The Technomancer

The Technomancer, an Action RPG from 2016, presents a fascinating performance profile when paired with the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The benchmark data indicates that this combination is overwhelmingly GPU-bound, producing exceptional frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. At 4K, the system delivers a playable experience even at High settings, while at 1440p and 1080p, it crushes the Ultra preset with frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold. The recorded data shows a system that is massively overqualified for this title, with performance scaling that suggests the CPU is rarely the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination covers three resolutions and four quality presets, with average frame rates recorded for each configuration.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 173.5 FPS average
• Medium: 160.3 FPS average
• High: 148.4 FPS average
• Ultra: 136.3 FPS average

At 1080p, the system starts at a staggering 173.5 FPS on Low and remains highly playable even at the maximum preset. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a predictable decline, with Ultra still delivering 136.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 37.2 FPS, indicating that the game's visual settings have a measurable but not drastic impact on performance at this resolution.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 150.8 FPS average
• Medium: 136.2 FPS average
• High: 132.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 107.7 FPS average

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain extremely high. Low settings produce 150.8 FPS, while Ultra drops to 107.7 FPS. Interestingly, the drop from Medium to High is relatively small (3.9 FPS), suggesting that the High preset is not significantly more demanding than Medium at this resolution. The Ultra preset takes a larger hit, falling 24.6 FPS below Low settings.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 111 FPS average
• Medium: 86.2 FPS average
• High: 73 FPS average
• Ultra: 59.9 FPS average

At 4K, the performance curve steepens considerably. Low settings still produce a very smooth 111 FPS, but each successive preset tier brings a substantial reduction. Medium drops to 86.2 FPS, High to 73 FPS, and Ultra falls to 59.9 FPS, which is just under the 60 FPS playability threshold. The data shows a 51.1 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K, the largest spread across all tested resolutions.

The minimum and maximum FPS values were not recorded in the database, so the analysis relies on average frame rates. The data indicates that this system never drops below the playable threshold in any tested configuration except for 4K Ultra, which misses the 60 FPS mark by a marginal 0.1 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

The best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that maintains an average frame rate at or above 60 FPS. The database's playable threshold is set at 60 FPS.

1920x1080: The Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering 136.3 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and the system clears the 60 FPS threshold with more than double the required frame rate. All four presets are playable at 1080p.

2560x1440: The Ultra preset is again the best option, producing 107.7 FPS. The system has ample headroom at 1440p, with even the most demanding settings maintaining a frame rate well above the playable threshold. The data confirms that all four presets are playable at this resolution.

3840x2160: The High preset is the most demanding playable configuration at 4K, with an average of 73 FPS. While Ultra settings are technically available, they fall to 59.9 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The database records High, Medium, and Low as playable settings at 4K, with High being the best choice for visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

The verdict data confirms these findings: at 1440p and 1080p, all four presets are playable, while at 4K, three of the four presets clear the threshold. For players prioritizing visual fidelity, High at 4K or Ultra at 1440p and 1080p are the recommended configurations.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals which component is more influential for this game. The RTX 5080 is a flagship GPU with 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, 10752 shading units, and 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread Coffee Lake processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz.

At 1080p, the frame rates are extremely high across all presets, ranging from 136.3 FPS at Ultra to 173.5 FPS at Low. The CPU has a 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 87th percentile. The minimal performance drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p (37.2 FPS) suggests that the GPU is handling most of the rendering load, and the CPU is not bottlenecking even at lower settings where frame rates exceed 170 FPS.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a moderate performance reduction. At Ultra, the frame rate drops from 136.3 FPS to 107.7 FPS, a 21% reduction. At Low, the drop is from 173.5 FPS to 150.8 FPS, a 13.1% reduction. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing resolution places more demand on the graphics card's pixel and texture processing capabilities. The GPU's pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are substantial, but 4K resolution still presents a significant workload.

The jump from 1440p to 4K produces the most dramatic changes. At Ultra, the frame rate falls from 107.7 FPS to 59.9 FPS, a 44.4% reduction. At High, it drops from 132.3 FPS to 73 FPS, a 44.8% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K, as the number of pixels more than doubles from 1440p to 4K. The CPU's role becomes less relevant at this resolution, as the GPU's rendering workload dominates.

The data suggests that the RTX 5080 is the decisive component for The Technomancer. The CPU's 6-core, 6-thread configuration with a 65 W TDP is sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested settings, as evidenced by the consistently high frame rates even at 1080p Low where CPU overhead would be most apparent. The game appears to scale primarily with GPU load, with resolution increases producing predictable frame rate reductions that align with the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth capabilities.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rival data provides context for how other hardware would behave in this system. For the CPU, the i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, placing it at the 47th percentile.

The closest CPU alternatives are:

• Intel Core i7-1068NG7: average score 2259, 0.2% faster
• Intel Core i3-10305: average score 2264, 0.4% faster
• AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500: average score 2246, 0.4% slower
• Intel Core i7-10710U: average score 2248, 0.3% slower

These CPUs are effectively equivalent in performance, with deltas of less than half a percent. In The Technomancer, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates when paired with the RTX 5080, as the game's CPU demands appear modest. The i7-1068NG7 and i3-10305 are marginally faster, while the Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 and i7-10710U are marginally slower, but the differences are negligible in real-world gameplay.

For the GPU, the RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 56083, placing it at the 87th percentile. The closest GPU alternatives are:

• AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE: average score 57367, 2.2% faster
• AMD Radeon 8060S: average score 55757, 0.6% slower
• AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB: average score 55698, 0.7% slower
• AMD Radeon Pro W5700X: average score 54828, 2.3% slower

The RX 9070 GRE is the only rival that outperforms the RTX 5080, and only by 2.2%. The Radeon 8060S and RX 6750 GRE 12 GB are nearly identical in performance, with deltas under 1%. The Pro W5700X trails by 2.3%. In practical terms, any of these GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in The Technomancer, with differences of only a few FPS at most.

The data indicates that the RTX 5080 is positioned at the top of its performance tier, with no close rival offering a significant advantage. The nearest competitors are all within a 2.3% margin, which translates to frame rate differences of roughly 1 to 3 FPS at the tested settings. For players considering alternative hardware, the RX 9070 GRE would be the only option with a measurable, albeit small, performance lead.

FAQ

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

A: No, the data shows an average of 59.9 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is just below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is High, which averages 73 FPS.

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

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 107.7 FPS, making it the most demanding playable setting at that resolution. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS threshold at 1440p.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest GPU rival in this game?

A: The closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, which has an average benchmark score 2.2% higher than the RTX 5080. Other rivals like the Radeon 8060S and RX 6750 GRE 12 GB are 0.6% and 0.7% slower, respectively. These differences would result in only a few frames per second of variation.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests no. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system averages 173.5 FPS, indicating the i5-9400 can feed the RTX 5080 effectively. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking is sufficient for this game, which shows heavy GPU scaling across resolutions.

Q: What is the best overall setting for 4K gameplay?

A: High settings at 3840x2160, which average 73 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while offering significantly better visuals than Medium (86.2 FPS) or Low (111 FPS). Ultra is not recommended as it falls to 59.9 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 is 0.2% faster, the Intel Core i3-10305 is 0.4% faster, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 is 0.4% slower, and the Intel Core i7-10710U is 0.3% slower. All are within half a percent of the i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2254.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-9400 with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 can absolutely run The Technomancer, and it does so with exceptional performance. The verdict data confirms that this combination is playable at every resolution and nearly every preset tested.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 136.3 FPS at Ultra settings, making it the best configuration at this resolution. The combination of the i5-9400 and RTX 5080 produces frame rates that far exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold, with even the most demanding preset clear by more than a factor of two.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 107.7 FPS, again clearing the threshold with substantial headroom. All four presets are playable at 1440p, giving players full freedom to choose their preferred visual quality without worrying about performance.

At 3840x2160, the system remains playable at High settings with 73 FPS, but falls just short at Ultra with 59.9 FPS. The database lists High, Medium, and Low as playable settings at 4K, with High being the recommended choice for the best balance of visuals and smoothness.

The overall combination rank of 728 out of 3696 tested combinations places this system comfortably in the top 20% of all tested hardware pairings. The RTX 5080's 87th percentile GPU ranking and the i5-9400's 47th percentile CPU ranking combine to create a system that is dramatically overqualified for The Technomancer, a game that launched in 2016. Players can expect a flawless experience at 1080p and 1440p, and a very strong experience at 4K with a minor settings adjustment to stay above 60 FPS.