The Technomancer

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a dominant performance profile in The Technomancer, securing the 35th position out of 1,656 tested combos. This places the configuration in the top 2.1% of all systems evaluated, a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with an enthusiast-tier GPU. The i5-12600KF itself holds the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27,827, putting it statistically level with the Intel Core i9-10900K (deltaPct of 0) and just 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12600K. The RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile for GPUs, with an average score of 66,473; its closest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, trails by 0.4%, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 leads by 0.9%. The combination’s rank reflects a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU’s strong single-thread and multi-thread scores ensure it never becomes a bottleneck in this Action RPG.

How This Combo Ranks

Benchmark results indicate that this combo’s 35th-place finish out of 1,656 is driven by the RTX 4090’s exceptional raw throughput, but the i5-12600KF provides a stable foundation. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23,444 and single-core score of 3,309 show balanced performance that scales well with the GPU’s demands. In the context of the game, the system achieves frame rates that exceed the refresh rate capabilities of most displays at 1080p and 1440p, while maintaining playable performance at 4K. The nearest CPU rivals highlight the i5-12600KF’s efficiency: it matches the Intel Core i9-10900K’s average score of 27,829 exactly (deltaPct 0), and it edges out the Intel Core i7-13700H by 0.4%. This suggests that the combo’s ranking is not limited by processing power, as the CPU’s performance envelope is sufficient to feed the RTX 4090 in nearly all scenarios. The data reveals that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 280.3 FPS, indicating a ceiling that is likely limited by the game engine rather than hardware, given the GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 38,194.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience measured in the data, the High preset at 2560x1440 offers an optimal balance, delivering 138.7 FPS average. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the gap to the Ultra preset at the same resolution (109 FPS) is 29.7 FPS, making High the superior choice for maintaining high frame rates without a significant visual penalty. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset produces 90 FPS, which is the highest setting that remains comfortably above 60 FPS; Ultra at 4K drops to 59.6 FPS, which is borderline for demanding scenes. For players with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1920x1080, the High preset at 216.9 FPS is recommended over Ultra (169.5 FPS) because the difference in visual fidelity is unlikely to justify a 47.4 FPS loss. The Low preset at 1080p hits 280.3 FPS, but this is only advisable for competitive play where maximum frame rate trumps graphics, as the Medium preset still achieves 255.4 FPS with better image quality. Overall, the data suggests that High is the sweet spot across all resolutions, with Medium as a fallback for 4K.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in The Technomancer?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF + RTX 4090 combination ranks 35th out of 1,656 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.1% of all configurations.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for a 60 FPS experience?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset achieves 90 FPS, while the High preset at 2560x1440 reaches 138.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only measured setting that dips below 60 FPS, at 59.6 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-12600KF compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12600KF’s average score of 27,827 is exactly equal to the Intel Core i9-10900K (deltaPct 0), 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-12600K, and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700H.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 significantly better than its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4090’s average score of 66,473 is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla T4, 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P40, and 1.3% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro P6000. The differences are minimal, indicating a tight cluster at this performance tier.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1080p High is 216.9, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate gaming monitor.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data does not indicate a bottleneck; at 1080p Low, the system reaches 280.3 FPS, and the CPU’s single-thread score of 3,309 in Cinebench R23 suggests ample headroom for the RTX 4090’s demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4090 shows a clear scaling pattern across presets. The Low preset delivers 118.8 FPS, which is the highest at this resolution, while Medium drops to 90 FPS, High falls to 75.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 59.6 FPS. This represents a 59.2 FPS swing from Low to Ultra, highlighting the game’s heavy reliance on GPU shading at 4K. The transition from Low to Medium costs 28.8 FPS, while Medium to High costs 14.9 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 15.5 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings climb.

At 2560x1440, the performance headroom is substantial. The Low preset reaches 216.3 FPS, Medium hits 168.3 FPS, High delivers 138.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 109 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 107.3 FPS, but the step from High to Ultra is 29.7 FPS, which is the largest single-step penalty at this resolution. This indicates that Ultra introduces a significant load, likely from higher shadow quality or post-processing effects.

At 1920x1080, the system is clearly above the refresh rate of typical monitors. Low achieves 280.3 FPS, Medium reaches 255.4 FPS, High delivers 216.9 FPS, and Ultra produces 169.5 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 110.8 FPS drop, but even at Ultra, the frame rate exceeds 165 Hz displays. The data shows that the CPU’s performance, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 27,575, is sufficient to keep frame rates high even when the GPU is not fully taxed at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090’s role in this combo is defined by its massive memory subsystem and clock speeds. With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, the card offers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for The Technomancer’s high-resolution textures at 4K. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, translating to 21 Gbps effective, and this bandwidth ensures that the GPU does not stall on data fetches, even at Ultra settings where the 59.6 FPS result at 4K indicates the card is approaching its limits. The GPU’s base clock of 2235 MHz and boost clock of 2520 MHz are the highest in the GeForce 40-series lineup, and the 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance provides ample compute for the game’s lighting and particle effects.

The RTX 4090’s 16,384 shading units and 512 texture mapping units allow it to process the game’s geometry efficiently, as evidenced by the jump from 75.1 FPS at 4K High to 118.8 FPS at 4K Low, a 43.7 FPS difference that reflects the GPU’s ability to scale with reduced shading complexity. The card’s 176 ROPs handle pixel output well, with a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s, which is necessary for the high frame rates seen at 1080p. The GPU’s 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are present but not specifically utilized in this game, as The Technomancer predates widespread ray tracing adoption; nevertheless, the compute resources contribute to the overall performance. The 450 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate that this is a high-power part, but the measured FPS data shows that the card delivers consistent results across all settings, with the percentileVsAllGpus of 91 confirming its top-tier status.