The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination. The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but which can deliver very high frame rates when the settings are tuned appropriately. This analysis breaks down the measured performance to determine the optimal configuration for this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for this game, with the sweet spot for balancing visual fidelity and performance being the High preset at 1440p. At this resolution, the combo produces an average of 64.5 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth, responsive gameplay. This is a significant jump from the Ultra preset, which drops to 50.3 FPS, a 28% reduction in frame rate for what is often a marginal visual gain in a title from this era. The data shows that Ultra settings impose a heavy cost on the GPU, and the performance headroom is better spent on resolution or stability.

For users with 1080p displays, the High preset is also the recommended starting point, as it delivers an excellent 100.8 FPS average. This leaves substantial headroom for more demanding scenes. While the Ultra preset at 1080p achieves 81.7 FPS, the jump from High to Ultra represents a 19% performance penalty. Given that the game’s visual improvements from High to Ultra are typically subtle, the High preset is the more efficient choice, ensuring a higher minimum frame rate and a more consistent experience.

The Medium preset is a viable fallback for those who prioritize higher refresh rates. At 1080p, it yields 122.1 FPS, and at 1440p, it produces 78.1 FPS. However, the visual step down from High to Medium is more noticeable. The Low preset, while offering the highest frame rates (159.3 FPS at 1080p and 105 FPS at 1440p), should only be considered for competitive play where every frame counts, as the graphical compromises are significant. For the vast majority of players, the High preset at either 1080p or 1440p offers the best balance of image quality and performance, avoiding the diminishing returns seen with the Ultra preset.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested hardware combinations for The Technomancer, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER holds a rank of 1028 out of 1656 combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems. This ranking is a direct result of the RTX 2070 SUPER being the limiting factor. The CPU is a top-tier part, with an average benchmark score of 70074, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD EPYC 9115, have nearly identical average scores, with delta percentages of 0% and 0.3% respectively.

The GPU, however, tells a different story. The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 22206, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its performance is closely matched by the NVIDIA RTX A400 (deltaPct -0.5%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (deltaPct 0.9%). The combo’s rank of 1028 indicates that while it is a capable setup, it is outclassed by many other pairings that feature more powerful graphics cards. The data suggests that the system’s overall performance in this game is constrained by the GPU, and that a more powerful graphics card would dramatically improve its standing. The i7-14700K is providing ample processing power, but it is being held back by the 2070 SUPER’s limits.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the pivotal component in this configuration for The Technomancer. The data shows that its performance is the primary determinant of the frame rates across all settings and resolutions. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for the game’s demands, as the measured scores do not indicate a capacity bottleneck at the tested settings.

The GPU’s clock speeds are set at a base of 1605 MHz with a boost of 1770 MHz. These clocks, combined with its 2560 shading units, allow it to produce a range of results that scale predictably with graphical load. The data shows a clear relationship between the GPU’s workload and the resulting FPS. For example, at 1440p, the frame rate drops from 105 FPS at Low to 50.3 FPS at Ultra, a 52% reduction. This scaling is a classic sign of a GPU that is being pushed to its limits as the settings increase. The GPU is not a bottleneck at lower settings, but it becomes the primary constraint as the visual demands rise. The RTX 2070 SUPER is an end-of-life product, and its age is reflected in its performance here, where it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, even at the Low preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across different resolutions and presets. At 1080p, the combo is capable of excellent performance. The Low preset delivers a very high 159.3 FPS, while Medium and High presets produce 122.1 FPS and 100.8 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset, while still playable, drops to 81.7 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the system has considerable headroom, and users can comfortably use the High preset to maintain a high refresh rate experience.

Moving to 1440p, the demands on the GPU increase significantly. The Low preset still delivers a fluid 105 FPS, and the Medium preset is playable at 78.1 FPS. The High preset provides a solid 64.5 FPS, which is the recommended baseline for a good experience. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 50.3 FPS, which is starting to approach the lower limit for smooth action gameplay. At 4K, the RTX 2070 SUPER is clearly overextended. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with an average of 53.6 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 45.3 FPS, and the High preset falls below the playable threshold at 37.3 FPS. The Ultra preset is not a viable option, producing an average of only 31 FPS. This breakdown shows a system that is well-suited for 1080p and capable at 1440p, but not designed for 4K gaming.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU-bound nature of this system. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 100.8 FPS at 1080p to 64.5 FPS at 1440p, a 36% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops from 64.5 FPS to 37.3 FPS, a further 42% decrease. This significant scaling penalty is a classic indicator that the GPU is the limiting component.

The same pattern is evident at the Ultra preset, where the frame rate falls from 81.7 FPS at 1080p to 50.3 FPS at 1440p, and then to 31 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the frame rate drops by roughly half when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings. This is a far more severe drop than would be expected if the CPU were the primary bottleneck. If the Intel Core i7-14700K were the limiting factor, the performance difference between resolutions would be much smaller, as the CPU’s workload would remain consistent. Instead, the data shows a direct correlation between the number of pixels being rendered and the resulting frame rate, which is the definitive signature of a GPU-limited scenario. The i7-14700K is clearly capable of feeding the GPU with data, but the RTX 2070 SUPER simply cannot process the increased pixel load at higher resolutions. This analysis confirms that the graphics card is the primary constraint for this combination in The Technomancer.