The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting scaling challenge for the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER pairing. The measured frame rates across resolutions and presets reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings, but the data also shows a CPU that is more than capable of feeding the graphics card at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data for this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly indicates a shift in bottleneck. At High settings, the system produces 196.9 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 124.6 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 36.7% reduction), and then further to 68.7 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 44.9% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline is the classic signature of GPU limitation; the rendering load at 4K is simply too heavy for the RTX 4080 SUPER to maintain the high frame rates seen at lower resolutions.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets. At Low settings, the 1080p result is 295.7 FPS, which is exceptionally high, yet it still falls to 106.9 FPS at 4K. This indicates that even when graphical load is minimized, the GPU becomes the primary constraint at 4K. The difference between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings is a drop from 295.7 to 191.6 FPS, a 35.2% reduction, showing that the GPU is already the limiting factor at 1440p when settings are low.

The most telling data point is the gap between 1440p and 4K at Low settings. The frame rate plummets from 191.6 FPS to 106.9 FPS, a 44.2% decrease. This is a larger percentage drop than the transition from 1080p to 1440p, which suggests that the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth are being saturated as resolution increases. The data shows a system that can deliver extremely high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the experience is more aligned with a standard 60Hz monitor, particularly on higher presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture. With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, its synthetic benchmark scores are formidable. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and a single-core score of 5505 demonstrate exceptional processing power. This is further confirmed by its 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 47282.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU appears to be a non-factor in limiting performance. The 1080p Low preset result of 295.7 FPS is a clear indicator that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the graphics card can render at higher resolutions. The i7-13700K's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13700KF, show a delta of -0.1%, indicating they are virtually identical in performance. This suggests that the CPU's headroom is vast, and any performance ceiling in this game comes from the GPU.

The data implies that even at 1080p with the Low preset, where CPU load is typically highest, the processor is not the bottleneck. The measured 295.7 FPS reflects the CPU's ability to handle the game's physics and game logic without breaking a sweat. This is a scenario where the CPU is clearly not a limiting factor, and its high single-thread and multi-thread performance ensures that it will not hold back the GPU in any scenario presented by this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the clear determinant of performance in The Technomancer. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s, it has the resources to handle high resolutions. Its boost clock of 2550 MHz and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance place it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53610.

The GPU's performance is best illustrated by the scaling data. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 54.1, which is a demanding load. The transition from High to Ultra at 4K costs 14.6 FPS (from 68.7 to 54.1), highlighting the significant cost of the highest preset. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, has a delta of 0.2%, showing they are very close in raw compute power, but the RTX 4080 SUPER's performance in this game is defined by its own scaling.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p with higher presets. The difference between 1440p High (124.6 FPS) and 4K High (68.7 FPS) is a 55.9 FPS drop, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's rendering limits. The RTX 4080 SUPER is a powerful card, but The Technomancer's engine appears to be demanding enough to push it to its limits at 4K, particularly with the Ultra preset where it averages just above 50 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how each preset impacts performance. For a 4K display, the High preset is the most balanced option, delivering an average of 68.7 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a much better visual experience than the Low preset (106.9 FPS), which will likely lack important graphical details. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 54.1 FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but the 14.6 FPS gain from moving to High is substantial.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it still maintains an average of 101.3 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS mark and offers the highest fidelity. The Medium preset at 146.8 FPS is also viable for those with high-refresh-rate monitors, but the Ultra preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance for this resolution. The data shows that the GPU has enough headroom at 1440p to handle the most demanding settings.

For 1080p users, the Ultra preset is the only sensible choice, with an average of 153.6 FPS. This provides an excellent experience on high-refresh-rate monitors and is a massive improvement over the Medium preset's 226.5 FPS in terms of visual quality. The Low preset at 295.7 FPS is unnecessary, as the system has ample performance to run the game at its highest settings. The data suggests that the Ultra preset at 1080p is the sweet spot, offering a smooth and visually pleasing experience without any compromise.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is ranked 99th out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This top 6% placement indicates that this pairing is among the most powerful configurations for this game. The high rank is a direct result of the CPU's strong performance (93rd percentile) and the GPU's high placement (88th percentile), which together create a system with minimal bottlenecks.

This rank is particularly impressive given the game's age. The fact that this modern hardware combination still sits near the top of the charts suggests that The Technomancer is not particularly well-optimized for newer hardware, but the sheer power of this pairing overcomes any inefficiencies. The data shows that the combo is capable of delivering high frame rates at all resolutions, with the only real limitation being the GPU's ability to render at 4K with the Ultra preset.

The combo's rank of 99 out of 1656 is a clear indicator of its performance pedigree. It outperforms the vast majority of other tested systems, and the measured FPS data confirms that it is a top-tier configuration for this game. While the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, the overall performance is still strong, and the system's capability at lower resolutions is exceptional. This is a high-end pairing that delivers a premium experience in The Technomancer.