The Technomancer

The Technomancer presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 pairing, with measured frame rates that place this combination in the bottom percentile of all tested systems. The data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution, struggling to maintain playable performance at higher resolutions while showing surprising capability at the most modest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1080p to 4K exposes a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 66.7 FPS, but dropping to 1440p reduces this to 47.1 FPS, a 30% decline. Moving further to 4K Low yields just 24.6 FPS, representing a 63% loss from the 1080p baseline. This scaling behavior indicates the GTX 1650 is the primary limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed the graphics pipeline.

The High settings row reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p High, the system produces 43.1 FPS, which falls to 27.3 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 13.5 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and High settings widens as resolution increases — at 1080p the difference is 23.6 FPS, but at 4K it narrows to 11.1 FPS. This compression suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so saturated that quality presets have diminishing impact on the final frame rate.

The Ultra preset tells an even more striking story. Starting at 36.7 FPS in 1080p, it drops to 20.4 FPS at 1440p and reaches an unplayable 10.1 FPS at 4K. The data implies that the 4 GB VRAM buffer and 128-bit memory interface of the GTX 1650 are overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum quality settings, causing severe performance degradation.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest measured average FPS for this combo in The Technomancer?

A: The best result comes from 1080p with Low settings, producing 66.7 FPS average. This is the only configuration in the measured data that exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 8713 places it within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 and NVIDIA Quadro P2200, while sitting 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and AMD Radeon 550X.

Q: Is 1440p gaming viable with this configuration?

A: At 1440p Low, the system averages 47.1 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. Medium settings drop to 36.7 FPS, and High falls to 27.3 FPS. The data suggests 1440p is only acceptable with the lowest quality preset.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F sits in the 82nd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 25236. This places it in a strong position relative to the broader CPU market.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 53.4 at 1080p Medium to 21.4 at 4K Medium, representing a 60% reduction. This substantial loss highlights the GPU's inability to handle 4K rendering.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all graphics cards?

A: The GTX 1650 ranks in the 43rd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 8713. This places it below the median of all tested GPUs, confirming its budget-oriented positioning.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 achieves a rank of 1615 out of 1656 tested combinations in The Technomancer. This places the system in the bottom 2.5% of all configurations, indicating that it struggles significantly with this particular title. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities, as the processor demonstrates strong synthetic performance that is not fully utilized in this game.

The disparity between the CPU's 82nd percentile ranking and the combo's near-bottom placement in this game suggests that the GTX 1650 is the bottleneck. The data implies that pairing a more capable graphics card with the i5-13400F would yield substantially better results, as the processor has proven headroom in its benchmark scores. The GPU's 43rd percentile ranking aligns more closely with the combo's overall performance, confirming that graphics processing is the constraining factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its most playable results. Low settings produce 66.7 FPS average, while Medium achieves 53.4 FPS. High settings drop to 43.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36.7 FPS. The 1080p resolution represents the only scenario where the combo approaches smooth gameplay, with three of four presets exceeding 40 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440 reveals significant performance degradation. Low settings average 47.1 FPS, which is a 29% reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium produces 36.7 FPS, High yields 27.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 20.4 FPS. None of these results reach the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p playable only at the lowest quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 24.6 FPS, Medium reaches 21.4 FPS, and High falls to 13.5 FPS. Ultra produces just 10.1 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth motion. The 4K results indicate that this combination is not suitable for such high-resolution rendering in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Raptor Lake architecture processor demonstrates strong synthetic performance, achieving a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21279 and single-core score of 3004. The CPU's 3DMark results show solid scaling from 1880 in the 2-thread test to 7314 in the 16-thread test, indicating good multi-threading efficiency.

The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide adequate memory for game logic and physics calculations. The 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests the i5-13400F is well above average for gaming workloads. However, in The Technomancer, the CPU's capabilities are not the limiting factor, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops across resolution changes that point to GPU saturation.

The Geekbench multicore score of 10971 and single-core score of 2301 further confirm the processor's strength. The PassMark multithread score of 25032 and single-thread score of 3634 reinforce this assessment. The data suggests that the i5-13400F has ample computational headroom for this game, with the bottleneck residing entirely in the graphics subsystem.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the best balance of visual quality and performance, the 1080p Medium preset emerges as the optimal choice from the measured data. At 53.4 FPS average, this setting provides a smooth experience with moderate visual fidelity. The jump from Medium to High costs 10.3 FPS (from 53.4 to 43.1), which may not justify the visual improvements for some players.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable option, producing 47.1 FPS. While this is playable, the low visual quality may detract from the game's atmosphere. The Medium preset at 36.7 FPS offers better visuals but introduces noticeable stutter. Players prioritizing smoothness should select Low, while those willing to accept lower frame rates can experiment with Medium.

The 4K resolution is not recommended for this combination, as even Low settings only produce 24.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p, while delivering 36.7 FPS, provides diminishing returns over Medium given the significant performance cost. The data suggests that 1080p Medium offers the best compromise between visual quality and playability for this hardware pairing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1485 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and its 896 shading units deliver 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 43rd percentile ranking among all GPUs positions this card as a below-average performer in the current market.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark results show its DirectX 11 score of 58, which is notably higher than the DirectX 12 score of 35. This suggests the architecture is better optimized for older graphics APIs, which aligns with The Technomancer's 2016 release date. The PassMark G3D score of 7880 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 39112 provide additional context for the card's capabilities.

The 4 GB VRAM capacity likely becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions and quality settings. The significant frame rate drops at 4K suggest the card is exceeding its memory bandwidth and capacity, causing severe performance degradation. The GPU's 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors indicate its design as a low-power solution, which constrains its performance ceiling. The data clearly shows that the GTX 1650 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration, unable to keep pace with the i5-13400F's processing capabilities in demanding scenarios.