The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, shows a clear performance hierarchy when paired with the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT. At 1080p, this combo delivers excellent frame rates that are likely CPU-bound at lower settings, while 4K performance is firmly GPU-limited, with average frame rates dropping by more than half from the lowest settings to the highest. The data indicates a well-balanced pairing for high-refresh 1440p gaming, but 4K Ultra demands significant compromises.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 179 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 117 FPS, a 35% reduction, and then to 64 FPS at 4K Low, a further 45% reduction from 1440p. This scaling pattern shows that the GPU is handling the bulk of the work as resolution climbs, with the CPU's role diminishing.

However, the situation is different at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 92, which drops to 60 FPS at 1440p Ultra (a 35% decrease) and then to 33 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 45% decrease from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops between resolutions suggest that the RX 6750 XT is the limiting factor across the board at these higher settings. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is particularly telling: 64 FPS versus 33 FPS, a 48% performance penalty for maxing out the graphics.

The most striking evidence of GPU limitation comes from the 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra transition. At 1080p Low, the system hits 179 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it only manages 92 FPS. This 87 FPS gap indicates that even at 1080p, the graphics card's rendering load is the primary bottleneck when settings are maxed. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 24 threads, is more than capable of feeding the GPU at these rates. The data suggests that for players targeting 4K, dropping from Ultra to High settings provides a meaningful improvement from 33 FPS to 42 FPS, while dropping to Medium yields 49 FPS, and Low jumps to 64 FPS, making the game much more playable at the cost of visual fidelity.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle The Technomancer at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but not at maximum settings. The measured data shows 4K High averages 42 FPS, 4K Medium averages 49 FPS, and 4K Low averages 64 FPS. Only 4K Ultra falls below playable thresholds at 33 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for a high refresh rate experience?

A: 1080p is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 90 FPS. At High settings, it averages 117 FPS, and at Low, it reaches 179 FPS. 1440p High averages 77 FPS, which is suitable for a 60Hz display but not for high-refresh monitors.

Q: How much of a performance difference does the Ultra preset make compared to High?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 92 FPS versus 117 FPS on High, a 21% performance drop. At 1440p, the difference is 60 FPS versus 77 FPS, a 22% drop. At 4K, Ultra averages 33 FPS versus 42 FPS on High, a 21% drop.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K bottlenecking the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system produces 179 FPS, which suggests the CPU has ample headroom. The 16-core, 24-thread processor with a 5.40 GHz boost clock is well-equipped to handle the game's logic.

Q: What kind of frame time consistency can be expected at 1440p Medium?

A: The data shows a min FPS of 76 and a max FPS of 103, with an average of 90 FPS. This indicates a 27 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, which is a relatively tight range suggesting stable performance.

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

A: The combo ranks 1698 out of 3696 tested combinations, placing it in the 54th percentile. This suggests it performs better than average but not in the top tier for this specific game.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 1698 out of 3696 tested configurations, this pairing sits near the midpoint of all tested systems for The Technomancer. This ranking is not surprising given the game's 2016 release date, which means modern high-end components far exceed its requirements. The RX 6750 XT, which holds the 71st percentile among all GPUs, is a mid-range card in the current landscape, while the i7-13700K, in the 89th percentile among CPUs, is a high-end processor. The combination of a strong CPU and a mid-range GPU lands this setup in the upper-middle tier of the ranking.

The rank becomes more meaningful when considering the CPU's performance relative to its rivals. The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, placing it just 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375. It is 0.5% ahead of both the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and the Intel Xeon w3-2535. This tight grouping shows that the CPU is competitive with the best alternatives, but the GPU's performance relative to its peers is less favorable. The RX 6750 XT's average benchmark score of 26011 places it 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M395X, 0.6% ahead of the AMD FirePro W7100, and 0.7% ahead of the AMD FirePro D700. It is 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile.

The ranking indicates that for a game like The Technomancer, the GPU is the primary determinant of the overall combo position. The CPU's high percentile ranking does not boost the combo to the top tier because the game's graphics load is moderate by modern standards. Players with this setup should expect solid 1440p performance and acceptable 4K frame rates with adjusted settings, aligning with the 1698 rank as a capable, mid-pack performer.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings average 179 FPS, Medium averages 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS, High averages 117 FPS, and Ultra averages 92 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 87 FPS, representing a 49% performance drop when moving to maximum quality.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 117 FPS, Medium averages 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS, High averages 77 FPS, and Ultra averages 60 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is substantial: 62 FPS on Low, 48 FPS on Medium, 40 FPS on High, and 32 FPS on Ultra. This consistent reduction highlights the GPU's increasing workload.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings average 64 FPS, Medium averages 49 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS, High averages 42 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K results in a 53 FPS drop on Low, a 41 FPS drop on Medium, a 35 FPS drop on High, and a 27 FPS drop on Ultra. The smaller absolute drops at higher settings suggest that the GPU is already saturated at 1440p Ultra, so the additional pixel count at 4K has a diminishing relative impact.

The Medium preset data is the only one with complete min/max information. At 1080p, the 117 FPS minimum and 158 FPS maximum show a 41 FPS variance. At 1440p, the 76 FPS minimum and 103 FPS maximum show a 27 FPS variance. At 4K, the 42 FPS minimum and 57 FPS maximum show a 15 FPS variance. This tightening of the frame time range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is working closer to its limits, reducing the likelihood of large frame spikes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the primary bottleneck in this configuration for The Technomancer, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for the game's textures at 4K, as the data shows playable frame rates at 4K High (42 FPS) and 4K Medium (49 FPS). The 12 GB capacity is a key asset, as it likely prevents texture swapping that would cause stutters at higher resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 2150 MHz, a game clock of 2495 MHz, and a boost clock of 2600 MHz. These high clocks, combined with 2560 shading units and 160 texture mapping units, contribute to the card's 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 64 ROPs handle pixel output, which becomes critical at 4K. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales linearly with resolution: at High settings, the FPS drops from 117 at 1080p to 77 at 1440p (34% lower) and then to 42 at 4K (45% lower from 1440p). This scaling is consistent with a card that is fully utilized.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 71st percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 26011 is notably low compared to the CPU's average score, which is a primary reason why the combo ranks near the middle of the pack for this game. The card's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (0.5% slower), AMD FirePro W7100 (0.6% slower), AMD FirePro D700 (0.7% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (1.1% slower). These are all older or mobile parts, indicating that the RX 6750 XT is a competent but not exceptional performer in the current market. The 40 ray tracing cores are present, but The Technomancer, released in 2016, does not use ray tracing, so they have no impact on these results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K serves as a robust foundation for this gaming configuration, providing ample processing headroom that is not fully taxed by The Technomancer. The CPU features 16 cores and 24 threads, a configuration that is far beyond what a 2016 Action RPG requires. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is exceptional, which is critical for older game engines that may not leverage many cores. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache further aids in reducing memory latency for frequently accessed data.

The CPU's benchmark results reinforce its high-end status. It achieves a Passmark multithread score of 45887 and a single-thread score of 4333. In Cinebench R23, it scores 30745 in multicore and 2116 in singlecore. These scores show that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 179 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine limit or the GPU's maximum output at that resolution. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms its performance tier.

The nearest rivals to the i7-13700K in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (0.2% faster), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (0.3% faster), AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (0.5% slower), and Intel Xeon w3-2535 (0.5% slower). These comparable scores indicate that the i7-13700K is a top-tier CPU, but its performance advantage over rivals does not translate into significantly better gaming frame rates in this title because the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU's 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a flexible choice, but these factors do not influence the measured game performance. The integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but irrelevant when a discrete GPU is installed.