Lockdown Protocol

The data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti reveals a configuration that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions but exceptionally capable at 1080p. The measured results show a clear scaling pattern: as resolution increases, the frame rate drops proportionally, indicating that the RTX 5070 Ti is the primary bottleneck in this pairing. The combo achieves a strong rank within the database, placing it in the top tier of tested configurations for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 194 FPS, which is already a very high refresh rate experience. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 142 FPS, a reduction of 52 FPS (approximately 27%). At 4K, the average falls further to 92 FPS, which is a 102 FPS drop from 1080p. This scaling pattern—where each step up in resolution costs a significant number of frames—indicates that the GPU’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

This conclusion is reinforced by the Low settings data. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 313 FPS, which is a massive 119 FPS advantage over High settings at the same resolution. This gap suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is less strained, allowing the CPU to push more frames. However, even at 4K Low, the average is 148 FPS, which is still higher than 1080p High. This means that the resolution scaling is not purely linear; the GPU’s workload at higher resolutions is substantial, but the CPU can still keep up with the lower graphical demands at 4K Low.

The 4K Medium setting shows an average of 105 FPS, with a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS. This variance is notable, as the 31 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates that the system is not consistently hitting a hard ceiling. In contrast, the 1440p Medium result shows a tighter range (139 FPS minimum to 188 FPS maximum, a 49 FPS spread), suggesting that at lower resolutions, the frame pacing is more consistent. The 1080p Medium range is even tighter (189 FPS minimum to 256 FPS maximum, a 67 FPS spread), but the average is 223 FPS, showing that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well at this resolution.

The most telling number is the Ultra settings at 4K, which drops to 69 FPS. This is a 24% reduction from the 4K High setting, and it highlights how demanding the Ultra preset is on the GPU. The scaling from High to Ultra at 4K is steeper than the scaling from 1440p High to 1440p Ultra, where the drop is from 142 FPS to 107 FPS. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the RTX 5070 Ti’s resources.

In summary, the data shows that this combo is best suited for 1440p and 1080p gaming, where it can deliver high refresh rates. At 4K, it is still playable at High settings, but Ultra settings will push it below the 70 FPS threshold, which may be undesirable for fast-paced FPS gameplay. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s performance headroom is not fully utilized until the resolution drops to 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate for this configuration. At 1440p Medium, the combo achieves 163 FPS, which is a 21 FPS improvement over High settings (142 FPS) while still maintaining a visually rich experience. The minimum frame rate of 139 FPS at 1440p Medium is also strong, ensuring that the gameplay remains smooth even during intense scenes. At 1080p Medium, the average is 223 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, and the minimum of 189 FPS is still above the 144Hz refresh rate threshold.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset is the clear choice. At 1080p Low, the system hits 313 FPS, which is the highest average recorded across all tested configurations. Even at 1440p Low, the 230 FPS average is sufficient for the fastest gaming monitors. However, this comes at the cost of visual fidelity. The High preset at 1080p (194 FPS) and 1440p (142 FPS) provides a middle ground, but the data suggests that the jump from Medium to High yields a smaller performance penalty than the jump from High to Ultra.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo at any resolution above 1080p. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 107 FPS, which is still playable, but at 4K Ultra, the 69 FPS average is below the 70 FPS threshold that many FPS players consider minimum for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset appears to be designed for future hardware or for users who prioritize absolute visual quality over frame rate. Benchmark results indicate that Medium is the sweet spot for this game, as it provides a substantial frame rate boost over High while maintaining a level of detail that is likely indistinguishable from High in fast-paced action.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align with the observed performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s. This large memory capacity is more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol at 4K, even with High settings, as the game does not appear to be memory-constrained based on the frame rate scaling. The 896.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution assets do not become a bottleneck.

The GPU’s clock speeds are also a factor. The base clock is 2295 MHz, with a boost clock of 2452 MHz. These clocks are relatively high, and the boost behavior explains why the GPU can maintain strong performance at 1440p and 1080p. The 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores are present, but Lockdown Protocol’s performance scaling suggests that the game is primarily rasterization-bound, as the frame rate drops are consistent with raw pixel throughput rather than ray tracing or AI workloads.

The GPU’s FP32 performance is 43.94 TFLOPS, which is a high figure that directly translates to the observed frame rates. The 8960 shading units are fully utilized at higher resolutions, which is why the 4K Ultra setting struggles to maintain 70 FPS. The data shows that the RTX 5070 Ti is a capable 4K GPU, but only when settings are moderated. Its 16 GB VRAM is a future-proofing advantage, and the 300 W TDP suggests that it is a power-hungry part, but the benchmark results show that it delivers on its performance potential.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 341st out of 3714 tested configurations. This places it in the top 9.2% of all combos, which is a strong result. The rank is a composite measure, likely accounting for average frame rates across multiple resolutions and settings. Given that the GPU alone achieves an 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, and the CPU achieves an 85th percentile ranking, the combination is well-matched and performs as expected.

The combo’s rank of 341 suggests that there are 340 configurations that outperform it, but these are likely to feature more powerful GPUs such as the RTX 5090 or newer flagship parts. The nearest rivals for the GPU include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, which has a 2% higher average benchmark score, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, which is 3.1% lower. This indicates that the RTX 5070 Ti is positioned between these two AMD cards in raw compute, but in Lockdown Protocol, the actual frame rates will depend on driver optimization and game-specific scaling. The CPU’s nearest rival is the Intel Core i7-13700T, which is 0.1% faster in average score, showing that the i7-12700KF is effectively at parity with its newer, lower-power sibling.

The combination’s rank is not surprising given the hardware. The i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and the RTX 5070 Ti is a high-end Blackwell GPU. The data shows that this combo is capable of delivering high frame rates at 1440p and 1080p, which is the target audience for this pairing. It is not the absolute top-tier combo, but it is firmly in the upper echelon.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF plays a supporting role in this configuration, but its specifications ensure that it does not bottleneck the RTX 5070 Ti. The CPU has 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The 25 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for gaming workloads, and the Alder Lake architecture provides strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4071.

The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 14367. However, in Lockdown Protocol, the frame rates at 1080p Low (313 FPS) versus 1080p High (194 FPS) show that the CPU can push well over 300 FPS when the GPU is not the limiting factor. This indicates that the CPU has significant headroom, and the GPU is the component that determines the final frame rate in most scenarios.

The 20 threads are likely not fully utilized in this game, as FPS titles typically scale well up to 8 cores, but the extra threads ensure that background tasks do not interfere with gameplay. The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is a high-performance part, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-12700K (0.2% faster), show that it is at the top of its class. The i7-12700KF’s unlocked multiplier allows for overclocking, which could provide a small performance boost, but the measured data already shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo can achieve in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 313 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, at 4K with High settings, the combo delivers 92 FPS average. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average drops to 69 FPS, which may be below the preference for some FPS players.

Q: How much faster is the Medium preset compared to High at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset achieves 163 FPS average, which is 21 FPS higher than the High preset’s 142 FPS.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 341st out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the top 9.2% of all configurations.

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

A: The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 313 FPS, but at 4K High, it drops to 92 FPS, indicating the GPU’s rendering load is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and size?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s.