The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 when paired with the Intel Core i7-13700K. The measured data reveals a configuration where the GPU is the clear performance boundary, with the CPU's substantial headroom going largely unused at higher resolutions. The benchmark results show a system that can deliver smooth gameplay at 1080p, but requires careful settings management to remain playable at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data illustrates a steep performance curve as resolution increases, firmly establishing the GTX 1070 as the system's limiting component. At 1080p with High settings, the configuration produces an average of 75.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 52.3 FPS, a reduction of 23.4 FPS. The jump to 4K is even more punishing, with the average falling to 29.9 FPS at the same High preset. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated, while the i7-13700K’s 16 cores and 24 threads remain more than capable of feeding frames.

The relationship between resolution and performance becomes clearer when examining the Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 114.5 FPS, which drops to 76.1 FPS at 1440p and 44 FPS at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 33.5%, and from 1080p to 4K it is approximately 61.6%. These are significant losses that track closely with the increase in pixel count, confirming that the GTX 1070’s 256.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are the primary constraints. The CPU, which scores 39000 in Cinebench R23 multicore, is not the bottleneck in any scenario tested.

The data suggests that the game’s engine scales predictably with resolution, with no anomalous spikes or plateaus. The difference between 1440p and 4K at Medium settings is 27.2 FPS (62 to 34.8), showing that the GPU’s performance headroom is exhausted well before reaching 4K. This makes the GTX 1070 a solid 1080p performer, a passable 1440p option with reduced settings, and a poor choice for native 4K gaming in this title.

GPU Role

The GTX 1070’s role in this configuration is defined by its memory subsystem and clock speeds. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card has a theoretical bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. The memory operates at 2002 MHz, translating to 8 Gbps effective. The base clock of 1506 MHz and boost clock of 1683 MHz are modest by modern standards, but they are the key drivers for the card’s performance in The Technomancer.

The GPU’s benchmark scores provide context for its gaming performance. It achieves a PassMark G3D score of 13498, placing it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (0.7% ahead) and the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER (1.4% ahead), indicating that the GTX 1070 sits in a competitive mid-range tier. The DirectX 12 PassMark score of 48 is notably low compared to DirectX 11 (100), which suggests the card’s Pascal architecture is less optimized for the newer API, a factor that may influence in-game performance depending on the rendering path used.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for The Technomancer’s texture demands at 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows the card’s compute limitations surface earlier. The pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are the hardware limits that the game’s resolution scaling exposes. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS collapses to 19.9, highlighting that the GPU is rendering nearly four times the pixels of 1080p with the same shading units (1920) and ROPs (64). The card’s 150 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for its class, but the performance data indicates that it is an end-of-life product struggling with modern resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this configuration?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 114.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1070’s average benchmark score of 12331 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Quadro K4200, which is only 0.7% slower, and the GeForce GTX 880M, which is 1.3% faster. The GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER is 1.4% faster in comparison.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: The data shows 4K performance is marginal. The High preset yields 29.9 FPS, Medium drops to 34.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 19.9 FPS. Only the Low preset at 44 FPS approaches playable territory, but it remains below the 60 FPS target.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, FPS drops dramatically, while the Intel Core i7-13700K’s high multi-threaded scores (e.g., 39000 in Cinebench R23) suggest it has ample headroom for this title.

Q: What is the playable 1440p experience like?

A: At 1440p, the High preset delivers 52.3 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. The Medium preset improves this to 62 FPS, while Low reaches 76.1 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, Medium settings are the recommended starting point.

Q: How does the GTX 1070’s DirectX 12 performance affect the game?

A: The GPU’s PassMark DirectX 12 score is 48, compared to 100 for DirectX 11. This indicates weak DX12 compute performance, which could lead to lower frame rates if The Technomancer uses DX12 features, though the measured FPS data suggests the game’s engine is not heavily reliant on this API.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for settings presets at each resolution. For 1080p, all presets are playable, but the High preset at 75.7 FPS offers the best balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. The Ultra preset, at 59.4 FPS, is close to the 60 FPS target but may exhibit occasional dips; players prioritizing frame rate consistency should opt for High. The Medium preset at 92.6 FPS is a valid choice for those who prefer higher headroom for action sequences.

At 1440p, the High preset drops to 52.3 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold. The Medium preset at 62 FPS is the sweet spot, providing a smooth experience without the visual compromises of Low. The Low preset at 76.1 FPS offers the best performance but sacrifices graphical detail. Ultra at 37.8 FPS is not recommended for gameplay.

For 4K, the data is clear: no preset achieves a consistently playable frame rate. The Low preset at 44 FPS is the only viable option, though it still falls short of 60 FPS. High (29.9 FPS), Medium (34.8 FPS), and Ultra (19.9 FPS) are all too slow for a responsive experience. Players with a GTX 1070 should avoid native 4K in this title and instead use a lower resolution.

The overall recommendation is to target 1080p High for the best experience, or 1440p Medium if a higher resolution is preferred. The data shows that the GTX 1070 is best utilized at 1080p, where it can leverage its full capabilities without being overwhelmed by pixel count.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the exact average FPS measurements for each resolution and settings preset combination, as recorded in the benchmark database.

1920x1080:

• Low: 114.5 FPS
• Medium: 92.6 FPS
• High: 75.7 FPS
• Ultra: 59.4 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 76.1 FPS
• Medium: 62 FPS
• High: 52.3 FPS
• Ultra: 37.8 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 44 FPS
• Medium: 34.8 FPS
• High: 29.9 FPS
• Ultra: 19.9 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern: at 1080p, the configuration is fully playable across all settings, with a 55.1 FPS difference between Low and Ultra. At 1440p, the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 38.3 FPS, but the overall performance shifts downward. At 4K, the gap further compresses to 24.1 FPS, but all results are below the 60 FPS standard, and only Low exceeds 40 FPS.

The transition from Medium to High at 1080p costs 16.9 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 16.3 FPS. At 1440p, these costs are 9.7 FPS and 14.5 FPS, respectively. At 4K, the Medium to High drop is 4.9 FPS, and High to Ultra is 10 FPS. This diminishing return at higher resolutions reinforces the GPU-bound nature of the setup. The configuration ranks 1385 out of 1656 total combinations in the game’s database, placing it in the lower half of tested systems, which is consistent with the GTX 1070’s mid-range standing.