The Technomancer

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in The Technomancer, an Action RPG from 2016. Benchmark data confirms that this pairing clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at every preset level across all three tested resolutions, making it a top-tier option for this title. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the CPU becoming more relevant as resolution increases, though neither component ever becomes a bottleneck that drops performance below the playable mark.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which runs at an average of 167 FPS. The performance headroom here is massive; even the Ultra preset is nearly three times the playable threshold. Lower presets scale dramatically: High delivers 216 FPS, Medium achieves 252 FPS, and Low reaches 318.5 FPS. For a 1080p display, there is no reason to compromise on visual quality, as the Ultra preset still provides a frame rate that far exceeds high-refresh-rate monitor capabilities.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again remains the best choice, averaging 107.8 FPS. This is comfortably above 60 FPS, leaving ample room for dips in demanding scenes. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a predictable drop: High falls from 216 to 138.8 FPS, Medium from 252 to 165.7 FPS, and Low from 318.5 to 213.7 FPS. The Ultra preset's 34.9% reduction from its 1080p score indicates a growing GPU workload, but the RTX 4090 handles it without strain.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset still clears the threshold, averaging 62.1 FPS. This is the only resolution where the margin above 60 FPS is slim, making it the critical test for this combo. High settings provide more breathing room at 75 FPS, while Medium reaches 88.9 FPS and Low tops out at 114.7 FPS. For 4K gaming, Ultra is viable but sits close to the line; players who prefer a safety buffer over absolute visual fidelity might opt for High, which offers a 20.8% higher frame rate.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database show that the i7-14700K has nearly identical average compute performance to several AMD parts. The AMD EPYC 9115 scores a 0.1% delta, meaning it is essentially indistinguishable in synthetic workloads. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X trails by just 0.2%, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX is 0.7% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F sits 0.9% lower. In The Technomancer, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates, as the game's CPU demands are modest relative to the i7-14700K's 20 cores and 28 threads.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090's nearest rivals present a more mixed picture. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches the RTX 4090's average benchmark score almost exactly (0% delta), but this is misleading for gaming; the Arc Pro A60 is a workstation card with different driver optimizations. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% faster in aggregate benchmarks, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 is 2.9% ahead, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% behind. For The Technomancer specifically, measured FPS data comes only from the RTX 4090, so these rivals should be viewed as compute-equivalent rather than gaming-equivalent. The practical takeaway is that swapping the CPU for any of its rivals would change little, but swapping the GPU for a similarly-scoring professional card could produce unpredictable gaming results.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 62.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the tightest margin across all tested configurations.

Q: What is the fastest preset at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 107.8 FPS, which is the highest quality setting that also remains well above the playable threshold. Lower presets run faster, but there is no need to drop below Ultra at this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 167 FPS at 1920x1080 to 62.1 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 62.8%. The GPU workload scales heavily with pixel count, as expected.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 overkill for 1080p gaming in this title?

A: Yes, the data indicates massive headroom. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 167 FPS, while Low settings reach 318.5 FPS. A less powerful GPU would still easily clear 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: Does the CPU ever become the limiting factor?

A: No, not at any tested resolution. The i7-14700K ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, and the frame rate scales consistently with resolution, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint throughout.

Q: What is the best settings choice for a 60 Hz 4K monitor?

A: Ultra at 3840x2160 averages 62.1 FPS, which is technically playable. For a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS, High settings at 75 FPS offer a safer experience without a major visual sacrifice.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run The Technomancer, and it does so with extraordinary headroom. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 167 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS threshold; every preset from Low to Ultra is playable. At 2560x1440, the story is similar: Ultra runs at 107.8 FPS, leaving a 79.7% margin above the playable line. The only point of caution is 3840x2160, where Ultra averages 62.1 FPS — playable, but only 3.5% above the 60 FPS mark. High settings at 4K are the safer choice for fluctuating scenes, averaging 75 FPS.

The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: all four presets at all three resolutions clear 60 FPS. The system is never below the playable threshold in any measured configuration. For a game from 2016, this hardware is effectively future-proofed, with the 4K Ultra result being the only setting that approaches the limit of comfortable play. Players targeting 1440p or 1080p can max out every setting without concern, while 4K users should choose between Ultra (62.1 FPS) and High (75 FPS) based on their tolerance for frame rate dips.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear division of labor between the i7-14700K and the RTX 4090 in The Technomancer. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extraordinarily high — up to 318.5 FPS on Low — which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames at this rate. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 47.6% reduction (from 318.5 to 167 FPS), driven entirely by GPU load increases.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's dominance continues. The Ultra preset drops from 167 to 107.8 FPS (a 35.4% reduction), while Low falls from 318.5 to 213.7 FPS (a 32.9% reduction). This proportional scaling confirms that the RTX 4090's rendering throughput is the binding constraint, not the CPU's 20-core, 28-thread architecture.

The picture shifts slightly at 3840x2160. The Ultra preset falls to 62.1 FPS, a 42.4% drop from 1440p, while Low drops to 114.7 FPS, a 46.3% reduction. The larger percentage drops at 4K suggest the GPU is working harder relative to the CPU, but the i7-14700K's single-core performance (2160 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures it never becomes a bottleneck. Across all resolutions, the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rate; the CPU's role is to stay out of the way, which it does effortlessly. This is typical for an Action RPG of this era, where visual effects and pixel throughput dominate the performance equation.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this pairing ranks 105th out of 3696 combos. That places it in the top 2.8% of all tested systems, a position consistent with its measured performance. The rank reflects the combination's ability to maintain high frame rates across all resolutions and presets, not just its peak scores.

The ranking is notable because the RTX 4090's percentile among all GPUs is 88, while the i7-14700K sits in the 94th percentile among CPUs. The combo's 105th rank out of 3696 suggests that the pairing works synergistically in this game: the CPU's strong single-threaded performance supports the GPU's high frame output, and the GPU's massive bandwidth (1.01 TB/s) and 24 GB of GDDR6X memory handle the game's texture loads without issue. Given that the game launched in 2016, this hardware is far beyond its requirements, which explains the top-tier ranking. The data indicates that only a handful of more powerful combinations — likely those with newer GPUs or higher-binned CPUs — would outperform this setup, and the margin in actual gameplay would be negligible at the frame rates observed.