The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting scaling profile when paired with the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The measured FPS data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by both resolution and quality settings, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the combination is capable of very high frame rates, but the performance curve across settings indicates that the CPU is keeping pace effectively, allowing the RTX 5080 to stretch its legs.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 has a profound impact on average frame rates, illustrating the expected shift in workload from the processor to the graphics card. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 206.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p (2560x1440) at the same High preset, the average drops to 135.7 FPS, a reduction of roughly 34% from the 1080p figure. This substantial drop indicates that even at 1440p, the GPU is beginning to feel the pressure of additional pixel rendering, though the frame rate remains highly playable.

The jump to 4K (3840x2160) at High settings yields an average of 76.5 FPS. This represents a 63% decrease from the 1080p High result, confirming that the RTX 5080 is the limiting component at this resolution. The data suggests a classic GPU-bound scenario at 4K, where the sheer number of pixels dominates the rendering pipeline. The scaling from Low to Ultra settings further emphasizes this. At 4K, the average FPS goes from 109.3 at Low to 59.9 at Ultra, a 45% performance hit. This wide spread shows that the game's Ultra presets impose a significant graphical load that directly translates to lower frame rates, even on a high-end card like the RTX 5080.

Interestingly, the frame rate ceiling at lower resolutions is not unlimited. At 1080p Low, the system reaches an average of 258.7 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it falls to 164.4 FPS. This 36% drop at the same resolution shows that while the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates, the increased graphical complexity of Ultra settings still creates a bottleneck. The data points to a system that is balanced at 1440p, where High settings deliver 135.7 FPS, but becomes progressively more GPU-limited as resolution and settings are pushed higher.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. In the context of The Technomancer, a game from 2016, its role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 10971. This processing headroom is evident in the 1080p results, where the system achieves over 200 FPS on High settings, suggesting the CPU is not the primary constraint at this resolution.

The single-thread performance, often critical for older game engines, is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3004 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 960. This ensures that the game's main thread is handled efficiently. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 258.7, which is likely near the engine's practical limit or the point where the CPU starts to become more relevant. However, the performance drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p (from 258.7 to 164.4 FPS) is significant and suggests that the GPU is still the dominant factor, even at this lower resolution.

When comparing to its nearest rivals, the i5-13400F's average benchmark score of 25236 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-13620H, which scores 25201, a delta of only 0.1%. It is also within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365) and the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103). This indicates that the CPU's computational capability is on par with these alternatives, meaning the performance differences in this game are more likely attributable to the GPU or game engine optimization rather than the processor. The core and thread configuration appears more than sufficient for this title, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1440p, where the GPU takes over as the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the clear driver of performance in this configuration, especially at higher resolutions. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is crucial for handling high-resolution textures and detailed scenes. The GPU's architecture, Blackwell 2.0, with 10752 shading units, provides substantial raw compute power, reflected in its Passmark G3D score of 36565. This hardware capability is what allows the system to maintain playable frame rates at 4K.

The GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. The data shows a clear trend: at 1080p, the average FPS across settings ranges from 164.4 to 258.7, but at 4K, this range drops to 59.9 to 109.3. This shift is a classic indicator of GPU-bound performance. The RTX 5080's boost clock of 2617 MHz helps sustain these performance levels, but the demands of 4K rendering, particularly at Ultra settings, push the card to its limits. The 59.9 FPS average at 4K Ultra shows that even this high-end GPU struggles to maintain a smooth 60 FPS with all settings maxed out.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the RTX 5080's average benchmark score is 59188. This is 1.6% ahead of the Intel Arc A570M (58239) and 2.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A580 (57756). It is 1.9% behind the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326). These deltas are relatively small, suggesting that in synthetic tests, the RTX 5080 performs in a similar tier to these specific Intel offerings, though the real-world gaming performance in The Technomancer will be influenced by driver optimizations and specific game engine features. The GPU's percentile rank of 89 against all GPUs confirms its high-end status, but the data shows that the game's 4K Ultra preset is a formidable challenge for it.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 72 out of 1656 combos. This places it in the top 5% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is a very high-performing setup for this specific game. The high rank is a direct result of the combination's ability to deliver high frame rates across all resolutions, particularly the strong 1440p performance where it hits 135.7 FPS at High settings.

The rank of 72 is a strong indicator of the system's overall capability, but it also suggests that there are many other combinations that can outperform it, likely those with even more powerful CPUs or GPUs. The data shows that while the combo is excellent, it is not the absolute best, and the performance gap to the top-tier combos is likely due to the CPU or GPU being a slight bottleneck in certain scenarios. The 4K Ultra result of 59.9 FPS, while playable, is below the 60 FPS threshold that many enthusiasts target, which would explain why other combos might rank higher.

The ranking reflects a balanced system that excels in most scenarios but shows its limits when pushed to the absolute maximum settings at 4K. The data suggests that for users targeting 1440p or 1080p gaming, this combo is exceptionally well-suited, offering high refresh rate capabilities. For 4K gaming, it is a capable performer, but users may need to adjust settings from Ultra to High to ensure a consistently smooth experience, as the High preset at 4K yields a much more comfortable 76.5 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, this combo achieves an average of 135.7 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the Intel Core i7-13620H in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-13620H's score of 25201.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo in the data?

A: The lowest average FPS is 59.9, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the GPU have a higher average benchmark score than the Intel Arc A580?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 59188, which is 2.5% higher than the Intel Arc A580's score of 57756.

Q: What is the combo's rank in the database for this game?

A: The combo ranks 72 out of 1656 tested combinations for The Technomancer.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 258.7 on Low settings to 164.4 on Ultra settings, a difference of 94.3 FPS.