The Technomancer

The Technomancer presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings indicate a pairing that is capable of delivering smooth gameplay, but only when the graphical configuration is carefully matched to the display’s native resolution. The data shows a system that is consistently playable at 1080p, increasingly strained at 1440p, and largely unsuitable for 4K gaming, with performance characteristics that point to the GPU as the primary limiting factor in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Technomancer?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combination consistently achieves high frame rates. Average FPS ranges from 60 at Ultra settings to 117 at Low settings, whereas 2560x1440 drops to a range of 39 to 76 FPS, and 3840x2160 falls to a range of 21 to 42 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 perform relative to its closest rivals in this game?

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score is 9780, placing it in the 47th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD FirePro W5000, scores 9803, which is a 0.2% difference, indicating virtually identical raw performance in synthetic benchmarks. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000M is 0.5% faster, while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 is 0.6% slower.

Q: Is the Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the GTX 1070 in this game?

A: The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860, are robust, but the game's performance scaling suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads, indicating the i3-12100F provides sufficient processing power to feed the GTX 1070.

Q: What is the playable settings preset at 1920x1080?

A: The data indicates that the High preset is the most balanced option, delivering an average of 77 FPS. The Medium preset offers a higher average of 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 60 FPS, which is the threshold for smooth gameplay but leaves little headroom.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core 3 N355, which scores 13492 (0% delta). It is 0.3% faster than the Intel Core i5-9500, and 1.1% faster than the Intel Core i7-1250U, making it a strong performer in its segment.

Q: Does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance in this game?

A: The GTX 1070 features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. This configuration is a key factor for the game's performance at higher resolutions, as the data shows a clear decline in FPS as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU with this memory bandwidth.

How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks at position 3057 out of 3696 tested combinations for The Technomancer. This places the combo in the 17th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it is a lower-tier configuration for this specific title. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU, which sits at the 47th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is more capable, sitting at the 68th percentile of all CPUs. This disparity suggests that the system’s overall rank is dragged down by the graphics card’s performance ceiling, which is further evidenced by the frame rate data.

The benchmark results show a significant performance gap between this combo and higher-ranked systems, which is expected given the GTX 1070's age. The GPU's average benchmark score of 9780 is a moderate result, and its nearest rivals are all professional or older workstation cards, such as the AMD FirePro W5000 and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, which are not typically used for gaming. This indicates that the GTX 1070, while once a mainstream performer, is now positioned in the lower half of the performance spectrum. The CPU, on the other hand, is a more modern part, with an average score of 13494, placing it near the Intel Core i5-9500, a capable older mainstream processor.

The combo's rank is a product of this imbalance. While the i3-12100F can handle the game's computational demands, it cannot compensate for the GTX 1070's inability to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the system is competitive, but at 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, resulting in average FPS figures that fall below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can deliver a good experience, but it will struggle to satisfy users with higher-resolution displays.

Settings Recommendations

For users of this combination, the measured data provides a clear path to the optimal experience. The primary goal is to maintain a frame rate at or above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay. At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves an average of 77 FPS, which is an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset offers a higher average of 90 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 76 FPS, providing an additional safety margin against frame drops in demanding scenes. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops the average to exactly 60 FPS, which is playable but leaves no headroom for performance dips.

At 2560x1440, the situation changes significantly. The High preset averages 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and the Medium preset averages 59 FPS, which is marginally below. The Low preset is the only option that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 76 FPS, but it comes with a significant reduction in visual fidelity. For a 1440p display, the data suggests that users must compromise on settings to achieve playable frame rates, with the Medium preset being the closest to the target but still not ideal. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages only 39 FPS, making it unsuitable for a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, no preset delivers a playable frame rate. The Low preset averages 42 FPS, the Medium preset averages 32 FPS, the High preset averages 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 21 FPS. These figures are all well below the 60 FPS threshold, and even the Low preset fails to provide a smooth experience. The data indicates that this combo is not viable for 4K gaming in The Technomancer, and users with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution or upgrading the GPU. The best overall experience, based on the data, is achieved at 1920x1080 with the High preset, which provides a strong balance of frame rate and visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably. The Low preset delivers an average of 117 FPS, the Medium preset delivers an average of 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS, the High preset delivers an average of 77 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers an average of 60 FPS. This data shows that at 1080p, the combo is capable of exceeding 60 FPS on all but the most demanding preset, providing a smooth experience for most users.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly, but the system remains usable. The Low preset averages 76 FPS, the Medium preset averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS, the High preset averages 50 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 39 FPS. This represents a substantial performance hit compared to 1080p, with the High preset losing 27 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 21 FPS. The data shows that at this resolution, only the Low preset consistently stays above 60 FPS, while the Medium preset hovers near the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly overburdened. The Low preset averages 42 FPS, the Medium preset averages 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS, the High preset averages 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 21 FPS. These figures are all well below the 60 FPS target, and even the Low preset fails to provide a playable experience. The drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, with the High preset losing 50 FPS and the Low preset losing 75 FPS. The data indicates that the GTX 1070's capabilities are exhausted at this resolution, making the combo unsuitable for 4K gaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the primary determinant of this combo's gaming performance. Its specifications, including 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s, are central to its behavior in The Technomancer. The GPU's base clock is 1506 MHz, with a boost clock of 1683 MHz, and its memory operates at an effective speed of 8 Gbps. These figures, combined with its 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs, define its raw processing power.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 47th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 9780. Its nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5000, which is 0.2% slower, and the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, which is 0.5% faster. This performance level is reflected in the game's frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the frame rate drops, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The GTX 1070's memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s is likely a limiting factor at 1440p and 4K, where the demand for texture data and frame buffer bandwidth increases exponentially.

The GPU's performance in The Technomancer is consistent with its overall standing. It can handle the game at 1080p with high settings, but it struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 1440p and fails entirely at 4K. The 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game's needs at 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU's compute capabilities are not strong enough to push higher resolutions at high settings. The data indicates that the GTX 1070 is the clear bottleneck in this combo, and its age is showing in this modern title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides the computational foundation for this combo. It is a 4-core, 8-thread processor with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1, 1.25 MB of L2, and a shared 12 MB of L3. These specifications, along with its Alder Lake architecture, make it a capable budget processor for gaming.

The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, particularly for its core count. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674. Its average benchmark score is 13494, placing it at the 68th percentile of all CPUs. This puts it slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-9500 and in a dead heat with the Intel Core 3 N355. The i3-12100F's single-threaded performance is also notable, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3444.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The frame rate data shows a consistent decline as resolution increases, which is indicative of a GPU bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would be more consistent across resolutions. The i3-12100F's 12 MB of L3 cache and high boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide ample performance for the game's logic and physics, ensuring that it does not hold back the GTX 1070 at 1080p. The data suggests that the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU, and its performance headroom is not fully utilized in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a sharp performance drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 77 FPS at 1080p to 50 FPS at 1440p, a 35% decrease, and then to 27 FPS at 4K, a further 46% decrease. This steep decline is a textbook example of GPU-bound scaling, where the rendering workload increases with pixel count, placing more strain on the graphics card.

At Low settings, the scaling is similar but with higher absolute values. The average frame rate falls from 117 FPS at 1080p to 76 FPS at 1440p, a 35% drop, and then to 42 FPS at 4K, a 45% drop. The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings confirms that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The GTX 1070's performance is directly tied to the number of pixels being rendered, and its limitations become increasingly apparent at higher resolutions.

The data also shows that the CPU is not a significant factor in this scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would be more consistent across resolutions, particularly at lower settings where the GPU workload is lighter. The fact that the frame rate drops so dramatically with resolution indicates that the GTX 1070 is fully saturated. The i3-12100F's performance, with its high boost clock and strong single-thread capabilities, is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's demands. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, as the GPU's architecture and memory bandwidth are not sufficient to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions.