The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical presets. When paired with the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, the benchmark results reveal a configuration that is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, capable at 1440p, but not ideal for 4K. The data indicates a clear performance hierarchy across the tested settings, making preset selection crucial for optimizing the experience based on your display's native resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, the measured FPS data points to a clear "sweet spot" at 1080p and 1440p. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 97 FPS. This is an excellent result, providing a fluid experience that takes full advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors without pushing the hardware to its absolute limits. While the Low preset yields a much higher 148 FPS average, and Medium reaches 114 FPS, the visual fidelity trade-off for the former is often too steep, and the latter offers a smaller performance gain over High than the jump to Ultra. The Ultra preset drops to 76 FPS, which is still playable, but the performance cost from High to Ultra is substantial and may not justify the marginal visual improvements in a game from this era.

Moving up to 2560x1440, the High preset remains the most balanced choice, producing an average of 63 FPS. This is right at the threshold for smooth gameplay on a 60Hz monitor. The Medium preset provides a more comfortable cushion at 74 FPS, making it a strong alternative if you prefer higher frame rates over maximum visual details. The Low preset is very fast at 97 FPS, but again, it sacrifices too much visual quality. The Ultra preset drops to 50 FPS, which can feel less responsive and is generally not recommended for a game that involves combat.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes drastically. No preset achieves a consistently playable 60 FPS. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability with an average of 53 FPS, but even this is not ideal. The Medium preset averages 41 FPS, High drops to 35 FPS, and Ultra falls to a sluggish 27 FPS. The data strongly suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant compromises. The best experience at this resolution would be to use the Low preset and accept frame rates in the mid-50s, or to consider reducing the resolution to 1440p for a much better overall experience.

In summary, the recommended presets are High at 1080p and High at 1440p. For 4K, the hardware is not well-suited, and the Low preset is the only viable option if you must run at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this CPU and GPU combo handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: The benchmark data shows that 4K gaming is not a strong suit for this combo. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS achieved is 53 on the Low preset. The High preset averages only 35 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27 FPS. For a consistently smooth 60 FPS experience, you would need to play at a lower resolution.

Q: What is the best preset to use for a 1440p monitor?

A: For 2560x1440, the High preset is the best overall choice, delivering an average of 63 FPS. If you prefer higher frame rates, the Medium preset offers 74 FPS. The Ultra preset, at 50 FPS, is less desirable due to the performance hit.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: The performance cost of Ultra is significant. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 76 FPS, which is 21 FPS lower than High's 97 FPS. At 2560x1440, the gap is 13 FPS (50 vs. 63). At 3840x2160, Ultra is 8 FPS slower than High (27 vs. 35 FPS).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p with this configuration?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor. At 1920x1080, the average FPS scales noticeably with graphical settings, from 148 FPS on Low down to 76 FPS on Ultra. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the graphics card's workload changes significantly with preset quality.

Q: What kind of frame rates can I expect with the Low preset?

A: The Low preset provides the highest frame rates across all resolutions. You can expect an average of 148 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. It is the only preset that comes close to 60 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: Data shows this combo ranks 2400 out of 3696 tested combinations. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, indicating that while it is capable, there are many other configurations that yield higher performance in The Technomancer.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination holds a rank of 2400 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This percentile placement is a crucial indicator of its overall standing. Being in the 65th percentile (2400/3696) means that a majority of the tested systems performed better than this specific pairing. This doesn't mean the combo is weak; rather, it highlights that The Technomancer is a demanding title that scales well with higher-end hardware.

The ranking is a holistic score that likely weights performance across all tested resolutions and settings. The data shows that while this combo delivers excellent performance at 1080p, its performance at higher resolutions pulls its overall rank down. At 1080p, it achieves frame rates that would be considered very good, but at 1440p it falls into the acceptable range, and at 4K it is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. This mix of high performance at lower resolutions and mediocre performance at higher resolutions results in a mid-to-low tier overall ranking.

For context, the individual components have their own benchmark percentiles. The CPU, the Intel Core i5-12400F, sits in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a solidly performing processor. The GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, is in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. When combined, their performance in this game results in a combo rank that is lower than both individual component percentiles. This suggests that the game's engine or specific requirements are not perfectly optimized for this pairing, or that the GPU's performance at high resolutions is the limiting factor in the overall ranking. The combo's rank of 2400 out of 3696 is a more challenging metric than either component's standalone percentile would suggest.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the performance envelope for this combo. The results are presented across three resolutions and four settings presets, with average FPS as the primary metric. Minimum and maximum FPS were only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution.

At 1920x1080, the performance is strong across the board. The Low preset leads with an average of 148 FPS. Medium follows with an average of 114 FPS, with a minimum of 97 and maximum of 131 FPS. The High preset averages 97 FPS, and Ultra brings up the rear with 76 FPS. This shows a clear 72 FPS spread between Low and Ultra, giving players a wide range of options depending on their preference for visual fidelity or raw frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain respectable. The Low preset averages 97 FPS. Medium averages 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 and maximum of 85 FPS. High averages 63 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 47 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 63 FPS suggests that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate is unlikely to drop below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the performance is significantly constrained. The Low preset averages 53 FPS. Medium averages 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47 FPS. High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 26 FPS. The Medium preset's maximum of 47 FPS indicates that even the best-case scenario for this setting falls short of a 60 FPS target.

Resolution Scaling

The impact of resolution on performance is dramatic and reveals the nature of the bottleneck. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the High preset reduces the average frame rate from 97 FPS to 63 FPS, a drop of 34 FPS or roughly 35%. Increasing the resolution further to 3840x2160 on the same preset yields an average of 35 FPS, a further drop of 28 FPS from the 1440p result. This represents a total performance loss of about 64% when going from 1080p to 4K.

This scaling pattern is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU, the Intel Core i5-12400F, is capable of feeding the GPU with data, but as the resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows exponentially. The rendering pipeline becomes saturated with pixel shading and memory bandwidth demands, and the GPU's performance becomes the limiting factor. The fact that the frame rate drops so consistently with resolution, regardless of the preset, confirms that the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the primary constraint on performance at higher resolutions.

At 1080p, the GPU is less stressed, allowing for high frame rates. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p is 72 FPS, which is a larger absolute gap than at 1440p (47 FPS) or 4K (26 FPS). This suggests that at 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to process the increased visual complexity of the Ultra preset, while at higher resolutions, it becomes so bogged down that the relative cost of higher settings is less significant. The data points to a system where the graphics card is the definitive limiting factor for achieving higher resolutions and frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F 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. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a single-core score of 1680, place it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, indicating a very capable mid-range processor. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, showing that its raw processing power is competitive.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The performance scaling with resolution is a strong indicator that the game is not CPU-bound in this configuration. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload (game logic, physics, draw calls) doesn't change much with resolution. Instead, we see a significant drop in FPS as resolution increases, which points to the GPU being the bottleneck.

However, the CPU's performance is still important for achieving high frame rates. At 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, the i5-12400F's strong single-thread performance (evidenced by its 1680 Cinebench R23 score) helps ensure that the game logic and rendering commands are processed quickly enough to support the high FPS numbers. The 6 cores and 12 threads are also sufficient for the demands of a 2016 Action RPG, preventing the CPU from becoming a limiting factor even when many on-screen elements are present. The data shows that this CPU is a solid partner for the RX 6650 XT, providing enough performance to let the GPU work to its full potential at lower resolutions, but it is the GPU that ultimately dictates the performance ceiling at higher resolutions.