The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting scaling challenge for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. The measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at lower resolutions but begins to show its CPU limitations at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the exact performance metrics, component roles, and what they mean for playability across common monitor configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional headroom. With Low settings, the average FPS reaches 248.5, which is the highest recorded figure for this pairing. Moving to Medium drops the average to 228.5, while High still maintains a robust 196.7 FPS. The most demanding Ultra preset at this resolution yields 150.7 FPS on average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a performance cost of roughly 97.8 FPS, yet even the lowest figure far exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with tighter margins. Low settings produce 192.7 FPS, Medium results in 151.3 FPS, and High delivers 128.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 97.2 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS. The resolution jump from 1080p to 1440p costs approximately 55.8 FPS on Low settings and 53.5 FPS on Ultra, indicating a consistent scaling penalty across presets.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to feel the strain. Low settings average 106.8 FPS, Medium drops to 83.9 FPS, and High comes in at 68.7 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the playable threshold at 56.5 FPS, marking the only configuration in the entire dataset that fails to maintain 60 FPS. The 4K resolution penalty relative to 1440p is substantial: Low loses 85.9 FPS, Medium loses 67.4 FPS, High loses 59.5 FPS, and Ultra loses 40.7 FPS.

The data shows no min or max FPS values recorded, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates. This means stutter and frame-time consistency cannot be assessed, but the averages provide a clear picture of overall performance headroom.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 150.7 FPS. This leaves enormous headroom, suggesting the game will run flawlessly even during intense combat sequences.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is also Ultra, averaging 97.2 FPS. While this is significantly lower than the 1080p result, it still provides a smooth experience with room to spare before hitting the 60 FPS threshold.

The 3840x2160 case is more nuanced. The best setting that maintains at least 60 FPS is High, averaging 68.7 FPS. This is a narrow margin of just 8.7 FPS above the threshold. The Ultra preset at this resolution fails to reach playability at 56.5 FPS, making High the clear ceiling for 4K gaming with this combo. Interestingly, the gap between High and Ultra at 4K is only 12.2 FPS, so players seeking visual fidelity may not lose much by dropping to High.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling data reveals distinct phases of bottleneck behavior. At 1080p, the GPU is the clear limiting factor. The difference between Low and Ultra is 97.8 FPS, and the absolute numbers are so high that the CPU (with a 73rd percentile rank among all CPUs) is likely feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them. This is classic GPU-bound behavior.

Moving to 1440p, the pattern remains GPU-bound, but the margins compress. The Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 95.5 FPS, and the overall FPS drops by about 20-25% across presets compared to 1080p. The RTX 4080 SUPER, with its 86th percentile rank among GPUs, still has plenty of computational headroom at this resolution.

The 4K results tell a different story. The Low-to-Ultra gap shrinks dramatically to 50.3 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS. This suggests the GPU is now the primary constraint, but the CPU is also contributing to the bottleneck. The i5-12400F's six cores and 12 threads, while capable, may struggle to keep up with the RTX 4080 SUPER's demand for draw calls and physics at this resolution. The fact that Ultra at 4K only loses 40.7 FPS compared to 1440p, while High loses 59.5 FPS, hints that the CPU is becoming a limiting factor in the highest-detail settings.

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K is not linear. For Low settings, the FPS drops from 248.5 to 106.8, a 57% reduction. For Ultra, the drop is from 150.7 to 56.5, a 62.5% reduction. This disproportionate scaling at Ultra suggests the game's most demanding settings impose a heavier CPU load, which the i5-12400F cannot fully mitigate.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination ranks 302nd out of 3696 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the top 8.2% of all configurations tested, which is a strong result given the game's age and the hardware's modern architecture. The rank reflects a system that can handle the game with ease at most settings, but the 4K Ultra shortfall prevents a higher placement.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for this ranking. The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209 on average, which is within 0.1% of the standard RTX 4080 (54,247). The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828, a 1.1% difference, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698, a 2.7% difference. These small margins suggest that swapping to any of these GPUs would yield nearly identical frame rates in this game.

On the CPU side, the i5-12400F's average benchmark score of 19,039 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19,047, 0% delta), the Intel Core 3 201E (19,056, -0.1% delta), and the Intel Core i5-1335U (18,982, 0.3% delta). The AMD EPYC 7773X also matches at 18,979 (0.3% delta). This means the CPU's performance level is broadly representative of mid-range laptop and desktop chips from the same era.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Technomancer at 4K with all settings maxed?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 56.5, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. You would need to drop to High settings for a playable 68.7 FPS.

Q: What is the highest settings preset that maintains 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 average 97.2 FPS, so this preset is fully playable with significant headroom.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 248.5 at 1080p to 192.7 at 1440p, a loss of 55.8 FPS. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 150.7 to 97.2, a loss of 53.5 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. The FPS values are so high across all presets (ranging from 150.7 to 248.5) that the CPU is likely delivering frames faster than the GPU can process them.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER outperform the standard RTX 4080 in this game?

A: The average benchmark scores are nearly identical: 54,209 for the SUPER versus 54,247 for the standard RTX 4080, a delta of just -0.1%. In practice, performance would be indistinguishable.

Q: What resolution is best for consistent 60+ FPS with this combo?

A: All three tested resolutions offer playable settings, but only at 4K is there a limitation. Both 1080p and 1440p allow Ultra settings with averages of 150.7 FPS and 97.2 FPS respectively.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run The Technomancer, and it does so with remarkable ease across most configurations. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low to Ultra clears 60 FPS, with the lowest average being 150.7 FPS at Ultra. The 2560x1440 resolution is equally impressive, with Ultra averaging 97.2 FPS and all other presets exceeding 128 FPS.

The only caveat appears at 3840x2160. The Ultra preset falls short at 56.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. However, dropping to High settings restores playability at 68.7 FPS, and Low settings push all the way to 106.8 FPS. For 4K gamers, the choice is clear: use High settings for a fluid experience, or accept the sub-60 FPS average at Ultra if visual fidelity takes priority.

The verdictByResolution data confirms this assessment: 1080p and 1440p both support Ultra as the best playable setting, while 4K caps out at High. This is a highly capable gaming system for a title from 2016, with enough headroom for modern games at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

If you are considering nearby hardware, the data from nearestRivals provides direct comparisons. For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the closest match, with an average score of 54,247 versus the 4080 SUPER's 54,209 — a negligible -0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828 (-1.1%), while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698 (-2.7%). These GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in The Technomancer, meaning you would likely see the same 4K Ultra shortfall and similar 1080p/1440p performance.

On the CPU side, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS matches the i5-12400F almost exactly at 19,047 (0% delta). The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19,056 (-0.1%), and the Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18,982 (0.3%). The AMD EPYC 7773X also lands at 18,979 (0.3%). Swapping to any of these CPUs would not meaningfully change the gaming experience, as the i5-12400F is already positioned in a performance band where the GPU dominates at 1080p and 1440p, and the CPU bottleneck at 4K Ultra would remain similar.

The practical takeaway is that this combo's performance profile is robust and reproducible. If you have a system with an RTX 4080-class GPU and a mid-range 12th-gen Intel CPU, you can expect the exact behavior described here: excellent 1080p and 1440p playability, and a 4K experience that requires a slight settings reduction to maintain 60 FPS.