The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting scaling profile for the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination. The data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet reveals significant CPU headroom at 1080p, where frame rates exceed what most displays can show. This analysis breaks down the measured performance metrics to determine the optimal configuration for this specific pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, confirming that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 196.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 127.9 FPS at 2560x1440, a 35% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 68.6 FPS, which is 65% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 284 FPS at 1080p to 193.8 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 107.8 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the same trend, with 151.7 FPS at 1080p falling to 100.7 FPS at 1440p and 54.7 FPS at 4K. The consistent percentage drops across presets indicate that the game's rendering engine scales resolutions uniformly, with no sudden cliffs or anomalies in the curve.

The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling. At High settings, the 4K result is only 53.6% of the 1440p result. This suggests that 4K resolution demands more than double the pixel processing power of 1440p, and the RTX 4080 SUPER, despite its 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability, cannot maintain high frame rates at that resolution with this game's engine. The 1080p results, exceeding 280 FPS at Low settings, indicate that the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the i5-12600KF’s 4.90 GHz boost clock and 10 cores provide ample headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this CPU-GPU pairing achieves a rank of 101 out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places the configuration in the top 6.1% of all tested systems, indicating exceptional overall performance for this title. The high ranking is expected given the RTX 4080 SUPER's 88th percentile standing among all GPUs and the i5-12600KF's 84th percentile among all CPUs.

The combination outperforms the vast majority of systems, but the rank also reveals that there are 100 other configurations that produce higher average frame rates in this game. These higher-ranked systems likely feature more powerful GPUs or CPUs that are better optimized for this specific engine. The data suggests that while this combo is excellent, it is not the absolute pinnacle for The Technomancer, with some headroom for improvement if a user were to pair the CPU with a more capable GPU.

Relative to its nearest rivals, the i5-12600KF’s average benchmark score of 27827 is virtually identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K’s score of 27829, with a deltaPct of 0. It also matches the Intel Core i5-12600K (27851, deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H (27872, deltaPct -0.2). This indicates that the CPU’s processing power is in the same class as these alternatives, and any performance differences in-game would be primarily attributed to the GPU. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s average score of 53610 places it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489) and 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52086), confirming its position as a top-tier graphics processor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF features 10 cores and 16 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, boosting up to 4.90 GHz. These specifications provide robust multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23444 and Geekbench multicore score of 12373. For a game like The Technomancer, which is an Action RPG from 2016, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls.

Benchmark results show that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p. At Low settings, the system achieves 284 FPS, which is likely near the engine's upper limit or the point where the GPU can no longer render frames fast enough to keep up with the CPU. The PassMark multithread score of 27575 and single-thread score of 3925 suggest that the processor has sufficient power to feed the RTX 4080 SUPER even at high frame rates. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7956 and 2-thread score of 1995 further indicate balanced performance across varying thread counts.

The lack of a significant CPU bottleneck is also supported by the fact that the frame rate drops are almost perfectly proportional to the resolution increase. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a much smaller difference between 1080p and 1440p results, as the CPU workload would remain constant while the GPU workload increased. The data shows that the i5-12600KF, with its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 10 nm process node, provides more than enough computational headroom for this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average frame rate is 68.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 54.7 FPS, so High is the recommended setting for 4K gaming.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827, which is identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K's score of 27829 (deltaPct 0). It is also 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12600K.

Q: Is the GPU more powerful than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT's score of 53489.

Q: What is the ceiling for this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 284 FPS. This is the highest measured average for this resolution.

Q: Does the combo rank high among all tested systems?

A: Yes, it ranks 101 out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer, placing it in the top 6.1% of all configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 151.9 FPS at 2560x1440 to 78.9 FPS at 3840x2160.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing for The Technomancer. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, it provides a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock of 2550 MHz and 10240 shading units deliver the raw compute power necessary for high-resolution rendering, as reflected in its PassMark G3D score of 34245 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6600.

The GPU’s role is evident in the resolution scaling. At 4K Ultra, the system manages 54.7 FPS, which is a playable rate but not ideal for competitive play. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its high-end status, but The Technomancer’s engine appears to be demanding on pixel fill rate. The GPU’s pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s are substantial, yet the game’s Ultra preset at 4K still stresses the card to its limits.

The GPU’s capability is further highlighted by the fact that it can deliver over 100 FPS at 1440p High (127.9 FPS) and over 60 FPS at 4K High (68.6 FPS). This indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming and smooth 4K gaming, provided the settings are adjusted from Ultra to High. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2016 and likely does not require more than 8 GB even at maximum settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset is the recommended choice across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, High delivers 196.6 FPS, which is more than adequate for any high-refresh-rate monitor. At 2560x1440, High produces 127.9 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz displays, providing a smooth and responsive experience. At 3840x2160, High yields 68.6 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target for console-like smoothness.

The Ultra preset offers diminishing returns. At 1080p, it drops to 151.7 FPS, which is still excellent but represents a 23% performance loss compared to High for marginal visual gains. At 1440p, Ultra delivers 100.7 FPS, which is still playable, but the drop from High is significant. At 4K, Ultra falls to 54.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable stuttering on some displays.

The Medium preset is a viable alternative for 4K gaming if High is too demanding for a user's specific monitor refresh rate. It provides 78.9 FPS at 4K, which is a 15% improvement over High, but with a noticeable reduction in visual quality. For users with 1440p 144Hz monitors, the High preset is the clear winner, as it nearly maxes out the refresh rate. For 1080p users, even the Ultra preset is playable, but High is recommended to maximize frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are: Low 284 FPS, Medium 229.5 FPS, High 196.6 FPS, and Ultra 151.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 46.6% reduction in performance, which is a typical cost for maximum visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 193.8 FPS, Medium 151.9 FPS, High 127.9 FPS, and Ultra 100.7 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 48%, slightly more pronounced than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary constraint. At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 107.8 FPS, Medium 78.9 FPS, High 68.6 FPS, and Ultra 54.7 FPS. Here, the drop from Low to Ultra is 49.3%, confirming that the GPU is fully saturated at this resolution.

The data shows a clear pattern: every resolution and settings combination yields a playable frame rate, with the sole exception of 4K Ultra, which drops below 60 FPS. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s performance is consistent, with no unexpected dips or anomalies. The highest measured average is 284 FPS at 1080p Low, and the lowest is 54.7 FPS at 4K Ultra. This range demonstrates the flexibility of the combo, allowing users to prioritize either frame rate or visual quality depending on their display and preferences.