Lockdown Protocol

Settings Recommendations

For Lockdown Protocol, the measured data points to Medium as the optimal settings preset across all three resolutions tested. The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers 96 FPS average with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 111 FPS, providing a smooth baseline that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for competitive FPS play. At 2560x1440, Medium maintains 71 FPS average with a 60 FPS minimum, which remains playable for most users. Even at 3840x2160, Medium produces 46 FPS average and 39 FPS minimum, which is borderline but demonstrates the preset scales gracefully.

The High preset at 1080p yields 84 FPS average, which is 12 FPS lower than Medium while offering marginal visual improvements. The jump from Medium to High costs roughly 12.5% performance at 1080p, and the gap widens to 14.5% at 1440p where High drops to 62 FPS average. Ultra, meanwhile, should be avoided for serious play: it delivers only 63 FPS average at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The data indicates Ultra's visual fidelity gains do not justify the severe frame rate penalty, particularly given that Medium's minimum frame times at 1080p and 1440p are 82 FPS and 60 FPS respectively, offering a more consistent experience.

Low settings provide the highest raw frame rates—136 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K—but the visual compromise is substantial. For players prioritizing maximum responsiveness on high-refresh monitors, Low at 1440p delivers triple-digit frame rates, but the Medium preset represents the best balance of visual quality and measured performance. At 4K, Medium is the only reasonable choice among the measured presets, as High drops to 40 FPS and Ultra to 30 FPS, both below acceptable thresholds for an FPS title.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2264th out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower half of all system configurations measured for this game. This percentile position—roughly the 20th percentile—reflects a combination that is capable but not competitive with top-tier hardware in this specific title. The ranking suggests that while the components individually perform adequately, their combined performance in Lockdown Protocol does not distinguish itself against the broader field of tested systems.

The CPU component of this combo sits in the 84th percentile among all tested CPUs, indicating strong processor performance relative to the wider CPU landscape. However, the GPU ranks only in the 65th percentile among all tested GPUs, which drags the overall combo ranking down. The data shows a mismatch: a high-performing CPU paired with a mid-tier GPU results in a system that is likely GPU-limited in this game, especially at higher resolutions. The combo rank of 2264 out of 2828 means that roughly 80% of tested system combinations deliver better performance in Lockdown Protocol, making this pairing a mid-pack option rather than a high-performance solution.

Benchmark results indicate that the i7-12700K's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600T, Intel Core i7-12700KF, Intel Core i7-13700T, and Intel Core 5 213PE, all within 0.4% of each other in average benchmark scores. The i7-12700K scores 35287 on average, essentially tied with the i5-13600T at 35305 (0.1% difference) and the i7-12700KF at 35365 (0.2% difference). Similarly, the Arc B570's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, Intel Arc A750, NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, and AMD Radeon R9 M390X, all within 0.5% of the B570's average benchmark score of 20556. This near-parity with the Arc A750, which scores 20582 (0.1% ahead), highlights the B570's positioning within Intel's own product stack.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 provides the most consistent performance across all settings, with Medium delivering 96 FPS average and Low reaching 136 FPS average. At 2560x1440, Medium maintains 71 FPS average, while 3840x2160 drops to 46 FPS average on Medium.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at different resolutions?

A: Ultra settings yield 63 FPS average at 1920x1080, 46 FPS average at 2560x1440, and 30 FPS average at 3840x2160. The 4K result falls below the 30 FPS playability threshold, making Ultra unsuitable at that resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more limiting for this combo?

A: The CPU ranks in the 84th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35287, while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile with an average score of 20556. The GPU's lower relative ranking, combined with the significant FPS drops at higher resolutions, indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534), Intel Arc A750 (20582), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662). The B570 trails the Arc A750 by 0.1% and leads the RTX 3070 Mobile by 0.1%.

Q: What minimum frame rates can be expected on Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium delivers a minimum of 82 FPS. At 2560x1440, the minimum drops to 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the minimum falls to 39 FPS. These values are measured and represent the worst-case frame times during testing.

Q: Does the i7-12700K's CPU performance leave headroom for future GPU upgrades?

A: Yes. The i7-12700K's average benchmark score of 35287 places it in the 84th percentile, and its nearest CPU rivals are all within 0.4% of its score. This indicates the CPU has substantial performance headroom, as the current GPU ranks lower in percentile terms.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates show a clear hierarchy across settings. Low settings deliver the highest average at 136 FPS, followed by Medium at 96 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS and maximum of 111 FPS. High settings produce 84 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 63 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra is 73 FPS, representing a 53.7% performance penalty for maximum visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the performance curve shifts downward. Low settings maintain 100 FPS average, Medium delivers 71 FPS with a 60 FPS minimum and 81 FPS maximum, High drops to 62 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 54 FPS, a 54% reduction. The Medium preset's 60 FPS minimum is notable, as it exactly meets the standard 60 FPS playability threshold.

At 3840x2160, frame rates become more constrained. Low settings produce 64 FPS average, Medium delivers 46 FPS with a 39 FPS minimum and 52 FPS maximum, High drops to 40 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 34 FPS, representing a 53.1% performance loss. Only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS at 4K, while Medium is the highest setting that maintains an average above 40 FPS.

The data reveals that the Medium preset consistently provides the most stable frame delivery, with the narrowest gap between minimum and maximum recorded values at each resolution. At 1080p, Medium's 82-111 FPS range represents a 29 FPS spread, while at 1440p the range is 60-81 FPS (21 FPS spread), and at 4K it is 39-52 FPS (13 FPS spread). This consistency suggests Medium is the best-optimized preset for this hardware combination.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how Lockdown Protocol scales with resolution for this combo. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 96 to 71, a reduction of 26%. Scaling further to 3840x2160, the average falls to 46 FPS, representing a 52.1% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where pixel count increases directly impact render time.

The Low settings preset shows similar scaling behavior: 136 FPS at 1080p drops to 100 FPS at 1440p (26.5% reduction) and further to 64 FPS at 4K (52.9% reduction from 1080p). High settings follow the same trend: 84 FPS at 1080p, 62 FPS at 1440p (26.2% reduction), and 40 FPS at 4K (52.4% reduction). Ultra settings demonstrate the steepest absolute decline: 63 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p (27% reduction), and 30 FPS at 4K (52.4% reduction).

The consistent percentage reductions across all settings—roughly 26-27% from 1080p to 1440p and 52-53% from 1080p to 4K—indicate that the limiting component scales predictably with pixel count. The resolution scaling pattern points to the GPU as the primary constraint, as the Arc B570's memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s and 10 GB GDDR6 VRAM become increasingly taxed at higher resolutions. The i7-12700K's strong single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1043) and multi-thread capabilities (3dmark max threads score of 9979) suggest the CPU is not the bottleneck; if it were, resolution scaling would show diminishing FPS drops as pixel count increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K brings substantial processing power to this combo. With 12 cores and 20 threads, the Alder Lake-S architecture provides a hybrid configuration that balances high-performance and efficient cores. The base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, combined with 25 MB of shared L3 cache, give the CPU strong single-threaded and multi-threaded capabilities. The 3dmark benchmarks show a progression from 1043 in single-thread to 2065 in 2-thread, 4011 in 4-thread, 7202 in 8-thread, and 9979 in max-thread tests, demonstrating effective scaling across thread counts.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU based on the resolution scaling analysis. However, the i7-12700K's Cinebench R23 scores—19784 multicore and 1850.5 singlecore—indicate robust processing power that can handle game logic, physics calculations, and AI workloads without becoming a limiting factor at typical gaming resolutions. The Geekbench multicore score of 15790 and singlecore score of 2308 further confirm the CPU's capability to feed the GPU with draw calls and game state updates.

The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287, places it well above the GPU's 65th percentile ranking. This disparity explains why the combo's overall rank of 2264 out of 2828 is lower than the CPU's individual percentile—the GPU cannot fully utilize the CPU's available headroom. The nearest CPU rivals are all within 0.4% of the i7-12700K's average score, meaning the CPU itself is not a differentiator in this combo; rather, it provides a solid foundation that exceeds the demands of most gaming scenarios. The 125W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest the CPU has additional performance potential, though the measured data does not include overclocked results.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the performance-limiting component in this combo for Lockdown Protocol. Based on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation), the GPU features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is moderate for a 2025 GPU release. The boost clock of 2500 MHz and 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 performance place the B570 in the mid-range segment, as reflected by its 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The GPU's benchmark results show a mixed profile: PassMark G3D score of 14195, Geekbench Vulkan score of 96844, and Geekbench OpenCL score of 83514. The 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 indicates modern API performance, while the PassMark DirectX scores (118 for DX11, 72 for DX12, 164 for DX9) suggest some variability across different API generations. The nearest GPU rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% higher average score), Intel Arc A750 (0.1% higher), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (0.4% higher), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (0.5% lower). This clustering indicates the B570 performs in a tightly contested mid-range band.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's limitations manifest clearly at higher resolutions. The 4K Medium result of 46 FPS average with 39 FPS minimum shows the GPU struggling with pixel throughput, while the 1080p Low result of 136 FPS demonstrates its capability at lower resolutions. The 150W TDP and dual-slot design suggest the card is power-efficient for its performance class, but the 160-bit memory bus and 10 GB VRAM capacity may constrain performance in memory-heavy scenes. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking, combined with the measured FPS data across resolutions, confirms that the Arc B570 is the primary bottleneck in this system for Lockdown Protocol, particularly at 1440p and 4K where its memory bandwidth and compute resources are most heavily taxed.