The Technomancer

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a highly constrained gaming experience in The Technomancer, with the integrated graphics solution acting as the definitive bottleneck across all tested configurations. Benchmark data indicates that this combo ranks 2603 out of 2825 tested system combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is only viable at lower resolutions and settings, with the GPU's performance ceiling severely limiting the otherwise capable 12-core processor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combination shows a clear pattern: the Intel Arc B370 integrated GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 71 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that achieves a comfortable gaming experience. This represents a 29% improvement over the Medium preset's 55 FPS and a 92% improvement over the Ultra preset's 37 FPS at the same resolution.

For users prioritizing smooth gameplay over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only viable option, as it is the sole measured configuration that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 1080p, averaging 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS and maximum of 63 FPS, offers a compromise that remains largely playable, though it dips below the ideal smoothness threshold. The High preset at 1080p drops to 47 FPS average, which is noticeably less fluid.

At 2560x1440, the situation deteriorates significantly. The Low preset yields 47 FPS, which is identical to the High preset at 1080p, demonstrating that the GPU's fill rate limits performance more than the CPU. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 36 FPS (min 30, max 41), which is borderline playable for a slower-paced Action RPG but will feel stuttery in combat sequences. The High preset at 1440p falls to 31 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 24 FPS.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets produce acceptable results. The Low preset averages 26 FPS, Medium averages 20 FPS (min 17, max 23), High averages 17 FPS, and Ultra averages 13 FPS. These frame rates are below the threshold for comfortable gameplay and should be avoided entirely.

The data strongly suggests that users should select the Low preset at 1920x1080 for the best balance of performance and playability. The Medium preset at 1080p is acceptable for those who can tolerate occasional frame drops below 50 FPS. No other settings combination in the measured dataset provides a satisfactory experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The measured data indicates that 1920x1080 with Low settings provides the highest average frame rate at 71 FPS. This is the only configuration in the dataset that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K resolution?

A: Performance at 3840x2160 is severely limited, with average frame rates ranging from 13 FPS at Ultra settings to 26 FPS at Low settings. Even the lowest settings preset fails to reach 30 FPS, making 4K gaming impractical with this hardware combination.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drops dramatically as resolution increases, from 71 FPS at 1080p Low to 26 FPS at 4K Low, a 63% reduction. The Intel Core i7-12700KF's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838, suggest the processor has ample headroom that the Arc B370 cannot utilize.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 71 FPS while the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS. This represents a 48% reduction in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset at the same resolution.

Q: Does the system maintain consistent frame rates at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset shows measurable frame time variance. At 1080p, the average is 55 FPS with a range of 47 to 63 FPS, indicating a 16 FPS spread. At 1440p, the average is 36 FPS with a range of 30 to 41 FPS, an 11 FPS spread. At 4K, the average is 20 FPS with a range of 17 to 23 FPS.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2603 out of 2825 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested for The Technomancer.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance degradation as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings reduces the average frame rate from 71 FPS to 47 FPS, a 34% drop. Scaling further to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 26 FPS, representing a 63% reduction from the 1080p baseline.

At Medium settings, the scaling pattern is similar: 55 FPS at 1080p drops to 36 FPS at 1440p (35% reduction), then to 20 FPS at 4K (64% reduction from 1080p). The High preset follows the same trajectory: 47 FPS at 1080p, 31 FPS at 1440p (34% reduction), and 17 FPS at 4K (64% reduction from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows 37 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p (35% reduction), and 13 FPS at 4K (65% reduction).

The consistent percentage drops across all settings presets indicate that the render resolution is the dominant factor in performance scaling. The pixel count increases by approximately 78% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and by 125% from 1440p to 4K. The frame rate reductions track closely with these pixel count increases, confirming that the Intel Arc B370's fill rate and shading capabilities are the limiting components.

The Intel Arc B370's specifications support this analysis: it features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units, with a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. These figures are modest for modern gaming, and the 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 performance is insufficient for high-resolution rendering in a demanding title like The Technomancer.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined system ranks 2603 out of 2825 tested combinations for The Technomancer, placing it in the 8th percentile of all tested systems. This is a very low ranking that reflects the severe performance limitations imposed by the integrated GPU. In contrast, the CPU alone performs well relative to other processors: the Intel Core i7-12700KF holds the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35365.

The GPU's standalone ranking is remarkably poor, sitting in the 5th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest rivals in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, 0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, 0.5% faster), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, 0.7% faster), and the AMD FirePro M2000 (score 1168, 1.4% slower). These comparisons illustrate that the Arc B370 performs at a level comparable to legacy discrete GPUs from over a decade ago.

The disconnect between the CPU's strong relative performance and the GPU's weak relative performance explains the system's poor overall ranking. The Core i7-12700KF's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T (average score 35403, 0.1% faster), the Intel Core 5 213PE (average score 35428, 0.2% faster), the Intel Core i5-13600T (average score 35305, 0.2% slower), and the Intel Core i7-12700K (average score 35287, 0.2% slower). This places the processor in a tightly contested performance tier, but the GPU drags the entire system down to the bottom of the ranking table.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 CPU lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the processor demonstrates strong multi-threaded capabilities. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 28838, while the single-core score is 4071. The Geekbench multi-core score reaches 14367, with a single-core score of 2255. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1043 in single-thread to 9983 in max-threads, indicating good multi-core scaling. The PassMark multi-thread score of 34092 and single-thread score of 3984 further confirm the processor's balanced performance.

Despite this substantial CPU horsepower, the game's measured FPS does not improve correspondingly. The frame rates are consistently low across all resolutions and settings, which indicates that the game's rendering workload is not CPU-bound. The processor has 12 physical cores and 20 threads available, but the Arc B370's integrated nature means it shares system resources and operates with a TDP of just 25 W. This power envelope severely limits the GPU's ability to process the game's graphical demands.

The CPU's benchmark scores suggest it could handle significantly higher frame rates if paired with a more capable GPU. The processor ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.2% of its average score, placing it in a highly competitive performance band. However, the actual gaming performance is constrained by the GPU, making the CPU's potential largely unrealized in this configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for The Technomancer with the Intel Core i7-12700KF and Intel Arc B370 is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 71 FPS. The Medium preset averages 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS and maximum of 63 FPS. The High preset averages 47 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 37 FPS. This represents a performance spread of 34 FPS between the lowest and highest quality presets at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 47 FPS. The Medium preset averages 36 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 41 FPS. The High preset averages 31 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 24 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 23 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 26 FPS. The Medium preset averages 20 FPS with a minimum of 17 FPS and maximum of 23 FPS. The High preset averages 17 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 13 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 13 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only setting tier that provides minimum and maximum FPS measurements across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate ranges from 47 to 63 FPS, indicating noticeable variance. At 1440p, the range is 30 to 41 FPS, showing tighter but still variable performance. At 4K, the range narrows to 17 to 23 FPS, which reflects the GPU operating near its absolute limits.

The data shows consistent frame rate reductions as both resolution and quality settings increase. The largest single step is from Low to Ultra at 1080p, which drops performance by 34 FPS. The smallest absolute step is from High to Ultra at 4K, which drops only 4 FPS, but this occurs at already unplayable frame rates. The measured results confirm that this system is only suitable for 1080p gaming at Low to Medium settings, with all other configurations producing suboptimal experiences.