The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study when paired with the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. The benchmark data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly capable at this title, but the performance scaling across resolutions and settings tells a nuanced story about where the bottlenecks lie. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to understand the relationship between the CPU, GPU, and the game's rendering demands.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic and consistent drop as resolution increases, which is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings, the average frame rate falls from 150.5 FPS to 97.5 FPS, a reduction of 35%. The subsequent jump to 3840x2160 sees the frame rate drop further to 54.5 FPS, which is a 44% reduction from the 1440p figure. This pattern strongly suggests that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The scaling is even more pronounced when looking at the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system produces an exceptionally high 230.7 FPS. This high frame rate at a low resolution implies that the game is not heavily taxing the CPU, and the RTX 4070 has plenty of headroom. However, the frame rate plummets to 148.3 FPS at 1440p and then to 83.9 FPS at 4K. The fact that the FPS nearly halves from 1080p to 4K on Low settings again points to the GPU's rendering capabilities being the limiting factor, rather than the CPU's ability to feed it frames.

This data implies that the Intel Core i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is more than sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4070 in this game. The CPU's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz likely ensures that frame times are not bottlenecked by processor logic, even at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The game appears to scale almost entirely with GPU load, and the GPU is clearly the component that determines the performance ceiling at resolutions above 1080p, while at 1080p, the system is capable of pushing frame rates high enough to satisfy even the most demanding high-refresh-rate displays.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-14600KF compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which places it 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K (49166) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062). It is also 1.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698), but trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5% (49595).

Q: What is the best performance setting for a 4K display?

A: For a 3840x2160 resolution, the data shows that the "High" preset delivers an average of 54.5 FPS, while "Ultra" yields 42.9 FPS. The "Medium" preset provides 66.6 FPS, and "Low" offers 83.9 FPS, making "High" the most balanced option for a playable 4K experience.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 capable of high refresh rates at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the measured FPS is very high across all settings. The "High" preset achieves 150.5 FPS, while "Low" reaches 230.7 FPS. This indicates the GPU is more than capable of driving a high-refresh-rate monitor at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 perform in DirectX 12 benchmarks?

A: In the Passmark DirectX 12 test, the RTX 4070 scores 103. This is lower than its scores in other API tests, such as the Passmark DirectX 11 score of 244. It also achieves a score of 320 in the Passmark DirectX 9 test.

Q: What is the performance difference between the "High" and "Ultra" presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the "High" preset runs at an average of 97.5 FPS. Switching to the "Ultra" preset drops the average frame rate to 75.7 FPS, a significant difference of roughly 22% for the increased visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RTX 4070's average score compare to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 has a score of 37507, which is 0.6% higher. This makes the RX Vega 56 the closest rival in the provided data.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture. Its specifications are formidable, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. These high clock speeds are particularly relevant for gaming. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4643 and multi-core score of 32889 demonstrate a processor that excels in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be providing a high-performance foundation that prevents any processor-related slowdown. The FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the system achieves 230.7 FPS. This extremely high frame rate suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution, as it is able to process game logic and submit draw calls quickly enough to sustain very high frame rates.

The processor's percentile rank of 93 out of all CPUs further underscores its high-tier status. While the game was released in 2016, the i5-14600KF's modern architecture and high single-thread performance mean it can easily handle the game's engine. The data suggests that the CPU's contribution is to supply a stable, high-speed platform, ensuring that the GPU is the sole determinant of the final frame rate. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache also helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing potential latency.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional results. The "Low" preset yields an average of 230.7 FPS, "Medium" provides 181.3 FPS, and "High" reaches 150.5 FPS. Even the most demanding "Ultra" preset maintains an average of 121.1 FPS, making 1080p a flawless experience for any display.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the GPU's workload increasing. The "Low" preset averages 148.3 FPS, while "Medium" runs at 119.8 FPS. The "High" preset, which is often the sweet spot for quality and performance, hits 97.5 FPS. The "Ultra" preset falls below the 100 FPS mark, delivering an average of 75.7 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070's limits become apparent. The "Low" preset manages 83.9 FPS, which is still smooth. The "Medium" preset drops to 66.6 FPS, and "High" falls to 54.5 FPS. The "Ultra" preset yields 42.9 FPS, which is the only measured configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this setting is not ideal for 4K gaming on this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a rank of 434 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the system in the top 26.2% of all tested hardware configurations. This ranking is a strong indicator of high-end performance, suggesting that this pairing is well-suited for the game.

This percentile ranking is interesting when considering the individual component rankings. The CPU is in the 93rd percentile, and the GPU is in the 81st percentile. The combined rank of 434/1656 is lower than either component's individual percentile. This implies that while the components are individually powerful, the game's performance is not purely additive. The lower rank for the combo, compared to the CPU's stellar 93rd percentile, suggests that the GPU's performance is the more significant factor in this specific title, pulling the overall combo rank closer to its own percentile.

The data shows that this is a high-performing combo, but not a top-tier one. The fact that 1222 other combinations rank higher suggests that there are more powerful GPUs or CPUs that can push this game to even higher frame rates. However, for the vast majority of users, a rank of 434 out of 1656 signifies a very capable and enjoyable gaming experience.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The "best" setting depends heavily on the user's display resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p, the "Ultra" preset is the clear recommendation. It delivers an average of 121.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard and provides a high level of visual fidelity. All settings are playable, but Ultra offers the most complete experience without sacrificing smoothness.

For 1440p, the "High" preset is the optimal choice. It provides an impressive 97.5 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz monitors, while also offering a significant visual upgrade over "Medium". While "Ultra" looks better, its 75.7 FPS average may not be preferable for those seeking maximum frame rates. The "High" preset strikes the best balance, delivering high performance with substantial visual quality.

For 4K, the "High" preset is the recommended choice for a consistent experience. It achieves an average of 54.5 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target and remains playable. The "Medium" preset offers a higher 66.6 FPS, but with a noticeable reduction in visual quality. The "Ultra" preset, at 42.9 FPS, is too demanding for smooth gameplay. Therefore, "High" is the recommended setting for 4K, providing the best compromise between image quality and playable frame rates.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than ample for The Technomancer, a game from 2016. The high bandwidth and capacity ensure that texture streaming and memory allocation are unlikely to be a source of stuttering or performance loss.

The GPU's core clocks are set at a base of 1920 MHz and a boost of 2475 MHz. These high clock speeds allow the 5888 shading units to process geometry and pixels at a rapid rate. The FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS provides a raw computational power that easily handles the game's effects. However, the FPS scaling data shows that this power is finite, and the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases.

The RTX 4070's 200 W TDP and the fact that it is a dual-slot card suggest it is a power-efficient, mainstream high-end part. Its performance in The Technomancer, while strong, is not unlimited. The drop from 150.5 FPS at 1080p High to 54.5 FPS at 4K High shows the significant workload increase that 4K rendering places on the GPU's pixel processing and memory subsystems. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 is a very strong 1080p and 1440p card for this title, but it is challenged by the demands of 4K, particularly on the "Ultra" preset.