The Technomancer

# The Technomancer: Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER

This combination lands near the bottom of the tested field, ranking 1437 out of 1656 combos for The Technomancer, but the data reveals a system that is perfectly capable of delivering a playable experience at 1080p, with the GTX 1660 SUPER acting as the primary performance ceiling. The pairing of a modern 4-core/8-thread CPU with an end-of-life Turing GPU produces a predictable pattern: strong low-resolution performance that degrades sharply as resolution and settings climb.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F brings 4 cores and 8 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Alder Lake-S chip, built on Intel's 10 nm process, posts a single-thread score of 893 in 3dmark and a multi-thread score of 4023 at max threads, which places it at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs. In The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, this CPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p, as evidenced by the 107.3 FPS average at Low settings, which is the highest result in the entire measured dataset.

The CPU's benchmark rivals show it is competitive with much older high-end parts. The i3-12100F's average benchmark score of 13516 sits just 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534), and 1.8% above the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280). This means the CPU has ample headroom for a game like The Technomancer, which was released before the current generation of high-core-count CPUs. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) provide sufficient bandwidth for the game's engine, but the data shows that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck long before the CPU's resources are stressed.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11912 and single-core score of 1681 further confirm that this is a balanced budget processor. For a game that relies on single-thread performance, the 3dmark single-thread score of 893 indicates solid IPC, which translates to stable frame pacing at 1080p where the GPU can keep up. However, the CPU's 58 W TDP and locked multiplier mean there is no overclocking headroom to compensate for GPU limitations, making the graphics card the sole determinant of high-resolution performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the clear performance limiter in this pairing. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, this Turing-architecture GPU (TU116 chip, 12 nm) provides 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. Its boost clock of 1785 MHz and memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) are respectable for its class, but the data shows the card struggles as pixel count increases.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 14286 places it at the 55th percentile, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14314, 0.2% higher) and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315, 0.2% higher). This clustering indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER is at the upper edge of entry-level performance in the benchmark database's context. In The Technomancer, the GPU's 48 ROPs and 88 TMUs are the architectural features that determine fill-rate limits, which directly impact the frame rate drops observed at 4K.

The VRAM capacity of 6 GB is sufficient for The Technomancer's 2016-era texture demands, as evidenced by the fact that even at 4K Ultra, the game runs (albeit at 21.2 FPS). The GPU's DirectX 12 support (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility mean it can handle the game's API requirements without issue. The Passmark DirectX 11 score of 104 and DirectX 12 score of 50 show that the card is more efficient in older APIs, which is relevant for a game released in 2016 that primarily uses DirectX 11 rendering paths.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, strongly indicating that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the bottleneck at all settings above 1080p Low. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 75.1 at 1080p to 47.4 at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and further to 23.3 at 4K (a 69% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU that is fill-rate limited, rather than a CPU that is thread-limited.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution. At 1080p, Low produces 107.3 FPS and Ultra produces 58.5 FPS, a difference of 48.8 FPS. At 4K, Low produces 41.1 FPS and Ultra produces 21.2 FPS, a difference of only 19.9 FPS. This compression of the settings range at 4K is a classic sign that the GPU is saturated — even lowering settings cannot restore playable frame rates because the sheer pixel count overwhelms the 48 ROPs.

The 1440p results offer the most balanced picture. Medium settings at 1440p hit 53.2 FPS, which is just above the threshold for smooth gameplay, while High settings at 47.4 FPS are borderline. The data suggests that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this GPU in this game, and only at Low or Medium settings. At 4K, even Low settings (41.1 FPS) fail to reach the 60 FPS target, confirming that this resolution is not viable for this combination.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combination is 1920x1080 with Medium settings, delivering 86.8 FPS average. This preset provides a substantial 11.7 FPS improvement over High settings (75.1 FPS) while maintaining visual quality that is only modestly reduced. The Medium preset also offers a 20.5 FPS advantage over Ultra settings (58.5 FPS), meaning players can nearly eliminate any risk of frame drops below 60 FPS without sacrificing the majority of visual fidelity.

For players who prioritize visual quality, 1080p High at 75.1 FPS is a viable alternative, as it remains comfortably above 60 FPS. However, the Ultra preset at 58.5 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, making it a less desirable choice for consistent smoothness. At 1440p, the Medium preset (53.2 FPS) is the only setting that approaches playability, while Low (72.2 FPS) is the only 1440p option that clears 60 FPS, but with significant visual compromises.

At 4K, no setting is truly playable, with the highest average being Low at 41.1 FPS. The data clearly indicates that this GPU should not be paired with a 4K display for The Technomancer. The 1080p Medium recommendation provides the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity, leveraging the CPU's headroom while staying within the GPU's comfortable operating range.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Technomancer at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p. Low settings produce 107.3 FPS, Medium produces 86.8 FPS, and High produces 75.1 FPS. Ultra at 1080p drops to 58.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p Low. The CPU's benchmark scores (72nd percentile) are far stronger than the GPU's (55th percentile), and the FPS scaling with resolution confirms the graphics card limits performance.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can maintain 60+ FPS across multiple settings. At 2560x1440, only Low settings (72.2 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, while 3840x2160 cannot reach 60 FPS at any setting.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER's average benchmark score of 14286 is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14314) and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315), and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352). It is 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14389).

Q: Does this CPU hold back the GPU in The Technomancer?

A: No. The i3-12100F's performance is within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX in average benchmark score, indicating it has ample headroom. The frame rate drops at higher resolutions are entirely attributable to the GPU.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this setup?

A: Technically possible but not playable. The highest 4K result is 41.1 FPS at Low settings, which is below acceptable smoothness. Ultra settings at 4K produce only 21.2 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system performs best. Low settings deliver 107.3 FPS, Medium settings 86.8 FPS, High settings 75.1 FPS, and Ultra settings 58.5 FPS. The 48.8 FPS gap between Low and Ultra shows the GPU's sensitivity to settings at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 72.2 FPS, Medium 53.2 FPS, High 47.4 FPS, and Ultra 39.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 32.7 FPS, indicating the GPU is beginning to saturate.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. Low settings average 41.1 FPS, Medium 30.0 FPS, High 23.3 FPS, and Ultra 21.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra compresses to 19.9 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the sole limiting factor at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 1437 out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 13% of the database. This low ranking is primarily due to the GTX 1660 SUPER's position at the 55th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU sits at the 72nd percentile. The data indicates that the GPU holds this pairing back significantly, particularly at higher resolutions.

The ranking suggests that while this system is adequate for 1080p gaming in this title, it lags far behind most other tested configurations. The CPU's benchmark rivals, including the Intel Core i7-7700K (1.8% lower score), demonstrate that the processor itself is not the cause of the low ranking. Instead, the GPU's placement among entry-level parts (within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT) confines this combo to the lower quartile of performance. For a game like The Technomancer, this means users should expect a playable but not exceptional experience, with the understanding that any upgrade to the graphics card would yield immediate and substantial FPS gains across all resolutions.