The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for the AMD Radeon RX 580 when paired with the Intel Core i5-14600KF. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a configuration that is firmly GPU-limited, with performance scaling directly tied to the Polaris 20 chip's capabilities. This combination sits at rank 3373 out of 3696 tested combos, indicating that while the CPU offers substantial headroom, the GPU determines the playability envelope. The data shows a clear progression of performance degradation as resolution increases, with the card's 8GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus becoming the defining factors at higher detail levels.

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark results demonstrate a steep performance drop as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with Low settings, the RX 580 achieves an average of 76 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that average to 50 FPS, and at 4K, the average falls to 27 FPS. This represents a 64% loss in average frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings.

The scaling pattern intensifies with higher detail presets. At High settings, the 1080p average of 50 FPS drops to 33 FPS at 1440p and then to 18 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar trend, going from 58 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 21 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which pushes the GPU to its limits, sees averages of 39 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and a non-playable 14 FPS at 4K.

These results indicate that the RX 580 is overwhelmingly the limiting component in this pairing. The frame rate collapse between 1440p and 4K, particularly the 52% reduction at Medium settings (38 to 21 FPS), points to the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth being saturated. The i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores and boost clock of 5.30 GHz, is unlikely to be the bottleneck at these resolutions, as the frame rates follow the GPU's predictable performance curve. The data suggests that at 4K, the card can only maintain playable frame rates at Low settings, and even then, 27 FPS is not smooth. The scaling of the Medium setting's minimum FPS from 50 at 1080p to 32 at 1440p and 18 at 4K further emphasizes the GPU's inability to handle the increased pixel count. The card's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 42.88 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data offers clear guidance on which presets provide a playable experience. For a 60 FPS target, the only viable setting is 1080p with Low, which delivers an average of 76 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 58 FPS, which is still within a reasonable range for smooth gameplay, but the minimum FPS of 50 indicates some variation. For a 30 FPS target, the options expand: 1440p Low at 50 FPS and 1440p Medium at 38 FPS are both acceptable, while 4K Low at 27 FPS is marginally below the mark.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. Even at 1080p, it only achieves an average of 39 FPS, and it falls to 14 FPS at 4K. The card's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for these presets, but the compute performance is the limiting factor. The highest quality that remains playable is 1440p Medium, which offers an average of 38 FPS and a minimum of 32 FPS. This is a reasonable compromise between visual fidelity and performance.

For the best experience, the data points to 1080p Medium as the sweet spot. With an average of 58 FPS and a minimum of 50 FPS, it provides a stable frame rate that stays above the 50 FPS threshold. The drop from Low to Medium is only 18 FPS (from 76 to 58), but the visual uplift is significant. The 4K resolution is only viable at Low settings, and even then, the 27 FPS average is borderline. The 1440p Medium preset is the highest quality option that stays within a playable range, but the 1080p Medium is the most balanced choice for stability.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 76 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only setting that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is it possible to achieve 60 FPS at high settings?

A: No. At High settings, the best average FPS is 50 FPS at 1920x1080. To reach 60 FPS, the user must drop to Low settings.

Q: At what resolution does 4K become unplayable?

A: 4K is only playable at Low settings, with an average FPS of 27. At Medium, High, and Ultra, averages are only 21, 18, and 14 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the card's pixel rate affect the performance?

A: The RX 580 has a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s. This limits the fill rate at high resolutions, as evidenced by the 39 FPS average at Ultra 1080p and 14 FPS at Ultra 4K.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this game?

A: The data suggests no. The frame rates scale consistently with GPU resolution and settings workload, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint, not the i5-14600KF's 14 cores or 5.30 GHz boost.

Q: What is the highest quality preset that maintains an average above 30 FPS at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset, with an average of 38 FPS. The High preset is close at 33 FPS, but the Medium preset has a minimum of 32 FPS, which is more stable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured frame rate data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 580 is presented below, organized by resolution and settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance is uniformly low. The Low preset yields an average of 27 FPS. Medium averages 21 FPS with a minimum of 18 and maximum of 24. High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages only 14 FPS. None of these are playable for a smooth experience; the range is 14–27 FPS, indicating a GPU that is severely constrained at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the card begins to show its capabilities. Low settings produce 50 FPS average. Medium provides 38 FPS with a min of 32 and max of 44. High reaches 33 FPS, while Ultra drops to 25 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 12 FPS loss, and the jump from Medium to High is 5 FPS, showing diminishing returns as the settings rise.

At 1920x1080, the card is most comfortable. Low gives a 76 FPS average. Medium yields 58 FPS (min 50, max 67), High follows at 50 FPS, and Ultra drops to 39 FPS. This is the only resolution where any preset can cross the 50 FPS line, with Low and Medium being the only ones to do so.

The minimum FPS data at Medium shows the consistency of the frame pacing: 1080p has a minimum of 50, 1440p has 32, and 4K has 18. These minimums are within 5–8 FPS of the averages, suggesting relatively stable frame times. The maximum FPS at Medium also scales, from 67 at 1080p to 44 at 1440p and 24 at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip built on the 14 nm process, which is a GCN 4.0 architecture. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory subsystem is critical for The Technomancer, as the game appears to be memory-sensitive: the 4K performance is less than half of what would be expected from a linear scaling of the 1440p results. The 4K Ultra average of 14 FPS versus the 1440p Ultra 25 FPS shows a 56% drop, which points to the GPU's fillrate and bandwidth being saturated.

The card's compute metrics are 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s, and a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s. These numbers, combined with 2304 shading units, are the reason for the performance collapse at 4K. The pixel rate, in particular, is a limiting factor: at 1080p, the card can render the pixels at 76 FPS, but at 4K, it can only manage 27 FPS at Low. The memory clock of 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) is typical for the GDDR5, but the bandwidth is not sufficient for the higher resolutions.

The RX 580's compute scores highlight its position in the GPU hierarchy. With a Passmark G3D score of 8813 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005, it is a mid-range card. Its percentileVsAllGpus of 53 puts it in the middle of the pack. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, which has an average benchmark score 0.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon 740M, which is 0.5% lower. This equivalence is reflected in the game's performance, where the card is consistently the bottleneck.

The GPU's DirectX 12 support (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3 are relevant for The Technomancer, which uses modern APIs. The card's 8 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor in these tests, as the game's settings do not appear to exceed this capacity. All the performance deficits are attributable to the GPU's compute and bandwidth, not its memory capacity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost of 5.30 GHz. This CPU is a high-end desktop part, with a percentileVsAllCpus of 90, meaning it is in the top 10% of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 49394, with its nearest rival being the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which is 0.3% faster, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388, which is 0.8% faster. This CPU is clearly not a bottleneck in this game.

The data confirms this: the FPS drops are entirely consistent with the GPU's workload, as shown by the resolution scaling. If the CPU were a limitation, the FPS at 1080p Low would not exceed the 76 FPS average, which it does. The CPU's multi-core scores, such as the Cinebench R23 multi-core of 32544, are high, but the game is more dependent on the GPU. The CPU's single-core performance, as measured by a Geekbench single-core score of 2445, is also strong, which helps with the game's single-threaded logic.

The CPU's 24 MB of L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample caching for the game's data. The i5-14600KF's release date of October 2023, with a 125W TDP, is a modern part. Its PCIe Gen 5 support is not a major factor for The Technomancer, which was released in 2016 and does not require the latest PCIe features. In this pairing, the CPU is a silent partner. The game's performance is entirely governed by the RX 580's ability to render frames, and the CPU ensures that the GPU is fed with as much data as it can consume. The data shows a clear GPU limit: the CPU is never the limiting component in the measured scenarios.