The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware, and the combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 yields a dataset that clearly delineates the performance boundaries of each component. The measured frame rates across four presets and three resolutions provide a comprehensive view of how this pairing handles the game's engine, revealing a configuration that is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, but which struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum settings. The data indicates a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial multi-threaded capabilities ensure headroom at lower settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the optimal experience is found at the Medium preset for most users, offering a substantial performance uplift over High and Ultra settings while maintaining a visually acceptable level of detail. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 133.2 FPS, which is 22.7 FPS higher than the High preset's 110.5 FPS and a significant 49.4 FPS more than the Ultra preset's 83.8 FPS. This indicates that the jump from Medium to High incurs a noticeable performance cost that may not be justified by the visual gains, especially for players prioritizing smoothness.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the most balanced choice, with an average of 84.5 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and is 12.3 FPS higher than the High preset's 72.2 FPS. The data shows that while the High preset is playable at this resolution, Medium provides a more consistent frame rate, reducing the likelihood of drops into less comfortable territory. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Low preset at 1440p yields 111.8 FPS, which is an option for competitive play, though it sacrifices visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The High preset averages just 38.4 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 33.6 FPS, both of which are below the standard for a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 43.6 FPS is also not ideal. Only the Low preset, with an average of 62.8 FPS, achieves a playable frame rate at 4K. Consequently, the data strongly recommends the Medium preset for 1080p and 1440p gaming, as it provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, while at 4K, users must accept the Low preset to maintain fluidity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 plays a central role in determining performance at higher resolutions, and its memory configuration is a defining characteristic. The GPU is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. In The Technomancer, this memory capacity appears sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, as the frame rates scale predictably with the preset levels. However, the significant drop in performance at 3840x2160 suggests that the GPU is heavily taxed by the increased pixel count, and the 8 GB frame buffer may be a limiting factor when combined with High or Ultra textures at this resolution.

The RTX 4060's clock speeds are substantial, with a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. These high clocks contribute to the card's strong performance in the game's lower-resolution presets, where it is able to maintain high frame rates. The GPU's compute capabilities, measured at 15.11 TFLOPS for FP32, are adequate for the game's DirectX 11-era rendering, but the 4K results indicate that the architecture is not powerful enough to handle the sheer volume of pixels at the highest settings. The benchmark results show the RTX 4060 sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, have a similar average score, with a delta of -0.6%, confirming its mid-range positioning.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the RTX 4060 is a capable 1080p and 1440p card for this title, but its 8 GB memory and raw throughput become bottlenecks at 4K. The gap between the Low preset (62.8 FPS) and Ultra preset (33.6 FPS) at 4K is a stark 29.2 FPS, highlighting the GPU's sensitivity to increased graphical loads. This indicates that while the GPU has enough headroom for high refresh rates at lower resolutions, its role at 4K is to provide a playable experience only at the lowest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 illustrates the increasing burden placed on the system, with the RTX 4060 emerging as the limiting component. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 110.5 at 1080p to 72.2 at 1440p, a reduction of 38.3 FPS, and then plummets to 38.4 at 4K, a further 33.8 FPS loss. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution directly impacts the fill rate and pixel processing demands.

The Low preset shows a similar trend, with 167.6 FPS at 1080p, 111.8 FPS at 1440p, and 62.8 FPS at 4K. While the absolute numbers are higher, the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is still substantial, at approximately 44%, indicating that even with reduced graphical complexity, the GPU is still the primary constraint. The data suggests that the CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is not the bottleneck at any resolution, as the frame rate continues to scale down as resolution increases, a classic sign of GPU limitation.

This scaling behavior confirms that the Core i7-12700K has ample processing power to feed the RTX 4060, even at lower resolutions where the CPU is typically more stressed. The smallest performance gap between resolutions is observed at the Ultra preset, where the difference between 1440p (57.2 FPS) and 4K (33.6 FPS) is 23.6 FPS. This narrower gap suggests that at the highest settings, the game's engine is more uniformly taxing both components, but the GPU still dictates the overall performance ceiling.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 84.5 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, whereas the High preset averages 72.2 FPS and the Ultra preset drops to 57.2 FPS, which is below the target.

Q: Can the RTX 4060 handle The Technomancer at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that playable frame rates are only achievable at the Low preset, which averages 62.8 FPS. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fall below 44 FPS, indicating that 4K gaming is not practical with higher graphical settings on this GPU.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, in general benchmarks?

A: The two GPUs are virtually identical in performance, with the RX 6600M having an average benchmark score of 23321, which is a 0.6% difference from the RTX 4060's score. This indicates they should offer comparable frame rates in most games.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K a limiting factor in this game?

A: The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a 3dmark max threads score of 9979, suggests it provides sufficient headroom for the game's demands.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1920x1080?

A: The Low preset averages 167.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 83.8 FPS. This represents a significant 83.8 FPS difference, meaning the Ultra preset halves the frame rate compared to Low, despite the High preset's 110.5 FPS being a more moderate middle ground.

Q: Does the GPU's memory bandwidth impact the 4K results?

A: The RTX 4060 has a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s and an 8 GB memory buffer. The substantial frame rate drop at 4K, especially at higher presets, suggests that the combination of limited memory capacity and bandwidth is insufficient for the high-resolution textures and pixel loads, making the GPU the clear limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K provides a robust foundation for this gaming configuration, and its benchmark results indicate that it is not a performance bottleneck in The Technomancer. With 12 cores and 20 threads, the CPU offers substantial multi-threaded capabilities, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29241 and its Passmark multithread score of 34404. These scores place the processor in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 35684 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which has a delta of -0.3%.

The CPU's clock speeds, with a base of 3.60 GHz and a boost of 5.00 GHz, ensure strong single-threaded performance, which is often critical for game logic and physics. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4128 and Geekbench single-core score of 2561 are indicative of a processor that can handle the demands of an Action RPG without holding back the GPU. The data from the measured FPS shows that as resolution increases, the frame rate drops in a manner consistent with GPU limitation, not CPU limitation, confirming that the i7-12700K has ample headroom.

The CPU's L3 cache of 25 MB (shared) helps maintain low latency for frequently accessed data, which is beneficial in complex game environments. While the game's engine may not fully utilize all 20 threads, the high core count ensures that background tasks and game threads do not interfere with performance. The data suggests that the Core i7-12700K is more than capable of supporting the RTX 4060, allowing the GPU to be the sole determinant of frame rate at higher resolutions.