The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting performance profile when paired with the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The benchmark data shows a configuration capable of high frame rates, yet the specific combination of this CPU and GPU yields a distinct set of results across resolutions and settings. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the roles of each component, and how this combo ranks against the 1,656 other tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance setting for this combo at 1920x1080?

A: The data shows the highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 262.1 FPS, achieved with Low settings. The Ultra setting at this resolution still delivers a robust 170.8 FPS average.

Q: How does the performance scale from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 170.8 at 1920x1080 to 108.8 at 2560x1440, and then further to 58.6 at 3840x2160. This represents a significant performance reduction of over 65% from the lowest to highest resolution tested.

Q: Is the frame rate at 4K playable with this hardware?

A: Yes, the data shows playable frame rates at 3840x2160. The High setting yields an average of 76.1 FPS, while the Medium setting produces 93.2 FPS, both of which are well above the standard 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Which component is more likely to be the bottleneck at 3840x2160 Ultra?

A: Given the substantial frame rate drop at 4K Ultra (58.6 FPS) compared to lower resolutions, the data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The RTX 4090's performance ceiling is being reached at this high resolution and graphical load.

Q: How does the performance at Medium settings compare between 2560x1440 and 1920x1080?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS at 2560x1440 is 165.8, which is lower than the 237.7 FPS average recorded at 1920x1080. This shows a clear performance gain when moving to a lower resolution.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and High settings at 2560x1440?

A: The difference is 74.8 FPS, with Low settings averaging 216.7 FPS and High settings averaging 141.9 FPS. This indicates a substantial performance cost for the visual improvements offered by the High preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant force in this configuration. Its core specifications include 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process from TSMC.

The memory subsystem is equally potent, featuring 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This immense memory capacity and bandwidth are critical for handling the high-resolution textures and geometry that The Technomancer presents at 4K. The data shows that the GPU's performance is the deciding factor in the game's frame rate, particularly at higher resolutions. For instance, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS falls to 58.6, indicating the GPU is fully saturated. In contrast, at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 262.1, showing the GPU has ample headroom and is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

The RTX 4090's benchmark scores reinforce its position. Its Passmark G3D score is 38,194, and it holds a 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs. This data confirms its high-end status, and the measured FPS in this game is consistent with a top-tier graphics card, even when paired with a mid-range CPU like the i5-13400F.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake family, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It features a 20 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21,279 and a Passmark multithread score of 25,032, show it is a capable processor for gaming.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear pattern where the FPS scales inversely with resolution. At 1920x1080, the CPU can feed frames to the GPU quickly enough to reach 262.1 FPS on Low settings. However, as the resolution increases to 3840x2160, the workload on the GPU becomes more intensive, and the average FPS drops significantly, even at Low settings (115.7 FPS). This suggests that the game is largely GPU-bound at higher resolutions, and the i5-13400F, with its 16 threads and high boost clock, is sufficient to avoid being a major bottleneck. The CPU's performance, while not the star of the show, is adequate to support the RTX 4090's capabilities without severely limiting the overall experience. The 82nd percentile ranking for this CPU versus all other CPUs indicates it is a solid performer, though not the absolute best available.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 42nd out of 1,656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the configuration in the top 2.5% of all tested systems, which is a strong result given the game's age and the specific hardware pairing.

This ranking indicates that while the CPU is not a top-tier enthusiast part, it does not significantly hold back the RTX 4090 in this particular title. The CPU's benchmark scores are very close to its nearest rivals; for example, it is only 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H and 0.5% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9474F. This suggests that the i5-13400F's performance is well-matched with other high-end processors in synthetic tests. The GPU also has close rivals in its own benchmark scores, with a 0.4% difference from the NVIDIA Tesla T4. The high combo rank is therefore a result of both components performing their respective roles effectively, with the powerful GPU being the primary driver of the high frame rates and the CPU providing enough support to avoid a significant bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the configuration is exceptionally fast. The average FPS ranges from 262.1 at Low settings to 170.8 at Ultra settings. The High setting averages 219.6 FPS, and Medium averages 237.7 FPS. This resolution is clearly not demanding for this hardware, allowing for maximum frame rates even with the highest graphical presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains high but shows the expected decline. The average FPS at Low settings is 216.7, which drops to 165.8 at Medium, 141.9 at High, and 108.8 at Ultra. This resolution still provides a very smooth experience, with all settings achieving frame rates well above 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes much more significant. The average FPS at Low settings is 115.7, which is still very playable. Medium settings average 93.2 FPS, and High settings average 76.1 FPS. The most demanding configuration, Ultra settings, yields an average of 58.6 FPS. This is the only setting where the average frame rate dips below the 60 FPS mark, indicating that the RTX 4090 is being pushed to its limits at 4K with the highest visual quality. The data shows a consistent performance scaling across the different presets, with the Ultra setting at 4K presenting the biggest challenge to this combination.