The Technomancer

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

The measured frame rates for The Technomancer with the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT reveal a classic scaling pattern, but with a twist that points to a shifting bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 207.9 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low drops this to 138 FPS, a reduction of roughly 34%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 at Low yields 76.6 FPS, which is another 45% drop from the 1440p figure. The data shows that even at 4K Low, the system stays comfortably above 60 FPS, indicating headroom remains.

The picture changes dramatically when settings are raised. At Ultra, the 1080p average is 108.5 FPS, the 1440p average is 67.7 FPS, and the 4K average falls to 36.2 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is about 67%, which is steeper than the 63% drop observed at Low settings. This suggests that as the GPU becomes more stressed with higher-quality rendering, its role as the primary limiter becomes more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads are likely feeding the GPU with frames faster than it can render, but the GPU still manages to push past 200 FPS.

The interesting nuance is the gap between High and Medium at each resolution. At 4K, High delivers 48.4 FPS while Medium delivers 57.3 FPS — an 18% difference. At 1440p, the gap is similar: 87.8 FPS versus 107 FPS. At 1080p, High hits 135.1 FPS and Medium hits 162.5 FPS. The consistency of this relative gap across resolutions implies that the rendering workload scales predictably with settings, and that neither component is being completely overwhelmed at any single configuration. The data suggests a balanced pairing where the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands until the GPU is fully saturated at 4K Ultra.

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

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, fabricated on a 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. These specifications are substantial, but The Technomancer, released in 2016, was designed for an era when fewer cores were the norm. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions, but its performance at 1080p Low (207.9 FPS) shows it can drive extreme frame rates when the GPU is under less load.

The processor's 3DMark scores provide context: 8,193 for 8 threads and 12,412 for max threads. The single-thread score is 1,136, while Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 39,000 and single-core 5,505. These numbers indicate a processor with strong single-core performance — critical for older game engines that rely on one or two primary threads. The Technomancer's engine likely benefits from the high boost clock of 5.40 GHz, which explains why the system can exceed 200 FPS at 1080p Low without the CPU becoming a hard wall.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-13700K holds its ground. The i7-13700KF scores 47,334 on average benchmark score, which is 0.1% higher than the 47,282 average of the i7-13700K. The AMD EPYC 4364P scores 47,131 (0.3% lower), and the Intel Core i9-12900F scores 47,081 (0.4% lower). These deltas are minuscule, meaning the CPU's raw compute capability is essentially on par with those alternatives. In a game like The Technomancer, where the CPU's job is to feed the GPU and handle game logic, the i7-13700K's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample room for the game's data sets.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It packs 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The boost clock is 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz. These specifications are far beyond what The Technomancer requires, as the game predates the GPU by seven years. The GPU's 60 ray tracing cores and 96 ROPs are largely irrelevant for a title that does not use ray tracing, but the raw rasterization power is what drives the measured results.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 24,176, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 4,157. Its percentile ranking against all GPUs is 76, meaning it outperforms 76% of GPUs tested. The nearest rivals show tight competition: the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 scores 32,540 (0.2% lower than the RX 7800 XT's 32,619 average), while the NVIDIA P104-100 scores 32,747 (0.4% higher). These are workstation-class cards, not gaming equivalents, but the data shows the RX 7800 XT sits in a competitive band.

The 16 GB VRAM is notable for a 2016 game. The Technomancer's textures and effects were designed for GPUs with 4-8 GB of memory, so the RX 7800 XT likely never approaches its VRAM limit at any resolution. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (36.2 FPS) is not a memory issue but a compute limitation — the GPU is simply rendering too many pixels at the highest quality preset. The fact that 4K High delivers 48.4 FPS versus 36.2 FPS at Ultra indicates that the Ultra preset's additional effects (likely shadows, reflections, or post-processing) impose a 25% penalty, which is substantial.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 636th out of 1,656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the 62nd percentile of all combinations — meaning 62% of tested combos perform worse. This ranking is notable because it places the system in the upper-middle tier rather than the top, which is surprising given the modern hardware. The game is from 2016, so many older, high-end systems from that era may have been tested and could rank higher due to driver optimizations or game-specific tuning.

The ranking becomes more meaningful when considering the GPU's overall percentile of 76 and the CPU's percentile of 93. The CPU is in the top 7% of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the top 24%, yet the combo only reaches the 62nd percentile in this specific game. This suggests that The Technomancer may not scale perfectly with modern hardware, or that the game's engine has a performance ceiling that caps even powerful components. The 1080p Low result of 207.9 FPS shows the system can produce high frame rates, but the 4K Ultra result of 36.2 FPS indicates that the game's most demanding settings are still challenging for this GPU.

The delta between the CPU and GPU percentiles is informative. With the CPU at 93rd percentile and the GPU at 76th, one might expect the combo to rank higher than 636th. The fact that it does not implies that the game is more GPU-bound than CPU-bound at most settings, or that there are other combos with more balanced or better-optimized pairings. The measured data shows the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, but at 1080p Low, the CPU is still not the bottleneck — the system produces 207.9 FPS, indicating both components are working effectively.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 87.8 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 4K Low?

A: At 3840x2160, Ultra delivers 36.2 FPS while Low delivers 76.6 FPS. Ultra is 52.7% slower than Low in this scenario.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 636th out of 1,656 tested combinations, placing it in the 62nd percentile of all tested combos.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT has a percentile ranking of 76, meaning it outperforms 76% of all GPUs in the benchmark database.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock speed?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K has a boost clock of 5.40 GHz.

Q: Which resolution and settings yield the highest measured FPS?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 207.9, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

The data presents a clear hierarchy of presets, but the "best" choice depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, all presets are playable — Low delivers 207.9 FPS, Medium 162.5 FPS, High 135.1 FPS, and Ultra 108.5 FPS. For competitive play or high-refresh monitors, Medium or High would be the sweet spot, as both exceed 135 FPS. Ultra still offers over 100 FPS, so it is not a poor choice, but the drop from High to Ultra is 26.6 FPS, which is noticeable.

At 1440p, the story changes. Low gives 138 FPS, Medium 107 FPS, High 87.8 FPS, and Ultra 67.7 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra costs 20.1 FPS, which is significant. Medium offers a good balance at 107 FPS, but High at 87.8 FPS is still smooth for most displays. For 1440p, Medium or High is recommended, as Ultra dips below 70 FPS, which some users may find less fluid.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. Low delivers 76.6 FPS, Medium 57.3 FPS, High 48.4 FPS, and Ultra 36.2 FPS. Only Low maintains a solid 60+ FPS experience. Medium is borderline at 57.3 FPS, while High and Ultra are below 50 FPS. For 4K gaming, Low is the only preset that provides a consistently smooth experience, though Medium is acceptable for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate.

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

1920x1080:

• Low: 207.9 FPS
• Medium: 162.5 FPS
• High: 135.1 FPS
• Ultra: 108.5 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 138 FPS
• Medium: 107 FPS
• High: 87.8 FPS
• Ultra: 67.7 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 76.6 FPS
• Medium: 57.3 FPS
• High: 48.4 FPS
• Ultra: 36.2 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier increases the frame rate by a significant margin. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 99.4 FPS — nearly double the Low figure. At 1440p, the gap narrows to 70.3 FPS, and at 4K, it shrinks to 40.4 FPS. This compression at higher resolutions reinforces that the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck as pixel count rises. The 4K Ultra figure of 36.2 FPS is the only measured result below 40 FPS, indicating that this preset is the most demanding configuration tested. The 1080p Low figure of 207.9 FPS is the only result above 200 FPS, showing the ceiling of this combo when the GPU is least stressed.