The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing. The data shows a configuration where a modern, high-end GPU is paired with a mid-range 10th-generation processor, creating a bottleneck profile that shifts dramatically depending on resolution and settings. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is exceptionally capable but not uniformly consistent, with the CPU's influence becoming more apparent at lower resolutions and higher frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the performance ceiling lies for this combination. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 154.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that figure drops to 134.1 FPS, a reduction of approximately 13%. The jump to 4K results in a more significant decline to 76.7 FPS, which is about 43% lower than the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that while the RTX 4090 is capable of immense throughput, the i5-10400F begins to limit the frame rate as the resolution decreases.

The most telling evidence of a CPU bottleneck is visible at the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system hits 184 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it only increases to 156.2 FPS. This is a counter-intuitive result; typically, lowering resolution should yield higher frame rates, but here the 1440p result is lower. This suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is already at its limit, and the GPU is not the primary constraint. The 4K Low result of 116.3 FPS further supports this, as the scaling from 1440p to 4K is a 25% drop, which is more in line with expected GPU-bound scaling.

The data indicates that the i5-10400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, becomes the limiting factor when the graphical load is light. At 4K High, the GPU is heavily utilized, and the frame rate is more dependent on the RTX 4090's raw power. The transition from 1440p High to 4K High shows a 43% performance hit, which is expected for a 2.25x increase in pixel count. However, the relatively small gap between 1080p High (154.5 FPS) and 1440p High (134.1 FPS) suggests that the CPU is holding back the GPU from reaching its full potential at the lower resolution. This combination is best suited for high-resolution gaming, where the GPU can stretch its legs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node. Its specifications are staggering: 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, and the core runs at a boost clock of 2520 MHz. These features are directly relevant to The Technomancer's results, as the game's higher presets and resolutions demand substantial memory bandwidth and raw compute power.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks underscores its capabilities. It scores 38,194 in Passmark's G3D test and 31,7684 in Geekbench's OpenCL test, placing it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (with a deltaPct of -0.4%) and the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (0.5%), are professional-grade cards, highlighting the 4090's position at the top of the consumer spectrum. The 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the engine that drives the high frame rates observed at 4K.

The VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this game. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 60.3 FPS, and the 24 GB frame buffer is more than sufficient for any texture or geometry data The Technomancer can throw at it. The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) ensures that data transfer is not a bottleneck. The measurements show that the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions, where its 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are fully utilized. However, the GPU's potential is not fully realized at 1080p Low, where the CPU's limitations cap the frame rate, preventing the 4090 from fully flexing its muscles.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 143.2 FPS, while High (154.5 FPS), Medium (163.6 FPS), and Low (184 FPS) all offer higher averages. The differences between presets at 1080p are relatively modest, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 40.8 FPS. Given that even the Ultra preset exceeds 140 FPS, players on a 1080p display with a high refresh rate monitor can comfortably use the Ultra settings to maximize visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

The situation changes at 1440p, where the Ultra preset drops to 110.6 FPS. While still playable, the High preset (134.1 FPS) and Medium preset (144.6 FPS) offer more headroom for maintaining a stable frame rate on a 144Hz monitor. The Low preset at 156.2 FPS is the highest, but the visual compromise may not be worth the extra frames. For a balanced experience at 1440p, the High settings appear to be the sweet spot, providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium while staying well above 60 FPS.

At 4K, the choice becomes more critical. The Ultra preset yields 60.3 FPS, which is exactly at the threshold for smooth gameplay but leaves no room for dips. The High preset at 76.7 FPS is a much more comfortable option, providing a 27% performance increase over Ultra while still delivering excellent visual fidelity. The Medium preset (94.1 FPS) and Low preset (116.3 FPS) are faster but degrade the visual experience. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, the High preset is the optimal choice, as it offers a substantial frame rate advantage over Ultra with a minimal perceived visual difference in most scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds a rank of 266 out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the top 16% of all configurations, which is an impressive position given the age of the CPU. The ranking reflects the raw power of the RTX 4090, which is capable of carrying the overall system score despite the potential CPU bottleneck in certain scenarios.

The CPU itself, when compared to its nearest rivals, shows a tight grouping. The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14,168, which is only 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552 (14,115) and 1.1% higher than the Intel Core i5-8500 (14,332). This indicates that while the i5-10400F is a competent processor, it is not a performance outlier in synthetic tests. However, its 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs means it is better than the majority of processors in the database. The GPU, in contrast, is in the 91st percentile, showing a clear disparity in relative performance between the two components. This disparity is the root cause of the CPU bottleneck observed at lower resolutions, and it is what prevents this combo from ranking even higher. The high rank confirms the GPU's dominance, but the CPU prevents it from being a top-tier pairing for CPU-bound scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in The Technomancer?

A: Yes, the data suggests a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. For instance, at 1080p Low the combo hits 184 FPS, but at 1440p Low it only reaches 156.2 FPS. This counter-intuitive scaling indicates the CPU is limiting the GPU's output when the graphical load is low.

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo to avoid CPU limitations?

A: The 4K resolution appears to be where the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K is more consistent with GPU-bound behavior, and the CPU bottleneck is less pronounced at higher pixel counts.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's memory bandwidth affect 4K performance?

A: The RTX 4090 has 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth from its 24 GB GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus. This high bandwidth is crucial for maintaining the 76.7 FPS average at 4K High, as the game can rapidly stream textures and geometry data without stalling.

Q: What settings preset provides the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 1440p yields 134.1 FPS, which is a significant 21% improvement over the Ultra preset (110.6 FPS). This provides a smoother experience on high-refresh-rate displays while maintaining a high level of visual quality.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes, the VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor. The game's most demanding preset (4K Ultra) runs at 60.3 FPS, and the 24 GB frame buffer is more than adequate to handle all textures and assets without any memory-related performance drops.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 266th out of 1656 tested combinations, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations. This is a strong result, primarily driven by the RTX 4090's excellent performance, but the CPU's limitations prevent it from being a top-tier pairing.