Lockdown Protocol

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread Alder Lake-S desktop processor with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its 25 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial headroom for a fast-paced FPS like Lockdown Protocol, where frame pacing and consistency matter more than raw multi-threaded throughput. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all tested processors, alongside an average benchmark score of 35,355, places it firmly in the upper tier of gaming CPUs.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence is most visible at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 194.1 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 40.5 FPS — a 153.6 FPS swing that is far larger than what the CPU alone could cause. The data indicates the i7-12700KF is not the limiting component at 1080p, where the GPU is still the primary driver of frame rates. However, the processor's strong single-thread performance — evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2,526 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 — ensures it can feed the GPU adequately even at high frame rates.

In multi-threaded workloads, the CPU shows its muscle with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28,979 and a Passmark multithread score of 34,092. These numbers suggest that even if Lockdown Protocol's engine scales beyond 8 threads, the i7-12700KF has ample compute headroom. The nearest rivals reinforce this: the Intel Core i5-14400 scores 35,336 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i7-13800H scores 35,416 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core i9-12900HX scores 35,289 (0.2% lower). These deltas are within noise, meaning the 12700KF trades blows with newer parts without any meaningful advantage or deficit.

The single-thread benchmark scores further contextualize gaming behavior: a Passmark single-thread score of 3,984 and a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 412 indicate that per-core performance is competitive, which is critical for games that rely on a few heavily loaded threads. With a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, the CPU can sustain high clock speeds during bursty game logic, physics, and draw-call processing. The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a capable part for sustained gaming sessions, though thermal behavior is not measured here.

Overall, the CPU role in this combo is to provide a stable, high-frequency platform that does not bottleneck the RX 9060 XT. The measured FPS deltas across resolutions and settings are more consistent with GPU scaling than CPU limitations, and the benchmark data supports the conclusion that the i7-12700KF is a well-matched partner for this GPU in Lockdown Protocol.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-12700KF compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The i7-12700KF scores 35,355 on average. The Intel Core i5-14400 scores 35,336 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i7-13800H scores 35,416 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core i9-12900HX scores 35,289 (0.2% lower). These differences are negligible, indicating near-identical overall performance.

Q: What is the best FPS achieved with this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 194.1 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 40.5 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The spread between these extremes is 153.6 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the combo delivers 142.7 FPS on Low and 67.1 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 75.6 FPS, which is a 53% reduction. This large scaling from settings changes suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor at this resolution, as the CPU's role diminishes when pixel count increases.

Q: How much VRAM does the GPU have, and does it affect Lockdown Protocol?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 322.3 GB/s bandwidth. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (40.5 FPS) versus 4K Low (94.7 FPS) shows a 54.2 FPS difference, which is consistent with the GPU's compute and memory constraints at high settings rather than a VRAM capacity issue.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 896 out of 1,637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 55th percentile of all combos, indicating it is a mid-pack performer rather than a top-tier configuration.

Q: Is the CPU's 12-core configuration overkill for this game?

A: The data does not show any bottleneck from having fewer cores. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,282 and max-thread score of 9,983 indicate strong scaling, but the FPS differences between 1080p Low and 4K Ultra are more attributable to GPU load. The 12 cores provide headroom, but the game's performance is not limited by core count in these measurements.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern across the three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 194.1 FPS on Low, 139.6 on Medium, 121.7 on High, and 89.6 on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, those numbers drop to 142.7, 104.6, 88.3, and 67.1 respectively. At 3840x2160, the figures fall further to 94.7, 65.0, 58.5, and 40.5.

The percentage drops from 1080p to 4K are substantial. On Low settings, the FPS falls from 194.1 to 94.7 — a 51.2% reduction. On Medium, it drops from 139.6 to 65.0 — a 53.4% reduction. High settings see a drop from 121.7 to 58.5 — a 52.0% reduction. Ultra settings drop from 89.6 to 40.5 — a 54.8% reduction. These consistent reductions across all settings indicate that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance does not degrade with resolution.

The pattern is more telling when comparing setting-to-setting deltas at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 104.5 FPS (from 194.1 to 89.6). At 1440p, the difference narrows to 75.6 FPS (from 142.7 to 67.1). At 4K, the difference shrinks further to 54.2 FPS (from 94.7 to 40.5). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions is a classic sign of GPU saturation: at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even dropping to Low settings cannot fully relieve the bottleneck.

The data shows that the i7-12700KF + RX 9060 XT combo is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p, but falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K Ultra. The 4K Low result of 94.7 FPS is still playable, but the steep drop to 40.5 FPS at Ultra underscores the GPU's limits at this resolution. For 1440p, the combo delivers 67.1 FPS at Ultra, which is above 60 FPS and suggests a sweet spot for visual fidelity versus frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 896 out of 1,637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 55th percentile of all tested systems. This is a mid-pack ranking, which may seem underwhelming given the CPU's strong benchmark scores, but it reflects the GPU's performance class rather than any CPU deficiency.

The CPU itself ranks in the 89th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 35,355. This indicates the i7-12700KF is a top-tier CPU in isolation. However, the GPU's 50th percentile ranking (with an average benchmark score of 0, as no GPU benchmarks are listed) pulls the combo down in the overall ranking. The discrepancy between CPU and GPU percentiles explains why the combo sits near the middle of the pack: the CPU has headroom to spare, but the GPU caps the system's overall performance.

The nearest CPU rivals — the i5-14400, i7-13800H, and i9-12900HX — all score within 0.3% of the i7-12700KF, so CPU choice is not the differentiator here. The combo rank of 896 out of 1,637 suggests that many other combinations with higher-tier GPUs will outperform this setup, but it also means the combo beats roughly half of all tested configurations. For a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU, this ranking is consistent with expectations: the system performs well in CPU-bound scenarios but is held back by GPU limits at higher resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB is a RDNA 4.0 architecture GPU built on a 4 nm process, with a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2530 MHz, and a boost clock of 3130 MHz. It features 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 32 RT cores. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) on a 128-bit bus, yielding 322.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's peak FP32 throughput is 25.64 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The GPU's role in Lockdown Protocol is dominant, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the GPU can push 194.1 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 40.5 FPS. This 79.1% reduction from the best to worst case highlights the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth constraints at high pixel counts. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not directly measured as a limiting factor, but the steep performance drop from Low to Ultra at 4K (54.2 FPS) suggests that the GPU's shading and rasterization throughput, rather than VRAM capacity, is the bottleneck.

The GPU's 50th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 0, indicates it sits at the median of the GPU performance distribution. This is a mid-range part that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming well but struggles at 4K Ultra. The boost clock of 3130 MHz is high for a mid-range GPU, and the 322.3 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but not sufficient for 4K Ultra settings where memory bandwidth demands increase significantly.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences. At 1080p, the combo achieves 121.7 FPS on High and 89.6 FPS on Ultra, which are playable but not exceptional. At 1440p, the combo still delivers 88.3 FPS on High and 67.1 FPS on Ultra, making 1440p a viable resolution for this GPU. At 4K, only Low settings (94.7 FPS) and Medium (65.0 FPS) break the 60 FPS barrier, while High (58.5 FPS) and Ultra (40.5 FPS) fall short.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 194.1 FPS on Low, 139.6 FPS on Medium, 121.7 FPS on High, and 89.6 FPS on Ultra. The gap from Low to Ultra is 104.5 FPS, which is a 53.8% reduction in frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the numbers are 142.7 FPS on Low, 104.6 FPS on Medium, 88.3 FPS on High, and 67.1 FPS on Ultra. The gap from Low to Ultra is 75.6 FPS, a 53.0% reduction. This shows that the relative impact of settings is similar at 1440p and 1080p, but the absolute FPS values are lower due to the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 94.7 FPS on Low, 65.0 FPS on Medium, 58.5 FPS on High, and 40.5 FPS on Ultra. The gap from Low to Ultra is 54.2 FPS, a 57.2% reduction. This larger percentage drop at 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming more saturated, and the settings are having a relatively larger impact on performance.

The best FPS in the entire dataset is 194.1 at 1080p Low, while the worst is 40.5 at 4K Ultra. The median across all 12 measured configurations is 91.5 FPS (the average of the 6th and 7th values: 94.7 and 88.3). The data shows that the combo is most comfortable at 1080p, where it exceeds 120 FPS on High and 194 FPS on Low. At 1440p, it still provides playable frame rates at all settings, with Ultra hitting 67.1 FPS. At 4K, only Low and Medium settings exceed 60 FPS, making it a marginal 4K solution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data allows for a clear recommendation based on resolution and target frame rate. For 1080p gaming, Ultra settings at 89.6 FPS are fully playable and provide the best visual fidelity. If a higher frame rate is preferred for competitive play, High at 121.7 FPS or Medium at 139.6 FPS are both strong options, while Low at 194.1 FPS is optimal for maximum refresh rate on high-Hz monitors.

For 1440p, Ultra at 67.1 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold and delivers the best image quality. High at 88.3 FPS is a more comfortable choice for maintaining a stable frame rate with headroom, while Medium at 104.6 FPS balances quality and performance well. Low at 142.7 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes frame rate over all else.

For 4K, the choices are more constrained. Ultra at 40.5 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. High at 58.5 FPS is borderline and may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay, but Medium at 65.0 FPS is the better choice for a consistent 60+ FPS experience. Low at 94.7 FPS sacrifices visual quality for a comfortable frame rate, making it the best option for 4K on this GPU.

The data indicates that the combo's sweet spot is 1440p High or Ultra, where it delivers 88.3 FPS or 67.1 FPS respectively. This provides a good balance between visual fidelity and performance. For 1080p, the combo has ample power to run Ultra settings while maintaining high frame rates, and for 4K, Medium settings offer the best compromise at 65.0 FPS. The recommendation is to use Ultra at 1080p, High or Ultra at 1440p, and Medium at 4K, based on the measured FPS figures.