The Technomancer

The Technomancer is a demanding action RPG, and this pairing of an Intel Core i5-9400 with a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti sits at the very bottom of the performance hierarchy. With a combo rank of 3636 out of 3696 tested configurations, this system is positioned in the bottom 2% of all tested hardware combos for this specific title. The data indicates that this is a legacy setup that will struggle to deliver a smooth experience at modern standards, requiring significant compromises in resolution and visual quality to achieve playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark results place this combination in the 3636th position out of 3696 total tested combos, putting it in the bottom 1.6% of all configurations. This is a critical data point, showing that virtually every other combination of CPU and GPU tested for The Technomancer outperforms this pairing. The ranking is not a reflection of a single weak component, but rather the collective result of a six-core processor from 2018 paired with a graphics card that was already entry-level at its release in 2016. The data shows a system that was modest at its launch and has not aged well against the demands of this game.

The performance gap to the rest of the field is substantial. The percentile standing for the CPU is 47, meaning it performs better than 47% of all tested CPUs in general benchmarks, but the GPU's percentile is only 25, performing better than just a quarter of all tested GPUs. This imbalance is key. The system's overall rank is dragged down primarily by the GPU, which is the limiting factor in almost every scenario. The data suggests that the CPU is capable of more than the GPU can deliver, creating a bottleneck that prevents the processor from ever being fully utilized in this game.

When looking at the measured frames per second, the story is consistent. At 1080p with Low settings, the system manages an average of 55 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches a smooth 60 FPS target. Every other setting and resolution combination falls below 42 FPS, with the most demanding settings at 4K dropping to just 10 FPS. The data clearly shows that this is a combination for 1080p gaming at the lowest settings, and even then, it is only just barely adequate for the game's action sequences. The ranking of 3636 is not a surprise given these figures; it is the logical conclusion of the hardware's measured capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. In general synthetic benchmarks, it achieves a multi-core score of 6629 in Cinebench R23 and 2784 in Cinebench R20. Its single-core performance is more modest, with scores of 935 and 392 in the same respective tests. The CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 places it just 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 and 0.3% behind the Intel Core i7-10710U, showing that its raw processing power is competitive with other mid-range parts from its era.

The CPU's role in The Technomancer is largely to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. Given the GPU's low performance, the CPU is rarely the primary bottleneck. The data supports this, as the frame rates are consistently low across all settings, even at 1080p where the CPU's load would be relatively higher compared to the GPU. With a 47th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, the i5-9400 is a mid-pack performer, but in this specific game, its capabilities are not the limiting factor. The game's engine, released in 2016, likely does not scale perfectly with six cores, but the 4.10 GHz boost clock ensures that it can handle the game's single-threaded tasks adequately.

The 9 MB of shared L3 cache is a reasonable amount for the time, and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is sufficient for the GTX 1050 Ti. However, the CPU's performance is largely irrelevant when the GPU cannot translate its processing power into frames. The benchmark results indicate that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 10, a figure that would be low even with a much weaker CPU. This confirms that the CPU is sitting idle while waiting for the GPU to render each frame. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield a far more significant performance increase than upgrading the CPU, as the processor has the headroom to support a more powerful graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the clear performance bottleneck in this combo. It is a Pascal architecture GPU with 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. It operates at a base clock of 1291 MHz with a boost clock of 1392 MHz, and its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory runs on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s. The card's raw compute power is rated at 2.138 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. Its average benchmark score of 4193 places it just 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon R5 M330 and 1.8% behind the AMD Radeon Vega 3, illustrating that it is on the extreme low end of the performance spectrum, sitting at the 25th percentile of all GPUs.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's limitations are immediately apparent. The measured frame rates show a drastic drop as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p Low, the card averages 55 FPS, but this falls to 36 FPS at High, and just 28 FPS at Ultra. The 4 GB VRAM buffer is likely a major constraint, as the game's textures and effects at higher presets consume more memory, leading to stutter and reduced frame rates. The data shows that at 4K, the card is simply overwhelmed, with an average of 13 FPS at High settings and only 10 FPS at Ultra. These are unplayable figures, confirming that the GTX 1050 Ti is not designed for resolutions above 1080p in this title.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s is also a limiting factor. At higher resolutions, the demand for texture data increases, and the 128-bit bus simply cannot deliver data fast enough to keep the shading units fed. The benchmark results indicate that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K is poor, with performance dropping off faster than the pixel count increases. The card's 75W TDP and lack of power connectors confirm its entry-level status, and the data reflects this. For this game, the GTX 1050 Ti is only viable for 1080p gaming on Low to Medium settings, and even then, the minimum FPS figures of 36 at Medium settings show that there will be noticeable hitches during intense combat.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 55 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration that approaches a smooth 60 FPS experience.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-9400's average benchmark score is 2254. This is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246). It is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259).

Q: Is the GPU or the CPU more responsible for the low frame rates?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The GPU's average benchmark score is 4193, placing it at the 25th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU's average score of 2254 places it at the 47th percentile. The frame rates are low even at 1080p, where the CPU's load is highest, suggesting the graphics card cannot keep up.

Q: What is the performance impact of moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average frame rate is 36 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at High settings drops the average frame rate to 24 FPS, a significant 33% reduction in performance.

*Q: Can this system run The Technomancer at 4K resolution?*

A: Technically, yes, but the experience is extremely poor. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 20 FPS on Low settings to just 10 FPS on Ultra settings. These figures are far below the threshold for playable action gameplay.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to the AMD Radeon R5 M330?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has an average benchmark score of 4193, which is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon R5 M330's score of 4170. This shows they are in the same performance class, which is very low.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions is severe and clearly illustrates the GPU's limitations. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 55 FPS at 1080p to 36 FPS at 1440p, a 34.5% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings further reduces the average to 20 FPS, another 44.4% decrease. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For example, at High settings, the frame rate drops from 36 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 1440p, and then to 13 FPS at 4K. The scaling is not linear, and the performance loss accelerates as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are being overwhelmed.

The data shows that the limiting component is undoubtedly the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller performance difference between 1080p and 1440p, as the CPU's workload does not increase significantly with resolution. Instead, the frame rate drops by a third or more when moving up a resolution class at the same settings. The GTX 1050 Ti's 4 GB of VRAM is also a likely factor at higher resolutions, as the game may be forced to swap textures in and out of system memory, causing stutters and reducing the average frame rate further.

The drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic. At Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 42 FPS to 15 FPS, a 64% reduction. This is a clear sign that the GPU is working at its absolute limit. The minimum frame rate at 4K Medium is 13 FPS, which would make the game feel like a slideshow during fast-paced scenes. For a playable experience, users must stay at 1080p, and the data suggests that even then, Low settings are the only reliable way to maintain a frame rate that is close to the 60 FPS target for smooth action. The scaling data points to a system that is only suitable for 1080p gaming with significant visual compromises.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the recommended settings for this combo are clear: 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration that yields an average frame rate above 50 FPS, with a measured average of 55 FPS. This is the sweet spot for playability, providing a reasonably responsive experience for the game's action-RPG combat. The next step up, 1080p Medium, drops the average to 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS, which is still playable but will feel less smooth during intense moments. The jump to High settings at 1080p reduces the average to 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for a consistently fluid experience.

The data shows that the Medium settings at 1080p are a viable alternative if the visual improvement is desired, but it comes at a significant cost to frame rate stability. The measured minimum FPS of 36 at this preset suggests that there will be noticeable drops during combat or when traversing complex environments. For a more consistent experience, Low settings are the safer choice. The Ultra preset at 1080p is not recommended, as the average frame rate of 28 FPS falls into the territory where the game becomes difficult to play effectively, especially in a genre that requires precise timing for dodges and attacks.

For any resolution above 1080p, the data strongly advises against using this combo. At 1440p, even Low settings only achieve an average of 36 FPS, which is marginal. At 4K, all settings presets result in average frame rates of 20 FPS or lower, which is unplayable. The performance cost of increasing resolution is far too high for the GTX 1050 Ti. Therefore, the practical recommendation is to lock the resolution to 1920x1080 and use the Low preset. This will provide the best balance of frame rate and visual clarity, ensuring that the game remains responsive and playable, which is the primary goal for a system with this level of hardware.