The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that clearly separates CPU and GPU limits depending on resolution. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data reveals a configurable experience, ranging from highly playable at 1080p to a slideshow at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets remain above 60 FPS, with even the Ultra preset achieving an average of 82.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low and Medium presets stay above 60 FPS, while at 3840x2160, no preset reaches that threshold.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The performance penalty is significant but consistent. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 104.7 at 1920x1080 to 69.5 at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 33%. The Ultra preset sees a similar relative drop, from 82.6 FPS to 55.1 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 29.6, which is below the standard 30 FPS playability threshold. Even the High preset at this resolution only manages 35.9 FPS, indicating a poor experience.

Q: Which preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 81.6 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS. This is a significantly better experience than the High preset's 69.5 FPS, making Medium the most sensible choice for high-refresh-rate monitors at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F's average benchmark score of 19221 is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K's 19210 and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-1335U's 19167. It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7%, which scores 19364.

Q: What is the GPU's raw compute capability relative to its closest competitor?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 22206. This is 2.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5700's score of 21670, placing it in a competitive position within its performance tier.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting 60 FPS, the optimal preset depends heavily on the display resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings are viable, but the Medium preset at 123.4 FPS offers a massive headroom over the High preset at 104.7 FPS and the Ultra preset at 82.6 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs roughly 19 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 22 FPS, making Medium the sweet spot for maximizing frame rate without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the choice narrows to Medium or Low. The Medium preset, with an average of 81.6 FPS, provides the best experience for smooth gameplay. The High preset drops to 69.5 FPS, which is still playable, but the 12 FPS difference between Medium and High is substantial. The Ultra preset at 55.1 FPS sits below the 60 FPS target and is not recommended for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the situation is dire. Even the Low preset only achieves 58.6 FPS, which is just shy of the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 29.6 FPS is unplayable, and the High preset at 35.9 FPS is a marginal experience. For 4K, the Low preset is the only one that approaches a playable frame rate, and users should expect to make significant visual compromises.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 160.2 at 1080p to 104.1 at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 58.6 at 4K (a 44% reduction from 1440p). This consistent and steep decline as pixel count increases indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary bottleneck.

The same pattern is visible at High settings, where FPS falls from 104.7 at 1080p to 69.5 at 1440p and finally to 35.9 at 4K. The frame rate nearly halves at each resolution step, which is a clear sign that the GPU's rendering throughput, rather than the CPU's processing power, is limiting performance. The Intel Core i5-12400F, with its high single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark, is not the constraint here; the workload is firmly on the graphics card.

The gap between the Low and Ultra presets also widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 77.6 FPS (160.2 vs 82.6). At 4K, this gap shrinks to 29 FPS (58.6 vs 29.6). This compression at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel fill rate and shader complexity, leaving less headroom for preset scaling.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks at position 1003 out of 1656 total combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, indicating that while it can run the game, it is far from the top-performing configurations.

This ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data. A rank of 1003 out of 1656 puts the combo in the 39th percentile of tested systems. This suggests that a majority of other tested combinations are capable of higher frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 29.6 FPS, which is below playable thresholds, likely drags the combo's overall standing down compared to systems that can handle higher resolutions and settings more gracefully.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 77 out of 100 shows it is a strong processor, and the GPU's 65th percentile is respectable. However, the combination's in-game rank of 1003 suggests that the game's engine is particularly demanding on the graphics card, and the RTX 2070 SUPER's performance is the limiting factor that prevents this combo from ranking higher.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the decisive component in this configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is crucial for feeding the GPU's 2560 shading units at high resolutions. The benchmark data shows the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 18169, which places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1605 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz, are relatively high for its generation. The architecture, based on the TU104 chip with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, is Turing-generation silicon. The FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS gives a theoretical measure of its raw compute power, which directly impacts the fill rate in a game like The Technomancer.

The measured results show that this GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo can push 160.2 FPS, but the demanding pixel workload of 4K quickly overwhelms it. The GPU's performance tier, as indicated by its average benchmark score of 22206, is only 2.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 5700. This places it in a competitive but not dominant position, explaining why it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with high-quality settings. The 12 nm process and 215 W TDP also factor into its sustained performance capabilities.