The Technomancer

# The Technomancer with Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

This combination delivers exceptional performance in The Technomancer, ranking 81st out of 2,825 tested combos, placing it in the top 3% of all configurations. The pairing of a 6-core Intel Core i5-12400 with the flagship RTX 5090 D produces playable frame rates at every resolution and setting tier, though the data reveals a clear pattern: this 2016 Action RPG becomes GPU-bound at 4K while showing CPU limitations at 1080p. The measured results show a system that never drops below 66 FPS even at maximum settings in 4K, making it a high-refresh-rate powerhouse at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals how the balance of work shifts between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 249 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 129 FPS — a 48% reduction. This scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the Intel Core i5-12400's six cores are the primary limiter, as the RTX 5090 D has ample headroom to render far more frames than the CPU can feed. The 1080p Low result of 249 FPS appears to be a CPU ceiling rather than a GPU limit, since the GPU is capable of much higher output in synthetic benchmarks.

Moving to Medium settings, the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a drop from 226 FPS to 99 FPS, a 56% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 214 FPS to 85 FPS, a 60% reduction. The Ultra preset shows the steepest relative decline: 184 FPS at 1080p falls to 66 FPS at 4K, a 64% reduction. This increasing percentage drop as settings rise confirms that higher resolutions and more demanding presets progressively shift the bottleneck toward the GPU.

The 1440p results sit neatly between the two extremes. At Medium settings, 1440p delivers 180 FPS, which is 80% of the 1080p result and 182% of the 4K result. This positions 1440p as the sweet spot where neither component is severely underutilized. The data suggests that at 1440p, the system balances CPU and GPU loads more evenly, as evidenced by the relatively modest 20% drop from 1080p Medium versus the 45% drop from 1440p to 4K at the same settings.

At 4K, the RTX 5090 D becomes the dominant factor. The gap between Low (129 FPS) and Ultra (66 FPS) at 4K is 63 FPS, while at 1080p the same settings gap is only 65 FPS — but from a much higher baseline. The 4K Ultra result of 66 FPS indicates the GPU is working near its limits with this game's rendering demands, while the 1080p Low result of 249 FPS shows the CPU constraining what would otherwise be a much higher frame rate.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the measured 4K Ultra average is 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows this is the most demanding configuration tested, yet it remains fully playable.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate monitors?

A: At 1080p, all settings presets exceed 184 FPS, with Low reaching 249 FPS. This makes 1080p ideal for 240Hz displays. For 144Hz monitors, 1440p High (154 FPS) or 1440p Ultra (120 FPS) are suitable options.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rivals in this system?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 77,712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904), 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940), and 2.1% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396).

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D?

A: The data suggests yes at 1080p, where the 249 FPS Low result appears CPU-limited. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as the frame rate drops by roughly half despite the same CPU. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15,989 indicates solid processing power, but flagship GPUs require more headroom.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured 1440p Medium average is 180 FPS, with a minimum of 153 FPS and maximum of 207 FPS. This provides a consistent high-refresh experience with no dips below 144 FPS.

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

A: It ranks 81st out of 2,825 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.9% of all systems evaluated for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 81 out of 2,825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the system in the 97.1st percentile of all configurations, meaning it outperforms 2,744 other combinations tested. The rank reflects the overall measured FPS across all resolution and settings combinations, weighted toward the game's actual performance characteristics.

The CPU itself sits at the 72nd percentile against all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 18,683. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing are the AMD EPYC 7643 (18,697, 0.1% faster), Intel Core i7-1355U (18,730, 0.3% faster), AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18,811, 0.7% faster), and Intel Core i3-14100F (18,519, 0.9% slower). This clustering shows the i5-12400 is competitive with a wide range of processors, though it trails the absolute top performers.

The GPU's percentile is even stronger at 92nd against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rivals show a tighter grouping: the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT is 1.1% slower, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB are 1.6%, 2.1%, and 2.4% faster respectively. This places the RTX 5090 D in elite company, with only specialized workstation cards edging it out in aggregate scores.

The high combo rank despite the CPU's mid-tier position suggests that The Technomancer responds more strongly to GPU performance than CPU performance. The game's 2016 release date and Action RPG nature likely means it relies more on GPU rasterization than on complex CPU-bound simulations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 249 FPS average, Medium produces 226 FPS (with a minimum of 192 FPS and maximum of 260 FPS), High produces 214 FPS, and Ultra produces 184 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 65 FPS, representing a 26% performance penalty for maximum visual quality. All 1080p results exceed 144 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh gaming.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings yield 216 FPS, Medium yields 180 FPS (minimum 153, maximum 207), High yields 154 FPS, and Ultra yields 120 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 96 FPS, a 44% reduction. Notably, 1440p Ultra still maintains a 120 FPS average, which exceeds the refresh rate of most standard gaming monitors. Even the minimum recorded frame rate at Medium (153 FPS) stays above 144 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system transitions from CPU-bound to GPU-bound behavior. Low settings produce 129 FPS, Medium produces 99 FPS (minimum 84, maximum 114), High produces 85 FPS, and Ultra produces 66 FPS. The performance drop from Low to Ultra is 63 FPS, a 49% reduction — the largest proportional penalty of any resolution. While 4K Ultra remains playable at 66 FPS, the margin above 60 FPS is slim, and the 84 FPS minimum at Medium settings suggests that this resolution pushes the GPU to its limits.

The data reveals consistent scaling across resolution steps. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings reduces FPS by 20% (226 to 180). Moving from 1440p to 4K at the same settings reduces FPS by 45% (180 to 99). This nonlinear scaling indicates that pixel count increases (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million to 8.29 million pixels) have escalating costs, with the 4K jump being particularly demanding.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its architecture is Alder Lake-S on a 10 nm process, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,257.

For The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, the CPU's single-thread capabilities are likely more important than its multi-thread throughput. The game's age suggests it may not fully utilize more than a few cores. The i5-12400's 3DMark 4-thread score of 3,012 and 8-thread score of 4,745 show solid scaling, but the 16-thread score of 5,873 and max-thread score of 5,890 indicate diminishing returns beyond 8 threads — a pattern consistent with older game engines.

The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 3,456 places it well above average for desktop processors, which helps explain why 1080p performance remains high even with a flagship GPU. However, the 1080p Low result of 249 FPS appears to be a CPU ceiling. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 44,065 is far higher than what would be needed to produce 249 FPS in this game, suggesting the CPU cannot issue draw calls fast enough to push beyond this level.

At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes. The 4K Low result of 129 FPS is roughly half the 1080p Low result, indicating the GPU is now the limiting factor. The CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at these lower frame rates, as shown by the fact that increasing settings from Low to Ultra at 4K reduces FPS by 49% — a GPU-driven penalty. The CPU's Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 6,715 and Geekbench multi-core score of 8,564 confirm it has adequate processing capacity for this workload.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the Ultra preset at 66 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 99 FPS (with an 84 FPS minimum) offers a more comfortable experience, providing a 50% frame rate improvement over Ultra while maintaining solid visual quality. Given that the minimum recorded frame rate at Medium (84 FPS) stays well above 60 FPS, this is the recommended choice for 4K gaming to ensure consistent smoothness.

For 1440p monitors, the Ultra preset delivers 120 FPS, which is ideal for 120Hz displays. If the display supports 144Hz or higher, the High preset at 154 FPS is the better choice, as it provides a 28% frame rate increase over Ultra while the visual difference between High and Ultra in a 2016 title is likely minimal. The Medium preset at 180 FPS (minimum 153) is the best option for 165Hz or 240Hz displays, as it never drops below the refresh rate.

For 1080p, all presets exceed 184 FPS, making the choice purely about visual preference versus frame rate headroom. The Ultra preset at 184 FPS is the recommended default, as it provides maximum visual quality while still exceeding 144Hz refresh rates. Players with 240Hz monitors who prioritize maximum frame rates can use High (214 FPS) or Medium (226 FPS) with negligible visual compromise at this resolution. The Low preset at 249 FPS offers no meaningful advantage over Medium unless the display supports 240Hz and the user values that final 10% frame rate gain.

The overall best experience balance lies at 1440p with Medium or High settings, where the system delivers between 154 and 180 FPS with no recorded minimums below 153 FPS. This combination provides the widest margin above typical refresh rates while maintaining the visual fidelity expected from an Action RPG's atmospheric environments.