Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol reveals a clear pattern: this combination of Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the frame rate dropping steeply as pixel count increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 69.4 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same preset drops the average to 53.8 FPS, a reduction of roughly 22%. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 35.5 FPS, representing another 34% decline from the 1440p figure.

The Low settings preset tells a similar story but with more headroom. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 114.4 FPS. At 1440p Low, it manages 82.3 FPS. At 4K Low, it still holds 54.4 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 28% drop, and from 1440p to 4K is another 34% drop. These percentages suggest the GPU is the limiting factor throughout, as the CPU's performance headroom (evidenced by its strong multi-threaded benchmark scores) is not the bottleneck at any resolution.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (114.4 FPS) and Ultra (53.7 FPS) is 60.7 FPS. At 1440p, the gap narrows to 43.9 FPS (82.3 vs 38.4). At 4K, the spread is 29.3 FPS (54.4 vs 25.1). This compression at higher resolutions reinforces that the GPU's rendering throughput, rather than CPU capability, dictates the ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 1,637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of Intel Core i7-12700KF with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB holds the 1,477th position. That places it in the lower 10% of all tested configurations, which is consistent with the GPU being an entry-level part relative to the broader field. The CPU itself is not the constraint; the i7-12700KF ranks in the 89th percentile against all CPUs in general benchmark data, sitting within 0.3% of the Intel Core i5-14400, Intel Core i7-13800H, Intel Core i9-12900HX, and Intel Core i5-13600T in average benchmark scores.

The low combo rank reflects the GPU's modest standing. The RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, which is exactly the median. When paired with a CPU that outperforms nearly nine out of ten alternatives, the resulting combination still lands near the bottom of the pack because Lockdown Protocol's frame rates scale primarily with graphics hardware. The data shows that users seeking higher rankings would need to pair this CPU with a stronger GPU, as the processor's benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core at 28,979 and single-core at 4,091) indicate it is capable of feeding a more powerful graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA107 chip, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It contains 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. The memory configuration is 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's base clock is 1545 MHz, boosting to 1740 MHz, with memory running at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

These specifications directly explain the measured performance. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is a notable constraint in a 2024 release like Lockdown Protocol, particularly at higher resolutions and quality presets where texture data exceeds available memory. The 192.0 GB/s bandwidth also limits how quickly texture data can be streamed, which becomes more critical at 4K. The card's compute capabilities include 2,048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, 16 ray tracing cores, and 64 tensor cores, yielding 7.127 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. With a TDP of 90 W and a suggested PSU of 250 W, this is a low-power part, and the measured frame rates reflect its entry-level positioning.

The GPU's percentile rank of 50 means half of all GPUs score higher in general benchmarks. In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the impact shows in the Ultra preset numbers: 53.7 FPS at 1080p, 38.4 FPS at 1440p, and 25.1 FPS at 4K. These figures indicate the card can handle lower presets at mainstream resolutions but struggles with maximum quality settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings produces playable results on the Low and Medium presets. Low delivers 114.4 FPS average, Medium drops to 80.2 FPS, High comes in at 69.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 53.7 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 34.2 FPS reduction, while the step from Medium to High is 10.8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 15.7 FPS. This suggests diminishing returns from Low to Medium are not yet severe, but the jump to Ultra imposes a significant cost.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 82.3 FPS on Low, 57.2 FPS on Medium, 53.8 FPS on High, and 38.4 FPS on Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 25.1 FPS, Medium to High is 3.4 FPS (a minimal difference), and High to Ultra is 15.4 FPS. The small gap between Medium and High at this resolution indicates the GPU is already approaching its throughput ceiling, and the quality settings have less impact on the final result.

At 3840x2160, Low produces 54.4 FPS, Medium yields 39.3 FPS, High manages 35.5 FPS, and Ultra delivers 25.1 FPS. The Low to Medium drop is 15.1 FPS, Medium to High is 3.8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 10.4 FPS. At 4K, even the Low preset barely crosses 60 FPS, and Ultra falls below 30 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced FPS.

FAQ

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

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 114.4 FPS and Medium reaches 80.2 FPS, both well above typical refresh rates. At 1440p, only Low (82.3 FPS) stays comfortably high. At 4K, the best result is 54.4 FPS on Low.

Q: How much FPS does the Ultra preset cost compared to Low?

A: At 1080p, Ultra is 60.7 FPS lower than Low (53.7 vs 114.4). At 1440p, the gap is 43.9 FPS (38.4 vs 82.3). At 4K, Ultra is 29.3 FPS lower (25.1 vs 54.4).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The i7-12700KF ranks in the 89th percentile among CPUs, while the RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile among GPUs. The frame rate scaling across resolutions follows the GPU's expected performance curve.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Only on the Low preset, which averages 82.3 FPS. Medium (57.2 FPS), High (53.8 FPS), and Ultra (38.4 FPS) all fall below 60 FPS at 1440p.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The 4 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This capacity is limited for a 2024 FPS release, particularly at 4K Ultra where the average drops to 25.1 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Medium settings?

A: The gap is small across all resolutions. At 1080p, High is 10.8 FPS lower than Medium (69.4 vs 80.2). At 1440p, the difference is 3.4 FPS (53.8 vs 57.2). At 4K, it is 3.8 FPS (35.5 vs 39.3).

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to a clear optimal configuration for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset (80.2 FPS) offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, as High (69.4 FPS) provides only marginal quality gains for a 10.8 FPS cost, and Ultra (53.7 FPS) drops below the 60 FPS threshold. For users with higher refresh rate displays, Low (114.4 FPS) is the only preset that fully utilizes a 100 Hz+ panel.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset (82.3 FPS) is the only option that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium (57.2 FPS) and High (53.8 FPS) are nearly identical in performance, so if the visual fidelity of High is preferred, the 3.4 FPS difference is negligible. Ultra (38.4 FPS) should be avoided for competitive play but may be acceptable for slower-paced sessions.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset (54.4 FPS) is the only viable choice, and even it falls short of 60 FPS. Medium (39.3 FPS), High (35.5 FPS), and Ultra (25.1 FPS) all produce frame rates that are too low for a responsive FPS experience. The data suggests 4K gaming is not a practical target for this hardware combination, and users should either drop to 1440p or lower the resolution scale within the game's settings.

Across all resolutions, the shift from Medium to High yields minimal performance differences (between 3.4 and 10.8 FPS), making High a reasonable choice when the GPU has headroom. The Ultra preset consistently costs 15 to 29 FPS over High and should only be used when frame rate is not a priority. Given the CPU's strong benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core at 28,979), the performance ceiling in this game is firmly tied to the RTX 3050 4 GB, so settings adjustments will not unlock additional CPU-bound headroom.