The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical preset. When paired with the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, the benchmark data reveals a system that is capable of high refresh-rate gaming at 1080p, but which becomes progressively more GPU-bound as resolution increases, ultimately struggling to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is substantial, highlighting the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 140.5 FPS at 1080p to 91.5 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 49 FPS. Moving further to 4K, the average drops to 49 FPS, which is a 91.5 FPS decrease from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is classic for a GPU-bound scenario; the RX 6800 XT is forced to render over four times the pixels at 4K compared to 1080p, and the data shows it cannot keep up with the demand at higher quality presets.

The trend is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the system achieves 217.4 FPS at 1080p, which falls to 138.5 FPS at 1440p and then to 79.1 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is roughly 64%, while at High settings it is about 65%. This consistency suggests the workload scaling is directly tied to pixel count, a clear indicator that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has enough headroom at lower resolutions to feed the GPU, but at 4K, the GPU's raw performance ceiling is reached.

The data also shows that the gap between settings widens at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 104.4 FPS (217.4 vs 113.0). At 4K, this gap narrows to 42.7 FPS (79.1 vs 36.4). This compression at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is saturated; the performance cost of higher settings becomes relatively smaller when the pixel fill rate is the primary constraint.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the dominant component in this pairing for The Technomancer. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for this game's textures at all tested resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2250 MHz and game clock of 2015 MHz help drive its raw compute power, evidenced by its 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

The benchmark scores for the GPU reinforce its high-end positioning. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 24980, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 49982 is closely matched by its nearest rivals, with the Intel Arc A550M trailing by just 0.5% and the NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER trailing by 2.6%. This data suggests that the RX 6800 XT's performance is well-established, and its behavior in The Technomancer is consistent with its general compute capabilities. The GPU's DirectX 12 score of 100 in Passmark is notable, but the game's actual performance is more accurately reflected in the measured FPS data, which shows a strong card that is ultimately limited at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 577th out of 1656 combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the top 35% of all systems tested, a solid position that reflects the strength of the GPU. The ranking is a holistic measure, and the performance is clearly driven by the GPU, as the CPU's own benchmark percentile is lower.

The CPU itself is a mid-range part, ranking in the 77th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 19221. Its nearest rivals in terms of CPU performance are the Intel Core i7-8700K, which is only 0.1% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, which is 0.7% faster. The fact that this CPU, which is essentially equivalent to a previous-generation high-end part, can support the RX 6800 XT well enough to achieve a top-third overall ranking shows that the combo is well-balanced for this title, with the GPU's high percentile being the main contributor to the overall position.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers excellent performance across all settings. The average frame rates are 217.4 FPS on Low, 168.4 FPS on Medium, 140.5 FPS on High, and 113.0 FPS on Ultra. This indicates that a 144Hz monitor can be fully utilized on High settings, and even Ultra settings are comfortably playable. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a performance cost of 104.4 FPS for the highest quality, which is a significant but expected trade-off.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show the GPU's strain. The averages are 138.5 FPS on Low, 110.2 FPS on Medium, 91.5 FPS on High, and 74.0 FPS on Ultra. At this resolution, High settings still provide a smooth experience, but users seeking the highest visual fidelity will see frame rates dip below the 100 FPS mark. The step from High to Ultra costs 17.5 FPS, a smaller penalty than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming the primary limiter.

At 3840x2160, the system's limits are clear. The average frame rates drop to 79.1 FPS on Low, 61.2 FPS on Medium, 49.0 FPS on High, and 36.4 FPS on Ultra. While Low and Medium settings are playable, High settings are borderline, and Ultra settings will result in a stuttery experience. The data shows a clear hierarchy: the card is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant compromises in graphical fidelity to achieve playable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings is 91.5 FPS.

Q: How does performance at 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average frame rate is 113.0 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 36.4 FPS, a decrease of 76.6 FPS.

Q: Is this CPU or GPU combo more limited by the processor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 217.4 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. The data suggests the GPU is still the primary factor, but the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to drive these frame rates without becoming a major bottleneck.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS target at 4K?

A: According to the data, Medium settings at 3840x2160 yield an average of 61.2 FPS, which is the highest quality preset that meets a 60 FPS target at that resolution.

Q: How does the GPU's average benchmark score compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score of 49982, which is 2.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's score of 48704.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate on Low is 138.5 FPS, while on Ultra it is 74.0 FPS, resulting in a difference of 64.5 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, plays a supporting role in this configuration. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz provide solid single-thread performance, as reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332. This is important for game logic and physics, but the data indicates that in The Technomancer, the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and a Passmark multithread score of 19433. These scores place it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 19221 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Core i7-8700K, showing it is a capable processor for modern workloads. However, the frame rate scaling in this game shows that as resolution increases, the performance drop is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's rendering load. The CPU is able to maintain a high enough frame rate ceiling at 1080p to not bottleneck the GPU, but its influence diminishes as the GPU becomes saturated at 1440p and 4K. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory round out a specification that is more than adequate for this game, ensuring the GPU is the definitive performance arbiter.