The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, shows a clear performance hierarchy with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination. Benchmark results indicate this pairing ranks in the 76th percentile of tested combos, placing it in the top quarter of all 1,656 configurations in the database. The RTX 4070 Ti, which sits at the 85th percentile among all GPUs, drives most of the performance, while the six-core i5-9400 at the 50th CPU percentile becomes a limiting factor at lower resolutions. The data reveals a system capable of smooth 4K gameplay at High settings, with headroom for competitive frame rates at 1440p, but the CPU bottleneck prevents the GPU from showing its full potential at 1080p.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 115.4 FPS at 2560x1440, which is well above the 62.3 FPS at 4K and still 35.9 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This resolution balances visual fidelity with high refresh rate capability.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost over High settings?

A: At 1440p, dropping from High to Ultra reduces average FPS from 115.4 to 88.8, a loss of 26.6 FPS. At 1080p, the same settings change costs 11.8 FPS (151.3 down to 139.5), while at 4K, it costs 9.3 FPS (62.3 down to 53). The Ultra preset demands a significant premium at higher resolutions.

Q: Is this CPU or GPU bottlenecked at 1080p?

A: The evidence points to CPU limitation. At 1080p, the spread between Low (174.3 FPS) and High (151.3 FPS) is only 23 FPS, suggesting the processor is capping performance. The i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads with a 2.90 GHz base clock, which appears insufficient to feed the RTX 4070 Ti at lower resolutions where the GPU would otherwise push higher frame rates.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: Yes, but with settings management required. At 4K High, the combo achieves 62.3 FPS, which is playable. Pushing to Ultra drops this to 53 FPS, which may be borderline for some users. Lowering to Medium yields 75.3 FPS, providing a smoother experience while maintaining decent visual quality.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti averages 44,900 in benchmark scores, placing it at the 85th percentile. It runs nearly even with the RTX 5090 Mobile, which scores 45,152 (a 0.6% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45,642 (1.6% delta). It leads the AMD Radeon Pro 580 by 1.6%.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: The gap is substantial. At 3840x2160, Low settings deliver 94.7 FPS while Ultra drops to 53 FPS, a difference of 41.7 FPS. This indicates that Ultra settings nearly halve the performance available at Low, making preset selection critical for 4K play.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data strongly favors the High preset as the optimal choice for this combination. At 4K, High delivers 62.3 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Medium offers 75.3 FPS and Ultra falls to 53 FPS. The High preset provides the best balance of visual quality and playability at the highest resolution. At 1440p, High produces 115.4 FPS, which is ideal for high refresh rate monitors. The jump from High to Ultra at this resolution costs 26.6 FPS, making Ultra a less attractive option unless visual fidelity is prioritized over frame rate.

For users targeting maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1440p yields 148.6 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. The Medium preset at 1440p (137.6 FPS) offers a middle ground but does not provide the same quality-per-frame value as High. At 1080p, the differences between presets shrink, with High (151.3 FPS), Medium (155.4 FPS), and Low (174.3 FPS) all delivering excellent performance. However, the CPU bottleneck at this resolution means that even the Low preset cannot exceed 174.3 FPS, suggesting that users should prioritize higher resolutions to better utilize the RTX 4070 Ti. The data indicates that High settings at 1440p or 4K offer the most compelling experience for this hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

Frame rates scale predictably across resolutions, but the pattern reveals important insights about the limiting component. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, performance drops from 151.3 FPS to 115.4 FPS, a decline of 35.9 FPS or roughly 24%. This is a moderate resolution penalty, indicating that the GPU is still managing the workload effectively. However, from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the drop is more severe: 115.4 FPS down to 62.3 FPS, a loss of 53.1 FPS or approximately 46%. This steeper decline at higher resolutions is typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

The Low preset shows a similar pattern. At 1080p, it achieves 174.3 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 148.6 FPS (a 25.7 FPS loss); and at 4K, it falls to 94.7 FPS (a 53.9 FPS loss from 1440p). The fact that 1080p Low cannot exceed 174.3 FPS, despite the RTX 4070 Ti’s capabilities, strongly suggests the i5-9400 is the bottleneck at lower resolutions. The CPU’s 6 cores and 6 threads, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, appear to cap performance around this level. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the frame rate drops more dramatically. This behavior indicates that the system is CPU-limited at 1080p and transitions to GPU-limited territory at 1440p and especially 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 174.3 FPS, Medium reaches 155.4 FPS, High hits 151.3 FPS, and Ultra manages 139.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is only 34.8 FPS, which is relatively narrow and reflects the CPU limitation at this resolution. Even at Ultra, the frame rate remains above 139 FPS, making 1080p playable across all presets.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows more variation. Low settings achieve 148.6 FPS, Medium delivers 137.6 FPS, High provides 115.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 88.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra expands to 59.8 FPS, indicating that the GPU is now taking on more of the workload. The High preset at 115.4 FPS is particularly notable for high refresh rate displays.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more demanding. Low settings produce 94.7 FPS, Medium reaches 75.3 FPS, High delivers 62.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 53 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is now 41.7 FPS, showing that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K. The 62.3 FPS at High is playable, but Ultra’s 53 FPS may be too low for some users seeking consistent 60 FPS performance. Across all resolutions, the data shows that this combo excels at 1440p and offers a viable 4K experience with the High preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of performance in this pairing. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, it offers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the texture and geometry demands of The Technomancer at high resolutions. The GPU’s boost clock of 2610 MHz and base clock of 2310 MHz contribute to its strong throughput, and its 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power allows it to handle the game’s effects without significant strain. The card’s 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44,900, places it well above most competing hardware.

The GPU’s role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 4K High, the combo achieves 62.3 FPS, which is a solid result for a demanding title. The difference between Low (94.7 FPS) and Ultra (53 FPS) at 4K shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the CPU has less influence on the frame rate. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is likely sufficient for The Technomancer’s textures, as the game predates the RTX 4070 Ti by several years. The card’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—the RTX 5090 Mobile (45,152 score, 0.6% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45,642 score, 1.6% delta)—perform within a small margin, confirming the 4070 Ti’s competitive position.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 serves as the secondary component in this system, and its influence is most evident at lower resolutions. With 6 cores and 6 threads, a base clock of 2.90 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, the CPU is a capable mid-range processor from the Coffee Lake era. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for gaming, but the lack of hyper-threading limits its ability to handle heavily threaded workloads. The CPU’s 50th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 2,305, places it in the middle of the pack.

The CPU’s bottleneck is apparent at 1080p, where frame rates plateau around 174.3 FPS even at Low settings. This suggests that the i5-9400 cannot feed the RTX 4070 Ti fast enough to reach higher frame rates. At 1440p and 4K, the CPU’s impact diminishes as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU’s nearest rivals—the Intel Core i3-10305 (2,300 score, 0.2% delta) and Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2,299 score, 0.2% delta)—perform nearly identically, indicating that the i5-9400 is not notably stronger than lower-tier parts. This explains why the CPU holds back performance in CPU-bound scenarios like 1080p gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 392nd out of 1,656 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the 76th percentile. This is a strong result, driven almost entirely by the GPU’s high performance. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 85th percentile ranking among GPUs boosts the combo above many configurations, despite the CPU’s mid-tier 50th percentile standing. The ranking suggests that users with this setup can expect a smooth experience at 1440p and a playable one at 4K, which is consistent with the measured frame rates.

The combo’s relative strength is more pronounced at higher resolutions where the GPU dominates. At 4K High, the 62.3 FPS result is competitive, while at 1080p, the CPU bottleneck prevents the combo from reaching the frame rates that the GPU alone could achieve. Compared to the top 24% of combos, this pairing is likely limited by the i5-9400, which is roughly 0.6% slower than the Intel Core i7-8809G (2,319 score) in synthetic benchmarks. For users prioritizing The Technomancer performance, the data suggests that upgrading the CPU would yield diminishing returns at 1440p and 4K, but could unlock additional frame rates at 1080p. Overall, this combo ranks as a strong mid-to-high-tier option for this game.