 20-series. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 19774 puts it in the 63rd percentile, and its nearest rivals show a tight cluster: it is 0.3% above the GTX TITAN, 0.5% below the RTX 2070, and 0.8% above the Quadro K5200, indicating that minor driver optimizations or thermal headroom could shift its standing. In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU’s role becomes apparent in the FPS scaling, as the 4K Ultra result of 33.8 FPS highlights the limits of its 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth when handling high-resolution assets. The DirectX 12 benchmark score of 61 and Vulkan score of 83503 suggest the GPU is capable of handling modern APIs, but the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2011 shows it struggles with the most demanding workloads. The data indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p, and its 175 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU requirement are modest for the performance it delivers, though the end-of-life production status means users should consider its long-term viability for future titles.