The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER pairing. The data shows this combo is a solid mid-range performer that handles the game well at most settings, though the demanding Ultra preset can strain the system, particularly at higher resolutions. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the board indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary driver of performance, with the i3-12100F providing enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking in most scenarios.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. At this resolution, the combo achieves 92.4 FPS on High and 75.2 FPS on Ultra, providing a smooth experience. At 2560x1440, the frame rate drops to 59.9 FPS on High, which is still playable, but 3840x2160 is only suitable for Low settings, where it hits 49 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform compared to High at 1920x1080?

A: The Ultra preset is significantly more demanding. At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 92.4 on High to 75.2 on Ultra. This is a noticeable 17.2 FPS reduction for the visual fidelity increase, making High a more balanced choice for maintaining high frame rates.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER a bottleneck for the Intel Core i3-12100F in this game?

A: Yes, the GPU appears to be the limiting factor. This is evident from the performance scaling across resolutions. When the resolution is lowered from 2560x1440 High (59.9 FPS) to 1920x1080 High (92.4 FPS), the frame rate increases dramatically, indicating the GPU has more headroom to work with as the pixel count decreases.

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at 2560x1440 with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but with limitations. The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 59.9 FPS, which is on the cusp of a smooth 60 FPS experience. The Medium preset offers a more comfortable 73.7 FPS, making it the recommended setting for 1440p gaming to ensure a consistent frame rate.

Q: How does the combo rank against all other tested configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1153 out of 1656 tested combinations. This places it in the lower-mid tier of all possible hardware pairings, suggesting that while it's capable, there are many more powerful setups that can achieve higher performance, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: What is the CPU's performance context relative to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, has a score of 13534, making the i3-12100F 0.1% slower. It is 0.4% faster than the Intel Core i7-1250U and 0.6% faster than the Intel Core i3-10105.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus is the workhorse of this pairing. Its memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a crucial asset for a game like The Technomancer, which can be heavy on textures. The benchmark results show that the GPU's performance is the primary factor in determining frame rates, as the impact of changing graphical settings is substantial.

The GPU's core clocks of 1470 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost, combined with its 2176 shading units, dictate its raw processing power. The data shows a clear correlation between these capabilities and the measured FPS. For instance, at 1920x1080, the GPU delivers 143.2 FPS on Low settings but only 75.2 FPS on Ultra. This 68 FPS gap demonstrates how the GPU's compute units are taxed by the more complex rendering of the Ultra preset.

Furthermore, the GPU's performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is telling. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 92.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 59.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 35.1 FPS at 3840x2160. This steep decline illustrates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is being pushed to its limits at higher resolutions, and its 8 GB VRAM buffer and processing power start to become insufficient for maintaining high frame rates. The GPU's performance percentile of 63, relative to all other GPUs, supports its position as a capable but not top-tier card.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the High preset is the optimal choice for this combo in The Technomancer. At both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, High settings provide strong performance: 92.4 FPS and 59.9 FPS respectively. This preset offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium without the steep performance cost of Ultra, which only yields 75.2 FPS at 1080p and 46.5 FPS at 1440p.

For users with a 1080p monitor, High is the clear winner, providing a smooth and responsive experience. While Ultra is playable at 75.2 FPS, the 17.2 FPS drop from High might not be worth the marginal visual improvements. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset, delivering 73.7 FPS, is a more reliable choice than High's 59.9 FPS if you prefer a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Playing at 3840x2160 is not recommended for this setup. The data shows that even on Low settings, the game only achieves 49 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for a fluid action RPG. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are outright unplayable, with averages of 35.1 FPS and 28.2 FPS, respectively. Therefore, sticking to 1080p or 1440p is the practical approach.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific hardware combination, the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, ranks 1153 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This position places it in the 30th percentile, meaning it outperforms only about 30% of all tested configurations. This ranking is a direct result of the system's measured performance across all resolutions and settings.

The data suggests this is a functional mid-range setup. The CPU's performance, with a percentile of 72, is notably stronger than the GPU's percentile of 63. This mismatch reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU has more headroom than the GPU can utilize, which is a common trait in balanced builds but is more pronounced here.

The ranking is not a verdict on the combo's ability to run the game, but rather its standing among a wide array of hardware. For a game released in 2016, this performance is respectable. The system can deliver a great experience at 1080p and a playable one at 1440p, which is more than adequate for many users, even if it doesn't compete with high-end rigs that would rank significantly higher.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions provides a clear picture of the system's bottleneck. The data shows a steep drop in performance as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario. For instance, with High settings, the average FPS falls from 92.4 at 1920x1080 to 59.9 at 2560x1440, a 35% reduction. Moving further up to 3840x2160 results in 35.1 FPS, a 62% reduction from the 1080p score.

This pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less of a performance drop when increasing the resolution, as the CPU's workload would remain relatively constant. Instead, the FPS plummets, showing that the GPU's rendering capabilities are being saturated.

The scaling also shows that the i3-12100F is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data. Even at the lowest resolution and settings (1920x1080, Low), the system achieves 143.2 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that demands a capable CPU to manage. The consistent scaling pattern confirms that the CPU is not holding the system back; the GPU's performance ceiling is the primary factor determining the final frame rate at any given resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably. The Low preset yields an average of 143.2 FPS, Medium produces 110.8 FPS, and High delivers 92.4 FPS. The most demanding Ultra preset still manages an average of 75.2 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where all settings are viable for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance begins to require more careful selection. The Low preset averages 93.3 FPS, which is excellent. Medium follows at 73.7 FPS, and High drops to 59.9 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only one that becomes problematic, with an average of 46.5 FPS, which may be too low for some players.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 SUPER is clearly overburdened. The Low preset is the only playable option, with an average of 49 FPS. Medium drops to 41.7 FPS, High falls to 35.1 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the worst performer, with an average of just 28.2 FPS. This data confirms that 4K gaming is not a realistic target for this hardware combination in The Technomancer.