The Technomancer

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a clear, resolution-dependent performance story in The Technomancer. At 1920x1080, this combo is overwhelmingly capable, pushing well past the 60 FPS threshold at every preset tested. Moving to 2560x1440, the system remains playable at most settings but begins to show strain at the top end. At 3840x2160, the combination falls short of smooth gameplay across the board, with even the lowest settings failing to reach the 60 FPS playability mark. The benchmark data reveals a system that excels at mainstream resolutions but is not suited for 4K gaming in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of how the i5-12400 and RTX 5050 handle The Technomancer across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the performance is consistently high. The Low preset achieves an average of 150 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure in the entire dataset. Moving up to Medium, the average drops to 115 FPS, with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. The High preset delivers 98 FPS on average, while the most demanding Ultra preset still maintains a solid 77 FPS average. All 1080p results sit comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold, indicating that this resolution presents no challenge for the hardware.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down noticeably but remains respectable. The Low preset averages 98 FPS, identical to the 1080p High result. Medium produces an average of 75 FPS, with a minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 87 FPS. The High preset averages 64 FPS, which is right at the edge of the playable threshold. The Ultra preset, however, falls below the line with an average of 50 FPS. This shows a clear progression: the higher the settings, the closer the system gets to struggling at this resolution.

The 3840x2160 results paint a different picture entirely. No preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset comes closest with an average of 54 FPS, followed by Medium at 41 FPS (with a minimum of 35 FPS and maximum of 48 FPS), High at 35 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial—a 26 FPS difference—indicating that even at 4K, the settings scaling has a significant impact. However, the base performance level is too low for any preset to provide a smooth experience.

The data also reveals the scaling pattern between resolutions. At Medium settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces the average FPS from 115 to 75, a drop of 40 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium reduces it further to 41 FPS. This consistent degradation across resolutions suggests the RTX 5050's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are the limiting factors, as the pixel throughput demands grow exponentially.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the "best settings" are defined as the most demanding preset that still maintains an average FPS at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1920x1080, this is the Ultra preset, which achieves an average of 77 FPS. This is a strong result—the system can run the game at its highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the playability cutoff. The fact that even Ultra stays above 60 FPS indicates the CPU and GPU combination has ample headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are High, with an average of 64 FPS. This is a much narrower margin—just 4 FPS above the threshold. The Medium preset also clears the bar at 75 FPS, but High offers better visual fidelity while still remaining playable. The Ultra preset falls short at 50 FPS, so it cannot be recommended for a smooth experience at this resolution. The jump from 1080p Ultra (77 FPS) to 1440p High (64 FPS) shows that the system sacrifices one full quality tier when moving up in resolution.

At 3840x2160, there is no playable settings preset. Even the Low preset averages only 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict data confirms this, listing an empty array of playable settings for 4K. This means the system cannot deliver a smooth experience at this resolution under any tested configuration. The best-case scenario at 4K is Low at 54 FPS, which is close to playable but still falls short.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination is ranked 2269 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the overall distribution—roughly in the 61st percentile of all tested configurations. The rank reflects a system that is capable for 1080p and 1440p gaming but not exceptional, especially when compared against higher-end hardware that can handle 4K.

Interpreting this rank in context, the system sits below the median of all tested combos. Given that the game was released in 2016, many older or more powerful configurations likely achieve higher scores. The rank of 2269 suggests that this particular pairing is neither a top-tier performer nor a bottom-tier one; it is a mid-range result that aligns with the hardware's specifications. The CPU's percentile of 72 against all CPUs and the GPU's percentile of 66 against all GPUs both indicate slightly above-average components, but their combined rank in this specific game is moderated by the game's demands.

The ranking also implies that a substantial number of tested combos—over 1400—perform better than this one. These are likely systems with more powerful GPUs, as the RTX 5050's raw compute capabilities are modest compared to higher-tier Blackwell cards. Conversely, the system outperforms roughly 1400 other combos, which likely include older GPUs or weaker CPUs that struggle at higher resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683. The closest competitor is the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores 18697—a negligible 0.1 percent difference. The Intel Core i7-1355U is also nearly identical at 18730, just 0.3 percent ahead. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18811, 0.7 percent ahead. On the other side, the Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18519, which is 0.9 percent behind the i5-12400. These deltas are all within one percent, meaning any of these CPUs would deliver virtually indistinguishable performance in The Technomancer.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 21153, just 0.6 percent ahead, while the AMD Radeon HD 8970M scores 21237, 1 percent ahead. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713, which is 1.6 percent behind. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379, 1.6 percent ahead. These small percentage differences mean that swapping the RTX 5050 for any of these GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in most scenarios.

When considering a full system replacement, pairing the i5-12400 with a GPU like the RX 5600 XT (which is 1.6 percent slower) would yield nearly identical FPS at all resolutions. Conversely, using an i3-14100F with the RTX 5050 would also result in minimal changes, since that CPU is only 0.9 percent slower in overall benchmarks. The takeaway is that this specific CPU-GPU combination sits in a tightly clustered performance band, and nearby alternatives would not offer a meaningful upgrade or downgrade for this game.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data allows for an analysis of which component—CPU or GPU—plays a larger role in The Technomancer's performance at different resolutions. At 1920x1080, the CPU is likely the more significant factor. The game's relatively low resolution places less strain on the GPU, allowing the i5-12400's six cores and twelve threads to drive higher frame rates. The jump from 98 FPS at High to 150 FPS at Low (a 52 FPS difference) suggests the GPU is still the primary bottleneck even at 1080p, but the CPU's strong single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark and 2257 in Cinebench R23 indicates it can keep up with the GPU's output.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts more toward the GPU. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings is significant—for example, High goes from 98 to 64 FPS, a 34 FPS reduction. This scaling is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads, as the increased pixel count demands more from the RTX 5050's 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The CPU's role becomes less critical as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The i5-12400's benchmark scores, such as the 15989 in Cinebench R23 multicore, show it has ample headroom to feed the GPU at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the dominant component. The highest average FPS at 4K is just 54 FPS on Low settings, compared to 98 FPS at 1440p Low. This 44 FPS drop is entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to process four times the pixels of 1080p. The RTX 5050's 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM are likely saturated at this resolution, causing the severe performance collapse. The CPU's influence is minimal here, as even a significantly faster CPU would not improve the 4K results given the GPU's constraints.

The settings scaling also reveals the GPU's importance. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 73 FPS (150 to 77), while at 4K it is 26 FPS (54 to 28). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU's fixed performance ceiling becomes more apparent as resolution increases, regardless of quality settings.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Technomancer? The answer is yes, but with significant caveats depending on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the system runs the game excellently. The verdict data lists all four presets—High, Low, Medium, and Ultra—as playable, with the best settings being Ultra at an average of 77 FPS. This is a fully smooth experience at maximum quality, making it ideal for 1080p gaming.

At 2560x1440, the system is playable but with restrictions. The verdict lists High, Low, and Medium as playable settings, with High being the best at 64 FPS. This means users can enjoy the game at 1440p with high-quality visuals, but they must avoid the Ultra preset, which drops to 50 FPS. The margin above the 60 FPS threshold is slim, so any demanding scene could cause dips below playable levels.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot run the game smoothly. The verdict lists no playable settings, and the best-case scenario is Low at 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Users attempting 4K gaming would need to accept significant frame rate drops or reduce the resolution. The data is clear: this combo is not suitable for 4K in The Technomancer.

Overall, the system is a solid 1080p performer and a capable 1440p option, but it fails at 4K. The 60 FPS threshold is met at 1080p Ultra and 1440p High, providing clear guidance for users on what to expect.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in The Technomancer?

A: The highest average FPS is 150, recorded at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Can this system run the game at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings?

A: No. The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 1920x1080?

A: The Ultra preset is the best playable option at 1920x1080, achieving an average of 77 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to the RX 5600 XT in overall benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5050 scores 21035 on average, which is 1.6 percent higher than the RX 5600 XT's score of 20713.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important at 3840x2160?

A: The GPU is the dominant factor at 4K, as the data shows severe FPS drops across all settings, with the highest average being 54 FPS on Low.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combo is ranked 2269 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer.