The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting scaling challenge for the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700. The benchmark data reveals a configuration that is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but requires careful settings management to maintain playability at higher resolutions. This analysis examines the measured FPS across resolutions and presets to determine the optimal experience and the role each component plays.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset provides the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions, offering a significant boost over High settings while maintaining a smooth frame rate. At 1920x1080, Medium yields an average of 137 FPS, which is 20 frames higher than High’s 117 FPS, and still 45 frames above Ultra’s 92 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is also substantial, a 42 FPS increase from 179 to 137 FPS, but the Medium preset retains more visual fidelity than Low, making it the superior choice for most users.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset again proves to be the sweet spot, delivering 90 FPS. This is 13 FPS faster than High’s 77 FPS and a full 30 FPS faster than Ultra’s 60 FPS. At this resolution, the data suggests that the GPU is becoming a more significant factor, and Medium offers a substantial performance buffer that keeps the experience well above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K results reinforce this recommendation, where Medium averages 49 FPS, which is a 7 FPS improvement over High’s 42 FPS and a 16 FPS improvement over Ultra’s 33 FPS. While 49 FPS is not ideal for fast-paced action, it is the only preset besides Low that approaches a playable range at this resolution.

Ultra settings are generally not recommended for this combination, as the performance cost is steep. At 1080p, Ultra still achieves 92 FPS, but at 1440p it drops to exactly 60 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 33 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that the jump from High to Ultra costs a significant 25 FPS at 1080p, 17 FPS at 1440p, and 9 FPS at 4K. For a 2016 title, the visual difference between High and Ultra is often minimal, making the performance trade-off unfavorable. The Low preset, while achieving the highest frame rates, likely compromises visual quality to a degree that is not worth the performance gain when Medium offers a strong middle ground.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus is a key asset for this game, providing a theoretical bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This large memory capacity ensures that The Technomancer’s textures and assets are unlikely to exceed the available VRAM, even at 4K resolution. The GPU’s 96 ROPs and 160 TMUs are responsible for the pixel and texture fill rates, which directly impact the rendering of the game’s detailed environments. The boost clock of 2459 MHz and game clock of 2041 MHz are the operating frequencies that drive the card’s 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The benchmark results show that the GPU is the primary performance limiter as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is able to feed the GPU sufficiently, allowing the RX 7700 to reach an average of 179 FPS on Low settings. However, the workload scales with resolution, and at 4K, the GPU’s compute units are taxed, resulting in a drop to 64 FPS on Low settings. This pattern indicates that the RX 7700’s performance is the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the 16 GB VRAM buffer is sufficient, but the raw processing power is not enough to maintain 4K Ultra frame rates.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 15852 places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, has a higher average score of 16129, a delta of -1.7%, indicating the RX 7700 is slightly behind that card in general compute tasks. However, in this specific game, the measured FPS shows a strong performance profile, especially at 1080p and 1440p with Medium settings, suggesting that the card’s architecture is well-suited to the game’s engine.

FAQ

Q: What is the best graphics preset for 1080p gaming with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 137 FPS. This is significantly higher than High’s 117 FPS and Ultra’s 92 FPS, offering a smoother experience with a reasonable visual quality trade-off.

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

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which achieves an average of 64 FPS. Medium and High settings at 4K produce averages of 49 and 42 FPS respectively, which may be playable but are not ideal for a smooth experience. Ultra is not playable at 33 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance increase is there from High to Medium at 1440p?

A: The data shows a 13 FPS increase, from 77 FPS on High to 90 FPS on Medium. This represents a 17% improvement in average frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the frame rate at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the CPU is able to provide enough data. The frame rate drops from 179 FPS on Low to 92 FPS on Ultra, demonstrating that the GPU’s rendering load is the main constraint.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 33 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The minimum FPS recorded is 42, which occurs during the Medium preset at 4K.

Q: How does this GPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852, which is 1.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti’s score of 16129.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1275th out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This position places it in the 55th percentile of all tested configurations, suggesting it is a solid, mid-range performer for this title. The ranking is influenced by the balance between the CPU’s strong multi-threaded capabilities and the GPU’s robust performance, which together deliver a smooth experience at mainstream resolutions.

The CPU’s synthetic benchmark performance is competitive, with an average score of 25292, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, has a nearly identical score of 25284, showing a deltaPct of 0%. The GPU’s 58th percentile ranking is lower, but its performance in this game appears to be more than adequate for the demands of the title. The combo’s rank suggests that while it is not a top-tier configuration, it outperforms a significant majority of systems tested, making it a reliable choice for playing The Technomancer at high settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected trend: performance degrades as resolution increases. At 1080p with Medium settings, the combo achieves 137 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 90 FPS, a 34% reduction. At 4K, the average further drops to 49 FPS, a 64% reduction from the 1080p figure. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For example, on High settings, the frame rate goes from 117 FPS at 1080p to 77 FPS at 1440p and then to 42 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component as resolution increases. The CPU’s workload does not change significantly with resolution, but the GPU must render more pixels. The RX 7700’s performance scales down in a linear fashion with the increase in pixel count, suggesting that its processing power is the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, the GPU still has headroom, allowing the CPU to push frame rates to their maximum, but the GPU’s limits are reached quickly as the resolution climbs. The frame rate drop from 137 FPS at 1080p to 49 FPS at 4K on Medium settings is a clear indicator of GPU-bound performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results show a wide range of performance. Low settings produce an average of 179 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this configuration. Medium settings follow with 137 FPS, and the data includes a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS. High settings average 117 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 92 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the system is capable of high refresh rate gaming on all presets, with even Ultra maintaining a playable frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens. Low settings still deliver a high average of 117 FPS. Medium settings average 90 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 103 FPS. High settings average 77 FPS, and Ultra settings produce an average of 60 FPS. The data here shows that Medium is the optimal choice for 1440p, as it is the only preset that provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS standard.

At 3840x2160, the system’s limits are clear. Low settings are the only option for a smooth experience, averaging 64 FPS. Medium settings average 49 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS, indicating noticeable frame dips. High settings average 42 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 33 FPS, making them unsuitable for gameplay. The 4K results demonstrate that the RX 7700 is not capable of maintaining high frame rates at this resolution without significant compromises to graphical fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its architecture, Raptor Lake, features a 20 MB shared L3 cache, which is crucial for feeding data to the cores efficiently. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance, scoring 22604 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 25032 in Passmark multithread. Its single-thread performance is also competent, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3191 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3634.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. The measured FPS indicates that the i5-13400F is not a bottleneck at 1080p, as the frame rates are high and scale with GPU load. The CPU’s 16 threads are more than sufficient for a 2016 title, and its high boost clock ensures responsive performance. However, as resolution increases and the GPU becomes the limiting factor, the CPU’s workload remains relatively constant, showing that the processor has enough headroom to support the RX 7700 across all settings. The CPU’s performance, while not the primary driver of frame rate at higher resolutions, provides a solid foundation that allows the GPU to perform to its full potential. The processor’s 65W TDP also suggests efficient operation, which can help maintain stable system performance during extended gaming sessions.