The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting stress test for modern hardware. The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces a dataset that clearly delineates the boundaries between CPU and GPU limitations. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher fidelity presets, but which also exposes the processor's capabilities at lower resolutions where the graphics card is left with ample headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the expected shift in bottleneck. At High settings, the system delivers 194.2 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 127.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 71.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 63.4% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K. The data shows a clear pattern: the higher the resolution, the more the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as the sheer number of pixels being rendered increases exponentially.

The scaling behavior changes when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 252.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 193.7 FPS, and at 4K Low, it still manages 106.4 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is 23.2%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 45.1%. This non-linear scaling suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is beginning to assert its influence at 1080p, preventing the frame rate from scaling purely with pixel count. The 252.1 FPS figure appears to be near the practical ceiling for this processor in this title.

The Ultra preset tells the most straightforward story. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 151.4 FPS, which is only 2.0% lower than the 1440p High result of 127.9 FPS. This proximity indicates that the Ultra preset at 1080p is still primarily GPU-limited, though the gap between 1080p Ultra (151.4 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (102.2 FPS) is a 32.5% reduction. The 4K Ultra result of 53.7 FPS is the lowest in the dataset, confirming that the RTX 4080 SUPER is doing the heavy lifting, with the CPU's role diminishing as resolution climbs.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combination?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 252.1 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset performance compare between 1440p and 4K?

A: At 2560x1440 Ultra, the system averages 102.2 FPS. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average drops to 53.7 FPS, representing a 47.5% reduction in performance.

Q: Is this combo more CPU-limited or GPU-limited at 1080p High?

A: At 1080p High, the average frame rate is 194.2 FPS. The jump to 1440p High results in 127.9 FPS, a 34.1% decrease, which indicates the system is still heavily GPU-dependent, though the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at this level.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 106.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 53.7 FPS. This is a 49.5% performance difference between the two extremes of the settings spectrum.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, scores 19831, showing a delta of 0.1% in favor of the i5-12400.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks in the 88th percentile against all GPUs, indicating it outperforms the majority of tested graphics cards in the database.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, boosting up to 4.40 GHz. This processor sits in the 77th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831, delta 0.1%), the Intel Core i7-8700 (19894, delta -0.2%), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (19928, delta -0.4%). These small deltas show that the i5-12400 performs on par with older, higher-tier processors in synthetic tests.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is most evident at the lowest resolution and settings. The 252.1 FPS result at 1080p Low is the highest in the dataset, and the fact that it does not scale further suggests a CPU limit. The processor's single-thread performance, indicated by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 2249, is adequate for this title. The multicore scores, such as the cinebench_r23_multicore result of 15935, show that the 6-core/12-thread configuration provides enough parallel processing power for the game's engine.

The data indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at 4K resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 53.7 FPS, a number that is almost certainly dictated by the GPU's rendering load. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are sufficient to keep the RTX 4080 SUPER fed, as evidenced by the 194.2 FPS at 1080p High. The processor's ability to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions confirms its per-core strength, even when compared to rivals with higher average scores.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance. With Low settings, it averages 252.1 FPS. Medium settings reduce this to 228.4 FPS, a 9.4% drop. High settings bring the average down to 194.2 FPS, which is 23.0% lower than Low. The Ultra preset averages 151.4 FPS, representing a 40.0% reduction from the Low preset figure. This progression shows that the GPU is the primary constraint at 1080p, as each settings tier imposes a consistent penalty.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected reduction. Low settings average 193.7 FPS, which is 23.2% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 151.5 FPS, a 33.6% reduction from Low. High settings yield 127.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 102.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 47.2%, which is wider than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's workload is becoming more significant.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4080 SUPER is clearly the bottleneck. Low settings average 106.4 FPS, which is still playable. Medium settings drop to 79 FPS, a 25.8% reduction. High settings average 71.2 FPS, and Ultra brings the system to 53.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 49.5%, the largest relative gap in the dataset. These numbers show that for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, High settings are the boundary, while Ultra will dip below 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested hardware combinations, the Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 114 out of 1656 tested combinations. This places the setup in the top 6.9% of all recorded combos, demonstrating that this pairing is exceptionally strong for The Technomancer. The rank reflects the system's ability to maintain high frame rates across all tested resolutions, particularly the 252.1 FPS peak at 1080p Low and the 127.9 FPS at 1440p High.

The rank is influenced by the GPU's 88th percentile performance among all graphics cards. The RTX 4080 SUPER, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth, is well-suited to the demands of this title. The CPU, while not the top performer in its class, does not hinder the GPU's output, as shown by the high frame rates at 1080p. The combo's position at rank 114 suggests that only a handful of other pairings, likely with more powerful processors, can extract marginally higher performance in this game.

The data indicates that this combination is balanced for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, the CPU becomes a secondary factor, but the overall result is still excellent. The fact that this combo outperforms 93.1% of all tested combinations underscores the synergy between the i5-12400 and the RTX 4080 SUPER in this specific title. For users targeting 4K Ultra, the 53.7 FPS average may require adjustments, but the overall rank confirms that this is a top-tier configuration for The Technomancer.