The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 action RPG, is not a demanding title by modern standards, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT demonstrates this clearly. The benchmark data shows a pairing that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. The system's performance is consistently strong, with the main challenge being the game's poor optimization, which creates significant performance gaps between its visual presets.

Resolution Scaling

The most immediate observation is the substantial performance drop as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system achieves an average of 98 FPS. Moving up to 2560x1440 at the same High preset, the average falls to 64 FPS, a 34.7% decrease. The jump to 3840x2160 High is even more pronounced, yielding only 35 FPS average, which is a 64.3% reduction from the 1080p figure. This dramatic scaling indicates that the Radeon RX 7600 XT quickly becomes the limiting component as pixel count rises. The GPU is simply not powerful enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K in this title, despite its 16 GB of VRAM.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the averages are 149 fps at 1080p, 98 fps at 1440p, and 54 fps at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 34.2%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 44.9%. The game is clearly not CPU-bound at any resolution, since the Core i5-12400F with its 6 cores and 12 threads provides ample headroom. Instead, the GPU's workload scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is a classic sign of a pixel-throughput bottleneck. The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is delivering excellent performance, but at 4K, the playability is marginal at best.

The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with an average of 77 fps at 1080p, 50 fps at 1440p, and only 27 fps at 4K. The 4K Ultra average of 27 fps is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this settings level is not viable at that resolution. The Medium preset provides a middle ground, with averages of 115 fps at 1080p, 75 fps at 1440p, and 41 fps at 4K. The frame rate drops between resolutions are consistent across all presets, confirming that the limiting factor is the resolution's pixel count rather than any particular setting. The game's performance is highly dependent on resolution, with 1080p being the sweet spot for high refresh rate monitors, while 1440p remains playable, and 4K is largely a non-starter for smooth frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, with its RDNA 3.0 architecture and Navi 33 chip, is the core of this system's graphics performance. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. While that might seem ample for a 2016 game, the benchmark results show that the card's raw compute power is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2755 MHz and game clock of 2470 MHz are high, but they do not compensate for the sheer number of pixels at 4K. The card has 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs, which are modest numbers for a modern GPU, and this is reflected in the 4K results.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 17083 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, which is a mid-range standing. In the passmark G3D benchmark, the card scores 17132, and its nearest rivals according to the data include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, which has an average score of 17208, a delta of -0.7%. This means the RX 7600 XT is essentially on par with the RTX 3070 in synthetic tests. However, in actual game benchmarks, the RX 7600 XT's performance at 4K shows its limits, as it cannot maintain above 60 fps at any settings level at that resolution. The 16 GB memory buffer is never a limitation in The Technomancer, but the GPU's compute throughput is insufficient for 4K at high settings.

The data shows that the GPU's performance in this game is directly tied to its core clocks. At 1080p, the system achieves 149 fps at Low settings, which is a high number, but the GPU is still being utilized heavily. The game is not heavily dependent on VRAM, so the 16 GB buffer is more than sufficient. The primary performance factor is the GPU's ability to shade pixels and process geometry, which is why the 4K Ultra preset, with its increased resolution and effects, drops the average to 27 fps. The RX 7600 XT is a very capable card for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not designed for high-refresh 4K gaming. The passmark DirectX 12 score of 65 is low, which may indicate that the game's API is not leveraging the GPU's full potential.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F, a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake generation, is more than enough for the game. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with 18 MB of shared L3 cache, provide a solid foundation for the game's logic and physics. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a single-core score of 1680. These are high marks, and the processor's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a strong performer. In The Technomancer, the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. The minimum frame rates at 1440p Medium (64 fps) and 4K Medium (35 fps) are identical to the average minus the maximum, which shows that the CPU is delivering a consistent frame time.

The game is a GPU-bound title, and the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The i5-12400F's 6 Performance cores are more than sufficient for this task. The data shows that the CPU's 3DMark scores are high, with a 3DMark 16-thread score of 5895 and a max-thread score of 5912, indicating that the CPU's multi-threading capability is not stressed by this game. The game is not using more than 4 threads, as evidenced by the CPU's 3DMark 4-thread score of 3067, which is a fraction of the multi-thread score. The game's performance at 1080p Low, with an average of 149 fps, is not limited by the CPU, as the frame rate is high and stable. The CPU's 73rd percentile of percentileVsAllCpus is also a good indicator of its overall capability.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 is a bonus, but the game does not heavily rely on memory bandwidth. The processor's 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes are more than adequate for the RX 7600 XT, which uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, so there is no bottleneck there. The CPU's performance in the game is sufficient to avoid any frame drops, and the bottleneck at 4K is clearly the GPU. The i5-12400F is a perfect pairing for the RX 7600 XT in this title, as it does not hold the GPU back at any resolution. The processor's 163 mm² die size is small, and the 10nm process node is efficient, but these are not relevant to the game's performance. The game's frame rate is entirely dictated by the GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate is 98 fps at 1080p with High settings. This is a very playable frame rate, and it indicates that the system is able to handle the game well at this resolution.

Q: Does the game's performance scale well from 1080p to 4K?

A: No, the performance drops sharply. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 77 fps at 1080p to 50 fps at 1440p and then to 35 fps at 4K. The scaling is not linear, with a larger drop from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p. This indicates the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM on the RX 7600 XT beneficial in this game?

A: The game is not memory-intensive, and the 16 GB VRAM is not a bottleneck. The data shows that the GPU's compute performance is the limiting factor, not the memory capacity. The game's performance is limited by the GPU's ability to render at high resolutions, not by memory.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset offers an average of 98 fps, which is a great experience. The Medium preset offers 75 fps, and Low offers 98 fps. High is the best balance of visual quality and performance at this resolution.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 in this game?

A: The data shows that the RX 7600 XT's average benchmark score is 17083, while the RTX 3070 is 17208, a delta of -0.7%. This means the two GPUs are very close in overall performance, but the RTX 3070 is slightly faster on average.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system to achieve 60 fps or higher?

A: The data shows that the system can achieve 75 fps at 1440p Medium and 98 fps at 1080p High. At 4K, the average frame rate is below 55 fps even at Low settings. The best resolution is 2560x1440 with Medium or High settings, as it provides a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks 2335th out of 3696 tested combos for this game. This places it in the 63rd percentile, which is a decent but not top-tier rank. The combo's rank is largely determined by the GPU's performance, since the CPU is not a bottleneck. The data indicates that the combo is in the middle of the pack, and it is not a top-100 combo for this game. The rank of 2335 out of 3696 is in the 63rd percentile, which shows that the combo is above average but not exceptional. The high performance of the CPU and the mid-range GPU are the main factors. The combo's rank is also affected by the game's age. The game is from 2016, and modern hardware can easily run it, but the combo's rank is relative to all other tested combos, which includes many high-end systems.

The combo's rank is a reflection of its performance in the measured FPS data. At 1080p, the combo is capable of delivering high frame rates, but at 4K, the performance is below 60 fps. This makes the combo a good choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but not for 4K. The rank of 2335 is a good indicator of its overall performance. The 63rd percentile is a solid result for a mid-range system. It's ahead of many other combos, but there are also many that are faster. The data indicates that the combo is a well-balanced pairing, but the GPU is the clear limiting factor. The rank in this game is not the best, but for a 2016 title, it is a fine score. The system is capable of running the game well.

Settings Recommendations

The best settings preset for this system is the Medium preset at 2560x1440 resolution. At this setting, the system achieves an average of 75 fps, with a minimum of 64 fps and a maximum of 86 fps. This is a smooth and playable experience, and it provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. The High preset at 2560x1440 yields an average of 64 fps, which is also playable, but the minimum frame rate is not recorded. At 1080p, the Medium preset provides an average of 115 fps, which is excellent, and the High preset provides 98 fps. The Low preset at 1080p provides 149 fps, which is very high, but the visual quality is low.

If the user prefers a higher frame rate, the Low preset at 2560x1440 provides an average of 98 fps, but it also has lower visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 50 fps, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. At 4K, the Medium preset is the best option, but the average is only 41 fps, which is not ideal. The data indicates that the game is best played at 1080p or 1440p, with Medium or High settings. The Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the sweet spot for this system. It provides a good frame rate and visual quality. The data also shows that the High preset at 2560x1440 is a good choice, but the Medium preset offers a more stable frame rate. The Low preset is a fallback for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals.