Lockdown Protocol

The data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT shows a combination that delivers high frame rates across all tested configurations, with the balance between visual fidelity and performance favoring the Medium preset. This pairing ranks in the 62nd percentile of tested combinations, indicating strong, though not top-tier, performance for this FPS title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset provides the most balanced experience across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium yields 168.2 FPS, which is 17.4% higher than High (143.3 FPS) and 57.6% higher than Ultra (106.7 FPS). The step from Low to Medium costs 33.7 FPS (from 234.3 to 168.2), but the visual improvement is substantial, while the step from Medium to High costs only 24.9 FPS. This suggests Medium is the sweet spot for maintaining high refresh rates without sacrificing too much graphical quality.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 119.5 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 90 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High drops to 104.4 FPS, a 12.6% reduction, while Ultra falls to 79.5 FPS. For 4K gaming at 3840x2160, Medium produces 78.3 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. High at 4K yields 67.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 54 FPS. The Low preset at 4K achieves 113.5 FPS, but the visual downgrade is significant.

The data indicates that Low settings are only necessary for 4K users who prioritize frame rate above all else. For 1080p and 1440p users, Medium offers the best combination of smoothness and quality, with High being a viable option for those with 144Hz displays who want better visuals. Ultra is only recommended for 1080p users with 120Hz displays, as it still provides 106.7 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 626th out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the upper 38% of all configurations, indicating solid performance but not elite-tier results. The CPU alone sits in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 76th percentile against all GPUs, suggesting the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card in this pairing.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 with an average score of 35802 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core i5-14500HX at 35940 (0.7% higher), and the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35468 (0.6% lower). These deltas are minimal, showing the i7-12700K is well-matched against its direct competition. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA P104-100 with an average score of 32747 (0.4% lower) and the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 at 32540 (0.2% lower), again showing the RX 7800 XT sits in a tightly contested performance band.

The 626th rank out of 1637 combos suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates in this game. However, the measured FPS data shows this combo still achieves excellent results, particularly at 1080p where even Ultra settings exceed 100 FPS. The ranking reflects the overall competitive landscape rather than any deficiency in this specific pairing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This large memory allocation is beneficial for Lockdown Protocol at high resolutions, as the 4K Ultra test still maintains 54 FPS without running into memory limitations. The GPU's boost clock of 2430 MHz and game clock of 2124 MHz contribute to its compute capabilities, with a pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s.

The GPU's 60 ray tracing cores and 3840 shading units are relevant for modern FPS titles, though Lockdown Protocol's performance appears more dependent on raw rasterization power. The FP32 throughput of 37.32 TFLOPS provides ample compute headroom for the game's physics and particle effects. The 96 ROPs ensure efficient pixel processing, which is evident in the 4K results where the GPU scales predictably with resolution.

The GPU's 76th percentile ranking against all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 32619, shows it performs slightly above the median of tested graphics cards. In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the GPU demonstrates it can handle 4K gaming at playable frame rates, with the Low preset achieving 113.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This suggests the GPU is not the primary bottleneck in this configuration, as the CPU's stronger percentile ranking indicates the processor may be more capable than the GPU in certain workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression: Low delivers 234.3 FPS, Medium 168.2 FPS, High 143.3 FPS, and Ultra 106.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 127.6 FPS, representing a 54.5% reduction in frame rate when going from the lowest to highest settings. This wide spread indicates the game is highly scalable across quality presets.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 172.9 FPS, Medium 119.5 FPS, High 104.4 FPS, and Ultra 79.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 93.4 FPS (54% reduction), but the absolute values remain high. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 71% of the 1080p Medium result, showing a reasonable resolution penalty.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 113.5 FPS, Medium 78.3 FPS, High 67.4 FPS, and Ultra 54 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is exactly half of the 1080p Low result, highlighting the exponential cost of combining high resolution with maximum settings. The 4K Medium result of 78.3 FPS is still playable for most users, though competitive players may prefer the 1440p High setting for its higher frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K varies by settings preset. At Low settings, the drop is from 234.3 to 113.5 FPS, a 51.6% reduction. At Medium, the drop is from 168.2 to 78.3 FPS, a 53.4% reduction. At High, the drop is from 143.3 to 67.4 FPS, a 53% reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 106.7 to 54 FPS, a 49.4% reduction. These percentages are remarkably consistent, suggesting the scaling is primarily resolution-driven rather than settings-driven.

The 2560x1440 results show a similar pattern: Low drops 26.2% from 1080p, Medium drops 29% from 1080p, High drops 27.2% from 1080p, and Ultra drops 25.5% from 1080p. The consistency of these drops across all settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the frame rate scales nearly linearly with pixel count. The 4K resolution has 4 times the pixels of 1080p, but the frame rate does not drop to 25% of the 1080p value, showing the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources provide some headroom.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU may be the limiting factor in some scenarios, as the frame rates above 200 FPS at Low settings approach the limits of what the i7-12700K can feed to the GPU. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with the CPU's performance being less relevant to the final frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 119.5 FPS, which is 15.1 FPS higher than High (104.4 FPS) and 40 FPS higher than Ultra (79.5 FPS). This provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate for most users.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, at 4K the Medium preset achieves 78.3 FPS, and High reaches 67.4 FPS. The Low preset delivers 113.5 FPS at 4K, making it viable for users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 626th out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the upper 38% of all configurations tested.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data shows a 54.5% FPS reduction from Low to Ultra at 1080p, suggesting the GPU handles the settings scaling well. However, the CPU's 89th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 76th percentile suggests the processor has more headroom relative to the graphics card.

Q: What frame rate does the Ultra preset achieve at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 delivers 106.7 FPS, which is sufficient for 100Hz displays but falls short of 144Hz monitors.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The High preset drops from 143.3 FPS at 1080p to 67.4 FPS at 4K, representing a 53% reduction in frame rate. This consistent scaling across settings indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.