Lockdown Protocol

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB sits at rank 3269 out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the lower 12% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the GPU's modest capabilities rather than any glaring bottleneck from the processor. The data shows this is a combination that can run the game but will require careful settings management to achieve a smooth experience.

Looking at the broader context, the RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, meaning it is squarely in the middle of the pack for graphics hardware overall. However, Lockdown Protocol appears to be a demanding title, and the combo's ranking suggests that this particular pairing struggles relative to what most other tested systems can achieve. The ranking is not catastrophic — the system is functional across all tested presets — but it is clearly positioned for 1080p play rather than higher resolutions.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset delivers the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 112 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo at any resolution or settings level. This is the only preset that pushes the system past the 100 FPS mark, making it the clear choice for competitive play in this fast-paced FPS title.

For those who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p delivers 80 FPS average with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS. This remains well within playable territory and offers a meaningful visual upgrade over Low. The High preset drops to 70 FPS average, still acceptable, but the step to Ultra brings the average down to 52 FPS, which begins to feel less responsive in a shooter.

At 2560x1440, the situation changes. Low produces 82 FPS average, which is playable, but Medium falls to 59 FPS and High to 51 FPS. Ultra at this resolution drops to 38 FPS, which is marginal for a game requiring quick reactions. The data indicates that 1440p is best reserved for Low settings if a high frame rate is desired, or Medium if the user can tolerate occasional dips.

The verdict is straightforward: for the best balance of performance and visual quality, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended configuration. It provides a 80 FPS average with a minimum that stays above 60 FPS, ensuring consistent smoothness. For maximum competitive advantage, the Low preset at 1080p offers the headroom needed for high-refresh-rate displays.

# Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 80 to 59, a reduction of 26%. The further step to 3840x2160 at Medium brings the average down to 38 FPS, another 36% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep scaling curve is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the rendering workload grows disproportionately with pixel count.

At High settings, the pattern is consistent: 70 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. The frame rate nearly halves when moving from 1080p to 4K, which aligns with the 4x pixel count increase — the GPU simply cannot keep pace with the additional fill rate demand. The Low preset shows the same trend but from a higher baseline: 112 FPS at 1080p, 82 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K.

The data indicates that the RTX 3050 4 GB is the limiting component in this pairing. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but as resolution increases, the GPU's 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 4 GB GDDR6 frame buffer become the constraining factors. The steep drops at 4K, where even Low settings only achieve 53 FPS, confirm that this card is not designed for ultra-high-resolution gaming in modern titles.

# FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution where all presets remain at least marginally playable. At 1080p, even Ultra achieves 52 FPS average, while at 1440p and 4K, Ultra drops to 38 FPS and 25 FPS respectively.

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

A: Barely, and only on the lowest preset. The 4K Low setting produces 53 FPS average, which is playable, but Medium drops to 38 FPS and High to 33 FPS. For a competitive FPS, these lower frame rates are not recommended.

Q: How does the Medium preset compare to Low in terms of performance?

A: At 1080p, Medium delivers 80 FPS average versus 112 FPS for Low, a 29% performance penalty. At 1440p, the gap is 59 FPS versus 82 FPS, and at 4K, 38 FPS versus 53 FPS. The relative penalty grows slightly with resolution.

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

A: The resolution scaling data points to the GPU as the primary limitation. Frame rates drop steeply as resolution increases, which is the signature of a GPU-bound system. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989, indicate it has ample processing power for this title.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 51 FPS. This is playable but below the 60 FPS threshold that many competitive players consider minimum for smooth aiming. The minimum frame rate was not recorded for this configuration.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever exceed 60 FPS?

A: No. The highest Ultra average is 52 FPS at 1080p. At 1440p, Ultra averages 38 FPS, and at 4K, it averages 25 FPS. Ultra is not a viable preset for maintaining high frame rates with this hardware.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is built on the Ampere architecture with 2048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1545 MHz with a boost clock of 1740 MHz, and its 4 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective transfer rate across a 128-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications place the card at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, indicating it is an average performer overall.

In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the GPU's limitations become apparent at higher resolutions. The 4 GB frame buffer is likely a significant constraint at 4K, where texture data and geometry can easily exceed this capacity. The measured drop from 53 FPS at Low to 25 FPS at Ultra at 4K demonstrates how severely the card struggles when both resolution and settings increase. Even at 1080p, the Ultra preset only manages 52 FPS, suggesting that the card's compute throughput — rated at 7.127 TFLOPS FP32 — is insufficient for the game's highest visual fidelity.

The card's 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores are present for ray tracing and DLSS support, but the benchmark data does not include ray-traced results for this title. The pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s provide theoretical ceilings that the measured frame rates never approach, indicating that memory bandwidth and capacity are the practical limits. The 90 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest this is an entry-level card, and the performance data confirms that positioning.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It runs at a 2.50 GHz base clock with a 4.40 GHz boost clock, and its 18 MB of shared L3 cache helps feed the GPU with game data. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, which gives system builders flexibility, though the memory type was not specified in the test configuration.

Benchmark results show this CPU is a solid mid-range performer. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and single-core score of 2257 indicate strong processing capability for gaming workloads. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1692 with 2 threads to 5890 with max threads, demonstrating good multi-threading efficiency. The PassMark multithread score of 18747 and single-thread score of 3456 place the CPU at the 72nd percentile among all processors, well above the GPU's 50th percentile ranking.

In this game, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The frame rate scaling across resolutions — where performance drops by roughly 26% from 1080p to 1440p and another 36% to 4K at Medium settings — is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 6 physical cores are sufficient for Lockdown Protocol's demands, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has less work, the system reaches 112 FPS without the CPU appearing to cap performance. The processor's nearest rivals, including the AMD EPYC 7643 and Intel Core i7-1355U, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, confirming that the i5-12400 is well-matched to its performance class.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 112 FPS average — the highest recorded for this combo
• Medium: 80 FPS average, 68 FPS minimum, 92 FPS maximum
• High: 70 FPS average
• Ultra: 52 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 82 FPS average
• Medium: 59 FPS average, 50 FPS minimum, 67 FPS maximum
• High: 51 FPS average
• Ultra: 38 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 53 FPS average
• Medium: 38 FPS average, 32 FPS minimum, 43 FPS maximum
• High: 33 FPS average
• Ultra: 25 FPS average

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each settings tier at a given resolution costs roughly 20-30% performance compared to the tier below. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range from 68 to 92 FPS shows acceptable variance, while at 4K Medium, the 32 to 43 FPS range indicates noticeable fluctuation that could affect gameplay smoothness.

Across all resolutions, the jump from Low to Medium is the most costly in relative terms, while the drop from High to Ultra is less severe but still significant. The system never exceeds 112 FPS in any configuration, and at 4K, the best case scenario (Low) only reaches 53 FPS. These numbers paint a picture of a hardware pairing that is adequate for 1080p gaming with moderate settings, but which falls short of the performance needed for high-refresh-rate or high-resolution play in Lockdown Protocol.