Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

This combo ranks 301st out of 3,714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 8.1% of all tested systems. The pairing of a quad-core Alder Lake CPU with NVIDIA's flagship Ada Lovelace GPU produces a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet shows notable CPU limitations at 1080p. The data reveals a consistent pattern: the RTX 4080 delivers exceptional frame rates across all settings, but the i3-12100F's four cores create a ceiling that becomes increasingly apparent as resolution drops and settings are lowered.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 301 out of 3,714 tested combinations places this system firmly in the upper echelon of Lockdown Protocol performance. This rank is driven primarily by the GPU's strength; the RTX 4080 sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the i3-12100F ranks at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. The delta between these two percentiles explains why the combo does not rank higher — the CPU is a relative weak point in an otherwise powerful configuration.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the i3-12100F's average benchmark score of 13,494 is essentially tied with the Intel Core 3 N355 (13,492, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452, 0.3% ahead). The Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13,594, which is 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13,351, putting it 1.1% behind. These tiny margins indicate the i3-12100F is positioned in a dense cluster of mid-range processors where small performance differences separate competitors.

For the GPU, the RTX 4080's average score of 54,247 places it within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209), while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% ahead (54,828) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% ahead (55,698). The AMD Radeon 8060S leads by 2.7% (55,757). This grouping shows the RTX 4080 is competitive with — though slightly behind — several AMD offerings in synthetic benchmarks, yet the Lockdown Protocol results show the NVIDIA card's real-world strengths in this specific title.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 brings substantial hardware to Lockdown Protocol: 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output processors provide the raw throughput needed for high-resolution gaming. Clock speeds are equally impressive, with a base clock of 2,205 MHz and a boost clock of 2,505 MHz, while memory runs at 1,400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective).

These specifications translate directly into the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the GPU still manages 73 FPS average, demonstrating that even at maximum settings and highest resolution, the RTX 4080 has sufficient headroom. The 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 761.5 GTexel/s texture rate ensure that texture-heavy scenes in Lockdown Protocol are handled without bottlenecking.

The GPU's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are notable for a modern FPS title, though the measured data does not isolate ray tracing performance. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant for 4K gaming, where texture budgets expand significantly; none of the measured configurations appear to be VRAM-limited, as even the 4K Ultra result maintains playable frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling pattern reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound at 1080p to GPU-bound at 4K. At Low settings, the progression is: 270 FPS at 1080p, 244 FPS at 1440p, and 157 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 26 FPS (9.6%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 87 FPS (35.7%). This accelerating decline with resolution is characteristic of GPU limitation emerging as pixel count increases.

At High settings, the same pattern holds: 206 FPS at 1080p drops to 151 FPS at 1440p (a 55 FPS or 26.7% reduction), then to 98 FPS at 4K (a 53 FPS or 35.1% reduction from 1440p). The Ultra settings show a steeper curve: 155 FPS at 1080p, 113 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 42 FPS (27.1%) and the 1440p-to-4K drop of 40 FPS (35.4%) suggest the GPU is the primary limiter even at 1080p Ultra, though the CPU's influence becomes visible when comparing Low versus Ultra at the same resolution.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases: at 1080p the difference is 115 FPS (270 vs 155), at 1440p it is 131 FPS (244 vs 113), and at 4K it is 84 FPS (157 vs 73). This inverted pattern at 4K — where the Low-to-Ultra gap narrows — indicates the GPU is saturated even at Low settings in 4K, leaving less headroom for settings scaling.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests Medium settings offer the best balance of performance and visual quality across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 236 FPS average with a minimum of 201 FPS and maximum of 272 FPS. This represents a 34 FPS improvement over High settings (206 FPS) while maintaining frame rates well above any competitive threshold. The minimum of 201 FPS at 1080p Medium ensures consistent frame pacing without drops below 200 FPS.

At 1440p, Medium settings produce 173 FPS average with a minimum of 147 FPS and maximum of 199 FPS. The 147 FPS minimum is still comfortably high, and the 26 FPS gap between Medium and High (173 vs 151) suggests Medium captures most of the visual fidelity while reserving GPU headroom for demanding scenes. The 4K Medium result of 112 FPS average (95 min, 129 max) is the standout recommendation for high-resolution displays; it is 39 FPS faster than High (98 FPS) and 39 FPS faster than Ultra (73 FPS), while the 95 FPS minimum keeps gameplay smooth.

Low settings are only recommended for maximum frame rate scenarios, particularly at 4K where the 157 FPS average may appeal to high-refresh-rate 4K monitor owners. However, the visual compromise at Low settings is substantial, and the data shows the GPU has enough headroom at Medium to justify the quality increase. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution; even at 1080p the 155 FPS average is only 81 FPS below Medium, and at 4K the 73 FPS result approaches the edge of playability for fast-paced FPS gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 270 FPS average, which is the fastest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings follow at 236 FPS with a minimum of 201 FPS and maximum of 272 FPS. High settings drop to 206 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 155 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 115 FPS spread, indicating the GPU has substantial headroom at this resolution even with the CPU's four cores.

At 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains consistent but compressed. Low settings achieve 244 FPS, Medium produces 173 FPS with a 147 FPS minimum and 199 FPS maximum, High settings deliver 151 FPS, and Ultra manages 113 FPS. The 131 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is the largest across all resolutions, showing that the GPU's capabilities become more differentiated as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the system still performs admirably but with tighter margins. Low settings reach 157 FPS, Medium delivers 112 FPS (95 min, 129 max), High produces 98 FPS, and Ultra drops to 73 FPS. The 84 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest across resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck at this resolution regardless of settings. The Medium setting's 95 FPS minimum is particularly noteworthy; it ensures that even in demanding scenes, frame rates stay above 90 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides four cores and eight threads, running at a base clock of 3.30 GHz with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Alder Lake-S processor has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus. The 10 nm process node and 163 mm² die size position it as a mainstream desktop part, and its 58 W TDP reflects modest power requirements.

Synthetic benchmarks show the CPU's strengths and limitations. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11,860 and single-core score of 1,674 indicate solid single-thread performance that benefits gaming, but the multicore result reveals the constraint of four physical cores. The Geekbench multicore score of 7,252 and single-core score of 1,932 reinforce this pattern. The 3DMark results are telling: 4,051 with 16 threads, 2,859 with 4 threads, and 893 with a single thread. The gap between 4-thread and 16-thread scores (2,859 vs 4,051) shows that additional threads beyond the physical cores provide limited scaling — a hallmark of a quad-core design.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at 1080p with Low settings, where the 270 FPS result likely approaches the CPU's maximum frame generation capability. The fact that 1080p Low (270 FPS) is only 26 FPS faster than 1440p Low (244 FPS) — a smaller improvement than the 87 FPS jump from 1440p to 4K — suggests the CPU is limiting performance at lower resolutions. The 1080p High result of 206 FPS versus 1440p High at 151 FPS (a 55 FPS difference) shows that increasing resolution still scales meaningfully, meaning the GPU remains relevant even at 1080p.

The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with its nearest rivals showing deltas of less than 1.1%, indicates the i3-12100F is a competent but not exceptional gaming processor. Its single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark and 1,674 in Cinebench R23 single-core suggest it can keep up with modern game logic, but the four-core design may cause frame pacing issues in CPU-intensive scenes that are not captured by average FPS alone.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in Lockdown Protocol?

A: This combo ranks 301st out of 3,714 tested combinations, placing it in the top 8.1% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The data shows 1440p Medium offers the best balance, delivering 173 FPS average with a 147 FPS minimum. For 4K users, Medium at 112 FPS (95 min) is recommended over High at 98 FPS or Ultra at 73 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiter, as shown by the 84 FPS spread between Low (157 FPS) and Ultra (73 FPS). At 1080p, the CPU shows signs of limiting, evidenced by the modest 26 FPS gain from 1440p Low to 1080p Low.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54,247 is 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209), 1.1% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828), 2.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698), and 2.7% behind the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757).

Q: What are the CPU's key specifications and how do they affect performance?

A: The i3-12100F has 4 cores and 8 threads with a 3.30 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost clock, 12 MB of L3 cache, and a 58 W TDP. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11,860 and single-core of 1,674 indicate adequate single-thread performance but limited multicore scaling.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 4K with this setup?

A: At 3840x2160, Low settings achieve 157 FPS, Medium delivers 112 FPS (95 min, 129 max), High produces 98 FPS, and Ultra drops to 73 FPS. The Medium preset provides the most consistent experience with a 95 FPS minimum.