The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, shows a wide performance spread depending on graphics settings. The combination of an Intel Core i5-10400F and an Intel Arc B580 produces a broad range of frame rates, from a very smooth 138.8 FPS at the lowest settings in 1080p down to a barely playable 24 FPS at 4K with everything maxed out. The measured data indicates that this pairing is highly sensitive to both resolution and preset, making the choice of settings critical for a consistent experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rates show a clear hierarchy across the four presets tested. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 138.8 FPS, which is exceptionally fluid for fast-paced action. The Medium preset drops to 107.2 FPS, still an excellent result, while High yields 92.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 69 FPS, which is playable but shows a significant performance tax for the highest visual fidelity.

For the best experience at 1080p, the High preset represents the optimal balance. It maintains an average above 90 FPS, which ensures smooth gameplay, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 23.6 FPS, a substantial reduction for what is often a marginal visual improvement. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot for this resolution, as it retains high frame rates without compromising too much on visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance curve becomes steeper. The Low preset still provides a strong 89 FPS, but the Medium preset falls to 70.6 FPS. High settings at 1440p yield 60.4 FPS, which is right on the edge of what many consider a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 46.7 FPS, which begins to feel less fluid. Therefore, at 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it keeps the average above 70 FPS and avoids the more punishing frame rate drops seen with High and Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the data paints a different picture. Even the Low preset only manages an average of 47.9 FPS, and the Medium preset falls to 40 FPS. The High preset produces 30.3 FPS, and Ultra is a slideshow at 24 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, the frame rate is below the 60 FPS target. Users with 4K displays should expect to rely on the Low preset, as the other settings are not capable of delivering a consistently playable experience with this hardware combination.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This substantial memory allocation is a key factor in the GPU’s performance. The card operates at a boost clock of 2670 MHz and has a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s, alongside a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s. These specifications contribute to the card’s ability to handle the rendering demands of The Technomancer, particularly at higher resolutions where memory capacity and bandwidth become more critical.

The GPU’s FP32 performance is rated at 13.67 TFLOPS, which places it in a competitive position within its class. In the benchmark database, the Arc B580 achieves an average benchmark score of 23021, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 760M, which scores 22999 (a 0.1% difference), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, which scores 23181 (a -0.7% difference). This indicates that the Arc B580 is performance-neutral relative to these cards in general compute benchmarks.

The measured game data suggests that the GPU is a significant factor in the lower frame rates at 4K. The steep drop from 47.9 FPS at Low to 30.3 FPS at High, and further to 24 FPS at Ultra, shows that the graphics card is being pushed to its limits. The 12 GB VRAM buffer is likely sufficient for the game’s textures, but the raw compute throughput limits the card’s ability to maintain high frame rates at 4K with enhanced effects. The GPU’s role is therefore dominant in this scenario, as the CPU has enough headroom to feed it at these settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combination in The Technomancer?

A: The highest measured average is 138.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 1440p compare to the High preset at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 46.7 FPS, which is significantly lower than the 92.6 FPS seen with the High preset at 1920x1080. This demonstrates a substantial performance cost for both the resolution increase and the higher settings.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B580 a good match for the Intel Core i5-10400F in this game?

A: The data shows that the pairing is well-balanced at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates scale consistently with settings, from 138.8 FPS at Low to 69 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the frame rates are much lower, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at that resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 47.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages only 24 FPS. This represents a 23.9 FPS reduction, or roughly a 50% drop in performance, when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168, which is 0.8% lower than the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C’s score of 14277. This is a negligible difference in general processing power.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 2560x1440 according to the data?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 70.6 FPS, which is the highest preset that maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS. The High preset falls to 60.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 46.7 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the Intel Arc B580 holds a rank of 1286 out of 1656 tested combos. This places it in the lower portion of the ranking, indicating that there are many other CPU and GPU pairings that deliver higher average frame rates in this title.

The rank reflects the overall performance across all tested scenarios. Given that the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K and even at 1440p with higher presets, it is not surprising that it ranks in the 77th percentile of all combos. However, it is important to note that this ranking is specific to The Technomancer and does not necessarily reflect the combo’s performance in other games.

The data shows that the combo is more competitive at 1080p, where it delivers frame rates well above 60 FPS on High settings. The lower ranking is likely influenced by the poor performance at 4K, where the GPU becomes the bottleneck. When considering this combo, users should recognize that it is optimized for 1080p and entry-level 1440p gaming, not for high-refresh-rate or 4K experiences.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a clear pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 92.6 FPS at 1080p to 60.4 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 32.2 FPS. Moving to 4K, the frame rate plummets to 30.3 FPS, which is a further 30.1 FPS drop. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the pixel throughput requirements increase dramatically with resolution.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is similar but with higher absolute numbers. The frame rate goes from 138.8 FPS at 1080p to 89 FPS at 1440p, a 49.8 FPS drop. At 4K, it falls to 47.9 FPS, another 41.1 FPS reduction. This consistent halving of performance at each resolution step suggests that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated.

The data strongly implies that the Intel Arc B580 is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU, which has a boost clock of 4.30 GHz and 12 threads, is likely capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p, as evidenced by the high frame rates. However, as resolution increases, the GPU’s rendering workload grows, and the frame rate scales down proportionally. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the graphics card’s raw performance limits the final output.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a full range of performance. The Low preset delivers an average of 138.8 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this combo. The Medium preset averages 107.2 FPS, and the High preset averages 92.6 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 69 FPS, which is the lowest at this resolution. The spread from Low to Ultra is 69.8 FPS, showing a wide range of scalability.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are more moderate. The Low preset averages 89 FPS, the Medium preset averages 70.6 FPS, and the High preset averages 60.4 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 46.7 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 42.3 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p but still significant.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are notably lower. The Low preset averages 47.9 FPS, the Medium preset averages 40 FPS, and the High preset averages 30.3 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 24 FPS, which is the lowest result in the entire dataset. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 23.9 FPS, showing that even the lowest settings cannot achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience.