The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting test for modern hardware. Pairing the Intel Core i7-14700K with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT produces a wide range of performance depending on resolution and settings. The data reveals a system that can handle the game at high refresh rates on 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain smooth framerates at 4K with maximum visual fidelity. This analysis breaks down the measured results to understand where the bottlenecks lie and how to best configure the game.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 192.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 70074. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores 70104, a difference of 0%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores 70420, which is -0.5% relative to the i7-14700K.

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

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT falls in the 73rd percentile for all GPUs based on its average benchmark score.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo in the measured data?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 35.1 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: How many total combos were ranked for this game, and what is this combo's position?

A: This specific CPU and GPU combination is ranked 724th out of 1656 total tested combos for The Technomancer.

Q: What is the boost clock speed of the CPU and the game clock speed of the GPU?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT has a game clock of 2171 MHz.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip. Its role in this game's performance is defined by its memory configuration and clock speeds. It comes equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is set at 1435 MHz, with a boost clock reaching up to 2544 MHz and a game clock of 2171 MHz. This memory bandwidth and capacity are significant factors in how the card handles texture-rich scenes at higher resolutions.

The data suggests that the GPU is a critical component, especially as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the card produces 192.3 FPS, but this drops dramatically to 35.1 FPS at 4K Ultra. This 82% performance decrease from the lowest to the highest stress scenario indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are being heavily taxed. The RX 7700 XT ranks in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30097. Its direct rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has an average score of 30109, a delta of 0%, showing they are essentially neck-and-neck in synthetic testing. This positions the card as a capable mid-range performer, but the 4K Ultra results show its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear trend of diminishing performance as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo is often CPU-bound, delivering very high frame rates. For example, with High settings, the system achieves 130.6 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 85.5 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 48.6 FPS at 4K. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is most punishing on the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 100.7 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 35.1 FPS. This represents a 65% drop in performance, suggesting that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, which places an enormous load on the GPU's shading units, TMUs, and ROPs. The RX 7700 XT's 96 ROPs and 216 TMUs are tasked with filling and texturing those extra pixels, and the 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth becomes a bottleneck. The data implies that for 4K gaming, the user would need to significantly lower settings to achieve a playable frame rate, as even High settings only yields 48.6 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. The best performance is at 1920x1080 resolution. At Low settings, the game runs at an average of 192.3 FPS. Moving to Medium yields 152.4 FPS, High settings produce 130.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the frame rate down to 100.7 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain robust but show a more pronounced impact from the GPU load. Low settings average 128.7 FPS, Medium settings drop to 98.2 FPS, and High settings run at 85.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution produces 63.1 FPS, which is still a smooth experience for most displays. Stepping up to 3840x2160 reveals the GPU's limitations. Low settings average 68 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings drop to 53.8 FPS, and High settings fall to 48.6 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, bringing the average down to a mere 35.1 FPS. This data shows a consistent relationship between settings and resolution, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening as pixel count increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture. It boasts a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a 33 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287. Its performance places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a top-tier processor for general and multi-threaded workloads.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be more about ensuring high frame rates at lower resolutions rather than being a bottleneck at higher ones. At 1080p Low, the system hits 192.3 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine limit or the point where the CPU's single-thread performance becomes a factor. The high boost clock of 5.60 GHz is beneficial for this. However, at 4K, the frame rate is dictated by the GPU. The CPU's massive core count and high multi-threaded score (52392 in Passmark) are not directly leveraged by this game, which likely uses fewer threads. The data suggests that this CPU is more than sufficient for this title, providing ample headroom to avoid becoming the limiting factor in most scenarios. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 9115, has a similar average score of 69887, a 0.3% delta, showing that for this game, the i7-14700K's single-thread strength is more relevant than its multi-core muscle.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080 displays, the High preset offers an excellent balance, delivering 130.6 FPS. This is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate threshold and provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also viable, with 100.7 FPS, but the 30 FPS drop from High may not justify the visual gains for all users.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice, as it produces 85.5 FPS. This is smooth for most gaming experiences and provides a good balance between fidelity and performance. The Medium preset, running at 98.2 FPS, is a solid alternative for users with higher refresh rate monitors who prioritize frame rate over visual details. The Ultra preset at 63.1 FPS is playable but represents a significant compromise in smoothness. At 3840x2160, the data suggests that users should avoid the Ultra and High presets, which produce 35.1 and 48.6 FPS respectively. The Medium preset at 53.8 FPS is borderline, but the Low preset at 68 FPS is the most sensible choice for a consistent, playable experience. For a 60 Hz 4K display, Low settings are the only option that consistently stays above the threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware, this combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks 724th out of 1656 combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the upper-mid range of all tested systems. The CPU's high percentile ranking (96th) is a strong contributor, but the GPU's lower standing (73rd percentile) prevents this combo from reaching the top tiers of the ranking.

The ranking is a reflection of the balanced performance seen in the FPS data. The combo is powerful enough to deliver excellent 1080p and good 1440p performance, but it falls short of the top-tier systems that can handle 4K Ultra settings. The delta between the GPU and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, is nearly zero, meaning that swapping one for the other would likely yield a negligible change in this game's performance and ranking. This suggests that the i7-14700K has the headroom to pair with a more powerful GPU to achieve a better rank, as the current GPU is the limiting factor in more demanding scenarios. The data implies that for users seeking higher rankings, upgrading the GPU would be a more effective strategy than upgrading the CPU.