The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study in hardware scaling when paired with a modern flagship configuration. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination, interpreting the data to understand how this older title utilizes contemporary components.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, featuring a 25 MB shared L3 cache and a 125 W TDP. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded capability with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28979, while single-thread performance is also robust at 4091 in the same test. This processor sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35355.

The data for this game suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at most settings. The processor's 20 threads are far more than what a title from 2016 typically utilizes. In The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be providing a stable foundation, ensuring that frame time consistency is maintained. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p is substantial, from 286.4 FPS to 176.3 FPS, but even the lower number is exceptionally high. The processor's robust single-core performance, evidenced by its PassMark single-thread score of 3984, is likely the more relevant metric for this game, as older titles often rely on one or two primary threads for game logic. The data implies that the i7-12700KF has ample headroom, allowing the GPU to become the limiting factor in determining frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a powerhouse, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features a massive 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The GPU's boost clock is 2407 MHz, and it houses 21760 shading units. Its compute capabilities are immense, with an FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS. The card sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 84306. In PassMark, it scores 39650 in the G3D test and 26756 in the GPU compute test.

In this game, the RTX 5090's sheer power is evident from the high frame rates achieved. However, the data reveals a clear scaling pattern. At 1080p Ultra, the GPU produces 176.3 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, this drops to 64.8 FPS. This demonstrates that The Technomancer, despite its age, is capable of stressing the GPU at higher resolutions and graphical settings. The 32 GB of VRAM is far more than the game requires, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor. Instead, the data suggests the bottleneck is the GPU's raw shading and rasterization throughput as pixel count increases. The 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die are being pushed harder as resolution scales, indicating that the game's rendering demands are substantial enough to challenge even the most advanced consumer GPU available.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested hardware combinations for The Technomancer, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 16 out of 1656 tested combos. This places it in a commanding position, within the top 1% of all configurations. The rank reflects the combined capability of the CPU and GPU to deliver high performance in this specific title.

The CPU's nearest rivals in general benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-14400, which has an average score of 35336 and is a mere 0.1% behind, and the Intel Core i9-12900HX, which is 0.2% ahead. This shows that the processor's overall compute performance is well-balanced. The GPU's nearest rivals are interesting, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D being essentially tied at 0.1% ahead, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 being 1.3% behind. The fact that the RTX 5090 ranks 16th overall suggests that while it is near the top, there are 15 other combinations that deliver higher average frame rates in this specific game. This could be due to other CPUs providing slightly better single-thread performance or other factors in the system, but the data shows this combo is exceptionally strong overall.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the configuration achieves an average of 286.4 FPS on Low, 258.6 FPS on Medium, 222.1 FPS on High, and 176.3 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate extreme performance, with even the most demanding preset at 1080p easily exceeding the refresh rates of most high-end monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops significantly. The Low preset delivers 222.5 FPS, Medium drops to 174 FPS, High yields 145.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 116.8 FPS. This demonstrates a clear scaling trend where the GPU's workload increases. At 3840x2160, the performance is more demanding. The Low preset still manages 118.4 FPS, but Medium drops to 94.1 FPS, High falls to 78.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 64.8 FPS. This data shows that for a smooth 60+ FPS experience at 4K, the High preset is the most demanding level that can be comfortably maintained, while the Ultra preset hovers just above 60 FPS.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves at 1920x1080?

A: The highest recorded average FPS at 1080p is 286.4, which is achieved with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the frame rate at 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: The average frame rate at 4K Ultra is 64.8 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it is 176.3 FPS. This represents a significant performance drop of 111.5 FPS when moving to the higher resolution.

Q: Which settings preset at 2560x1440 provides a frame rate above 200 FPS?

A: The Low settings preset at 2560x1440 achieves an average of 222.5 FPS, which is the only preset at that resolution to exceed the 200 FPS mark.

Q: What is the rank of this specific hardware combination among all tested combos for this game?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 16th out of 1656 tested combinations for The Technomancer.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at the 3840x2160 Ultra setting?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, as the average FPS drops to 64.8 FPS, indicating the high resolution and graphical load are heavily taxing the graphics card.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for the GPU in this configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306 across all its tested benchmarks.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Analyzing the measured rows, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, every setting from Medium to Ultra delivers a frame rate well above 170 FPS. The Ultra preset at 176.3 FPS is the most visually demanding and still provides an exceptionally smooth experience, making it the clear choice for maximizing visual fidelity without sacrificing performance on a high-refresh-rate monitor.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 145.9 FPS offers a strong balance, providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium (174 FPS) while still maintaining a high frame rate suitable for competitive or fast-paced play. The Ultra preset at 116.8 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing image quality, as it remains above the 100 FPS threshold. For 3840x2160, the High preset at 78.7 FPS is the recommended choice for a consistently smooth experience, as it is well above the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 64.8 FPS is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The data shows that the Medium preset at 94.1 FPS could also be a solid choice for those who want a higher frame rate buffer at 4K.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K provides clear insight into which component is the primary bottleneck. At the Ultra preset, the average FPS drops from 176.3 at 1080p, to 116.8 at 1440p, and finally to 64.8 at 4K. This represents a 63.2% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. A similar trend is visible across all presets; for instance, on High settings, the frame rate drops from 222.1 at 1080p to 145.9 at 1440p, and then to 78.7 at 4K.

This steep decline in frame rate as resolution increases is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's work would be consistent regardless of the pixel count. The data clearly shows that the RTX 5090's rendering workload scales dramatically with resolution, which is expected given its massive 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth being tasked with filling an increasing number of pixels. The CPU, with its high single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 3984), is able to feed the GPU frames fast enough at 1080p, but the GPU's capabilities become the ceiling as resolution increases. This indicates that for the Intel Core i7-12700KF and RTX 5090 combo in The Technomancer, achieving higher resolutions and settings will always be a question of how much the GPU can handle, not the CPU.