Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 occupies a difficult position in the Lockdown Protocol benchmark hierarchy. With a combo rank of 1551 out of 1637 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the bottom 5% of all systems measured, placing it firmly in the lower tier for this FPS title. The processor itself is a strong component—ranking in the 89th percentile against all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35355—but the GPU, which falls in the 74th percentile for graphics cards, acts as the primary constraint in this configuration. The data indicates a fundamental imbalance: a high-end 12-core Alder Lake processor paired with a Polaris-era graphics solution, resulting in performance that is heavily dictated by the GPU's capabilities across all tested resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination's rank of 1551 out of 1637 places it in the bottom 5.3% of all tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This is a surprisingly low position given the individual components' percentiles. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking suggests it is far more capable than the GPU's 74th percentile, yet the combined result is dragged down disproportionately by the graphics card. Benchmark results indicate that the RX 570's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth create a hard ceiling for frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions where memory capacity and bandwidth become critical.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals provides context for the processor's theoretical headroom. The Intel Core i7-12700KF posts an average benchmark score of 35355, which is within 0.1% of the Intel Core i5-14400 (35336), 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416), and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900HX (35289). This clustering suggests that the CPU is not the differentiator here; any of these processors would yield similar results when paired with this GPU. The GPU's nearest rivals tell a similar story on the graphics side, with the RX 570's average score of 30158 sitting within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097).

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 79 FPS, which is playable but nowhere near competitive for a fast-paced FPS. The combination's position in the bottom 5% reflects that this is a legacy GPU solution struggling with a modern title, despite being paired with a processor that has substantial multi-threaded capabilities—evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28979 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 34092.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p with the most demanding settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 35.1 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold typically desired for smooth FPS gameplay, and represents a 55.6% drop from the 79 FPS achieved at Low settings at the same resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 89th percentile for all processors, while the GPU sits in the 74th percentile for graphics cards. Furthermore, FPS drops significantly as resolution increases—from 79 FPS at 1080p Low to 37.8 FPS at 4K Low—which is characteristic of GPU limitation rather than CPU constraint.

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where this combo achieves acceptable frame rates. At 1080p Low, it hits 79 FPS, and at 1080p Medium it reaches 55.9 FPS. At 1440p, the best result is 57.1 FPS at Low settings, while 4K performance falls below 40 FPS even at the lowest settings.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1551st out of 1637 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 5% of all systems measured for Lockdown Protocol. This poor ranking is primarily attributable to the RX 570's age and limited memory capacity, despite the i7-12700KF's strong individual performance metrics.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: No. At 1080p Ultra, it manages 35.1 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 28.4 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 14.3 FPS. None of these results approach playable frame rates for a competitive FPS title.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Medium settings at 1080p?

A: The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 23.1 FPS, dropping from 79 FPS to 55.9 FPS. This represents a 29.2% performance penalty, which shows that even modest settings increases place significant strain on the GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a steep performance curve that clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings, the average FPS drops from 79 to 57.1—a 27.7% decrease. Scaling further to 4K at Low settings brings the frame rate down to 37.8, representing a 52.2% drop from 1080p. These are substantial reductions that track closely with the pixel count increases, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario.

At High settings, the scaling pattern is similar but compressed. The combo achieves 49.8 FPS at 1080p, 34.2 FPS at 1440p, and 25.9 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 31.3% from 1080p to 1440p, and 48.0% from 1080p to 4K. Interestingly, the absolute FPS values are lower across the board compared to Low settings, but the relative scaling is consistent, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth is the primary constraint rather than its compute capacity.

The most telling observation comes from comparing Medium and High settings across resolutions. At both 1440p and 4K, Medium settings produce identical results to High settings: 37.8 FPS and 26.6 FPS respectively, compared to 34.2 FPS and 25.9 FPS. This convergence indicates that beyond a certain resolution, the GPU's 224.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes saturated regardless of modest settings changes. The RX 570's 4 GB memory buffer also likely forces texture streaming and asset loading that penalizes higher resolutions more severely than settings changes.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Low settings as the only viable option for this combo, and even then, only at 1080p. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 79 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches competitive frame rates. All other settings at 1080p fall below 60 FPS, with Medium at 55.9 FPS, High at 49.8 FPS, and Ultra at 35.1 FPS.

For users who prioritize visual quality over raw frame rate, 1080p Medium at 55.9 FPS represents a compromise, but it still falls short of the 60 FPS target. The jump from Low to Medium costs 23.1 FPS, which is a substantial penalty for what is typically a modest visual improvement in most games. Benchmark results indicate that the gap between Medium and High is smaller (55.9 to 49.8 FPS, a 10.9% drop), suggesting diminishing returns on settings increases.

At 1440p, Low settings deliver 57.1 FPS, but this requires a resolution downgrade to maintain similar performance to 1080p Medium. The data suggests that 1080p Low is the sweet spot for this combo, delivering the highest frame rate of any tested configuration while allowing the CPU's strong single-threaded performance—evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2526—to help maintain frame pacing in a fast-paced FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range shows a clear hierarchy. Low settings deliver the best performance at 79 FPS, followed by Medium at 55.9 FPS, High at 49.8 FPS, and Ultra at 35.1 FPS. The performance spread from Low to Ultra is 43.9 FPS, representing a 55.6% penalty for maximum visual quality. Notably, the gap between Low and Medium (23.1 FPS) is nearly double the gap between Medium and High (6.1 FPS), indicating that the first settings tier carries the heaviest performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts but remains consistent. Low settings produce 57.1 FPS, Medium and High both achieve similar results at 37.8 FPS and 34.2 FPS respectively, and Ultra drops to 28.4 FPS. The convergence of Medium and High at this resolution is notable, suggesting that the GPU's 4 GB memory buffer becomes a limiting factor regardless of these settings differences. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 28.7 FPS, a tighter range than at 1080p due to the resolution bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, performance falls below playable thresholds across all settings. Low settings manage 37.8 FPS, Medium achieves 26.6 FPS, High reaches 25.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 14.3 FPS. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is only 0.7 FPS, which is within measurement noise and confirms that the GPU is completely saturated at this resolution. The Ultra setting at 14.3 FPS is effectively unplayable for an FPS title, and even Low settings at 37.8 FPS would be challenging in competitive play. The data indicates that this combo is only suitable for 1080p gameplay, with Low settings being the sole configuration that delivers frame rates appropriate for the genre.