The Technomancer

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake-S desktop processor with a 2.50 GHz base clock and a 4.60 GHz boost clock. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 80 KB L1 cache per core provide the kind of responsive thread scheduling that action RPGs like The Technomancer rely on for consistent frame delivery. In synthetic testing, the chip posts a 3DMark max-thread score of 7307 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 960, showing a balanced profile between multi-core throughput and per-core responsiveness.

The data indicates that this CPU is not the bottleneck in most tested scenarios. At 1080p Low settings, the combo produces 232 FPS, which is far beyond what a typical 60 Hz or even 144 Hz display requires. The processor's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21279 and single-core score of 3004 place it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms the majority of installed processors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13620H (0.1% faster), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (0.5% slower), and AMD EPYC 9474F (0.5% faster) — all essentially statistical ties.

For The Technomancer specifically, the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads matter because the game's engine spawns numerous NPCs and physics interactions. However, the measured FPS deltas between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution show the GPU taking over as the primary performance limiter as graphical load increases. At 1080p, moving from Low (232 FPS) to Ultra (117 FPS) cuts performance by roughly half, a pattern consistent with GPU-bound scaling rather than CPU limitation. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 versus the 2-thread score of 1880 confirms that the processor scales well with additional threads, but the game's frame pacing benefits more from the GPU's raw throughput.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip fabricated on a 4 nm TSMC process. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock reaches 2970 MHz with a game clock of 2400 MHz, and its 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs give it substantial fill-rate muscle — 380.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 760.3 GTexel/s texture rate.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution climbs. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 44.7 FPS, while at 4K Low it reaches 80.7 FPS — a 36 FPS gap that is almost entirely attributable to GPU workload. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this 2016-era title, and the memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming at high resolutions does not cause hitches. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 26795 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 place it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (0.1% slower) and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (0.2% faster).

The RX 9070 XT's FP32 throughput of 48.66 TFLOPS is the kind of raw compute that allows the game to maintain playable frame rates even at 4K High (56.2 FPS). The 64 RT cores are present but largely irrelevant for this title, which launched before ray tracing became a standard feature. The GPU's 304 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a high-power part, but the benchmark results show it being used effectively — the 4K Ultra result of 44.7 FPS is within the playable range, though not comfortably so.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent scaling pattern across all four settings presets. At High settings, performance drops from 152.3 FPS at 1080p to 101.3 FPS at 1440p (a 33.5% reduction) and then to 56.2 FPS at 4K (a further 44.5% reduction from 1440p). This steepening decline as resolution increases is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

At Low settings, the same pattern holds but with higher absolute numbers: 232 FPS at 1080p, 153.4 FPS at 1440p, and 80.7 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop of 151.3 FPS (65.2%) at Low settings indicates that even at minimal graphical load, the GPU is still the primary constraint — a CPU-bound scenario would show flatter scaling across resolutions. The Medium preset follows suit: 179.1 FPS at 1080p, 118 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling penalty: 117 FPS at 1080p, 77.7 FPS at 1440p, and 44.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is just 38.2% of the 1080p Ultra figure, confirming that the RX 9070 XT's rendering workload scales super-linearly with pixel count when all effects are enabled. The data strongly suggests that for 4K play, users should target High or Medium settings, while 1440p and 1080p give the GPU enough headroom for Ultra.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The optimal settings preset depends entirely on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all four presets exceed 100 FPS, with Low hitting 232 FPS, Medium at 179.1 FPS, High at 152.3 FPS, and Ultra at 117 FPS. For 60 Hz displays, even Ultra is overkill; for 144 Hz displays, High is the sweet spot, and for 240 Hz displays, Medium or Low are the only viable options.

At 1440p, the picture changes. Ultra drops to 77.7 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for high-refresh monitors. High at 101.3 FPS is the best balance, offering a 30.4% improvement over Ultra while remaining above the 100 FPS threshold. Medium at 118 FPS is also strong, but the visual quality gain from High is typically worth the 16.7 FPS cost. Low at 153.4 FPS is available for competitive play but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for most users.

At 4K, the choices narrow significantly. Ultra at 44.7 FPS is below the 60 FPS standard and should be avoided. High at 56.2 FPS is close but still short of 60. Medium at 64 FPS clears the 60 FPS bar and is the recommended preset for 4K gaming. Low at 80.7 FPS is the safest option for demanding scenes, but Medium provides the best visual-to-performance ratio per the measured rows.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This Intel Core i5-13400F + AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination ranks 417th out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the top 25.2% of all system configurations in the database. This is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU, and it reflects the game's tendency to favor GPU throughput over CPU core count.

The rank position is somewhat surprising given the GPU's 82nd percentile standing — the RX 9070 XT is a top-tier part, and the CPU's 82nd percentile is also respectable. The combined ranking suggests that The Technomancer's engine is not particularly demanding on either component, allowing many older or less powerful combos to achieve playable frame rates. The 417th rank out of 1656 means that 1239 other combinations outperform this pairing in this specific title, which is a reminder that raw component strength does not always translate to top-tier game performance.

The delta between this combo's rank and what the individual component percentiles might suggest indicates that the game's optimization favors certain hardware combinations. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13620H (within 0.1%) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (within 0.5%), while the GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 575 and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile — all within 0.6% of the respective averages. This tight clustering suggests that small performance differences at the component level can shift the combo rank significantly across the 1656 tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at 4K 60 FPS?

A: Only at Medium settings, which delivers 64 FPS at 3840x2160. High settings fall just short at 56.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 44.7 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High settings provide 101.3 FPS at 2560x1440, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. Ultra drops to 77.7 FPS, while Medium reaches 118 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 417th out of 1656 total combos, placing it in the top 25.2% of all systems tested in this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The GPU is the primary limiter. The FPS drops from 232 FPS at Low to 117 FPS at Ultra at 1080p, a pattern consistent with GPU-bound scaling rather than CPU limitation.

Q: What is the 4K Ultra performance?

A: The combo delivers 44.7 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is below the 60 FPS standard and not recommended for smooth play.

Q: How does the RX 9070 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: It is effectively tied with the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (0.1% slower) and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (0.2% faster), while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 is 0.6% faster.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080:

• Low: 232.0 FPS
• Medium: 179.1 FPS
• High: 152.3 FPS
• Ultra: 117.0 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 153.4 FPS
• Medium: 118.0 FPS
• High: 101.3 FPS
• Ultra: 77.7 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 80.7 FPS
• Medium: 64.0 FPS
• High: 56.2 FPS
• Ultra: 44.7 FPS

The full dataset shows a monotonic decrease in FPS as both resolution and settings increase, with no anomalies or unexpected reversals. The largest single-step drop occurs between 1080p Low (232 FPS) and 1080p Medium (179.1 FPS), a 52.9 FPS reduction, while the smallest drop is between 4K Medium (64 FPS) and 4K High (56.2 FPS), a 7.8 FPS reduction. This pattern indicates that the Medium-to-High transition at 4K is relatively inexpensive, while the Low-to-Medium transition at 1080p carries the highest relative cost.