The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, shows a clear performance hierarchy with the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination. The data reveals that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong multi-threaded architecture ensures high frame rates at lower settings. This pairing ranks in the 62nd percentile of all tested combos, indicating solid but not top-tier performance for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K dramatically impacts frame rates, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 136.7 FPS, but this drops to 86.4 FPS at 1440p and further to 50.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 63% performance reduction from 1080p to 4K, a steep decline that underscores how much the Radeon RX 7800 XT struggles to maintain playable frame rates at the highest resolution.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. At Low settings, the drop from 209.5 FPS at 1080p to 74.7 FPS at 4K is a 64% reduction. The Medium preset shows a similar trend, falling from 163.8 FPS to 56.8 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, sees the largest absolute drop, plummeting from 106.7 FPS at 1080p to just 41.2 FPS at 4K. This consistent percentage decline across settings indicates that the limiting factor is the GPU's raw pixel throughput, not the CPU's ability to feed it geometry.

The frame rate deltas between resolutions are most pronounced when moving from 1440p to 4K. For example, at High settings, the drop from 86.4 FPS to 50.4 FPS is a 42% reduction, while the 1080p to 1440p transition only costs 37% of performance. This suggests that the RX 7800 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p but become a limiting factor at 4K, where the memory bus width of 256-bit is fully saturated.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, is the primary performance driver in The Technomancer. Its boost clock of 2430 MHz and game clock of 2124 MHz are relatively high, yet the data shows that the card still cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K on any preset except Low. The GPU's 3840 shading units and 96 ROPs are tasked with rendering the game's environments, and at 4K Ultra, the 41.2 FPS result indicates a significant workload that exceeds the card's comfortable operating range.

The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is not a bottleneck in this title, as even at 4K Ultra, the card does not appear to be memory-limited. Instead, the performance ceiling is set by the compute throughput and fill rate. The FP32 performance of 37.32 TFLOPS and texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s are substantial, but The Technomancer's engine appears to be heavily reliant on pixel shading, which is why the 233.3 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes the deciding factor at high resolutions.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the RX 7800 XT's average benchmark score of 32619 places it only 0.2% ahead of the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 and 0.4% behind the NVIDIA P104-100. This tight grouping suggests that the GPU's performance in synthetic tests is competitive, but the measured FPS data in this game shows it performing well below what those scores might suggest, indicating that The Technomancer's specific rendering path is not well optimized for this architecture.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest recorded average is 209.5 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, demonstrating the CPU's ability to push very high frame rates when the GPU workload is minimal.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 74.7 FPS. At Medium, High, and Ultra settings, the average frame rates are 56.8, 50.4, and 41.2 FPS respectively, all falling below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7800 XT's average benchmark score of 32619 is 0.2% higher than the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 and 0.7% higher than the AMD FirePro S10000, but 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA P104-100 and 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA T600 Mobile.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the combo delivers 106.7 FPS at 1080p and 72.6 FPS at 1440p, representing a 32% reduction in performance when moving between these resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU's single-threaded performance a limiting factor in this game?

A: No. The CPU's single-thread score of 1043 in 3DMark and 4128 in Cinebench R23 indicate strong per-core performance, and the high frame rates at 1080p Low (209.5 FPS) confirm that the CPU is not the bottleneck.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combination of Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 626th out of 1656 tested combos, placing it in the top 38% of all systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination achieves a rank of 626 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the system in the 62nd percentile of all configurations, which indicates that while it is not a top-tier performer, it substantially outperforms the majority of tested systems. The ranking suggests that this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming but falls short of the performance needed for a smooth 4K experience.

The CPU's percentile rank of 89 among all processors is notably higher than the GPU's percentile of 76 among all graphics cards. This discrepancy highlights that the CPU is a stronger component relative to its peers than the GPU is, which aligns with the resolution scaling data showing the GPU as the primary bottleneck. The combo's overall rank of 626 reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, but the CPU's strength ensures that lower-resolution gaming remains highly competitive.

When compared to other systems with similar components, the CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which scores 0.3% higher, and the Intel Core i7-13700T, which scores 0.6% lower. The GPU's rivals show a tighter grouping, with the NVIDIA P104-100 and NVIDIA T600 Mobile both slightly outperforming it in synthetic benchmarks. These small deltas indicate that swapping either component for a direct rival would result in negligible performance changes in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, provides robust multi-threaded performance that benefits The Technomancer. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241 and Passmark multithread score of 34404 demonstrate substantial parallel processing capability. However, the game's frame rates at 1080p Low, reaching 209.5 FPS, suggest that the CPU's single-thread performance is equally important, with its 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and Geekbench single-core score of 2561 indicating strong per-core efficiency.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.00 GHz and base clock of 3.60 GHz provide a wide dynamic range that allows it to handle both lightly-threaded game logic and heavily-threaded background tasks. The 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is critical for maintaining consistent frame pacing in demanding scenes. With a TDP of 125 W, the CPU is well within the thermal envelope of standard desktop cooling solutions.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it 89th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 35684. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, scores nearly identically at 35802, a mere 0.3% difference. This indicates that the i7-12700K offers performance parity with the best of its contemporaries, and any frame rate differences in The Technomancer are more likely attributable to the GPU than the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 209.5 FPS, while Medium achieves 163.8 FPS and High reaches 136.7 FPS. The Ultra preset, which stresses the system most, still manages 106.7 FPS. These figures demonstrate that the system is more than capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors at this resolution, with even the most demanding settings staying well above 100 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the GPU's increasing workload. Low settings yield 134.4 FPS, Medium produces 103.8 FPS, and High achieves 86.4 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 72.6 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the performance ceiling. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is 16.8 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 13.8 FPS, indicating diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low settings produce 74.7 FPS, which is the only preset to exceed 60 FPS. Medium drops to 56.8 FPS, High to 50.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K represents the worst-case scenario, with a 51% reduction in performance compared to the same settings at 1440p. This data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant settings compromises to achieve acceptable frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 1080p, the Ultra preset at 106.7 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 136.7 FPS offers a significant performance boost with only a moderate visual compromise, making it suitable for competitive play where higher frame rates are prioritized. Since all presets at this resolution exceed 100 FPS, there is no need to lower settings for performance reasons.

At 1440p, the High preset at 86.4 FPS offers the best balance between visual fidelity and smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 72.6 FPS is still playable and may be preferable for those who prioritize image quality, but the 13.8 FPS difference between High and Ultra is noticeable. The Medium preset at 103.8 FPS is recommended for players who want a higher refresh rate experience, as it provides a 20% performance improvement over High while retaining decent visual quality.

For 4K gaming, the Low preset at 74.7 FPS is the only option that consistently maintains a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 56.8 FPS is borderline playable, but the frequent dips below 60 FPS may be noticeable. High and Ultra presets at 50.4 and 41.2 FPS respectively are not recommended for a satisfying experience. Players with 4K displays should either accept the Low preset or consider reducing the resolution to 1440p, where the High preset at 86.4 FPS provides a far superior experience.