The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting stress test for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER. The measured frame rates reveal a configuration that is capable but heavily influenced by both resolution and graphical presets, with the data showing a clear shift in system bottleneck as the workload changes. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the role of each component, and how this specific combo stacks up against the broader database of tested hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the RTX 2060 SUPER as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 92.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 60.8 FPS at 2560x1440, a significant 34% reduction. The slide continues to 36.1 FPS at 3840x2160, which represents a 61% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the GPU's rendering throughput, particularly its 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, is being saturated as pixel count increases. The game becomes far less fluid at 4K, making 1440p the practical ceiling for smooth gameplay on High settings.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets, but the severity differs. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p (140.8 FPS) to 1440p (92.3 FPS) is a 34% decrease, and further to 4K (49.4 FPS) is a 65% drop from the 1080p baseline. This shows that even with reduced graphical load, the GPU still cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K. The Ultra preset tells a similar story, with a 36% drop from 1080p (73.9 FPS) to 1440p (47.2 FPS) and a further 62% drop to 4K (28 FPS). These numbers point to a clear conclusion: the RTX 2060 SUPER is the bottleneck at 4K, while at 1080p, the i5-14600KF has enough headroom to keep the GPU fed, resulting in high frame rates. The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this pairing, offering a balance between visual fidelity and playable frame rates, especially on High or Medium settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in The Technomancer?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution. At High settings, the combo achieves 60.8 FPS, which is playable. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are much higher (92.1 FPS), but 4K resolution causes the frame rate to dip to 36.1 FPS, which is not smooth.

Q: How does the Ultra preset affect performance compared to High?

A: The Ultra preset is significantly more demanding. At 1080p, it drops the average FPS from 92.1 (High) to 73.9 (Ultra), a 20% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 60.8 FPS to 47.2 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 28 FPS from 36.1 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra is substantial across all resolutions.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER strong enough for 4K gaming in this title?

A: No, the data does not support 4K gaming. Even at Low settings, the average FPS at 3840x2160 is only 49.4. At the more demanding High and Ultra settings, it drops to 36.1 and 28 FPS respectively, which falls below the standard for smooth, responsive gameplay.

Q: How much faster is the game at 1080p compared to 1440p on High settings?

A: At High settings, the 1080p average of 92.1 FPS is 51% higher than the 1440p average of 60.8 FPS. This indicates a substantial performance gain by lowering the resolution, making 1080p the choice for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Does the Low preset provide a significant frame rate boost over Medium?

A: Yes, the difference is notable. At 1440p, the Low preset averages 92.3 FPS, which is 27% higher than the Medium preset's 72.6 FPS. At 1080p, the gap is similar, with Low hitting 140.8 FPS versus 108.1 FPS for Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the decisive factor in this game's performance, particularly as resolution increases. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is a crucial resource for a game like The Technomancer that stresses texture loading and memory throughput. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to push frame rates above 140 FPS on Low settings, indicating that the CPU is not the primary constraint in that scenario.

However, the GPU's limits are exposed at higher resolutions. The transition from 1440p to 4K at High settings results in a 41% performance drop (from 60.8 to 36.1 FPS). This is a classic sign of the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth being overwhelmed. The card's boost clock of 1650 MHz and its 2176 shading units are simply not enough to handle the raw pixel workload of 4K. The benchmark results for the GPU show a PassMark G3D score of 16462, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, is only 0.5% ahead in average benchmark score, which confirms that the RTX 2060 SUPER is a solid mid-range performer, but its architecture is not designed for 4K gaming in demanding titles.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the comprehensive database of tested CPU and GPU combinations for The Technomancer, this pairing ranks 1227 out of 1656 combos. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range standing. The RTX 2060 SUPER's percentile rank of 63 against all GPUs means that 37% of GPUs are faster, and many of those faster cards are likely paired with CPUs in the tested combos, pushing this configuration down the list.

The CPU, however, is a top-tier performer. The Intel Core i5-14600KF has a percentile rank of 93 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 93% of processors. This creates a significant mismatch in the system's capabilities. The data shows that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor, but the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's inability to translate the CPU's potential into high frame rates at demanding settings. The rank of 1227 indicates that while this system is competent for 1080p and 1440p gaming, it is outclassed by a large number of alternatives in the database that feature more powerful graphics cards.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a high-performance processor that provides a robust foundation for this gaming system. With 14 cores and 20 threads, it has substantial multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889. This architectural advantage ensures that the CPU can handle game logic, physics, and background tasks without becoming a bottleneck. Its high single-core performance, highlighted by a Geekbench single-core score of 2778, is also critical for gaming, as many game engines rely heavily on single-threaded performance.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is evident when looking at the 1080p Low settings result of 140.8 FPS. This high frame rate shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to achieve very high performance. The processor's boost clock of 5.30 GHz provides the necessary speed for this task. However, the CPU's potential is capped by the GPU. At 4K, the frame rate drops to 36.1 FPS on High, which is a GPU limitation, not a CPU one. The CPU is simply waiting for the GPU to finish rendering. The benchmark scores show it is a top-7% performer (93rd percentile), and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, is only 0.6% behind in average score, indicating that the i5-14600KF is at the pinnacle of gaming CPU performance, making the GPU the unequivocal weak point in this pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

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

At 1920x1080, the game runs very well. The lowest average FPS is on the Ultra preset at 73.9 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 108.1 FPS, and High settings push the average to 92.1 FPS. For maximum performance, the Low preset delivers an exceptional 140.8 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains playable but requires more careful settings selection. The High preset averages 60.8 FPS, which is the standard for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset provides a comfortable 72.6 FPS. The Low preset still delivers a high 92.3 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 47.2 FPS, which may feel less smooth in action-heavy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 SUPER struggles. The High preset averages 36.1 FPS, and Medium is only marginally better at 36.9 FPS. Even the Low preset cannot break past the 50 FPS mark, averaging 49.4 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to a near-unplayable 28 FPS. For 4K gaming, this combo requires the lowest settings and even then, the frame rate will not be consistently smooth. The data confirms that 1440p is the highest resolution at which a satisfying balance of visual quality and performance can be achieved.