The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, places distinct demands on the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination. The measured data reveals a component pairing that behaves differently across resolutions, with the GPU and CPU taking turns as the limiting factor. This analysis examines the collected FPS data to understand the dynamics of this specific hardware pairing in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, indicating that the RTX 4060's rendering pipeline becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 109.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 72 FPS at 2560x1440—a 34% reduction—and then further to 38.5 FPS at 3840x2160, which represents a 47% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU that is being pushed toward its fillrate and bandwidth limits at higher resolutions.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 171.8 FPS, which drops to 111.3 FPS at 2560x1440 and 60.6 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K result nearly halves from the 1440p result suggests that the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are not the sole constraints; rather, the GPU's raw shading throughput is being saturated. The RTX 4060's FP32 rating of 15.11 TFLOPS appears insufficient for maintaining high frame rates at 4K in this title, regardless of how light the settings become.

The scaling between Medium and High is relatively linear, but the gap between High and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Ultra produces 85.3 FPS versus High's 109.2 FPS—a 22% penalty. At 4K, that penalty grows to 20% (30.9 vs 38.5 FPS), showing that the most demanding preset pushes the GPU into a territory where each additional pixel costs more in performance. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the GPU at higher resolutions, likely related to the 48 ROPs or the 272.0 GB/s bandwidth.

FAQ

Q: Does the RTX 4060 maintain playable frame rates at 4K in The Technomancer?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 60.6 FPS. At Medium it drops to 47.9 FPS, High to 38.5 FPS, and Ultra to 30.9 FPS, indicating that 4K gaming requires significant graphical compromises with this GPU.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to avoid GPU bottlenecking?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the most headroom, with all presets exceeding 85 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra falls to 58.7 FPS, which is near the edge of smooth gameplay, while 4K Ultra at 30.9 FPS is clearly GPU-limited.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, placing it within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and 0.2% behind both the AMD Ryzen 7 250 and Intel Core i7-13705H. It is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H, which scores 32513.

Q: Is the GPU's VRAM capacity a limiting factor in this game?

A: The RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. Given that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate is only 60.6 FPS, the memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s appears more likely to be the constraint than capacity, though the data does not isolate VRAM usage.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: This combination ranks 957 out of 1656 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field. This suggests that while the hardware is capable, many other pairings deliver higher frame rates in The Technomancer.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its closest competitor in raw benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 23181, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321) and 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338). It outperforms the Intel Arc B580 by 0.7%.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060's specifications reveal why it struggles at 4K in this title. With a boost clock of 2460 MHz and 3072 shading units, the card can process pixels quickly at lower resolutions, but the 128-bit memory interface and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become bottlenecks when the render target expands. The card's 48 ROPs and 96 TMUs are modest for a 4K workload, and the pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s is insufficient to keep up with the demands of 3840x2160 at high quality settings.

The GPU's VRAM configuration of 8 GB GDDR6 is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, where the measured frame rates suggest the memory subsystem is not the primary limiter. However, the transition to 4K exposes the bandwidth limitation—even at Low settings, the 60.6 FPS result is 45% lower than the 1080p Low score of 171.8 FPS, indicating that the memory bus is being saturated. The card's 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance is not enough to compensate for this bandwidth constraint in a game that appears to scale heavily with fillrate.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 66th among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181, places it just behind the GTX 780 Ti—a card from a previous era. This is reflected in the actual game data, where the RTX 4060 cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K even on the lowest preset, falling to 30.9 FPS on Ultra. The card's Tensor cores and RT cores, while present (96 and 24 respectively), do not contribute to this rasterization-heavy title, making the raw shader throughput and memory bandwidth the decisive factors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers strong performance across all settings. Low averages 171.8 FPS, Medium 130.9 FPS, High 109.2 FPS, and Ultra 85.3 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 86.5 FPS, showing that the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU even at the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the numbers compress. Low produces 111.3 FPS, Medium 82.9 FPS, High 72 FPS, and Ultra 58.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 52.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor—the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are no longer the constraint.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly dominant in limiting performance. Low yields 60.6 FPS, Medium 47.9 FPS, High 38.5 FPS, and Ultra 30.9 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra shrinks to 29.7 FPS, and even the fastest preset cannot reach 61 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a 65% reduction in frame rate, highlighting the GPU's inability to handle the pixel count.

The 1440p results are the most balanced for this pairing. At High settings, 72 FPS is playable, and Medium at 82.9 FPS offers a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at 58.7 FPS is borderline, suggesting that players seeking 60+ FPS at 1440p should stick to Medium or High.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 957 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer, this pairing sits in the 58th percentile of all tested configurations. This is a middling result, indicating that the RTX 4060 is not a top-tier performer for this specific game. The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 66 suggests it is better than average in general, but the game's demands on memory bandwidth and fillrate hurt it more than other titles might.

The CPU's strong benchmark scores—such as 21914 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3093 in single-core—do not translate into a high combo rank, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component. The 957th rank out of 1656 places this combo in the lower-middle tier, meaning many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher average FPS in The Technomancer. This is consistent with the data showing that the RTX 4060 cannot break 40 FPS at 4K High or 60 FPS at 4K Medium.

The nearest rival GPUs, such as the RX 6600M and GTX 780 Ti, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, suggesting that any of these cards would produce similar results in this game. The combo's rank reflects the GPU's mid-pack standing rather than any deficiency in the CPU, which outperforms its immediate rivals by a negligible margin.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the data points to 1920x1080 as the only resolution where all presets meet that threshold. At this resolution, Ultra delivers 85.3 FPS, making it the best experience if visual quality is the priority. High at 109.2 FPS provides a comfortable margin, while Medium at 130.9 FPS is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the choice becomes more nuanced. Medium at 82.9 FPS is the sweet spot, offering smooth gameplay with moderate visual fidelity. High at 72 FPS is also viable, but Ultra at 58.7 FPS falls below the 60 FPS target, making it a poor choice for competitive play. Low at 111.3 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rates.

At 4K, the options are limited. Low at 60.6 FPS is the only preset that achieves a playable frame rate, and even that is marginal. Medium at 47.9 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced gameplay, but High at 38.5 FPS and Ultra at 30.9 FPS are likely to feel sluggish. For a 4K experience, the data suggests that Low or Medium is the maximum viable setting, with the understanding that the visual compromise is significant.

The best overall experience according to the measured rows is 1920x1080 Ultra at 85.3 FPS, which maximizes visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above the playability threshold. If resolution is more important than settings, 2560x1440 Medium at 82.9 FPS offers the best balance between image sharpness and smoothness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F brings 10 cores and 16 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost of 4.70 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 scores of 21914 multi-core and 3093 single-core place it in the 88th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong general-purpose performance. However, in The Technomancer, this processing power is largely underutilized, as evidenced by the frame rates being GPU-limited at all resolutions above 1080p.

The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data for game logic, but the game's 2016 release date means it was designed for far less capable hardware. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 171.8 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck even at high frame rates—the CPU can feed the GPU faster than the RTX 4060 can render. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and Core i7-12800H, have nearly identical average scores, confirming that the i5-14400F is not holding back performance.

The real question is whether a faster CPU would unlock higher frame rates at 1080p Low. The data shows 171.8 FPS, but without a faster CPU to compare against, it is impossible to determine if the CPU is the ceiling. Given that the GPU's average benchmark score is only 98% of its nearest rival, it is more likely that the RTX 4060's rasterization limits are the binding constraint. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node suggest it has thermal headroom, but the game's engine likely cannot exploit the 16 threads effectively, making the clock speed of 4.70 GHz more relevant than core count.