The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, shows a distinct performance profile on the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination. Benchmark data indicates this pairing delivers playable frame rates across most settings, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The measured results reveal a system that scales predictably from 1080p to 4K, though the margin between presets narrows as resolution increases, pointing to a balance of CPU and GPU workload that shifts with graphical load.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear and consistent drop as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 144 FPS at 1080p to 94 FPS at 1440p, then to 52 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the frame rate decline aligns with the increased pixel count demands on the GPU.

Low settings show an even more dramatic scaling curve. The average FPS starts at 219 at 1080p, drops to 143 at 1440p, and reaches 79 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p transition sees a 35% decrease, while the 1440p to 4K step results in a 45% decline. These percentages mirror the High preset behavior, suggesting that the GPU workload scales similarly regardless of graphical complexity. The absolute numbers at Low settings are substantially higher than High, indicating that the CPU has headroom to push more frames when the GPU load is reduced.

Medium settings provide the most complete dataset with min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 169 FPS with a minimum of 143 and maximum of 194. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 110 FPS, with a range of 94 to 127. At 4K, the average falls to 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 70. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 35% reduction, while 1440p to 4K results in a 45% drop. The min FPS values indicate that even at 4K Medium, the frame rate stays above 50 FPS, which is notable for a demanding resolution.

Ultra settings show the steepest absolute decline. The average FPS goes from 112 at 1080p, to 73 at 1440p, and down to 40 at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 40 FPS is the lowest measured across all configurations, which suggests that this preset pushes the GPU beyond its comfortable range at that resolution. The consistent 35% and 45% scaling factors across all four presets indicate that the performance degradation is driven by resolution rather than settings complexity.

The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU combination is able to deliver very high frame rates, with Low settings exceeding 200 FPS. This suggests that the Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is not the bottleneck at this resolution. As resolution increases, the GPU load grows, and the frame rates converge toward what the Radeon RX 9070 can sustain. The 4K results across all presets show a narrower spread (40 to 79 FPS) compared to 1080p (112 to 219 FPS), confirming that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 110, with a minimum of 94 and maximum of 127. This provides a smooth experience that stays well above typical 60 FPS thresholds, while still delivering more visual detail than Low settings. At 4K Medium, the average is 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 70. The minimum of 51 FPS means that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate remains close to the 60 FPS target, making this the highest preset that maintains playable performance at 4K.

High settings are also viable for users who prioritize visual quality over maximum frame rates. At 1440p High, the average is 94 FPS, which is still smooth for most gameplay. At 4K High, the average drops to 52 FPS, which is playable but may feel less fluid than Medium. The lack of min FPS data for High settings makes it harder to assess worst-case performance, but the averages suggest that High is a reasonable choice for 1440p gaming, while 4K High is borderline.

Low settings deliver the highest frame rates, with 143 FPS at 1440p and 79 FPS at 4K. However, the visual compromise is significant, especially in an Action RPG where atmospheric details contribute to the experience. The data shows that Low settings at 4K still exceed the frame rates of Ultra at 1440p, which indicates that users with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors might prefer Medium or High over Low at 4K. Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p, where the average of 112 FPS provides a good experience. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 73 FPS, which is acceptable, but at 4K Ultra, the 40 FPS average is likely too low for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced action title.

The measured data shows a clear hierarchy: Medium provides the best consistency across resolutions, with the min FPS values indicating stable performance. High offers a step up in quality with acceptable averages, while Ultra should be reserved for 1080p or users who prioritize graphics over frame rate. Low settings are best suited for competitive play or when maximum frame rates are needed, such as on a high-refresh-rate 1080p display.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 plays a central role in this combo’s performance, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is well-suited for The Technomancer, which was released in 2016 and does not demand excessive VRAM, but the large capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra, memory is not a limiting factor. The measured FPS data supports this, as the performance scaling from 1080p to 4K aligns with the GPU’s compute capabilities rather than memory constraints.

The GPU’s clock speeds include a base of 1330 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz. These clocks are indicative of the Radeon RX 9070’s position in the Radeon RX 9000 series, built on the Navi 48 chip with RDNA 4.0 architecture. The 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 322.6 GPixel/s pixel rate provide the raw throughput needed to handle The Technomancer’s rendering demands. The benchmark results show that at 4K Ultra, the GPU produces 40 FPS, which suggests that the pixel fill rate and shader throughput are sufficient for the game’s graphics but not for high refresh rates at that resolution.

The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 25381 places it at the 69th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, which scores 23736 (a 0.6% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX 6800S at 24063 (-0.8%). These comparisons show that the Radeon RX 9070 is positioned slightly above these older or lower-tier models, which is consistent with its performance in The Technomancer. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 23877 further contextualizes its capabilities, though the in-game results are more relevant for this analysis.

The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for The Technomancer, as the game’s 2016 release date means it was designed for GPUs with much less memory. The measured FPS data does not show any signs of VRAM-related stuttering or performance drops, even at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s also appears adequate, as the frame rate scaling follows a predictable pattern based on resolution rather than showing sudden drops that would indicate bandwidth limitations.

The Radeon RX 9070’s role as the primary performance limiter is evident in the resolution scaling analysis. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU likely has some headroom, but as resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows proportionally. The consistent 35% and 45% drops between resolutions across all presets indicate that the GPU’s rendering throughput is the deciding factor, with the CPU providing enough processing power to keep up even at 4K Low where 79 FPS is achieved.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 94 FPS, with no min or max values recorded in the data.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 9070 compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 has a PassMark G3D score of 25381, while the GeForce GTX TITAN Z scores 23736, resulting in a deltaPct of 0.6%, meaning the Radeon is slightly ahead.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average is 40 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data shows 219 FPS at 1080p Low and 144 FPS at 1080p High, indicating that the CPU is not limiting performance at this resolution, as the frame rates are very high.

Q: What is the recommended preset for 4K gaming?

A: Based on the measured data, Medium settings at 4K provide an average of 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS, making it the highest preset that maintains playable performance at this resolution.

Q: How many cores does the Intel Core i7-12700K have?

A: The CPU has 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K combined with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 1114 out of 3696 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places the pairing in the top 30% of all combinations, which is a solid result for a game released in 2016. The rank reflects the balanced performance of this setup, where the CPU’s strong single-thread and multi-thread capabilities complement the GPU’s rendering power.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 35287 places it at the 84th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600T with a score of 35305 (-0.1% delta), the Intel Core i7-12700KF at 35365 (-0.2%), and the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35403 (-0.3%). These small deltas indicate that the i7-12700K is tightly clustered with other high-performance processors, meaning that the CPU choice is not the distinguishing factor in this combo’s ranking.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 23877 places it at the 69th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals show a wider spread, with the GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 23736 (0.6% delta), the Radeon RX 6800S at 24063 (-0.8%), the RTX 3080 Mobile at 23628 (1.1%), and the RTX 2080 SUPER at 24170 (-1.2%). The GPU’s position relative to these rivals suggests that it provides mid-to-high-tier performance, which is reflected in the in-game results.

The combo rank of 1114 out of 3696 indicates that while this pairing is strong, there are over 1100 combinations that perform better in The Technomancer. This could be due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs that push higher frame rates, particularly at 1080p where the CPU has more headroom. However, the rank also shows that this combo outperforms the majority of tested configurations, making it a viable choice for this game.

The measured FPS data supports the rank, as the combo delivers 144 FPS at 1080p High and 94 FPS at 1440p High, which are respectable numbers for a game that is nearly a decade old. The 4K performance is less impressive, with 52 FPS at High and 40 FPS at Ultra, but these are still playable for most users. The rank of 1114 suggests that this combo is well-matched for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a secondary consideration.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU’s cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications provide strong multi-threaded performance, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and Geekbench multicore score of 15790.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 219 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame rate capability for this game. At 1080p High, the frame rate drops to 144 FPS, indicating that the GPU is starting to become more involved, but the CPU is still not the limiting factor. The fact that Low settings at 1080p produce over 200 FPS suggests that the CPU has significant headroom.

The CPU’s single-thread performance is also important for The Technomancer, as many games from 2016 rely heavily on a few threads. The Geekbench single-core score of 2308 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5 indicate that the i7-12700K excels in this area. The PassMark single-thread score of 4013 further confirms this, which helps ensure that the game’s main thread does not become a bottleneck.

The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample parallelism for any background tasks or multi-threaded game systems. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9276 and max-thread score of 9979 show that the CPU scales well with additional threads, which could benefit games that use more than a few cores. However, The Technomancer’s 2016 release date means it likely does not fully utilize all 20 threads, so the CPU’s advantage comes primarily from its strong single-thread and modest multi-thread performance.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13600T and i7-12700KF, have nearly identical average benchmark scores (35305 and 35365, respectively) with deltas of -0.1% and -0.2%. This indicates that the i7-12700K is not uniquely positioned for this game; other CPUs in its class would likely produce similar results. The CPU’s percentile rank of 84 places it well above average, but the in-game performance is more dependent on the GPU at higher resolutions.

The data shows that the CPU does not become a limiting factor until very high frame rates are reached. At 1080p Low, the 219 FPS average is likely close to the CPU’s ceiling, but at 1440p and above, the GPU takes over as the primary constraint. This means that users with higher-resolution displays will see performance dictated by the Radeon RX 9070, while those with 1080p monitors can enjoy the full benefit of the CPU’s speed. The CPU’s boost clock of 5.00 GHz helps ensure that single-threaded tasks, such as game logic, are processed quickly, contributing to the overall smoothness of the experience.