The Technomancer

The Technomancer is a 2016 Action RPG that can still push modern hardware in unexpected ways, and this pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT produces a wide spread of results depending on how you configure it. The data shows a system that is clearly capable of high refresh rate play at 1440p, but the frame pacing at 4K Ultra reveals a bottleneck that is worth understanding before you commit to a settings profile. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to show exactly where this combo excels and where it struggles, using only the benchmark database figures.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1200 platform. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and it carries a 12 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 75th percentile of all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17181. This places it in close company with processors like the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (deltaPct 0) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (deltaPct -0.2), meaning its raw compute capability is competitive with those parts.

For a game like The Technomancer, which is primarily a GPU-bound title at higher resolutions, the CPU’s role is to feed the Radeon RX 7900 XT without becoming a limiting factor. The 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient for the game’s threading model, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale dramatically when the resolution drops, indicating the GPU is the primary driver of performance. The single-thread score of 868 in 3dmark and 2029 in Cinebench R23 suggests that the CPU has enough per-core strength to handle the game’s logic, but it is not the star of this show.

The key observation is that at 1080p Low, the combo hits 214.7 FPS, which is near the ceiling of what most displays can show. This suggests the CPU is not capping out even at low resolution, since the GPU is still able to push frame rates well beyond 200 FPS. However, the gap between 1080p and 4K at the same settings reveals where the balance lies. At 1080p Low, the system produces 214.7 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 86.4 FPS. That 60% reduction is entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload, not the CPU. The data indicates that the i5-11400F is a capable partner for this GPU, providing enough headroom to avoid being the bottleneck until the GPU is fully saturated at 4K Ultra, where the frame rate falls to 45.2 FPS.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain high FPS?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo delivers 104.6 FPS, which is a smooth experience for most monitors. At 1920x1080, even Ultra settings yield 129.4 FPS, so 1080p is the safest bet for maximum fluidity, while 1440p High offers a strong balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, deltaPct 0) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17212, deltaPct -0.2). This means it is statistically indistinguishable from those parts in synthetic tests, so any performance differences in games are more likely due to the GPU.

Q: Is the RX 7900 XT the limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes, the evidence is clear. At 4K Ultra, the combo only achieves 45.2 FPS, while at 4K Low it reaches 86.4 FPS. The massive swing from Low to Ultra settings at the same resolution indicates the GPU is fully saturated, and the CPU is not holding it back.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among tested systems?

A: This specific combination ranks 377 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the top 23% of all tested configurations. This is a strong showing, but not a top-tier result, suggesting that other CPU/GPU pairings can achieve higher frame rates.

Q: Does the CPU have enough threads for this game?

A: The 12 threads of the i5-11400F are sufficient, as the frame rates at 1080p Low (214.7 FPS) demonstrate that the CPU can handle the game’s demands without bottlenecking the GPU. The game is not heavily multithreaded, so the 6-core design is more than adequate.

Q: Should I use High or Medium settings at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows High settings at 1440p produce 104.6 FPS, while Medium produces 124.5 FPS. The 19.9 FPS difference is noticeable, but High still clears the 100 FPS threshold, so it is the better choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data is straightforward: this system is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions. Starting at 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 164.5 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops that to 104.6 FPS, a 36% reduction. Pushing further to 3840x2160 High yields 60.5 FPS, which is another 42% drop from 1440p. This consistent decline in frame rate as pixel count increases is a classic sign that the Radeon RX 7900 XT, with its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth, is doing the heavy lifting.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the combo goes from 214.7 FPS at 1080p, to 160.8 FPS at 1440p, and down to 86.4 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 59.7%, which is slightly less severe than the 63.2% drop at High settings, but still indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, you would expect the frame rates to stay relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU workload does not change much with resolution. That is not the case here, so the conclusion is that the i5-11400F has ample headroom, and the RX 7900 XT is the component that determines the playable experience at higher resolutions.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is more punishing than from 1080p to 1440p. For example, at Medium settings, 1440p produces 124.5 FPS, but 4K drops to 70.5 FPS, a 43% reduction. This non-linear scaling is typical of a GPU that is hitting its memory bandwidth or shading limits at 4K. The RX 7900 XT’s 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is impressive, but The Technomancer’s rendering engine appears to demand more than just raw compute at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo ranks 377 out of 1656 tested combinations in The Technomancer. This places it in the 77th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms the majority of configurations but is not among the elite. The top 23% of combos achieve higher frame rates, which suggests that while this pairing is strong, there are other CPUs or GPUs that can push the game further.

Given the GPU’s benchmark scores, where the RX 7900 XT sits in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 38358, you might expect a higher overall rank. However, the combo rank of 377 indicates that the game’s optimization, or lack thereof, plays a role. The CPU’s 75th percentile ranking is solid, but the combination does not synergize perfectly in this specific title. The nearest GPU rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (deltaPct 0) and the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (deltaPct 0.3), show that the GPU is competitive, but the final frame rates are what matter for the rank.

The 377th rank out of 1656 is a respectable result, but it also means that roughly 1279 other combos perform better in this game. This is not a criticism of the hardware, but rather a reflection of how The Technomancer interacts with this specific pairing. The data suggests that if you are chasing the highest possible frame rates in this game, there are better combinations, but this setup still offers a very playable experience at 1440p.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 129.4 FPS, which is well above the 100 FPS threshold and perfectly smooth for any display. Since the game is not visually demanding by modern standards, running Ultra at 1080p is the obvious choice, as the drop from High (164.5 FPS) to Ultra (129.4 FPS) is acceptable when you still have a high refresh rate.

At 2560x1440, the situation is more nuanced. The Ultra preset drops to 83.1 FPS, which is still playable but may not be ideal for competitive play. The High preset produces 104.6 FPS, which clears the 100 FPS mark and offers most of the visual benefits of Ultra. The Medium preset at 124.5 FPS is also viable, but High is the sweet spot because it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining a triple-digit frame rate. Therefore, the recommendation for 1440p is High settings, as it delivers the best experience per the measured rows.

At 3840x2160, the options are more limited. The High preset yields 60.5 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target for a smooth experience, but Ultra drops to 45.2 FPS, which is below that threshold. The Medium preset at 70.5 FPS is the best choice for 4K, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while still looking better than Low (86.4 FPS). If you have a 4K display, Medium settings are the recommendation, as they offer the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate stability.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the system produces 214.7 FPS on Low settings, 190.3 FPS on Medium, 164.5 FPS on High, and 129.4 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 39.7% reduction in frame rate, which is a typical cost for the highest visual quality. The jump from Low to Medium is 24.4 FPS, from Medium to High is 25.8 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 35.1 FPS. The largest single drop is between High and Ultra, indicating that the Ultra preset is the most demanding relative to its visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 160.8 FPS on Low, 124.5 FPS on Medium, 104.6 FPS on High, and 83.1 FPS on Ultra. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 48.3%, which is a steeper penalty than at 1080p. The difference between Medium and High is 19.9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 21.5 FPS. The 1440p results show a more uniform degradation across settings, suggesting that the GPU is becoming a more significant factor at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system achieves 86.4 FPS on Low, 70.5 FPS on Medium, 60.5 FPS on High, and 45.2 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is a substantial 47.7%, and the gap between High and Ultra is 15.3 FPS, which is the smallest absolute difference across all resolutions. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the difference between High and Ultra is less pronounced than at lower resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 45.2 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS reading in the entire dataset, confirming that this preset is too demanding for this combo at that resolution.