The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting test for the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti pairing. The benchmark data shows a system that is clearly capable of high frame rates, but the relationship between resolution, settings, and performance reveals a nuanced picture of where the bottlenecks lie. This analysis will break down the measured FPS across various configurations, placing the combo’s performance in context with its rivals and identifying the implications for gamers.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in The Technomancer?

A: The combo ranks 675th out of 1656 tested combinations, placing it in the top half of all systems tested for this game.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850. This puts it 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 (score 19831) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K (score 19771). It trails the Intel Core i7-8700 by 0.2% (score 19894) and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4% (score 19928).

Q: What is the maximum measured average frame rate achieved by this system?

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 201.9, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How much of a performance drop does the system experience when moving from High settings at 1440p to High settings at 4K?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average FPS is 87.8. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS drops to 46.6. This represents a significant 46.9% decrease in performance.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how might it relate to performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. The memory clock is listed as 1188 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective.

Q: In synthetic benchmarks, how does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to the AMD Radeon RX 6700?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 30849, which is 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6700's score of 31112.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is the primary driver of graphical performance, and its specifications are central to interpreting the measured results. The GPU is built on the Ampere architecture and features 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. Its core clocks are listed with a base of 1575 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz. The memory subsystem is a key feature, comprising 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit interface, which provides a substantial 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This high bandwidth is crucial for feeding the GPU's processing power, especially at higher resolutions.

The GPU's raw compute capabilities are significant, with a FP32 performance of 21.75 TFLOPS. The presence of 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores indicates modern feature support, aligning with DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 APIs. In the context of The Technomancer, the data shows the GPU scaling as expected with settings. At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 71.7 at Low settings down to 34.7 at Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a clear cost: each step up in quality from Low to Medium (71.7 to 53.2) and Medium to High (53.2 to 46.6) represents a significant performance hit. The final jump to Ultra (46.6 to 34.7) is also steep. This indicates the game is highly sensitive to the visual fidelity settings, and the RTX 3070 Ti, despite its power, is challenged to maintain high frame rates at the highest preset in 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The system's overall standing in The Technomancer is defined by its rank of 675 out of 1656 tested combinations. This position, being in the 40th percentile of all combos, indicates that while the i5-12400 and RTX 3070 Ti are capable, there are many other configurations that deliver higher frame rates. The GPU's individual percentile is 74, placing it above the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. However, the CPU's percentile is 77, suggesting the processor is a slightly stronger component relative to its peers than the graphics card is to its own.

The synthetic benchmarks for the GPU show it is closely matched with its immediate rivals. The RTX 3070 Ti's average score of 30849 is only 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (score 30755) and 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (score 31112). This suggests that in a broad sense, the GPU is on par with these cards. However, the game-specific FPS data is the true measure of performance. The 675th rank suggests that for this particular title, the combination of CPU and GPU is competitive but not top-tier, potentially due to the game's optimization and reliance on specific hardware features.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system is incredibly fast, with average FPS ranging from 201.9 at Low to 102 at Ultra. The High preset yields 130.4 FPS, and Medium is at 156.4. This shows that at 1080p, the system is never CPU-bound in a way that prevents very high frame rates, and users can easily use the High or Ultra presets for a smooth experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. The average FPS at Low is 131.8, which is still a very high number. Medium settings provide 102.8 FPS, and High settings deliver 87.8 FPS. At the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 68.9. This resolution represents a sweet spot for the hardware, offering high refresh rate potential on High settings and a perfectly playable 60+ FPS experience on Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the demand on the GPU becomes apparent. The average FPS at Low settings is 71.7, which is playable. However, at Medium, the frame rate drops to 53.2, and at High, it falls to 46.6. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding an average of only 34.7 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: at 4K, the system is firmly GPU-limited, and users must accept lower settings to achieve frame rates above 60.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is a clear indicator of the system's balance. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 201.9 at 1080p to 131.8 at 1440p, a 34.7% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the FPS drops from 131.8 to 71.7, a 45.6% decrease. This substantial drop suggests that the GPU is the limiting component, as the workload scales dramatically with pixel count.

At High settings, the pattern is similar. The average FPS goes from 130.4 at 1080p to 87.8 at 1440p, a 32.7% drop, and then to 46.6 at 4K, a further 46.9% drop. The scaling is not linear, with the jump to 4K being significantly more punishing. This is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The 1080p results, especially at Low (201.9 FPS) and Medium (156.4 FPS), are so high that they approach the limits of what the CPU can feed. The relatively smaller percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p, compared to the drop from 1440p to 4K, indicates that the CPU is still contributing to the performance ceiling at lower resolutions. The 4K results are almost entirely dictated by the GPU's rendering capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The processor has 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its synthetic performance is solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249. These scores place it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be more supportive than primary. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, the system can achieve very high frame rates, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution. For instance, hitting 201.9 FPS at Low settings requires the CPU to handle a high number of draw calls and game logic updates. The processor's strong single-thread performance, as indicated by its 3dmark single-thread score of 910, is likely a key factor here. However, the performance scaling shows that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. The 4K results are significantly lower across all settings, confirming that the i5-12400 has ample headroom to keep the RTX 3070 Ti fed at lower resolutions but is not the primary constraint at higher ones. The processor's 65W TDP and 10nm process node also imply it can maintain these performance levels without excessive power draw, making it a balanced partner for the high-TDP 290W GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For users with a 1080p display, the Ultra preset, with an average of 102 FPS, offers the best experience. It provides a high level of visual detail while maintaining a frame rate well above 60, making it the clear choice for this resolution. Even the High preset at 130.4 FPS is excellent, but Ultra's 102 FPS is still exceptionally smooth and provides the best image quality.

At 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 87.8 FPS, which is a great balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset, at 68.9 FPS, is also viable and offers a richer visual experience, but it dips closer to the 60 FPS threshold. Users who prioritize a very high refresh rate might prefer the Medium preset, which yields 102.8 FPS, but High is the sweet spot for most.

At 4K, the situation is more challenging. The High preset averages 46.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset, at 53.2 FPS, is also not quite there. To achieve a smooth 60+ FPS experience at 4K, the Low preset is the only option, yielding 71.7 FPS. This requires a significant compromise in visual quality. For a more balanced experience at 4K, the Medium preset (53.2 FPS) is the highest quality setting that remains playable, though users with high refresh rate monitors will need to stick with Low. The data clearly shows that this combo is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring substantial setting reductions.