The Technomancer

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 lands at rank 2603 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the pairing in the bottom 8% of all configurations measured, a result that reflects a severe performance deficit in a 2016 Action RPG. The data shows a combination that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at almost every setting above 1080p Low, making it a pairing suited only for the most forgiving graphical presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position at 2603 out of 2825 is a clear indicator of its limitations. This is not a mid-pack result; it is a bottom-tier finish that places the system in the company of much older or lower-end hardware. The percentile ranking for the GPU alone is 5, meaning it outperforms only 5% of all GPUs in the database, while the CPU sits at the 68th percentile. This massive gap between the two components highlights a severely unbalanced pairing where the graphics solution is the overwhelming bottleneck.

Benchmark results confirm the GPU's weakness. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the Arc B370 scores 1184. Its nearest rivals in the database are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, a 0.2% difference) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, a 0.5% difference). Being statistically tied with GPU architectures from over a decade ago explains why this combo ranks so poorly. The CPU, in contrast, is a competent mid-range part; its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and single-core score of 1451 are respectable, and its average benchmark score of 14185 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Xeon 6756E (14163, a 0.2% delta). The processor is not the primary cause of this low ranking.

The combination of a strong processor and a very weak graphics card creates a system that is fundamentally mismatched for modern gaming demands. In The Technomancer, this results in a combo rank that reflects the GPU's inability to keep pace with the CPU's capabilities. The system is effectively held back by its graphics component, and no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the GPU's lack of rendering power.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture built on a 3 nm process. Its specifications immediately reveal its intended market: a base clock of 300 MHz, a boost clock of 2400 MHz, and a TDP of only 25 W. The memory configuration is "System Shared," with the memory type, bus width, and bandwidth all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM, which is a significant disadvantage in a memory-intensive game like The Technomancer.

The GPU's compute resources are minimal. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS. These numbers, while precise, translate to a GPU that is designed for basic display output rather than high-performance gaming. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 places it at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and ATI Radeon HD 5770, both of which are legacy parts.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role is the primary limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 71 FPS, but this drops to 47 FPS at High. At 1440p, the same settings yield 47 FPS (Low) and 31 FPS (High). At 4K, the performance collapses to 26 FPS (Low) and 17 FPS (High). The GPU's lack of dedicated memory and low processing power means it cannot handle the increased resolution and texture loads. The data indicates that the Arc B370 is the bottleneck in every single measured scenario, with the CPU's strong single-threaded performance (3DMark single-thread score of 688) unable to compensate for the GPU's deficiencies.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The CPU's cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. This is a solid mid-range processor that was released in 2020 and remains in production.

The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate its competence. In Cinebench R23, it scores 10283 multi-core and 1451 single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 6257 multi-core and 1420 single-core. Its average benchmark score is 14185, which places it at the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6756E (score 14163), the Intel Core 7 160UL (score 14232), and the AMD EPYC 7552 (score 14115). These are all enterprise or premium parts, which shows that the i5-10400F's processing power is not the issue in this combo.

In The Technomancer, the CPU has more than enough power to feed the GPU. The game's requirements are not particularly demanding on the processor, and the i5-10400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game's logic. The data suggests the CPU is never the limiting factor; even at 1080p Low where the system reaches 71 FPS, the processor is not struggling. The bottleneck is entirely on the GPU side. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and the max-thread score of 4735 indicate that the CPU can handle heavy multi-threaded loads, which the game likely does not fully utilize. This imbalance means that the CPU sits mostly idle while the GPU is at 100% utilization, resulting in the low frame rates observed.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F strong enough for The Technomancer?

A: Yes. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and single-core score of 1451 are more than adequate. Its average benchmark score of 14185 is comparable to the Intel Xeon 6756E, indicating it has ample processing power for this game.

Q: Why is the frame rate so low at 4K with this combo?

A: The Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor. With a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 and a 5th percentile ranking, the GPU cannot handle the rendering load at 4K, resulting in an average of 17 FPS on High settings and 13 FPS on Ultra.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this system?

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where the system can achieve consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, it reaches 71 FPS, but even at 1080p High it drops to 47 FPS. Higher resolutions result in sub-30 FPS averages.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's benchmark score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). It is also comparable to the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168), with a 1.4% difference. This indicates it is on par with very old discrete GPUs.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU in this pairing?

A: No. The CPU is at the 68th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 5th percentile. The data indicates that the GPU is the sole bottleneck, and the CPU's performance is far beyond what the GPU can utilize.

Q: What settings should be used at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows that at 1440p Low, the system averages 47 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 36 FPS, and at High it falls to 31 FPS. For a smoother experience, Low settings at 1440p are the only option that stays above 40 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions is a stark illustration of the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system averages 71 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 47 FPS, a 33.8% decrease. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 26 FPS, a 63.4% decrease from 1080p. This pattern is consistent across all settings. At High settings, the 1080p average of 47 FPS drops to 31 FPS at 1440p and 17 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior is typical of a system where the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's performance remains constant, but the GPU's workload increases exponentially with resolution. The Arc B370's lack of dedicated memory and low fill rate (48.00 GPixel/s) means it cannot keep up with the increased pixel count. The data shows that the FPS drop is directly proportional to the increase in resolution, which is a clear sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, which can handle the game's logic at any resolution, is not the cause of these drops.

The 4K results are particularly telling. At 4K Medium, the system averages 20 FPS with a minimum of 17 FPS and a maximum of 23 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 13 FPS. These numbers are far below the threshold for playable gaming. The resolution scaling data strongly suggests that this combo should be used at 1080p only, as the GPU simply does not have the resources to render at higher resolutions. The system is fundamentally a 1080p machine for this title, and any attempt to push it to higher resolutions will result in an unplayable experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear guide for the best settings. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 71 FPS, which is smooth. The Medium preset drops to 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS, which is still playable. The High preset yields 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 37 FPS. For a stable experience, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a good balance, staying well above 45 FPS even in drops.

At 1440p, the options are more limited. The Low preset averages 47 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset averages 36 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS, which is borderline. The High preset at 31 FPS and the Ultra preset at 24 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience. The data indicates that 1440p Low is the only viable option at this resolution.

At 4K, the data shows no playable settings. The highest average is 26 FPS at Low, which falls to 17 FPS at High and 13 FPS at Ultra. These results are all well below the threshold for a playable frame rate. The recommendation based on the measured rows is clear: use 1080p Medium for the best balance of visual quality and performance. If a higher frame rate is prioritized, 1080p Low is the only setting that consistently exceeds 60 FPS. All other settings at higher resolutions should be avoided due to sub-40 FPS averages.