The Technomancer

The Technomancer is a demanding action RPG that stresses the GPU heavily, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produces a playable experience only at specific settings. The data shows this combination ranks in the 15th percentile of tested combos, placing it at rank 1414 out of 1656, which indicates a system built for 1080p gaming rather than high-resolution or maxed-out quality. The benchmark results reveal a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs, and the CPU provides ample headroom to keep the frame rate moving.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second (FPS) drop sharply as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the combo averages 74.5 FPS, but moving to 1440p reduces that to 48.4 FPS, and at 4K the average falls to 27.8 FPS. This represents a 63% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GTX 1660 SUPER simply does not have the raw throughput to sustain high frame rates at higher pixel counts.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the system delivers 109.7 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 73.8 FPS at 1440p and 40.3 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 63% at Low settings, nearly identical to the High preset, which suggests the frame rate is limited by the same component regardless of graphical load. The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute decline, falling from 58.9 FPS at 1080p to 18.3 FPS at 4K, a 69% reduction that pushes the experience below playable thresholds.

This data strongly suggests that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU, with 6 cores and 12 threads, has enough processing power to feed the graphics card at lower resolutions, but the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus begin to bottleneck as the pixel count increases. The 4K results are consistently below 30 FPS even at Medium settings, which means this combo is not viable for 4K gaming in The Technomancer.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-11400F and GTX 1660 SUPER achieves a rank of 1414 out of 1656 tested combos in this game, placing it in the bottom 15% of all configurations. This low ranking is reflective of the GPU’s age and tier; the GTX 1660 SUPER sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs based on average benchmark scores, and its nearest rivals show just how close the competition is. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 scores 14314, which is 0.2% lower than the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 14286 average, while the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics is also 0.2% lower at 14315. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is 0.7% ahead, indicating that this performance class is extremely competitive.

The CPU side of the equation is stronger. The i5-11400F sits at the 75th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17181. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U at 17189 (0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P at 17212 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U at 17215 (0.2% higher). The CPU’s strong showing in synthetic tests, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372, confirms that the processor is not the bottleneck in this pairing.

The poor combo ranking is therefore almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The data shows that while the CPU performs admirably in general benchmarks, the gaming result is dragged down by the graphics card’s inability to handle The Technomancer’s demands at higher resolutions. Users looking to improve this ranking would need to focus on GPU upgrades, as the CPU has headroom to support a more powerful graphics card.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU116 chip, featuring 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. It runs at a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, which is adequate for 1080p gaming but becomes strained at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 12699, which places it at the 55th percentile among all GPUs. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1278, and it manages 62664 in Geekbench OpenCL and 59933 in Geekbench Vulkan. These scores indicate a card that can handle modern games at 1080p but will struggle with 1440p or 4K in demanding titles.

In The Technomancer specifically, the GPU’s role is clearly the dominant factor in performance. The 4K results at High settings (27.8 FPS) and Ultra settings (18.3 FPS) are below playable thresholds, while the 1080p results range from 58.9 FPS at Ultra to 109.7 FPS at Low. The GPU’s 6 GB VRAM is likely a limiting factor at 4K, where texture and geometry demands exceed the available memory, causing the frame rate to plummet. The card’s 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is simply not enough to maintain smooth frame rates at higher resolutions in this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Technomancer with this combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system consistently exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 74.5 FPS at High settings and 86.8 FPS at Medium. At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 52.5 at Medium and 48.4 at High, which is playable but not ideal. 4K is not viable, as even Low settings only yield 40.3 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, and 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon Vega 11. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is 0.7% faster, with a score of 14389.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting component. The CPU ranks at the 75th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 55th percentile. The frame rate drops by 63% from 1080p to 4K, indicating GPU-bound behavior, and the CPU’s strong synthetic scores suggest it has headroom to spare.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 58.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable. The High preset averages 74.5 FPS, providing a smoother experience. For a consistent 60+ FPS, Medium settings at 86.8 FPS are recommended.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 1414 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 15% of all systems. This ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s mid-range performance, despite the CPU’s strong showing.

Q: Does the CPU’s performance match its rivals?

A: The i5-11400F scores 17181 on average, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189). It is 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i7-1260P and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, but 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i5-1240U.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1080p with Medium settings, which delivers an average of 86.8 FPS. This provides a smooth and responsive frame rate while still maintaining visual quality above the Low preset. The High preset at 1080p (74.5 FPS) is also viable for users who prioritize visuals over a slight reduction in smoothness, but the Ultra preset at 58.9 FPS risks dropping below 60 FPS in demanding scenes.

At 1440p, the system becomes more constrained. The Medium preset averages 52.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset at 73.8 FPS offers the best performance at this resolution, making it the recommended choice for users who want to play at 1440p. The High preset at 48.4 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 39 FPS is too low for a comfortable experience.

4K is not recommended for this combo. Even the Low preset at 40.3 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, and the Medium preset drops to 32.8 FPS. The High preset at 27.8 FPS and Ultra at 18.3 FPS are effectively unplayable. Users should stick to 1080p or 1440p with adjusted settings to get the best experience from this hardware.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel interface and a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

The CPU’s synthetic benchmarks show it is a capable gaming processor. It scores 14372 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2029 in single-core, which are strong numbers for a mid-range chip. Its Passmark multithread score is 16908, with a single-thread score of 2981. The 3DMark results are also solid, with a max-thread score of 5652 and a single-thread score of 868.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain frame rates. Given the GPU-bound nature of the performance, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The fact that frame rates drop by 63% from 1080p to 4K confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, and the CPU likely has headroom to support a more powerful graphics card. The CPU’s 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs, compared to the GPU’s 55th percentile, further supports this analysis.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings average 109.7 FPS, Medium averages 86.8 FPS, High averages 74.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 58.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 50.8 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop considerably. Low settings average 73.8 FPS, Medium averages 52.5 FPS, High averages 48.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 39 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is 26.1 FPS (from 74.5 to 48.4), representing a 35% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 40.3 FPS, Medium averages 32.8 FPS, High averages 27.8 FPS, and Ultra averages 18.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the worst-performing configuration, with a frame rate that is 83% lower than the best-performing configuration (1080p Low). The data clearly shows that this combo is optimized for 1080p gaming, with diminishing returns at higher resolutions.