The Technomancer

Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is an unusual pairing: a mid-range 14th Gen CPU from 2023 alongside NVIDIA's flagship Blackwell GPU from 2025. In The Technomancer, the data shows this combination is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU only becoming relevant at 1080p. The game, a 2016 Action RPG, is not particularly demanding by modern standards, and this hardware obliterates it at every preset and resolution tested. Benchmark results indicate every single configuration clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the weakest result being 62.2 FPS at 4K Ultra — still playable, but a sign that even this monster GPU hits a wall at maximum settings in 4K.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: the RTX 5090 is doing nearly all the heavy lifting, and the i5-14600K is rarely the bottleneck. At 1080p, the spread between Low and Ultra settings is 304.1 FPS down to 172.7 FPS, a difference of 131.4 FPS. This wide gap indicates the GPU is fully utilized even at low resolutions, and the CPU is feeding frames fast enough to let the GPU stretch its legs. At 4K, the same settings spread is 119.8 FPS (Low) to 62.2 FPS (Ultra), a difference of 57.6 FPS — the GPU is now the limiting factor, as resolution scaling demands more from the graphics card than the processor.

The scaling between resolutions tells the story clearly. At High settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p drops the average from 225.3 FPS to 147.2 FPS, a reduction of 78.1 FPS (roughly 35%). Going from 1440p to 4K at High drops it further to 79.8 FPS, another 67.4 FPS reduction (roughly 46%). This near-linear scaling with pixel count confirms the GPU is the dominant component. The i5-14600K's role is to feed the RTX 5090, and with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064, it has ample headroom even in CPU-intensive scenes.

At Ultra settings, the pattern intensifies. 1080p Ultra delivers 172.7 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 117 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 62.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling: it is the only measured configuration below 100 FPS, and it barely clears the 60 FPS threshold. This suggests The Technomancer's Ultra preset includes effects that scale heavily with resolution, such as high-resolution shadows or post-processing, which overwhelm even the RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4270 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is far more capable than this 2016 title requires.

Preset scaling at each resolution reinforces this. At 1080p, Low to Medium gains 43.1 FPS (304.1 to 261.0), Medium to High loses 35.7 FPS (261.0 to 225.3), and High to Ultra loses another 52.6 FPS (225.3 to 172.7). The non-linear scaling — where Ultra costs more performance than Medium costs over Low — points to specific Ultra-only effects that are GPU-intensive. At 4K, the same pattern holds: Low to Medium is 119.8 to 93.1 (a 26.7 FPS drop), Medium to High is 93.1 to 79.8 (a 13.3 FPS drop), but High to Ultra is 79.8 to 62.2 (a 17.6 FPS drop). The GPU is the clear bottleneck at 4K Ultra, while at 1080p the CPU could theoretically limit frame rates above 300 FPS, but the data shows no such limitation.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the goal is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, and the data shows every preset qualifies. At 3840x2160, Ultra is the best choice, delivering an average of 62.2 FPS. This is a narrow margin above the 60 FPS threshold, so players who prefer headroom might drop to High (79.8 FPS) or Medium (93.1 FPS), but Ultra is technically playable. At 2560x1440, Ultra runs at 117 FPS average, which is comfortably above the threshold and offers a significant visual upgrade over High (147.2 FPS) — though the gap between High and Ultra is 30.2 FPS, so those with 144Hz monitors might favor High.

At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers 172.7 FPS, which is far beyond any standard 60 Hz or 144 Hz display's needs. This is the clear best setting, as the performance cost of Ultra over High (52.6 FPS) is irrelevant when both are well above 100 FPS. The data shows no scenario where the 60 FPS threshold is at risk: even the worst case, 4K Ultra, has a 2.2 FPS margin. For a game from 2016, this hardware is overkill at every resolution, and the only reason to lower settings would be to reduce GPU load or power consumption — the RTX 5090 has a 575 W TDP and the system's suggested PSU is 950 W.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Technomancer at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 62.2 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. It is the tightest margin in the data, so expect occasional dips below 60 in heavy scenes.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144 Hz monitor?

A: At 2560x1440, Ultra settings average 117 FPS, which is below 144 Hz but playable. For a full 144 Hz experience, 1080p Ultra averages 172.7 FPS, and 1440p High averages 147.2 FPS — both exceed the refresh rate.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K at the same settings?

A: At High settings, 1080p averages 225.3 FPS and 4K averages 79.8 FPS, a reduction of 145.5 FPS. At Ultra, the drop is 172.7 FPS to 62.2 FPS, a reduction of 110.5 FPS.

Q: Which is the bottleneck, the i5-14600K or the RTX 5090?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, where Ultra settings drop to 62.2 FPS. At 1080p, the CPU is not limiting, as the 304.1 FPS Low result indicates the RTX 5090 is still the constraint, not the processor.

Q: Is Low settings ever necessary for playability?

A: No. Every preset at every resolution exceeds 60 FPS. The lowest measured result is 4K Ultra at 62.2 FPS, so Low settings are only useful for maximizing frame rates on very high refresh displays.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 62nd out of 3696 combos in the game's database, placing it in the top 2% of all tested hardware pairings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 119.8 FPS average
• Medium: 93.1 FPS average
• High: 79.8 FPS average
• Ultra: 62.2 FPS average

The 4K results show a steady decline as settings increase. Low to Medium is a 26.7 FPS drop, Medium to High is a 13.3 FPS drop, and High to Ultra is a 17.6 FPS drop. The Ultra preset is the only one below 100 FPS, and its 62.2 FPS average is the single lowest number in the entire dataset. This resolution is where the RTX 5090's limits become visible.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 223.2 FPS average
• Medium: 171.1 FPS average
• High: 147.2 FPS average
• Ultra: 117 FPS average

At 1440p, the GPU has plenty of headroom. The gap between Low and Medium is 52.1 FPS, Medium to High is 23.9 FPS, and High to Ultra is 30.2 FPS. All four settings are well above 100 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh gaming. The 117 FPS Ultra result is nearly double the 4K Ultra figure.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 304.1 FPS average
• Medium: 261 FPS average
• High: 225.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 172.7 FPS average

1080p is where the RTX 5090 is barely challenged. Even Ultra settings nearly triple the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 131.4 FPS total drop, but every setting is above 170 FPS. This resolution is clearly CPU-bound territory, but the i5-14600K's 14 cores and 20 threads handle it without issue, as evidenced by the 304.1 FPS Low result.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618, and its nearest rivals are all within a 1.5% margin. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698 (0.2% higher), the AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470 (0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287 (0.7% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995 (0.8% higher). Any of these would deliver near-identical CPU performance in The Technomancer, though the Xeon and EPYC are server-class parts with different platform requirements. For gaming, the Core Ultra 5 245 is the closest mainstream alternative.

For the GPU, the RTX 5090's average benchmark score is 79842, and its nearest rivals are similarly close. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605 (0.3% lower), the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79396 (0.6% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940 (1.1% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80959 (1.4% higher). Note that the Tesla P100 cards are data-center accelerators without display outputs, and the RX 6850M XT is a mobile GPU, so in practice these are not direct substitutes for a desktop gaming build. The Pro Vega 64X is a workstation card. For actual gaming, the RTX 5090 stands alone in this list, but the benchmark data indicates these parts would produce similar frame rates if they could be installed in a gaming system.

The game's combo rank of 62 out of 3696 places this pairing in the top 1.7% of all tested combinations. The nearest CPU rivals would shift this rank only marginally, as their benchmark scores differ by less than 1%. The GPU rivals, while close in synthetic benchmarks, may not translate to identical gaming performance due to driver and architecture differences, but the measured FPS data shows the RTX 5090 has enough headroom that a 1% delta would not change any playability verdict.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Technomancer at every resolution and preset combination tested, with no exceptions. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, the best settings are Ultra with an average of 62.2 FPS; at 2560x1440, Ultra averages 117 FPS; and at 1920x1080, Ultra averages 172.7 FPS. All three resolutions list High, Low, Medium, and Ultra as playable, meaning the 60 FPS threshold is cleared across the board.

The 4K Ultra result is the only concern — a 62.2 FPS average leaves just 2.2 FPS of headroom. The data does not include minimum FPS figures, so frame-time spikes could push the experience below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. For a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, High settings (79.8 FPS) provide a safer margin. At 1440p and 1080p, there is no such concern: even the most demanding preset at 1440p (117 FPS) has nearly double the threshold, and 1080p Ultra (172.7 FPS) has nearly triple.

The i5-14600K is not a limiting factor at any resolution. Its 90th percentile CPU ranking and strong single-thread performance ensure it feeds the RTX 5090 adequately. The GPU is the sole determinant of performance, and it is more than sufficient for this 2016 title. The only scenario where this hardware would be challenged is if the game had uncapped frame rates and the user demanded 300+ FPS at 1080p Low — the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4270 and the GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance suggest it could approach that, but the measured data stops at 304.1 FPS. In practical terms, this is a top-tier configuration for The Technomancer, ranking in the 98th percentile of all tested combos, and it will run the game flawlessly at any setting the player chooses.