The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, is not a game that pushes modern hardware to its knees, but it still presents a clear scaling curve that separates GPU-bound and CPU-bound regimes. This analysis examines the Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the Intel Arc B570, using measured data to understand what this combination delivers across resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a classic resolution scaling pattern, with performance dropping most steeply as pixel count increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo averages 121 FPS, which is a very high refresh rate experience. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 79 FPS, a 35% drop, and then to 4K Low at 44 FPS, a further 44% drop from the 1440p figure. This steep decline indicates that at lower resolutions, the system is not purely GPU-limited; the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data, but the GPU’s raw throughput becomes the bottleneck as resolution rises.

The scaling from High to Ultra settings shows a similar trend. At 1080p, High settings yield 80 FPS, while Ultra drops to 62 FPS, a 22.5% reduction. At 1440p, the same settings comparison shows 52 FPS vs 41 FPS, a 21% reduction. At 4K, High produces 29 FPS and Ultra only 22 FPS, a 24% drop. These consistent percentage drops across resolutions suggest that the settings' impact is relatively uniform, but the absolute numbers become unplayable at 4K with anything above Low settings.

The limiting component shifts clearly with resolution. At 1080p, the 121 FPS Low result and the 80 FPS High result indicate that the CPU is still capable of driving high frame rates, but the GPU is starting to be the primary constraint. The 121 FPS result is likely near the CPU’s practical limit for this game’s engine. At 1440p, the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck, as the frame rates scale almost linearly with the pixel count increase from 1080p. At 4K, the GPU is heavily saturated, with the 44 FPS Low result being the only playable option, and even that is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

A critical observation is the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K. The 22 FPS Ultra result is a 50% reduction from the 44 FPS Low result. This shows that the Arc B570’s 10 GB of VRAM and 160-bit memory bus are not sufficient for high-quality textures and effects at 4K, causing significant performance loss. The data indicates that for a smooth 60 FPS experience, this combo is best suited to 1080p with High or Ultra settings, or 1440p with Medium settings, where it can maintain 61 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for The Technomancer, this pairing sits near the bottom of the pack. The combo rank is 2256 out of 2825 tested combinations. This places it in the 20th percentile of all tested systems, meaning approximately 80% of other CPU-GPU combos achieve higher average frame rates in this game. This is a low ranking, but it is important to contextualize it. The rank reflects the absolute performance of the combo, not its efficiency or suitability for a specific resolution.

The GPU’s benchmark percentile is 65, which is above average, but its average benchmark score of 20556 is very close to its nearest rivals. The Intel Arc A750 is only 0.1% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is 0.1% ahead. This indicates that the B570 is a mid-range performer in synthetic tests. However, in this specific game, its performance is dragged down by the CPU. The CPU’s percentile is 68, and its average benchmark score of 14185 is also closely matched by rivals, with the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C being 0.6% slower and the Intel Core 7 160UL being 0.3% faster.

The low combo rank suggests that while each component is individually decent, they do not synergize well for this title. The 6-core, 12-thread i5-10400F is an older design, and its single-thread performance is a limiting factor for a game from 2016 that may not scale well across many cores. The combination’s performance is likely constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions and by the GPU at higher resolutions, but never reaching a sweet spot. For a 1080p gamer, this combo would be acceptable, but for anyone aiming for high refresh rates or 1440p+ gaming, the data suggests this is not a competitive pairing.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, the best balance is 1080p with High settings, yielding 80 FPS. For a higher fidelity experience, 1440p with Medium settings provides 61 FPS, which is still playable. 4K is not recommended for smooth gameplay, as even Low settings only achieve 44 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Partially. At 1080p Low, the 121 FPS result is likely near the CPU’s limit. At 1080p Ultra, the 62 FPS is a 49% drop from Low, indicating the GPU is becoming the primary constraint. The CPU is capable of high frame rates, but the GPU cannot maintain them at higher settings.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its closest rival, the Arc A750, in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The average benchmark scores are nearly identical. The Arc B570 scores 20556, while the Arc A750 scores 20582, a difference of only 0.1%. This means their raw compute performance is effectively the same in non-game-specific tests.

Q: Does the Core i5-10400F hold back the Arc B570?

A: The data suggests it does in some scenarios. The CPU’s single-thread score is 688 in 3dMark, and its passmark single-thread score is 2541. These are not exceptional numbers. The 121 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low indicates the CPU may be limiting the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 41. This is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, so it is not recommended if you prefer a high refresh rate experience. Medium settings at 1440p is a better choice, providing 61 FPS.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in this title?

A: It is capable of running the game, but not at playable frame rates for most users. The best 4K result is 44 FPS on Low settings, which is playable but not ideal. High and Ultra settings produce 29 FPS and 22 FPS respectively, which are too low for a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination.

1920x1080:

• Low: 121 FPS
• Medium: 93 FPS (min 79, max 107)
• High: 80 FPS
• Ultra: 62 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 79 FPS
• Medium: 61 FPS (min 52, max 70)
• High: 52 FPS
• Ultra: 41 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 44 FPS
• Medium: 33 FPS (min 28, max 39)
• High: 29 FPS
• Ultra: 22 FPS

The 1080p results show a clear progression of performance loss as settings increase. The gap between Low and Medium is 28 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 13 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 18 FPS. This suggests diminishing returns are not linear; Ultra is significantly more demanding than High.

At 1440p, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers. The 79 FPS Low result is still quite high, but the 41 FPS Ultra result drops below the playable threshold. The Medium setting at 61 FPS is the sweet spot for this resolution.

At 4K, all results are below 60 FPS. The 44 FPS Low result is the only one that could be considered playable, and even that is marginal. The 33 FPS Medium and 29 FPS High results are too choppy for a good experience, and the 22 FPS Ultra is a slideshow.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The GPU has 18 ray tracing cores. Its clock speed is a steady 2500 MHz for both base and boost, which is a high frequency. The memory configuration consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s.

In The Technomancer, the GPU’s role becomes more critical as resolution and settings increase. The 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the demand for texture memory likely exceeds what is comfortable, contributing to the 22 FPS result. The 160-bit memory bus, while providing high bandwidth, is narrower than many competitors, which can limit performance in memory-intensive scenarios.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores are respectable. Its 3dMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2649, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 96844. These scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. However, in this game, its performance is not exceptional. The Passmark G3D score is 14195, but the game’s frame rates are not directly correlated with this. The data shows that the GPU can produce 121 FPS at 1080p Low, but the 62 FPS at Ultra indicates a significant performance hit from higher settings.

The GPU’s FP32 performance is 11.52 TFLOPS, which is a solid number for a mid-range card. However, The Technomancer is not a particularly demanding game by modern standards, and the GPU is not the sole limiting factor at lower resolutions. The 4K results clearly show the GPU’s limitations, as it cannot maintain playable frame rates at any setting above Low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The CPU has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory. It is a desktop processor with a 65W TDP.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p. The 121 FPS Low result is a high frame rate, but it is not as high as some newer CPUs could achieve. The single-thread performance, as measured by 3dMark at 688 and Passmark at 2541, suggests this CPU can handle the game’s logic, but it may not be able to push the GPU to its absolute limits in less demanding scenes. The multi-thread scores, such as Cinebench R23 multi-core at 10283, indicate that the CPU has enough cores for modern games, but this 2016 title may not utilize all 12 threads effectively.

The CPU’s average benchmark score is 14185, placing it in the 68th percentile. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.6% of its score, showing that it is a typical mid-range performer for its generation. The 2.90 GHz base clock is low, but the 4.30 GHz boost clock helps in single-threaded tasks. The 12 MB of L3 cache is adequate, but not generous.

The bottleneck analysis shows that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor. The frame rate does not scale linearly with settings, and the 121 FPS ceiling suggests the CPU is reaching its maximum output. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU takes over as the primary bottleneck, as the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower frame rates. The data indicates that this CPU is a capable budget option, but it is not a high-end performer, and it will hold back a mid-range GPU like the Arc B570 in CPU-bound scenarios.