Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents an interesting case for the Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination. The measured frame rates across its four presets and three resolutions reveal a component pairing that is highly capable but not without clear performance ceilings. The data indicates a system where the graphics card is the primary driver of performance, yet the CPU's strong multi-threaded capabilities ensure it never becomes a bottleneck, resulting in a smooth experience that scales predictably with both resolution and visual fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, but the magnitude of the frame rate drop is heavily dependent on the graphics preset. At the Low setting, the system delivers 200 FPS at 1920x1080, which drops to 147 FPS at 2560x1440 and finally to 95 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 52.5% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling becomes more severe as the preset quality increases. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 124 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 1440p, and then to 59 FPS at 4K — a 52.4% drop from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic decline, with 93 FPS at 1080p falling to 68 FPS at 1440p and bottoming out at 44 FPS at 4K, a 52.7% reduction. The consistency of this percentage drop across all presets is notable; it suggests that the RX 7700's rendering workload scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario.

The Medium preset provides the most complete dataset with min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 and maximum of 163. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 104 FPS (min 88, max 120), and at 4K, it falls to 67 FPS (min 57, max 77). The range between min and max FPS remains relatively tight (approximately 20-30 FPS) across all resolutions, which indicates stable frame pacing. The data implies that while the CPU has the headroom to push well beyond 200 FPS at lower resolutions, the RX 7700's pixel throughput becomes the constraining factor above 1080p, particularly when the preset demands more complex shading and texture work.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. This memory configuration provides a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s, which is substantial for a mid-range card. The GPU's boost clock of 2459 MHz and game clock of 2041 MHz are the key drivers behind its 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 96 ROPs and 160 TMUs give it a pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s, respectively.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is clearly dominant. The fact that the 4K Ultra setting yields only 44 FPS while 1080p Low achieves 200 FPS suggests that the card's raw compute and memory bandwidth are being fully utilized at higher resolutions and quality settings. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is likely not a limiting factor in this game, as even the most demanding preset at 4K would struggle to exceed that allocation in a 2024 FPS title. The data shows that the RX 7700's performance percentile of 58 (compared to all GPUs) is reflected in its mid-range standing, but its ability to maintain 59 FPS at 4K High indicates it has enough headroom for a smooth experience at that resolution with some settings compromises.

What is particularly telling is the delta between presets at the same resolution. At 1440p, the difference between Low (147 FPS) and Ultra (68 FPS) is a 53.7% performance penalty. This suggests that the Ultra preset likely introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU's shading units and ray accelerators (40 RT cores are present). The gap between Medium (104 FPS) and High (91 FPS) at 1440p is smaller (12.5% penalty), implying that High is a more efficient stepping stone than the jump to Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 2,828 tested CPU and GPU combinations in Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the Core i7-12700KF and Radeon RX 7700 achieves a combo rank of 1,275. This places it in the 45th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 55% of combinations deliver higher frame rates in this game. Given the CPU's strong benchmark scores and the GPU's mid-range positioning, this ranking is consistent with expectations.

The CPU's benchmark data provides context for its contribution to this ranking. The Core i7-12700KF scores 28,838 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,071 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 35,365. This puts it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T (avg score 35,403, delta -0.1%) and the Intel Core i5-13600T (avg score 35,305, delta 0.2%). This level of CPU performance is clearly not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 200 FPS result at 1080p Low.

The GPU, in contrast, has an average benchmark score of 15,852 and sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 370X (avg score 15,862, delta -0.1%) and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (avg score 16,014, delta -1%). The fact that the GPU's percentile ranking (58) is lower than the CPU's (85) explains why the combo rank is only in the top half — the GPU is the limiting factor, holding the system back from higher placements. The combination rank of 1,275 out of 2,828 suggests this is a well-balanced but not exceptional pairing for Lockdown Protocol specifically.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Lockdown Protocol with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 on High settings yields 91 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K, the High preset drops to 59 FPS, which is borderline. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience, 1440p is the sweet spot, as even Ultra settings achieve 68 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: Across all presets, the frame rate drops by approximately 52-53% when going from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. For example, Low settings go from 200 FPS to 95 FPS, and High settings go from 124 FPS to 59 FPS. This consistent percentage indicates the GPU is the primary scaling factor.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700KF holding back the AMD Radeon RX 7700?

A: No. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28,838 and single-core score of 4,071 are strong indicators that it can keep up with the GPU. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 200 FPS suggests the CPU can feed frames far beyond what the GPU can render at higher resolutions.

Q: What kind of frame rate variation can be expected at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset shows the most stable frame pacing. At 1080p, the average is 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 and maximum of 163. At 1440p, the average is 104 FPS (min 88, max 120), and at 4K, the average is 67 FPS (min 57, max 77). The 20-30 FPS range between min and max indicates consistent performance.

Q: How does the RX 7700's memory bandwidth affect 4K performance?

A: The 624.1 GB/s bandwidth on the 256-bit bus appears sufficient for 4K, as the card maintains 44 FPS at Ultra and 59 FPS at High. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is also unlikely to be a limiting factor, given the game's 2024 release date and typical VRAM requirements for FPS titles.

Q: Is this combo better suited for competitive or cinematic play?

A: The data suggests it excels at competitive play with Low settings at 1080p (200 FPS) or 1440p (147 FPS). For cinematic single-player experiences, 4K High at 59 FPS is playable but not ideal. The 1440p Ultra setting at 68 FPS might offer the best balance of visual quality and performance for most players.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset at 2560x1440 appears to be the optimal configuration for this combination. It delivers 91 FPS, which provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while offering significantly better visual quality than Medium. The jump from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 23 FPS (from 91 to 68), which is a 25.3% performance penalty — a substantial loss for what is typically a marginal visual improvement in most games.

For players prioritizing competitive performance, Low at 1920x1080 (200 FPS) or 2560x1440 (147 FPS) is the clear choice. The Low preset at 1440p still maintains a 147 FPS average, which is well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. The Medium preset at 1440p (104 FPS) offers a middle ground with some visual enhancements while keeping frame rates above 100 FPS, but the High preset's 91 FPS is likely worth the visual upgrade for most users.

At 4K, the High preset (59 FPS) is barely playable, but the Medium preset (67 FPS) provides a smoother experience. The data shows that 4K Ultra (44 FPS) should be avoided unless the player is willing to accept sub-60 FPS frame rates. The 4K Low preset (95 FPS) is viable but the visual compromise is substantial. For a balanced 4K experience, Medium at 67 FPS is the recommended starting point, with High as an option if the player prefers visuals over frame rate stability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, based on a 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide excellent single-threaded performance, which is critical for FPS games that rely heavily on game logic and physics calculations. The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its strength: a Geekbench single-core score of 2,255 and multi-core score of 14,367, along with a PassMark single-thread score of 3,984.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the frame rate scaling. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 200 FPS, which is a clear indicator that the CPU can process game state and issue draw calls faster than the GPU can render them. The CPU's 3DMark scores further support this: 9,282 in the 16-thread test and 1,043 in single-thread, showing strong multi-threading and solid single-core performance.

The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache likely help with game asset streaming and AI calculations, which are common in FPS titles. The fact that the CPU maintains its performance across all resolutions — the frame rate drops are consistently proportional to pixel count — indicates that it is never the bottleneck in this pairing. The 12-core, 20-thread configuration also provides headroom for background tasks and streaming software, which is a benefit for players who run overlays or recording tools while gaming.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the Intel Core i7-13700T (0.1% slower) and Intel Core i5-13600T (0.2% faster), which shows that the i7-12700KF is still competitive with newer lower-power parts. Given that the CPU ranks in the 85th percentile of all processors, it is clear that the GPU is the limiting factor in this system, not the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7700 is as follows:

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 95 FPS average
• Medium: 67 FPS average, with a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 77 FPS
• High: 59 FPS average
• Ultra: 44 FPS average

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 147 FPS average
• Medium: 104 FPS average, with a minimum of 88 FPS and maximum of 120 FPS
• High: 91 FPS average
• Ultra: 68 FPS average

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 200 FPS average
• Medium: 142 FPS average, with a minimum of 121 FPS and maximum of 163 FPS
• High: 124 FPS average
• Ultra: 93 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, which shows a consistent frame time variance of approximately 30 FPS between minimum and maximum across all resolutions. This suggests that the game's frame pacing is stable under this preset, with no significant stuttering or dips that would be visible to the player. The transition from Medium to High at any resolution costs roughly 10-15 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs an additional 20-30 FPS. The data implies that the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that disproportionately tax the GPU, making it the least efficient preset in terms of performance per visual quality.