The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination. The benchmark data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly constrained by the graphics card, with the CPU providing adequate headroom across all tested settings. The measured frame rates indicate that this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable performance at medium settings, but struggles to maintain fluidity at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 68 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings reduces that figure to 45 FPS, a substantial 34% decrease. The transition to 4K at Low settings yields just 25 FPS, which is a 63% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth as the resolution increases.

The scaling pattern becomes even more telling when examining the High preset. The average frame rate at 1080p is 45 FPS, dropping to 29 FPS at 1440p and falling to a barely playable 16 FPS at 4K. The relative performance loss from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, and from 1440p to 4K is 45%. This non-linear degradation suggests that the RX 570’s 4 GB frame buffer is becoming a limiting factor at 4K, as the game likely exceeds the available VRAM, causing additional performance penalties beyond just raw compute limitations.

At 4K Ultra settings, the system bottoms out at an average of 13 FPS. This is a 19% drop from the 4K High result of 16 FPS and a 48% drop from the 4K Medium result of 19 FPS. The data shows that attempting to run this game at 4K with this hardware is not a viable option, as even the lowest settings fail to reach a consistent 30 FPS threshold. The benchmark results indicate that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s performance does not scale inversely with resolution in a way that would suggest a processor bottleneck.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture and a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The card operates at a base clock of 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz, and its GDDR5 memory runs at 1750 MHz with an effective data rate of 7 Gbps across a 256-bit bus. This configuration provides a memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, which is a critical factor in the game’s performance at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s 4 GB frame buffer is likely the primary reason for the dramatic FPS collapse at 4K. The Technomancer’s textures and effects at High and Ultra settings probably demand more than 4 GB of VRAM, forcing the system to rely on slower system memory over the PCIe bus. The benchmark data supports this theory: the difference between Low and Medium settings at 1440p is 11 FPS (45 to 34), while the difference between Medium and High is only 5 FPS (34 to 29). This compression of performance at higher settings suggests that the memory subsystem is saturated, and additional GPU compute power is not being fully utilized.

The RX 570’s theoretical peak performance is 5.095 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, and its pixel rate is 39.81 GPixel/s. These specifications, while adequate for 1080p gaming, are insufficient for the demands of 4K in a title like The Technomancer. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 74 places it above the median of all tested GPUs, but its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 470, which is 0.8% faster, and the AMD Radeon R9 M295X, which is 0.7% slower. This indicates that the RX 570 sits in a narrow performance band, and its capabilities are well understood.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the AMD Radeon RX 570 achieves a rank of 3523 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the pairing in the bottom 5% of all systems tested, which is a direct consequence of the GPU’s limited performance at the resolutions where the game is most demanding. The rank reflects not just the absolute frame rates, but also the consistency of performance across the tested settings.

The CPU’s individual performance is not the limiting factor. The i5-11400F’s average benchmark score of 17177 puts it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD EPYC 7H12 (0.3% higher) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (0.6% higher). In contrast, the GPU’s average benchmark score of 28766 places it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, but its relative performance in this specific game is hampered by the VRAM limitation. The system’s low combo rank is therefore not an indictment of the CPU, but rather a reflection of the GPU’s inability to handle the game’s memory footprint at high resolutions.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the combo’s best performance is 68 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a respectable result for a mid-range GPU. However, the transition to 1440p and 4K shows that the system is not well-balanced for those resolutions. The rank of 3523 out of 3696 indicates that a significant majority of other tested CPU-GPU pairs deliver higher average frame rates, likely due to either more powerful GPUs or more VRAM. This ranking serves as a clear warning that the RX 570 is a 1080p-oriented card, and pairing it with a capable six-core CPU does not change that fundamental limitation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its most usable results. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 68 FPS, which provides a smooth experience. Medium settings reduce the average to 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS, indicating some frame time variance but still generally playable. High settings lower the average to 45 FPS, which is borderline for fast-paced action, while Ultra settings drop to 35 FPS, which may feel sluggish in combat scenarios.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings produce an average of 45 FPS, which is acceptable for slower exploration but may not be ideal for action sequences. Medium settings yield 34 FPS (minimum 29, maximum 40), which is at the edge of playability. High settings drop to 29 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 23 FPS. These figures show that 1440p is only viable at the lowest preset, and even then, the frame rate is not consistently high enough for a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly out of its depth. Low settings produce 25 FPS, Medium settings produce 19 FPS (minimum 16, maximum 22), High settings produce 16 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 13 FPS. None of these results approach a playable threshold, and the data shows that the system is not capable of running this game at 4K with any level of comfort. The minimum FPS values at 4K Medium (16 FPS) and the average FPS at 4K High (16 FPS) suggest that the frame rate is consistently low, with no significant spikes that would indicate variability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 12 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it connects to the GPU via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 14,340 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,024 in single-core, indicating strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 68 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would stress most CPUs. The fact that the frame rate drops to 25 FPS at 4K Low is a clear indication that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s workload does not increase significantly with resolution.

The CPU’s single-thread performance, as evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 1,777, is sufficient for the game’s primary thread. The multi-threaded capabilities, with a Passmark multithread score of 16,908, ensure that background tasks and secondary threads do not cause frame drops. The i5-11400F’s nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-12450H (0.4% slower) and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% slower), but none of these differences would meaningfully impact the game’s performance given the GPU constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this hardware combination is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This preset yields an average of 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS. The minimum frame rate is above 30 FPS, which ensures that the game remains playable during intense scenes, while the average provides a smooth experience for most players. The jump from Low to Medium settings costs 15 FPS (from 68 to 53), but the visual improvement is likely worth the performance trade-off.

If a player prioritizes frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p is the best choice, delivering 68 FPS. This is 15 FPS higher than Medium and 23 FPS higher than High, making it the only preset that consistently exceeds 60 FPS. However, the visual downgrade may be noticeable, especially in a game with detailed environments. The High preset at 1080p is not recommended, as the 45 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target and the drop from Medium is not justified by the incremental visual gains.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 45 FPS. This is playable but may exhibit occasional stutter. The Medium preset at 1440p, with an average of 34 FPS and a minimum of 29 FPS, is on the edge of playability and is not recommended for a game that requires precise timing. The 4K resolutions should be avoided entirely, as even the Low preset fails to reach 30 FPS. The data suggests that the system is best utilized as a 1080p machine for this title, with Medium settings providing the best balance of performance and visual quality.

FAQ

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

A: The best experience is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which produces an average of 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS. This provides a smooth and playable experience. 1440p is only viable at Low settings (45 FPS average), while 4K is not playable at any setting.

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so drastically from 1080p to 4K?

A: The drop is caused by the GPU’s limited memory bandwidth and 4 GB frame buffer. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 68 FPS, but this falls to 25 FPS at 4K Low. The graphics card is the primary bottleneck, and the CPU is not limiting performance at any resolution.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 570?

A: No, the benchmark data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The frame rates scale inversely with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,024) is sufficient for the game’s demands.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 3523 out of 3696 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 5% of systems, primarily due to the GPU’s performance in this game. The CPU ranks in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 74th percentile, but their combined performance in this title is limited by the GPU.

Q: What is the minimum and maximum frame rate at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system produces a minimum of 29 FPS, an average of 34 FPS, and a maximum of 40 FPS. This shows a relatively narrow frame rate band, but the minimum is below the 30 FPS threshold, which may cause noticeable stutter.

Q: Can this system run The Technomancer at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, at 4K Ultra settings, the system produces an average of only 13 FPS. This is not a playable experience. Even at 4K Low settings, the average is 25 FPS, which is still below the 30 FPS threshold for acceptable playability.