Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination in Lockdown Protocol demonstrates a predictable scaling pattern, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 144.5 FPS, which drops to 88.9 FPS at High settings, a 38.4% reduction. Moving to 1440p, the frame rate at High settings falls to 67.9 FPS, representing a 23.6% decrease from the 1080p High result. At 4K, the High preset yields 42.7 FPS, a further 37.1% drop from 1440p. This scaling curve indicates that the system is heavily GPU-limited at 4K, as the performance loss from 1440p to 4K is proportionally larger than the loss from 1080p to 1440p. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions: at 1080p, the difference is 73.8 FPS (144.5 vs 70.7), while at 4K, the gap shrinks to 39.2 FPS (72 vs 32.8), suggesting the GPU saturates before the CPU can flex its muscle. The 4K Low result of 72 FPS versus 4K High's 42.7 FPS highlights how much headroom exists in the CPU, as the GPU struggles to feed frames regardless of quality presets. Benchmark results indicate that players targeting 60 FPS will need to stay at 1440p Medium or below, since 1440p Medium delivers 78.5 FPS and 4K Medium manages 50.4 FPS. The data shows a system that excels at 1080p competitive play but requires significant settings compromises for 4K gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF brings substantial processing power to Lockdown Protocol, and its influence is most visible at lower resolutions where the GPU is less taxed. This processor features 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, built on Intel's 10 nm Alder Lake architecture. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 28979 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 4091 in single-core, with a PassMark multithread score of 34092 and a single-thread score of 3984. The CPU's 3DMark results show strong scaling from 2 threads (2065) to max threads (9983), indicating good multi-threading efficiency. In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes evident when comparing 1080p Low (144.5 FPS) to 1080p High (88.9 FPS); the 55.6 FPS difference is primarily due to increased GPU workload rather than CPU limits. However, the fact that 4K Low still achieves 72 FPS suggests the CPU can feed frames faster than the RTX 2060 can render them at that resolution. The processor's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support help maintain consistent frame delivery. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-12700KF averages 35355 in overall benchmark scores, sitting 0.1% above the Intel Core i5-14400 (35336) and 0.2% above the Intel Core i9-12900HX (35289). The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all processors indicates it is a high-tier part, yet in this game combo, the data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor well before the CPU's capabilities are exhausted at resolutions above 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the decisive component in this pairing, and its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth proves to be the major constraint at higher resolutions. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1365 MHz with a boost of 1680 MHz, featuring 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Its Turing architecture includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, though Lockdown Protocol appears to rely primarily on rasterization performance. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 14111 places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. In the game's measured results, the RTX 2060's memory bandwidth becomes the bottleneck at 4K, where even Low settings only produce 72 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings (88.9 to 67.9 FPS) shows a 23.6% performance hit, while the jump from 1440p to 4K (67.9 to 42.7 FPS) costs another 37.1%. This pattern indicates that the 6 GB VRAM capacity is likely being exceeded at 4K Ultra, where the combo manages just 32.8 FPS. The GPU's 12 nm process node and 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die contribute to its 160 W TDP. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 2060 scores 0.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996) and 1.8% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786), but trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M by 1.7% (16351). The data reveals that the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rates in this combo across all tested resolutions, with the CPU rarely becoming the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific configuration of the Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1319 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the bottom 19.4% of all tested systems, a surprisingly low position given the CPU's strength. The ranking suggests that the RTX 2060 significantly drags down the overall performance potential of the i7-12700KF. The CPU alone sits in the 89th percentile of all processors, while the GPU only reaches the 58th percentile of all graphics cards. This mismatch explains the combo's low rank: a high-end processor is being paired with a mid-range GPU, and in a game like Lockdown Protocol that appears to be GPU-bound at most settings, the CPU's power goes largely unused. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation, as the system cannot exceed 144.5 FPS even at 1080p Low, which is below what the CPU could theoretically support. The combo's rank of 1319 indicates that the majority of tested combos (318 of them) deliver better performance, likely due to more balanced pairings or stronger GPUs. The data shows that while the i7-12700KF provides excellent headroom for future GPU upgrades, the current RTX 2060 limits the system to mid-range performance levels in this title. The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals (all within 0.3% of its average score) confirm that processor choice is not the differentiating factor here; the GPU is.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Lockdown Protocol?*

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p Medium provides 100.6 FPS, while 1080p High delivers 88.9 FPS. For a 60 FPS target, 1440p Medium achieves 78.5 FPS, making it the highest resolution with comfortable margins above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K, the system manages 72 FPS on Low, 50.4 FPS on Medium, 42.7 FPS on High, and only 32.8 FPS on Ultra settings. This indicates that 4K gaming requires Low or Medium settings for playable frame rates.

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

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The i7-12700KF ranks in the 89th percentile of CPUs, while the RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile of GPUs. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows performance dropping by over 70% (144.5 to 42.7 FPS at High), which is characteristic of GPU limitation.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1319 out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 19.4% of systems. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU's mid-range performance relative to the CPU's high-end capabilities.

Q: What are the closest competing GPUs to the RTX 2060?

A: The nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (0.5% higher average score), AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (1.7% higher), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (1.7% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (1.8% lower). The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 16074.

Q: What clock speeds does the CPU achieve?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its single-thread performance scores include 4091 in Cinebench R23 and 3984 in PassMark, while multi-thread scores reach 28979 in Cinebench R23 and 34092 in PassMark.