The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for modern hardware. This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, using measured frame rate data to understand how this high-end 2023 CPU and 2022 GPU handle a title from the previous console generation. The data set provides a clear picture of scaling across resolutions and presets, offering insights into where the bottlenecks lie for this particular combination.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for this combination reveals a clear hierarchy in performance across the four available presets. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers an average of 70 FPS, which is the sweet spot for a smooth experience on a 4K display. The Medium preset is also viable, producing an average of 82 FPS, but the High preset offers a more consistent frame time experience. While the Ultra preset at 4K drops to an average of 55 FPS, which is still playable, the performance cost is significant. The Low preset at 4K yields 107 FPS, but this comes at a substantial visual fidelity loss that is not justified given the High preset’s performance.

For 2560x1440, the High preset shines with an average of 128 FPS, making it the recommended choice for high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset at 149 FPS is even faster, but the jump to High is preferable for image quality. The Ultra preset at 100 FPS is still well within the playable range and offers the best visuals, but the 28 FPS drop from High suggests diminishing returns. The Low preset at 195 FPS is excessive for most displays and sacrifices too much visual detail.

At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves an average of 195 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play or high refresh rate panels. The Medium preset offers 229 FPS, but again, the visual uplift from High is worth the minor performance dip. The Ultra preset at 152 FPS is the most demanding, and while it is still very fast, it does not provide a significant advantage over High at this resolution. The Low preset at 298 FPS is purely for maximum frame rates, but it is unnecessary for typical 1080p gaming.

The data suggests that the High preset is the optimal balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. It provides a substantial improvement over Medium in terms of graphical fidelity while maintaining frame rates that are either at or above the refresh rate of most monitors. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, incurs a measurable performance penalty that makes it less attractive for this older title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the primary driver of frame rates in this configuration. Its role is defined by its large memory pool and high clocks, which are well-suited for a game like The Technomancer. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. This is more than sufficient for the textures and assets in a 2016 title, meaning the GPU is unlikely to be constrained by memory capacity or bandwidth at any of the tested resolutions.

The GPU’s base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. These high clocks are reflected in its benchmark performance, such as a Passmark G3D score of 34457 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 263779. In-game, this translates to the ability to push high frame rates, even at 4K. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 298 FPS, which is a clear indication of the GPU’s raw compute power. The fact that the RTX 4080 can achieve over 100 FPS at 4K High in a game from 2016 confirms that its architecture is more than capable of handling the workload.

The GPU’s performance scaling is consistent with its specifications. The 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 761.5 GTexel/s texture rate are the key metrics that allow it to maintain high frame rates. The 112 ROPs handle the pixel output, which is crucial for 4K resolutions. In this game, the RTX 4080 is not the limiting factor until the resolution and settings are pushed to their extreme. The data shows that the GPU is the dominant component, but its performance headroom is so vast that it often leaves the CPU to catch up.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the pattern reveals important information about the system’s bottleneck. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 195 to 128, a 34% reduction. From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at High, the average drops from 128 to 70, a 45% reduction. This scaling is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases significantly with each pixel count.

The drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced. This is due to the nature of pixel filling; 4K has over twice the pixels of 1440p. The RTX 4080’s pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s is being heavily taxed at 4K. The fact that the frame rate does not halve exactly suggests that the CPU is still providing enough data to keep the GPU fed, but the GPU is clearly the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more revealing. The jump from 1080p (298 FPS) to 1440p (195 FPS) is a 35% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (107 FPS) is a 45% drop. These percentages are nearly identical to the High settings, indicating that the performance scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. This is a strong sign that the GPU is the limiting factor across all settings, but the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the frame rates are exceptionally high.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all combinations. At 3840x2160, the results are as follows: Low preset yields an average of 107 FPS, Medium yields 82 FPS (with a minimum of 70 and maximum of 94), High yields 70 FPS, and Ultra yields 55 FPS. The frame time variance at Medium shows a range of 24 FPS, which is notable but not disruptive.

At 2560x1440, the performance is substantially higher. The Low preset achieves an average of 195 FPS, while Medium achieves 149 FPS (with a minimum of 127 and maximum of 172). The High preset delivers 128 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 100 FPS. The Medium preset’s frame range of 45 FPS indicates more variability at this resolution, but the averages remain solidly high.

At 1920x1080, the system is clearly pushing its maximum potential. The Low preset reaches an average of 298 FPS, which confirms the CPU and GPU combination. The Medium preset delivers 229 FPS (with a minimum of 194 and maximum of 263), while High produces 195 FPS. The Ultra preset still manages 152 FPS. The frame ranges at 1080p Medium (69 FPS) are larger, suggesting that the CPU is beginning to introduce some variance as it works to feed the GPU.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each preset drop from Ultra to Low yields roughly a 25-30% increase in frame rate at each resolution. This is a linear scaling that speaks to the efficiency of the game engine and the headroom of the hardware. The specific numbers, such as 298 FPS at 1080p Low, highlight the system’s capability, while 55 FPS at 4K Ultra shows the boundary of its performance envelope.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 213 out of 3696 total combos. This places it in the top 5.8% of all tested systems. The percentile ranking is a strong indicator of top-tier performance, but it is not at the absolute pinnacle, which suggests that there are other combinations that can push even higher frame rates.

The rank is influenced by both the CPU and GPU. The i9-14900K has a percentile of 95 compared to all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900KF, has a delta of -0.3%, meaning the KF is slightly faster. This shows the i9-14900K is near the top of the CPU charts but not the absolute fastest. Similarly, the RTX 4080 has a percentile of 86 against all GPUs, with its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, having a delta of 0.1%, indicating they are nearly identical in performance.

The combination’s rank of 213 suggests that while this is a very high-performance pairing, there are 212 other configurations that achieve higher average frame rates in this specific game. This could be due to the fact that The Technomancer is a 2016 title that may not fully utilize the newer architectural features of the i9-14900K, or it could be that some combinations with slightly faster GPUs (like the RTX 4080 SUPER) or CPUs edge ahead. The data indicates that this combo is exceptionally capable, but it is not the definitive best for this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use for a 4K display with this hardware?

A: The High preset is the recommended choice for 3840x2160. It delivers an average of 70 FPS, which is a solid 60+ FPS experience. The Ultra preset drops to 55 FPS, which is a 21% performance penalty for visual gains that may not be noticeable in a fast-paced game.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rate scales consistently with resolution changes, which is a hallmark of GPU limitation. However, at 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU’s contribution becomes more significant in maintaining those numbers.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in terms of overall benchmark scores?

A: In the database, the RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, has a score of 54209, resulting in a delta of 0.1%. This means the RTX 4080 is essentially on par with the SUPER variant in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 195 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 100 FPS. This is a 95 FPS difference, representing a 48.7% reduction in performance when switching from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the CPU’s 24 cores and 32 threads provide an advantage in this game?

A: The i9-14900K’s high core count does not directly translate to a massive advantage in The Technomancer. The game is from 2016 and likely uses fewer threads. However, the CPU’s high single-core performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2262.5, is more relevant for maintaining high frame rates.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RTX 4080 and a Radeon RX 6750 GRE?

A: In the benchmark data, the RTX 4080 has an average score of 54247, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB has a score of 55698. This results in a delta of -2.6%, meaning the RTX 4080 is slightly slower than the Radeon in the average benchmark score, though this is a synthetic metric and in-game results may vary.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K plays a supporting role in this configuration, ensuring the RTX 4080 is never starved of data. The CPU features 24 cores (8 performance and 16 efficiency) and 32 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.20 GHz with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. This high boost clock is critical for gaming, as it provides the single-threaded performance that older titles like The Technomancer often rely on.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 36 MB L3 cache. This large L3 cache helps to reduce memory latency and improve performance in scenarios where data needs to be quickly accessed. The CPU’s raw processing power is evident in its benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5. In this game, the multi-core score is less relevant, but the single-core score is what enables the high frame rates seen at 1080p.

The data shows that the CPU’s influence is most pronounced at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the system reaches 298 FPS on Low settings, which is a frame rate that requires a very capable CPU to feed the GPU. The fact that the frame rate drops to 195 FPS at 1080p High suggests that the CPU is still able to keep up with the GPU’s demands. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, and the CPU’s role is diminished. The CPU’s 125W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory also indicate its flexibility, but its performance in this game is primarily about delivering high single-thread performance to avoid becoming a limiting factor.