The Technomancer

The Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination ranks 1457th out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested. This is a pairing that struggles significantly with the game’s demands, delivering playable frame rates only at 1080p and requiring substantial settings compromises at higher resolutions. The data shows a system that is firmly entry-level for this Action RPG, where the GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and mid-range compute power become the primary bottlenecks, while the CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide more than enough headroom for the game’s engine.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1457 out of 1656 tested combinations places it in the lower tier of systems evaluated for The Technomancer. This positioning is heavily influenced by the graphics card, which sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, while the processor is far more capable, ranking at the 84th percentile among all CPUs. This mismatch is evident in the measured results, where the system is unable to maintain 60 frames per second at 2560x1440 on any preset, and only achieves that threshold at 1080p on Medium settings or lower. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 14286 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 at 14314 and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics at 14315, with deltas of only -0.2% to -0.7%. This indicates the GTX 1660 SUPER is performing exactly as expected for its class, which is simply not enough for demanding 4K or high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming in this title. The CPU, by contrast, is statistically tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K, which has an average score of 27829 and a 0% delta, and is only 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12600K at 27851. The system’s overall ranking is therefore a direct reflection of the GPU’s mid-range standing, not a measure of CPU inadequacy.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Technomancer with this combo?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can consistently exceed 60 FPS, with an average of 74.7 FPS on High settings and 111.5 FPS on Low settings.

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only yields an average of 38.2 FPS, while the High and Ultra presets drop to 25.1 and 18.5 FPS respectively, all of which are below playable thresholds.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct competitors in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF is essentially tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K, showing a 0% delta, and is only 0.1% slower than the Intel Core i5-12600K, indicating performance parity at the top of its class.

Q: Is the GPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Yes. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 1440p on Low settings shows a 35% drop from 111.5 to 72.5 FPS, which is a larger proportional decrease than would be expected if the CPU were the primary limiter.

Q: What is the highest playable settings preset at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 52.3 FPS, which is playable, but the High preset drops to 47.1 FPS and Ultra falls to 38.4 FPS.

Q: How much VRAM does the GTX 1660 SUPER have, and does it matter here?

A: The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. This capacity is sufficient for the game at 1080p, but the significant frame rate drops at 4K suggest that memory bandwidth and capacity are stressed at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF provides a robust foundation for this game, featuring 10 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This Alder Lake processor, built on a 10 nm process, demonstrates exceptional multi-threaded capability in synthetic tests, scoring 23444 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 27575 in Passmark multithread. Its single-thread performance is also strong, with a Passmark single-thread score of 3925 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 1016. The processor’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data locality for game logic. The benchmark data indicates that the CPU is far from being the limiting factor in The Technomancer, as its performance delta against the Intel Core i9-10900K is a mere 0%, while the GPU is 0.7% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT. The game’s engine appears to leverage the CPU’s 16 threads effectively, as the 3DMark 16-thread score of 7956 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 7952, showing full utilization of available cores. This means that in The Technomancer, the CPU consistently feeds frames to the GPU without creating a bottleneck, allowing the graphics card to be the sole arbiter of performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows a clear progression of performance across presets. The Low preset delivers an average of 111.5 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combination. Medium drops to 82.7 FPS, High to 74.7 FPS, and Ultra to 58.8 FPS. These numbers suggest that 1080p is the only resolution where the GTX 1660 SUPER can fully flex its capabilities, with even the Ultra preset remaining above 60 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades significantly. The Low preset still manages 72.5 FPS, but Medium falls to 52.3 FPS, High to 47.1 FPS, and Ultra to 38.4 FPS. At this resolution, the system struggles to maintain smooth gameplay on higher presets. At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable for action gaming. The Low preset averages 38.2 FPS, Medium drops to 31.9 FPS, High to 25.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 18.5 FPS. The data reveals a consistent pattern: each step up in resolution or preset imposes a heavy penalty, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening from 52.7 FPS at 1080p to 19.7 FPS at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K highlights the GPU’s dominance as the performance limiter. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces the average FPS from 111.5 to 72.5, a 35% drop, and then to 38.2 at 4K, a further 47% drop. This steep decline is characteristic of a system where the graphics card is saturated, as the CPU’s performance headroom is not being taxed. The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets: at High settings, FPS drops from 74.7 at 1080p to 47.1 at 1440p (37% loss) and then to 25.1 at 4K (47% loss). The fact that the relative performance loss from 1440p to 4K is nearly identical to the loss from 1080p to 1440p indicates that the GPU is operating at its compute and memory bandwidth limits. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s 336.0 GB/s bandwidth and 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are simply insufficient for the pixel throughput required at 4K. This data confirms that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s synthetic scores show no signs of being a constraint.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal balance of visual quality and performance for this combo is found at 1920x1080 with the High preset, which produces an average of 74.7 FPS. This provides a significant margin above the 60 FPS threshold while still offering enhanced detail over the Medium preset, which runs at 82.7 FPS. For users who prioritize a higher refresh rate experience, the Low preset at 1080p offers 111.5 FPS, but the visual fidelity loss is substantial. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 52.3 FPS is the highest playable option, though users may prefer the High preset at 47.1 FPS if they can tolerate slight frame pacing issues. The Ultra preset at 1440p and all presets at 4K should be avoided, as they fall below 40 FPS, which is detrimental to the action-oriented gameplay of The Technomancer. For a consistent experience, the data strongly supports sticking to 1080p, where all presets remain at or above 58.8 FPS, with High being the recommended choice for its balance of detail and performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the defining component of this system’s performance in The Technomancer, acting as the primary bottleneck across all resolutions. This Turing-architecture GPU, built on a 12 nm process, has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, with a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p but becomes strained at higher resolutions. The GPU’s synthetic benchmarks place it at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 14286. Its nearest rivals, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, are within 0.2% of its performance, confirming its mid-range classification. In The Technomancer, the GPU’s limitations are most apparent at 4K, where even the Low preset yields only 38.2 FPS. The pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s are inadequate for the demands of 3840x2160, resulting in the sub-30 FPS averages seen on higher presets. The 125 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest, but the performance ceiling is clear: this is a 1080p-class card, and the data shows it cannot handle the higher resolution demands of this game without significant quality reductions.