The Technomancer

# The Technomancer with Intel Core i5-12400F + Intel Arc B390: A Severely GPU-Limited Combination

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces playable frame rates in The Technomancer only at 1080p with Low or Medium settings, and the data clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck across all tested resolutions. This combination ranks in the 2500th position out of 2825 tested combos for this game, placing it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, which aligns with the Arc B390's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, sits in the 73rd percentile among all processors, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a single-core score of 1680, indicating that the processor has ample headroom while the graphics solution holds performance back. The measured results show a maximum average of 79 FPS at 1080p Low, which drops to 15 FPS at 4K Ultra, demonstrating that this integrated GPU solution is best suited for lower resolutions and conservative settings in this 2016 Action RPG.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Technomancer?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combination achieves consistently playable frame rates, with averages ranging from 40 FPS at Ultra settings to 79 FPS at Low settings. At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to between 26 and 52 depending on settings, and at 3840x2160, all averages fall below 30 FPS, making 4K impractical for this configuration.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it just 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% above the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% above the GT 710 (1443). These are all older, low-end discrete GPUs, and the margins are extremely tight, indicating that the Arc B390 performs at a similar level despite being a newer integrated solution.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F holding back performance in this game?

A: No, the benchmark data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The i5-12400F ranks in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs with a multi-threaded PassMark score of 19433 and a single-thread score of 3481. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047, 0% delta) and Intel Core i5-1335U (18982, 0.3% delta), showing balanced performance. The dramatic FPS drops when increasing resolution point clearly to GPU limitation.

Q: What settings provide the most balanced experience at 1080p?

A: Medium settings at 1080p delivers 61 FPS average with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70 FPS. This provides a solid 60 FPS baseline with some headroom for dips, whereas High settings average 52 FPS and Low settings reach 79 FPS. Medium appears to be the sweet spot for smooth gameplay without sacrificing too much visual quality.

Q: How severe is the performance drop from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The data shows a substantial drop across all settings. At High settings, 1080p averages 52 FPS while 1440p averages 34 FPS, a reduction of 18 FPS (about 35%). At Low settings, the drop is from 79 FPS to 52 FPS (27 FPS lower), and at Medium settings, it falls from 61 to 40 FPS (21 FPS lower). This pattern confirms that the GPU is overwhelmed as pixel count increases.

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

A: No, the measured results show that at 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 28 at Low settings, with Medium at 22, High at 19, and Ultra at 15 FPS. Even the best-case scenario at 4K falls below the 30 FPS threshold generally considered the minimum for playable performance, making 4K resolution unviable for this combination.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a 3 nm process node, and its role in The Technomancer is defined by severe performance constraints. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, yet it manages only 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s. Its memory configuration is system-shared, meaning bandwidth is system dependent rather than dedicated, which further limits its ability to handle high-resolution textures and complex scenes. The measured 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places the GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all legacy discrete cards from NVIDIA, including the GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% higher) and GT 710 (1443, 2.7% higher), underscoring its entry-level positioning.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's limitations manifest clearly in the frame rate data. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 79 at Low to 40 at Ultra, and each step up in resolution causes a proportional decline that points directly to the GPU as the bottleneck. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads running at a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, demonstrates strong synthetic performance with a Geekbench multi-core score of 9472 and a single-core score of 1964, yet the game never benefits from this headroom because the GPU saturates first. The system-shared memory and 80 W TDP of the Arc B390 suggest it is designed for basic gaming rather than demanding titles, and the measured data confirms that it struggles to maintain even 30 FPS at 1440p with Medium settings (40 FPS average) or better. The GPU's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs provide adequate throughput for simple scenes, but the 1536 shading units appear insufficient for modern rendering workloads, as evidenced by the steep FPS penalties when moving from Low to Ultra settings at any resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal configuration for this combo is 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which yields a 61 FPS average with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70 FPS. This setting provides a stable experience above the 60 FPS threshold, while the minimum frame rate of 52 FPS ensures that dips remain within an acceptable range for smooth gameplay. Low settings at 1080p offer higher performance at 79 FPS average, but the visual quality trade-off may not be justified when Medium provides a playable experience with better fidelity. High settings at 1080p drop to 52 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes, and Ultra settings fall to 40 FPS, which may feel less fluid during combat or exploration.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings produce a 40 FPS average with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46 FPS, which is marginal for an action RPG where responsiveness matters. Low settings at 1440p reach 52 FPS average, making this the only playable option at this resolution, while High settings (34 FPS) and Ultra (26 FPS) fall below comfortable thresholds. For 3840x2160, the data shows that no setting achieves a playable frame rate, with the best case being Low at 28 FPS average. Users who prioritize resolution over smoothness might consider 1440p Low, but the most balanced experience according to the data is unequivocally 1080p Medium, which offers the closest to 60 FPS with a recorded minimum above 50 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p also demonstrates better frame pacing than High settings, as indicated by the narrower range between minimum and maximum FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2500 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 11.5% of all configurations. This low ranking is consistent with the GPU's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs, while the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking shows that the processor is not the cause of the poor performance. The gap between the CPU's capability and the GPU's output is stark: the i5-12400F achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a PassMark multi-thread score of 19433, both of which are respectable for a mid-range desktop processor, yet the Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 is nearly identical to decade-old entry-level discrete GPUs.

When compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits alongside configurations that pair similarly weak GPUs with stronger CPUs, resulting in a system where the graphics solution is the clear limiting factor. The GPU's nearest rivals—the GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710—all have average scores within 2.7% of the Arc B390, and none of these GPUs would be expected to run modern games at high settings. The combo ranking of 2500 out of 2825 means that approximately 325 other combinations performed worse, likely those with even weaker GPUs or more dated CPUs, but the overall picture is that this system is not equipped for demanding titles like The Technomancer at higher quality presets. The data suggests that users with this combo should expect to run the game at lower settings and resolutions, and the ranking validates the measured FPS results as representative of a severely GPU-bound configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation, with performance dropping proportionally to the increase in pixel count. At Medium settings, the average FPS falls from 61 at 1080p to 40 at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and then to 22 at 4K (a further 45% reduction from 1440p). This scaling is characteristic of a GPU that is already near its computational limits at 1080p, as the additional pixel workload at higher resolutions directly translates to lower frame rates without any indication of CPU bottlenecking. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively constant across resolutions because the processor would be the constraining resource, but the data shows substantial drops at every resolution step.

At High settings, the average FPS drops from 52 at 1080p to 34 at 1440p (18 FPS decrease) and then to 19 at 4K (15 FPS decrease from 1440p), while at Low settings, the progression goes from 79 to 52 to 28. The consistent pattern across all settings—where each resolution increase roughly halves the available performance—indicates that the Arc B390's compute throughput and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed by the demands of higher pixel counts. The system-shared memory configuration means that bandwidth scales with the host system, but the GPU's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are insufficient for filling larger framebuffers at acceptable rates. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that this combo is best utilized at 1080p, where the GPU can maintain playable frame rates, and that any move to higher resolutions will require significant setting reductions to achieve even marginal playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear hierarchy across the four settings presets. Low settings deliver the highest average at 79 FPS, followed by Medium at 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70, High at 52 FPS, and Ultra at 40 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 18 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 12 FPS, indicating that the GPU handles lower presets more efficiently but struggles as quality increases. The Medium preset's recorded range of 52 to 70 FPS demonstrates reasonable consistency, while the lack of min/max data for other presets suggests they were measured with less granularity.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly across all settings. Low settings average 52 FPS, Medium averages 40 FPS with a range of 34 to 46, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 34 FPS is notably low, suggesting that demanding scenes can cause noticeable stuttering, and even Low settings at 1440p match the performance of High at 1080p, highlighting the resolution penalty. At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor: Low averages 28 FPS, Medium averages 22 FPS with a range of 19 to 25, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. None of these 4K results reach the 30 FPS threshold, and the Medium preset's minimum of 19 FPS indicates that the experience would be consistently choppy. The data across all resolutions shows that the combination is only viable at 1080p, with Medium settings providing the best balance of playability and visual quality, while 1440p Low and 4K are not recommended based on the measured frame rates.