Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that rewards high frame rates, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exactly that. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of pushing well past the refresh rate of most high-end monitors, even at demanding resolutions. The key takeaway is that this setup is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, but the CPU still has enough headroom to keep up at lower presets, ensuring a consistently smooth experience across the board.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the game’s "High" preset offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance for this specific hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 249 FPS, which is more than sufficient for competitive play and leaves ample headroom for frame drops. Moving up to 2560x1440, the High preset still maintains a strong 183 FPS average, making it an excellent choice for gamers who prioritize resolution without sacrificing fluidity. Even at 3840x2160, the High preset achieves a playable 118 FPS average, which is remarkable for a 4K resolution.

If your primary goal is maximum competitive advantage and you are playing on a 1080p or 1440p monitor, the "Low" preset is the clear winner. At 1080p, Low settings push the average to 308 FPS, and at 1440p, it reaches 277 FPS. This provides the lowest input latency and the highest possible frame pacing, which is critical in a game where reaction time matters. However, the visual trade-off is significant, as you lose many of the graphical effects that make the game immersive.

The "Medium" preset is a solid compromise, but it does not offer a significant advantage over High in terms of frame rate. At 1440p, Medium yields 209 FPS compared to High’s 183 FPS, a 14% increase. However, at 1080p, the gap narrows to just 8% (271 FPS vs 249 FPS), suggesting that the CPU becomes more of a limiting factor at these lower resolutions. The "Ultra" preset is the most demanding, and while it produces beautiful visuals, the frame rate drops to 187 FPS at 1080p, 137 FPS at 1440p, and 88 FPS at 4K. These numbers are still playable, but they represent a significant performance hit over High, especially at higher resolutions where the gap widens.

For most users, the recommendation is to use the High preset. It provides a 30% performance boost over Ultra at 1440p and a 25% boost at 4K, while the visual difference between High and Ultra is often difficult to notice in fast-paced action. The data clearly shows that High is the "sweet spot" for this combo, delivering high frame rates across all resolutions without pushing the hardware to its limits.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is not a major bottleneck at higher resolutions or settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 88, which is likely GPU-bound. However, at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 308, which is close to the CPU’s practical limit for this game. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (308 to 187 FPS) indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but its headroom is more limited than the GPU’s.

Q: What average frame rate can I expect at 2560x1440 with the High preset?

A: Benchmark results show an average of 183 FPS at 2560x1440 on the High preset. This is a very strong result, indicating that the combo is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming. The minimum FPS is not recorded for this specific row, but the average is high enough to ensure a smooth experience on most monitors.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D’s performance compare to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database?

A: Looking at the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712. This places it slightly above the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, which has a score of 76904 and a deltaPct of 1.1%. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which scores 78940 (deltaPct of -1.6%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe variants, which score 79396 and 79605 respectively. This shows the RTX 5090 D is a top-tier performer, but its lead over the next closest competitor is not massive in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Is the Core i5-12600KF’s single-threaded performance adequate for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The CPU’s 3dmark single-thread score is 1016, and its Cinebench R23 single-core score is 3302. These are strong results, indicating that the processor has excellent per-core performance. The measured FPS data, particularly the high frame rates at 1080p Low, suggests that the single-threaded performance is more than sufficient for this game’s engine.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and High presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 271 FPS, while the High preset averages 249 FPS. This is a difference of 22 FPS, or about 8%. This relatively small gap suggests that the visual improvements from Medium to High come at a modest performance cost, making High a worthwhile upgrade for most users.

Q: Can this setup handle 4K gaming with the Ultra preset?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 on Ultra is 88 FPS. This is playable, but it is below the 100 FPS threshold that many gamers prefer. If you want a smoother 4K experience, the High preset, which averages 118 FPS, is a better choice.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 27th out of 2828 combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the top 1% of all tested systems, indicating exceptional overall performance. This high ranking is primarily driven by the immense power of the RTX 5090 D, which is one of the fastest GPUs ever made.

The CPU’s contribution to this ranking is also significant. The i5-12600KF holds the 79th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 27799. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K (avg score 27872, deltaPct -0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (avg score 27896, deltaPct -0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (avg score 27887, deltaPct -0.3%). This shows that the i5-12600KF is competitively positioned, trading blows with older flagship and newer mid-range parts.

The fact that this combo is ranked so highly despite the CPU not being the absolute fastest available suggests that Lockdown Protocol is not extremely CPU-intensive. The GPU is doing the heavy lifting in most scenarios, and the i5-12600KF provides enough processing power to avoid being a significant drag on performance. The rank of 27 out of 2828 reflects the synergy of this pairing, showing that you do not need the most expensive CPU to get near-top-tier results when paired with a flagship GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of how this combo performs across the three most common resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the results are exceptional. The Low preset averages 308 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for this combo. The Medium preset averages 271 FPS, with a minimum of 230 FPS and a maximum of 311 FPS. The High preset averages 249 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 187 FPS. The data shows a clear linear scaling of performance as settings are increased, with a 61% drop in frame rate from Low to Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong. The Low preset averages 277 FPS, the Medium preset averages 209 FPS (with a minimum of 178 FPS and a maximum of 241 FPS), the High preset averages 183 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 137 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 51%, showing that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at this resolution. The High preset still clears 180 FPS, which is ideal for 1440p 165Hz monitors.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still impressive, but the GPU is clearly working hard. The Low preset averages 190 FPS, a significant drop from the 277 FPS seen at 1440p. The Medium preset averages 135 FPS (with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS), the High preset averages 118 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 88 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 54%, which is similar to the scaling seen at 1440p. This indicates that the RTX 5090 D is the bottleneck at this resolution, as the CPU has less influence on the final frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear trend of diminishing returns as resolution increases, which is expected for a high-end GPU. The most telling metric is the performance drop from 1080p to 4K on the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 308. At 1440p Low, it drops to 277 FPS, a 10% decrease. At 4K Low, it falls to 190 FPS, a 38% decrease from 1080p. This large drop at 4K suggests that the GPU is being pushed to its limits, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

On the High preset, the scaling is slightly different. From 1080p (249 FPS) to 1440p (183 FPS), there is a 27% drop. From 1440p to 4K (118 FPS), there is a further 36% drop. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at High settings across all resolutions. The CPU’s influence is negligible at these settings, as the frame rates are high enough to show that the GPU is fully saturated.

The resolution scaling data reveals that the RTX 5090 D is the limiting component in this combo for most scenarios. The i5-12600KF is capable of delivering high frame rates, but it cannot keep pace with the GPU’s raw power at lower resolutions. For example, the 1080p Low result of 308 FPS is likely near the CPU’s practical limit, as the GPU is not fully utilized at that point. This is a classic sign of a balanced system where the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions, but the CPU becomes more relevant at lower ones. For gamers, this means that the combo is best suited for 1440p and 4K gaming, where the GPU can stretch its legs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This hybrid design, with performance and efficiency cores, gives it strong multi-threaded capabilities for a mid-range chip. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 23391, which is a solid result, and its 3dmark max threads score is 7952. These numbers show that the CPU is more than capable of handling modern game engines.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rates are largely consistent with what you would expect from a GPU-bound scenario. However, at 1080p, the CPU’s influence is more apparent. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p is 121 FPS (308 vs 187), which is a much larger gap than the 102 FPS difference at 4K (190 vs 88). This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU can become a limiting factor when the GPU is not under as much pixel load.

The CPU’s single-threaded performance is also critical for a game like Lockdown Protocol. Its 3dmark single-thread score of 1016 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302 are strong, and they help ensure that the game’s main thread does not become a bottleneck. The benchmark results confirm that the i5-12600KF is a capable gaming CPU, even when paired with the fastest GPU on the market. Its 20 MB of L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide enough memory bandwidth for game data, and its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory allows for flexible system building.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i9-10900K and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The i5-12600KF’s average benchmark score is 27799, which is within 0.3% of these parts. This shows that, despite being a 12th-gen part, it still competes well with newer and older high-end CPUs. For Lockdown Protocol, the data indicates that the i5-12600KF provides a solid foundation for the RTX 5090 D, ensuring that the GPU can perform to its full potential without being held back by CPU limitations.