The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphics settings. For the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700, the benchmark data shows a clear performance hierarchy. The system is capable of delivering high refresh rate gameplay at 1080p, but 4K Ultra settings push it beyond its limits. This analysis breaks down the measured performance to determine the optimal settings, the role of each component, and how this pairing stacks up against other tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data clearly indicates that the "High" preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, High settings produce an average of 117 FPS, which is a substantial 25 FPS improvement over the Ultra preset's 92 FPS while still maintaining a high level of visual fidelity. The gap between High and Medium is smaller (117 FPS vs 137 FPS), but the visual quality difference is typically more noticeable, making High the superior choice for a premium experience without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the argument for High becomes even stronger. The High preset delivers a very playable 77 FPS average, while Ultra drops to exactly 60 FPS. This 17 FPS difference is critical for maintaining a stable frame rate on higher refresh rate monitors, as the Ultra setting brings the system perilously close to the 60 FPS threshold where dips become more noticeable. The Medium preset at 90 FPS is an option for those who prioritize maximum smoothness, but for most users, the visual uplift of High at 77 FPS is worth the slight reduction in frame rate.

The 4K resolution (3840x2160) is where the settings recommendation becomes a compromise. High settings yield a 42 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset at 64 FPS is the only settings level at 4K that achieves a consistently smooth frame rate, but it comes with a significant visual downgrade. The data suggests that for a 4K experience, users should either accept the visual compromise of Low settings or consider reducing the resolution to 1440p to use the more visually appealing High preset. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as its 33 FPS average falls well below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 plays the dominant role in determining frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a substantial 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for handling the large textures and complex scenes of an Action RPG like The Technomancer. The GPU's architecture, RDNA 3.0, with a boost clock of 2459 MHz, demonstrates its capability through the benchmark results. The data shows a steep performance drop as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck.

Specifically, moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings reduces the average FPS from 117 to 77, a 34% decrease. This is a significant hit, but the frame rate remains playable. The jump to 3840x2160 at High settings is more punishing, with the average FPS falling to 42, a further 45% decrease from the 1440p result. This non-linear scaling pattern is typical of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and fill rate capabilities at higher resolutions. The RX 7700's 96 ROPs and 236.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are being stressed at 4K, leading to the substantial performance drop.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 58 indicates it performs better than a majority of GPUs, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060, shows a deltaPct of -1, meaning the RX 7700 is roughly 1% ahead in average benchmark score. This data reinforces that the RX 7700 is a capable mid-to-high tier performer, but it is not designed for maxed-out 4K gaming in this title. The performance data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, especially with the Ultra preset, where the average FPS drops to 33.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides a solid foundation that is more than sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but its role becomes less critical as the resolution increases. With 6 cores and 12 threads, and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, this CPU is well-equipped for modern gaming. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a single-core score of 1680. The processor’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache also helps with game data access.

The evidence for this balanced role is found in the scaling of FPS. At 1080p, the CPU is often the bottleneck in many systems, but here we see a large spread between Low and Ultra settings (179 FPS vs 92 FPS). This spread indicates that while the CPU can handle the frame generation, the GPU is still being taxed by the different settings. The fact that the 1080p Low preset reaches 179 FPS suggests the CPU is capable of very high frame rates, and it is not holding the system back in a major way.

However, the CPU's performance does place a ceiling on the system. The Core i5-12400F has a percentile of 73 among all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, has a deltaPct of 0, indicating they are statistically tied in average score. While this is a strong showing, the data from this game shows that the CPU is not the limiting component at 1440p or 4K. The frame rate drops are almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The CPU's role is to ensure that frame times are consistent and that no stutters occur, and the measured minimum FPS values (e.g., 76 at 1440p Medium and 117 at 1080p Medium) suggest that the CPU is maintaining stable frame delivery.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 achieves a rank of 1275 out of 2825 total tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the pairing in the 45th percentile, meaning it performs better than 45% of all systems tested. This mid-pack ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's performance, which is good but not top-tier. The CPU's strong performance helps to boost the combo, but it is the GPU that defines the overall gaming experience in this title.

The combo rank is a holistic measure, and the data shows that while the individual components are competent, they do not represent a top-tier gaming machine for this specific game. For context, the GPU alone has a percentile of 58, and the CPU has a percentile of 73. The combo's rank of 1275 is lower than what the CPU's percentile might suggest, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. A system with a more powerful GPU would likely rank significantly higher, as the i5-12400F would not be a bottleneck in most scenarios.

This ranking suggests that the system is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, but it will struggle to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with high visual settings. The data indicates that this is a balanced mid-range setup, not a high-end enthusiast rig. The performance is consistent with what one would expect from a 6-core CPU and a Radeon RX 7000 series GPU, offering a solid experience for the majority of gamers who are not chasing maxed-out 4K performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern across resolutions. For the High preset, the average FPS drops from 117 at 1080p to 77 at 1440p, and then to 42 at 4K. This represents a 34% drop when moving to 1440p and a further 45% drop when moving to 4K. This pattern strongly indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the workload scales directly with the number of pixels rendered.

The scaling for the Low preset is even more dramatic, with FPS dropping from 179 at 1080p to 117 at 1440p (a 35% drop) and then to 64 at 4K (a 45% drop). This shows that even at the lowest visual settings, the GPU is still the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The fact that the percentage drops are similar across different presets reinforces that the GPU's raw pixel processing power is the limiting constraint.

The Medium and Ultra presets follow the same trend. The Medium preset goes from 137 FPS at 1080p to 90 FPS at 1440p to 49 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset drops from 92 FPS at 1080p to 60 FPS at 1440p to 33 FPS at 4K. The data consistently shows that the frame rate scales almost linearly with the pixel count, with a slight additional penalty at higher settings due to increased GPU load. This behavior is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's performance is more than adequate to keep up, and the frame rate is dictated by the GPU's ability to fill pixels.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: The average FPS is 179. This is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset, showing that the system is not CPU-bound at this resolution and that the GPU can push a very high number of frames when visual effects are minimized.
• Medium: The average FPS is 137, with a minimum of 117 and a maximum of 158. This represents a 24% performance hit compared to Low, but the frame rate remains exceptionally smooth.
• High: The average FPS is 117. This is a 15% drop from Medium, but it still provides a great experience for high-refresh-rate monitors.
• Ultra: The average FPS is 92. This is the lowest at 1080p, showing a 21% drop from High. While still playable, this is where the GPU starts to work significantly harder.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: The average FPS is 117. This is a substantial 35% drop from the 1080p Low result, which underscores the GPU's sensitivity to resolution.
• Medium: The average FPS is 90, with a minimum of 76 and a maximum of 103. This is a solid result for 1440p and remains well within the range of smooth gameplay.
• High: The average FPS is 77. This is a 14% drop from Medium and is the recommended setting for this resolution, as it offers a good balance of visual quality and performance.
• Ultra: The average FPS is 60. This is exactly 60 FPS, which is the bare minimum for a consistent experience on a standard monitor. The 17 FPS drop from High is significant and makes Ultra less desirable.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: The average FPS is 64. This is the only setting at 4K that produces a frame rate above 60 FPS, making it the only viable option for smooth gameplay at this resolution.
• Medium: The average FPS is 49, with a minimum of 42 and a maximum of 57. This is a playable frame rate, but it is not ideal for fast action, and the dips to 42 FPS could be noticeable.
• High: The average FPS is 42. This is a significant drop from Medium and is below the threshold for smooth, consistent gameplay.
• Ultra: The average FPS is 33. This is the lowest result in the dataset and is not recommended for a playable experience, as it falls well below the 60 FPS target.