The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical presets. The data for the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER shows a configuration that is clearly limited by the GPU at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial headroom becomes more apparent at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, component roles, and how this specific combination ranks against others in the benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a classic case of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination achieves an average of 140.2 FPS, indicating a highly responsive experience. As the resolution increases to 1440p, the same Low preset drops to 94.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 32%. Moving to 4K at Low settings yields 51.2 FPS, which is a further 46% decrease from the 1440p figure. This steep decline is characteristic of a system where the rendering load is outpacing the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities.

The pattern becomes even more pronounced when examining the High preset. At 1080p High, the average is 94.5 FPS, which is a playable and smooth performance. However, stepping up to 1440p High brings the average down to 62.7 FPS, a 34% drop. At 4K High, the average plummets to 31.1 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The progression from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows a consistent and heavy toll on the GPU, with the pixel count increase directly translating to a nearly linear reduction in frame rate.

This scaling behavior indicates that the limiting component is overwhelmingly the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER. The Intel Core i7-14700K, with its high core count and boost clock, is not the bottleneck in this scenario. The data suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with data faster than the GPU can process it, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are saturated. The difference between the 1080p and 4K results is not a matter of CPU overhead but purely a function of the GPU's raw rendering throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 94.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 50.1 FPS. This is a performance cost of 44.8 FPS, or approximately a 47% reduction in frame rate for the highest visual quality settings.

Q: Can this combination maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: No. The highest average FPS recorded at 3840x2160 is 51.2 FPS on the Low preset. All other presets at 4K fall below 60 FPS, with High at 31.1 FPS, Medium at 40.5 FPS, and Ultra at 24.7 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, has an average score of 19680, resulting in a deltaPct of 0.5, meaning the 2060 SUPER is slightly ahead in this metric.

Q: What is the best preset for a smooth 60+ FPS experience at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080, the Low, Medium, and High presets all achieve average frame rates above 60 FPS. Specifically, Low averages 140.2 FPS, Medium averages 112.1 FPS, and High averages 94.5 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only one that falls short, with an average of 70.4 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The RTX 2060 SUPER has a percentile rank of 63 against all GPUs, while the i7-14700K has a percentile rank of 96 against all CPUs. The significant frame rate drops with increasing resolution point to GPU saturation.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K on the Medium preset?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average frame rate is 112.1 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 40.5 FPS. This represents a reduction of 71.6 FPS, or roughly a 64% decrease in performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture and the TU106 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz. These specifications dictate its ability to handle the pixel and texture throughput required by The Technomancer.

The benchmark results for the GPU show a PassMark G3D score of 16462 and a PassMark DirectX 12 score of 61. In the context of this game, the GPU's role is to manage the rendering pipeline. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a relevant factor, as The Technomancer at 4K with Ultra settings is likely to demand significant memory resources. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is just 24.7 FPS, suggesting the GPU is heavily taxed by both the resolution and the high-detail assets.

The GPU's performance percentile against all GPUs is 63, placing it in the upper mid-range tier. Its nearest rival, the RTX 2070, has a near-identical average benchmark score, indicating that they are in the same performance class. In practice, this means the RTX 2060 SUPER will provide a consistent, but not exceptional, experience in this game. The frame rate data confirms this, showing that it is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 140.2 FPS for Low, 112.1 FPS for Medium, 94.5 FPS for High, and 70.4 FPS for Ultra. This shows a clear and consistent degradation in performance as visual fidelity increases, but all presets remain above 60 FPS, making 1080p a comfortable zone for this hardware.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results are 94.9 FPS for Low, 70.6 FPS for Medium, 62.7 FPS for High, and 50.1 FPS for Ultra. Here, the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, and the High preset is just barely above it. This resolution represents the edge of the GPU's comfort zone, where users will need to balance visual quality against frame rate. The Low preset remains highly playable, indicating the CPU is still not a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The averages are 51.2 FPS for Low, 40.5 FPS for Medium, 31.1 FPS for High, and 24.7 FPS for Ultra. No preset at 4K reaches 60 FPS, and even the Low preset struggles to maintain a smooth 60 FPS experience. This resolution is clearly too demanding for the RTX 2060 SUPER in this title, requiring significant compromises in settings to achieve playable frame rates. The data shows a linear and steep drop-off as resolution increases, confirming the GPU is the dominant constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1194 out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the ranking distribution. Given the GPU's percentile rank of 63, this ranking is expected, as the system's overall gaming performance is largely dictated by the graphics card.

The ranking suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier performer, the GPU holds the system back in this specific game. The i7-14700K's high average benchmark score of 70074 and its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicate that it is not contributing to a lower rank. Instead, the RTX 2060 SUPER's mid-range standing, relative to other GPUs in the database, is the primary reason for the combo's position. The frame rate data supports this, showing that the system's limitations are directly tied to the GPU's rendering capabilities at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has 33 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores are substantial, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287, along with a PassMark multithread score of 52392.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. The data indicates that the i7-14700K is not a bottleneck in this configuration. The frame rates at 1080p, which are high for all presets, suggest that the CPU is easily keeping up with the GPU's output. The consistent frame rate drops with increasing resolution are a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has spare capacity.

The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, has a deltaPct of 0, indicating identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is slightly ahead with a deltaPct of -0.5, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 is behind with a deltaPct of -1.4. This high level of performance ensures that the CPU will not limit the gaming experience, even in CPU-intensive titles. For this game, the i7-14700K provides a stable foundation, allowing the RTX 2060 SUPER to operate up to its full potential without being held back by processor limitations.