The Technomancer

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a clear, resolution-dependent verdict for The Technomancer: it is a solid 1080p performer capable of maxing out the game, a competent 1440p partner that handles medium presets, and it falls short of 60 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that at 1920x1080, the system achieves 62 FPS on the Ultra preset, making it fully playable at the highest visual quality. At 2560x1440, the playable ceiling is the Medium preset, which averages 61 FPS, while the High preset dips to 52 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold, with the best result being 44 FPS on Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this hardware pairing show a predictable performance curve across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system is clearly capable of high refresh rates. The Low preset produces an average of 121 FPS, while Medium reaches 93 FPS, with recorded minimums of 79 FPS and maximums of 107 FPS. The High preset averages 80 FPS, and the Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, still manages an average of 62 FPS. All 1080p settings clear the 60 FPS playability threshold, indicating headroom for smoother gameplay at lower presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are significant but the system remains viable for mid-tier settings. The Low preset averages 79 FPS, comfortably above the playable threshold. Medium is the next step, averaging 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS. This makes Medium the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS on average. The High preset falls to 52 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages only 41 FPS, both failing to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the Arc B570's limitations become apparent. The Low preset averages 44 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium manages 33 FPS, with a minimum of 28 FPS and a maximum of 39 FPS. High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra drops to 22 FPS. None of these settings come close to the 60 FPS target, confirming that 4K is not a realistic option for this combination in The Technomancer.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals the division of labor between the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the Intel Arc B570. At 1920x1080, the CPU has a more prominent role, as the GPU is less likely to be the bottleneck. The jump from Low to Ultra settings at 1080p shows a reduction from 121 FPS to 62 FPS, a difference of 59 FPS, which indicates that the graphics card is handling the increased workload effectively. The CPU's strong single-threaded performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655, ensures it can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution.

As the resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU's workload grows, and its role becomes more dominant. The performance drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is from 79 FPS to 41 FPS, a 38 FPS decrease. This smaller absolute drop compared to 1080p suggests that the GPU is now the primary limiter, as the extra pixels demand more from the Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's role diminishes, as its performance is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's rendering pace.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck. The Arc B570's raw compute power, rated at 11.52 TFLOPS FP32, is insufficient for the 4K resolution's pixel count. The performance difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 22 FPS (44 to 22), showing that even the lowest settings strain the GPU. The CPU's capabilities, including its 10 cores and 20 MB of shared L3 cache, are far less relevant at this resolution, as the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the determining factors.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the data identifies the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, this is the Ultra preset, which achieves an average of 62 FPS. This is the ideal configuration for users who prioritize visual fidelity, as it includes all graphical enhancements while still delivering smooth gameplay. The High preset at 80 FPS and Medium at 93 FPS are also playable, but Ultra offers the best balance of quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Medium, with an average of 61 FPS. This preset is the limit of what the system can handle while staying above the playability threshold. The Low preset at 79 FPS is also a viable option for those who prefer higher frame rates, but Medium provides a better visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 52 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are not recommended due to their sub-60 FPS averages.

For 3840x2160, there are no playable settings, as all presets fail to reach 60 FPS. The best result is the Low preset at 44 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. Users attempting 4K gameplay would need to accept lower frame rates or reduce the resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 provide context for its CPU performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F has an average benchmark score of 36945, a 0% delta from the Intel processor's 36938 average score. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018, which is 0.2% higher, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, a 0.4% improvement. The Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112, 0.5% higher. These CPUs would deliver very similar frame rates in The Technomancer, as the differences in synthetic benchmarks are negligible.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B570's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534, a 0.1% difference, and the Intel Arc A750, scoring 20582, a 0.1% difference. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480, a 0.4% difference, and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662, a 0.5% difference. Users with these GPUs would experience nearly identical performance in this game, with the Arc B570's 14195 PassMark G3D score being a key metric for comparison.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2972 out of 3696 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the lower portion of the performance distribution, indicating that while it can run the game, many other hardware pairings deliver higher frame rates. The CPU's percentile rank of 85 among all CPUs shows it is a strong processor, but the GPU's percentile rank of 65 among all GPUs suggests it is the limiting factor in this pairing. The combo's overall rank reflects the GPU's mid-tier status, as the Arc B570 is positioned below many high-end graphics cards.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Technomancer, but the experience is heavily dependent on the chosen resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system is fully capable, with the Ultra preset averaging 62 FPS, and all other presets exceeding 60 FPS. This makes 1080p the optimal resolution for this combination, offering the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 2560x1440, the system remains playable, but only on Low and Medium presets, with Medium averaging 61 FPS. Users who prioritize higher settings should stick to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot achieve playable frame rates, as the best result is 44 FPS on Low settings. The Arc B570's 10 GB of memory and 160-bit bus width are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this title. The verdict is clear: 1080p Ultra is the sweet spot, 1440p Medium is the maximum playable setting, and 4K should be avoided. For a game released in 2016, this hardware modern pairing handles it well at mainstream resolutions, but it is not a high-end performer.