The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware. Analyzing the measured frame rates for the Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 reveals a configuration that is capable at mainstream resolutions but begins to strain under the load of 4K Ultra settings. The data shows a clear hierarchy where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the processor provides a solid foundation for high frame rates at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 103 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the average drops to 67 FPS, a reduction of 36 FPS. At 4K (3840x2160), the average falls further to 37 FPS, which is nearly a third of the 1080p performance. This steep decline indicates that the rendering resolution heavily taxes the AMD Radeon RX 9060, and the processor is not the limiting factor in these scenarios.

The scaling between Low and Ultra settings further highlights the GPU's role. At 4K, the difference between Low (56 FPS) and Ultra (29 FPS) is a stark 27 FPS, showing that the graphics card's compute units and memory bandwidth are saturated by the higher visual fidelity. The 4K Medium preset shows an average of 43 FPS with a measured minimum of 37 FPS, suggesting that even at medium quality, the GPU is working near its limits to maintain playable frame rates. For 1440p, the scaling is more forgiving: High yields 67 FPS, Medium 79 FPS, and Low 102 FPS, with the gap between presets narrowing compared to 4K, which indicates the GPU still has headroom at this resolution.

The data suggests that 1080p is where this combination excels. The jump from 1080p High (103 FPS) to 1440p High (67 FPS) is a 36 FPS loss, which is significant but expected for a 78% increase in pixel count. However, the drop from 1440p High (67 FPS) to 4K High (37 FPS) is a 30 FPS loss for a 125% increase in pixels, showing that the GPU's performance curve flattens as it approaches its memory and shading unit limits. The minimum FPS recorded for 1440p Medium (67 FPS) is identical to the average FPS for 1440p High, indicating that the higher preset introduces frame time consistency challenges that are not present at lower settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides the computational backbone for this pairing. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it offers a substantial amount of parallelism for a game from 2016. The processor’s architecture is Alder Lake, built on a 10 nm process, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The benchmark data shows strong single-threaded performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and a passmark_single_thread score of 3456, which is critical for game logic and frame pacing.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's high boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures that the game's main thread has access to fast execution. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 indicates that the processor can handle background tasks and the game's secondary threads without creating a bottleneck. However, the measured frame rates at 1080p Low (157 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (80 FPS) show that the CPU is not the primary constraint; the GPU is. At 1080p Low, the game is likely pushing close to the engine's frame rate limit, but the 157 FPS average suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately.

The processor’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the game's open-world traversal and AI routines. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 5873 and the 3dmark_max_threads score of 5890 are nearly identical, indicating that the 12 threads are fully utilized and that adding more threads would not yield better performance for this workload. The passmark_multithread score of 18747 places this CPU in the 72nd percentile against all CPUs, confirming it is a competent mid-range part that does not hold back the RX 9060 in this title.

Settings Recommendations

For a consistent 60 FPS experience, the data points to 1440p Medium as the optimal target. The measured average is 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, which ensures the frame rate rarely dips below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p High, the average drops to 67 FPS, but without a recorded minimum, the experience could suffer from occasional stutters. The 4K resolution is only viable at Low settings (56 FPS average), but the visual quality trade-off is substantial.

At 1080p, the High preset (103 FPS) offers the best balance of visual fidelity and fluidity for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p (80 FPS) provides a marginal visual upgrade over High but costs 23 FPS, which is not a favorable trade for competitive or fast-paced gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p (120 FPS) is the choice for players who prioritize frame rate above all else, as it maintains a very high average while still delivering a decent visual presentation.

For players with a 1440p display, the Medium preset is the data-backed recommendation. The 79 FPS average and 67 FPS minimum provide a smooth experience with headroom for demanding scenes. Jumping to High reduces the average to 67 FPS, which is still playable, but the lack of a minimum FPS value means the frame pacing could be less stable. At 4K, the data suggests that only Low (56 FPS) is playable, but the 29 FPS Ultra and 37 FPS High results indicate that this resolution is beyond the card's comfort zone for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1632 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the 42nd percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms a majority of systems but is outclassed by a significant number of higher-end pairings. This ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates, which show strong 1080p performance but moderate 4K capability.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 16014 is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which is a direct competitor. The RX 9060 also outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 7700 by 1% and the AMD Radeon R9 370X by 1% in average benchmark scores. This indicates that the graphics card is a solid mid-range performer that can compete with previous generation high-end cards. The CPU's average benchmark score of 18683 is 0.9% higher than the Intel Core i3-14100F, showing that the i5-12400 provides a slight edge in processor-bound scenarios.

The combo's overall rank is likely dragged down by the 4K results, where the GPU's 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are taxed heavily. At 1080p, the combo's performance relative to other systems would be significantly better, as the CPU and GPU pair well to produce high frame rates. The data suggests that this is a strong 1080p and capable 1440p gaming system, but it is not designed for 4K Ultra gaming in this specific title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the clear bottleneck at higher resolutions. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but is strained at 4K. The GPU's 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs are responsible for the pixel processing, and the pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s is a key factor in the 4K performance drop. The boost clock of 2990 MHz helps maintain performance at lower resolutions, but the memory bandwidth becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The GPU's architecture is RDNA 4.0, built on a 4nm process, which offers efficient power consumption with a TDP of 132 W. The 3dmark_3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 3322 and the passmark_g3d score of 17631 confirm that this is a capable DirectX 12 performer. The passmark_directx_12 score of 44 is notably lower than the DirectX 11 score of 182, which suggests that the GPU's driver overhead or hardware scheduling for DX12 might not be fully optimized for this older game engine, which was released in 2016.

The GPU's 28 RT cores are present but likely unused in The Technomancer, as the game predates widespread ray tracing adoption. The FP32 performance of 21.43 TFLOPS provides ample compute power for the game's visual effects. The GPU's percentile rank of 59 against all GPUs indicates it is an average-performing card, but its near-rival status with the RTX 3060 Ti (0.7% lower average score) and the RX 7700 (1% higher) shows that it sits in a competitive mid-range tier. The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is the most probable cause of the 4K Ultra performance collapse, as the game's high-resolution textures likely exceed the memory allocation, causing a drop to 29 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 at High settings provides an average of 103 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. 2560x1440 at Medium is also viable, with an average of 79 FPS and a minimum of 67 FPS.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which yields an average of 56 FPS. At High settings, the average drops to 37 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 29 FPS, which is not a smooth experience.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 or the AMD Radeon RX 9060 the bottleneck?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 157 FPS, indicating the CPU can handle the workload. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, which points to GPU limitations.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti?

A: In average benchmark scores, the RX 9060 is 0.7% lower than the RTX 3060 Ti. This indicates they are very close in performance, with the RX 9060 being a slightly slower competitor.

Q: What settings should be used for a 60 FPS target at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, ensuring the frame rate stays above the 60 FPS target. The High preset averages 67 FPS but lacks a recorded minimum.

Q: Does the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration limit performance in this game?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and a single-thread score of 2257, are sufficient to feed the GPU. The frame rate scaling with resolution confirms the GPU is the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 deliver the following average frame rates: Low settings produce 157 FPS, Medium settings produce 120 FPS (with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS), High settings produce 103 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 80 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down: Low settings yield an average of 102 FPS, Medium settings yield 79 FPS (minimum 67 FPS, maximum 90 FPS), High settings yield 67 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 52 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed: Low settings average 56 FPS, Medium settings average 43 FPS (minimum 37 FPS, maximum 50 FPS), High settings average 37 FPS, and Ultra settings average 29 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern where the Medium preset is the only one at 4K that provides a recorded minimum FPS, indicating more stable frame pacing compared to other presets at that resolution.