The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting stress test for the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B580 combination. The benchmark data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution, showcasing the strengths and limitations of both components in a title that is now several generations old. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across three resolutions and four quality presets, interpreting what the numbers mean for the overall gaming experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 90 FPS at 1080p, to 59 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 32 FPS at 4K. This pattern—a near-halving of performance from 1080p to 4K—indicates that the Intel Arc B580 is the primary scaling factor. The GPU is doing progressively more work to fill the additional pixels, and its performance ceiling is being reached.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling. At 1440p High, the system produces a playable 59 FPS average. Moving to 4K High drops that to 32 FPS, a 45% reduction. This steep decline suggests that the Arc B580’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p but are saturated at 4K. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are simply not enough to maintain a fluid experience at the higher resolution.

When looking at the Low preset, the scaling is less dramatic but still significant. The system hits 138 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low figure is interesting because it shows that even with reduced graphical load, the GPU cannot break the 50 FPS barrier at that resolution. This reinforces the notion that the 4K resolution is a hard limit for this combination in this game, regardless of how much the visual quality is dialed back.

The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this pairing. The difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings is a 31 FPS drop, which is noticeable but results in a still-smooth experience. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K is a cliff, not a slope. The performance penalty is severe, and even the Ultra preset, which delivers 46 FPS at 1440p, falls to just 25 FPS at 4K. The limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s work load does not change with resolution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and features a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz. With 2560 shading units and 160 texture mapping units, the card has substantial raw compute power. Its FP32 performance is rated at 13.67 TFLOPS, which is a high figure for a card in its class. The benchmark results, however, show that this theoretical power does not translate into playable 4K performance in The Technomancer.

The card’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a generous amount of memory and bandwidth, which likely explains why the 1440p results are so solid. The game can cache textures and geometry without hitting a memory bottleneck at that resolution. The 4K results, however, suggest that the game’s demands exceed what the card can deliver, pointing to a limitation in the GPU’s core processing power rather than its memory subsystem.

The Arc B580’s benchmark scores place it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 23021. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which scores 23061 and is 0.2% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which scores 22895 and is 0.6% slower. This puts the Arc B580 in a performance tier that is competitive with older high-end cards but is not capable of pushing a demanding title like The Technomancer at 4K with high frame rates.

In this specific game, the GPU’s role is clearly the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 25, which is barely a slideshow. Even at 4K Low, the 49 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target most gamers prefer. The card is fast enough for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it lacks the fill rate and shading power required for 4K. The performance at 1440p High (59 FPS) and 1080p High (90 FPS) demonstrates that the card is well-suited for those resolutions, providing a smooth experience without pushing the GPU to its absolute limits.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2787 out of 3696 combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the 25th percentile of all tested systems, meaning that roughly three-quarters of all CPU-GPU pairings tested perform better in this game. While this rank might seem low, it is important to contextualize it with the actual frame rates achieved.

A rank of 2787 out of 3696 does not mean the experience is unplayable. At 1080p, the system delivers 90 FPS on High and 138 FPS on Low, which are excellent results. The rank is likely skewed by the inclusion of many high-end systems with more powerful CPUs and GPUs that can achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 1440p and 4K. The data shows that this combo is a mid-to-low tier performer, but it is entirely capable of delivering a good experience at 1080p.

The rank also reflects the CPU’s performance percentile. The i3-12100F sits in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is faster than 68% of all processors tested. This suggests the CPU is not the primary reason for the low combo rank. Instead, the GPU’s performance at higher resolutions is the limiting factor. The combo’s rank is a measure of its overall gaming capability, and in this case, the GPU holds the system back from achieving a higher standing.

The deltaPct values for the CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 1.1% of its average score, indicating that the i3-12100F is in a tightly contested performance cluster. The GPU, similarly, has rivals within a 1% delta. This means that swapping in a slightly different CPU or GPU from this performance tier would yield very similar results. The combo’s rank is thus representative of an entire class of hardware, not just these two specific parts.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Technomancer with this hardware?

A: The data indicates that 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution. At High settings, the combo achieves an average of 59 FPS, which is playable. At 1920x1080, performance is excellent (90 FPS on High), but 1440p offers a significant visual upgrade while maintaining a playable frame rate. 3840x2160 is not recommended, as average frame rates drop to 32 FPS on High.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, scores 23061, making it 0.2% faster. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, which is 0.6% slower than the Arc B580. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, putting it 0.7% ahead of the Arc B580.

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B580 in this game?

A: No, the CPU does not appear to be the primary bottleneck. The i3-12100F scores in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, and its performance is competitive with its nearest rivals, all within a 1.1% delta. The frame rate scaling with resolution indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, especially at 4K.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is significant. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 138 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields an average of 70 FPS. This is a 68 FPS difference, or a 49% reduction in performance when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the system maintain a minimum frame rate above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: On the Medium preset at 2560x1440, the minimum FPS is 59, just shy of 60. On the High preset, the minimum FPS is not listed, but the average is 59. This indicates that while the average is playable, the system may occasionally dip below 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: What are the key specifications of the Intel Arc B580’s memory system?

A: The GPU is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus. The memory clock is 2375 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective. This configuration provides a total memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended starting point. This setting delivers an average of 59 FPS, which is just at the threshold of smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at the same resolution offers a slightly higher average of 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, providing a more consistent experience if frame pacing is a concern. The data shows that the step from Medium to High is a 10 FPS drop, which is a reasonable trade-off for the visual improvements.

At 1920x1080, the High preset is the clear choice. It delivers an average of 90 FPS and does not appear to stress the system unduly. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 70 FPS, which is still very playable, but the visual difference between High and Ultra may not justify the 20 FPS loss. For competitive play or for users with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 1080p yields 138 FPS and provides the highest possible frame rate.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. At 1440p, it produces 46 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 25 FPS. These frame rates are too low for a smooth experience. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely, as even the Low preset only manages 49 FPS. The best experience, balancing visual quality and performance, is the High preset at 1440p, with the Medium preset as a viable alternative for those who prioritize a higher minimum frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. With a 12 MB shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, it is a capable modern CPU. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674, place it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs tested.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The performance scaling data suggests the i3-12100F is doing its job effectively. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at lower resolutions, such as 1080p, where the GPU has less work to do. However, the frame rates continue to scale up to 138 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the CPU can handle the game’s demands at high frame rates.

The i3-12100F’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355, which has a 0% delta, and the Intel Core i5-9500, which is 0.3% slower. These scores show that the i3-12100F is a solid mid-range performer. Its 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient for this 2016 title, which was designed for a time when dual-core and quad-core processors were the norm. The CPU’s performance is more than adequate, and the data points to the GPU as the limiting factor in more demanding scenarios, particularly at 4K resolution where the CPU’s workload is unchanged but the GPU struggles to maintain frame rates.