The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 across a matrix of resolutions and quality presets. The data reveals a configuration capable of high refresh rate gaming at 1080p, excellent performance at 1440p, and playable, though demanding, frame rates at 4K. The benchmark results show how this specific CPU-GPU pairing scales with graphical load and where its performance limits lie.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 91.7 FPS, which is highly playable on high refresh rate monitors. However, the High preset achieves 115.2 FPS, a significant 25.6% improvement over Ultra, while the Low preset reaches 179.8 FPS, indicating the GPU has substantial headroom at this resolution. For competitive play or maximizing frame rates, the High preset is the sweet spot, offering a 23.5 FPS advantage over Ultra with presumably minimal visual degradation. The Medium preset at 140.5 FPS is a balanced alternative, but High provides more performance without the steep quality drop of Low.

At 2560x1440, the scenario shifts. The Ultra preset yields 59.7 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The High preset, however, comfortably exceeds this at 74.5 FPS. This makes High the recommended setting for 1440p, as it provides a 24.8% performance boost over Ultra while maintaining high visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 88.4 FPS is also viable for users prioritizing higher frame rates, but the data indicates that High offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at this resolution.

For 3840x2160, the RTX 5060 begins to show its limits. The Ultra preset averages only 32.3 FPS, which is not fluid for an action RPG. The High preset improves this to 43.2 FPS, but this is still below the ideal range for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 50.9 FPS is playable but requires a compromise in visual settings. The Low preset at 62.8 FPS is the only 4K option that consistently delivers a playable frame rate. Therefore, for 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only recommendation from the measured data, as it provides the necessary performance headroom, albeit with significant visual compromises.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: The High preset is recommended, as it delivers an average of 115.2 FPS. This is substantially higher than the Ultra preset's 91.7 FPS and offers a better balance of visual quality and performance than the Low preset's 179.8 FPS.

Q: Can this configuration handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. The Ultra preset is not playable, averaging 32.3 FPS. The High preset at 43.2 FPS is borderline, while the Low preset at 62.8 FPS is the only preset that provides a consistently smooth experience at 3840x2160.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400's average benchmark score of 19850 is nearly identical to its closest rivals. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K. It trails the Intel Core i7-8700 by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance rank relative to other graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 sits in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 30109 is statistically tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which has a deltaPct of 0%. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 570 and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M60.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 114.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 59.7 FPS. This represents a 92.3% performance increase for the Low preset, which is the largest relative gap between these two settings at any resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable performance scaling pattern as resolution increases. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average frame rate drops by approximately 35-36% across all settings. For instance, the High preset falls from 115.2 FPS to 74.5 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls from 91.7 FPS to 59.7 FPS. This is a substantial decrease, suggesting that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the pixel count increases by 78% (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million pixels), but the frame rate does not drop proportionally, indicating some headroom in the processing pipeline.

The scaling from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is even more severe. The pixel count jumps by another 125% (from 3.69 million to 8.29 million pixels). The High preset drops from 74.5 FPS to 43.2 FPS, a 42% decrease. The Ultra preset suffers a similar fate, falling from 59.7 FPS to 32.3 FPS, a 45.9% reduction. This steeper decline at 4K strongly indicates that the RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus become a critical bottleneck. The data shows that the system is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, and the CPU's performance is less of a factor in the 4K results.

The overall trend shows that the performance cost of each resolution step is not linear. The transition to 4K is significantly more punishing than the transition to 1440p. This is characteristic of a GPU that has sufficient bandwidth for 1440p but is saturated by the demands of 4K, particularly with higher quality settings. The 1080p results, with frame rates exceeding 90 FPS even on Ultra, confirm that the processor is more than capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, making the graphics card the definitive performance arbiter in this configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration demonstrates high performance across the board. The Low preset delivers an average of 179.8 FPS, establishing a high ceiling. The Medium preset achieves 140.5 FPS, which is a 21.9% reduction from Low. The High preset averages 115.2 FPS, a further 18% drop from Medium. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, averaging 91.7 FPS, which is a 20.4% reduction from High. This linear progression shows a consistent cost for each quality tier.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but the gaps between presets narrow in percentage terms. The Low preset averages 114.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 88.4 FPS represents a 23% decrease from Low. The High preset at 74.5 FPS is a 15.7% drop from Medium. The Ultra preset at 59.7 FPS is a 19.9% reduction from High. The frame rates are still playable, but the Ultra preset is now approaching the lower limit of smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly, and the relative differences between presets shift. The Low preset averages 62.8 FPS, which is the only preset to remain above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 50.9 FPS is a 19% decrease from Low. The High preset at 43.2 FPS is a 15.1% drop from Medium. The Ultra preset averages just 32.3 FPS, a 25.2% reduction from High. This indicates that at 4K, the Ultra preset is not a viable option for a smooth experience, and even High struggles to maintain playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark results place this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at rank 844 out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the top 51% of all tested configurations, indicating a solidly mid-range performance tier. The rank reflects the balanced nature of the pair, where neither component is severely bottlenecking the other at most settings.

The CPU's individual performance is competitive with its direct peers, as its average benchmark score of 19850 is within 0.4% of its nearest rivals. This suggests that the i5-12400 is not a limiting factor in the overall ranking. Similarly, the GPU's average score of 30109 places it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, showing it is a capable graphics processor. The combination of a mid-pack CPU and a slightly above-average GPU results in a system that performs well but does not top the charts for this specific title.

The rank of 844 out of 1656 suggests that while this combo delivers good performance, there are many other configurations that achieve higher frame rates in The Technomancer. This is likely due to the game's age and its potential sensitivity to certain hardware architectures. The data shows that this pairing is proficient, but it does not represent a top-tier or extreme-performance solution for this game. Its placement in the middle of the pack is consistent with the measured FPS results, which show strong 1080p performance, good 1440p capability, but limited 4K headroom.