The Technomancer

The Technomancer, an Action RPG from 2016, places the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combo at rank 1401 out of 1656 tested combinations. This positioning in the lower 15% of all tested combos is notable because the individual components are not low-end parts; the CPU sits in the 93rd percentile among all processors, and the GPU is near the midpoint of all graphics cards. The data indicates that the pairing is heavily constrained by the graphics card in this specific title, which pulls the overall combo ranking down significantly. The benchmark results show that this system is functional and capable of playable frame rates at lower resolutions, but its standing reflects a hardware pairing that is unbalanced for a game released in the same era as the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1401 out of 1656 places it in the bottom 15.4% of all tested combinations for The Technomancer. This is a low standing, but it must be interpreted through the lens of its components. The Intel Core i5-14600K is a modern processor, evidenced by its average benchmark score of 49166, which places it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its closest rivals in synthetic testing are the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which is 0.2% slower, and the Intel Core i5-14600KF, which is 0.4% faster. This CPU has ample headroom for gaming workloads, as its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and single-core score of 4642 suggest.

Conversely, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is an older graphics card with an average benchmark score of 12331, placing it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs. Its performance is nearly matched by the NVIDIA Quadro K4200, which is 0.7% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, which is 1.3% slower. The GTX 1070's synthetic scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 13498 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1082, are low by modern standards. The substantial gap between the CPU's high percentile ranking and the GPU's middle-of-the-road ranking is the primary reason for the combo's low position in this game. The data suggests the CPU is capable of much higher frame rates if paired with a more powerful GPU, but in this configuration, it is the bottleneck that defines the experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the definitive limiting factor in this combo for The Technomancer. Its memory configuration includes 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. The card's base clock is 1506 MHz, with a boost clock of 1683 MHz, and its memory operates at an effective speed of 8 Gbps. These specifications are from the Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process, and they are modest compared to the demands of modern games.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role is to render the scene at the requested resolution and settings. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern where frame rates drop significantly as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 117.1 FPS, but at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, it drops to 22.5 FPS. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that is being pushed to its limits. The card's compute capabilities, such as its FP32 performance of 6.463 TFLOPS and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s, are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions in this game. The GPU's DirectX 12 Passmark score of 48, which is lower than its DirectX 11 score of 100, also suggests that the card may not be optimally efficient in newer API workloads, further hampering its performance in a game that can utilize them.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo can achieve in The Technomancer?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 117.1 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160 resolution, the average frame rates range from 22.5 FPS on Ultra settings to 43.2 FPS on Low settings, indicating that 4K gaming is not a viable option except at the lowest presets.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the combo's performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 51st percentile, and the FPS drops are consistent with GPU limitations as resolution increases.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the GTX 1070 and its nearest rival, the GTX 1650 SUPER?

A: According to average benchmark scores, the GTX 1070 is 1.4% slower than the GTX 1650 SUPER, which has an average score of 12504.

Q: Is the frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings considered smooth?

A: The average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 48.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered smooth for action games.

Q: Does the combo's performance at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings meet the standard for high-end play?

A: At 61.4 FPS average, the combo just meets the 60 FPS standard for Ultra settings at 1080p, but it has no headroom for demanding scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the combo's capabilities across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably. With Low settings, it achieves an average of 117.1 FPS. Moving to Medium settings drops the average to 93.1 FPS, and High settings further reduce it to 79.1 FPS. Pushing to Ultra settings at 1080p yields an average of 61.4 FPS, which is playable but leaves little margin for fluctuation.

At 2560x1440, the performance takes a significant hit. Low settings produce an average of 73.6 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium settings drop to 57.2 FPS, and High settings fall to 48.5 FPS. Ultra settings at this resolution result in an average of 37.1 FPS, which is below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience in an action game.

The 3840x2160 results are the most telling. At this resolution, even Low settings only manage an average of 43.2 FPS. Medium settings drop to 32.7 FPS, High settings to 26.1 FPS, and Ultra settings plummet to 22.5 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K is not a practical resolution for this combo in The Technomancer, as the GPU lacks the raw power to maintain acceptable frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a steep performance curve that is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 117.1 at 1080p to 73.6 at 1440p, a 37.1% reduction, and then to 43.2 at 4K, a 63.1% reduction from the 1080p baseline. At Ultra settings, the drop is even more pronounced: from 61.4 FPS at 1080p to 22.5 FPS at 4K, a 63.4% reduction.

This pattern strongly indicates that the GTX 1070 is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less variation in frame rates as resolution changes, because the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while the GPU's rendering load increases. The fact that frame rates drop so dramatically with each increase in resolution shows that the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated. The card's 64 ROPs and 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth are simply not enough to handle the pixel count at 3840x2160, especially at higher settings that increase the shading and texture work.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired smoothness. For a 60 FPS experience at 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it achieves an average of 61.4 FPS. This provides the highest visual fidelity while maintaining playable performance. If a higher frame rate is preferred for competitive play or smoother motion, dropping to High settings at 1080p yields 79.1 FPS, a significant improvement with a minor visual compromise.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests that High settings are the most balanced, offering an average of 48.5 FPS. This is not a locked 60 FPS, but it is a playable frame rate for a single-player Action RPG. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a more comfortable 57.2 FPS, which is closer to the 60 FPS target, but the visual degradation from High to Medium may be noticeable. Low settings at 1440p, which produce 73.6 FPS, are only recommended if frame rate is the absolute priority.

For 3840x2160, no settings preset provides a consistently smooth experience. The Low preset, which averages 43.2 FPS, is the only viable option, but it is still below the 60 FPS threshold. The data indicates that this combo is not suited for 4K gaming in The Technomancer, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for the best balance of visual quality and performance. The benchmark results clearly show that the GTX 1070 is the limiting factor, and the game's performance at higher resolutions reflects this hardware constraint.