The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, places heavy demands on the hardware it runs on, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and AMD Radeon 760M demonstrates the limits of an integrated graphics solution in this title. The measured data indicates that this pairing, while capable of running the game, requires careful settings management to achieve playable frame rates. This analysis breaks down the performance characteristics of this specific combo, focusing on the measured FPS across resolutions and presets, and contextualizing the results within the broader benchmark database.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data for The Technomancer, the optimal experience for this hardware combination is found at the 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset. The data shows an average of 48 FPS at these settings, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches a smooth 60 FPS target. While the High preset at 1080p delivers an average of 32 FPS, the jump to Low provides a substantial 50% performance increase, making it the only viable option for consistent gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p yields an average of 37 FPS, but the Low setting still offers a meaningful 11 FPS advantage, which translates to a significantly more responsive experience in a game that demands quick reactions.

For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p is the highest quality setting that remains playable, with an average of 37 FPS and a minimum of 32 FPS. This represents a compromise, as the data shows a clear 16 FPS gap between Low and High presets at 1080p, indicating that the Radeon 760M is the primary bottleneck. The Ultra preset at 1080p, averaging only 25 FPS, is not recommended for actual gameplay, as it falls below the threshold for smooth action. At higher resolutions, the situation degrades further; the 2560x1440 Low preset averages 32 FPS, which is playable but inconsistent, while the 3840x2160 Low preset drops to 17 FPS, making it unsuitable for anything but static screenshots. The measured data strongly suggests that 1080p Low is the sweet spot, providing the best balance between playability and visual clarity for this integrated GPU solution.

How This Combo Ranks

The performance of this Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and AMD Radeon 760M combination is ranked 2817 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom percentile of all systems in the database. This rank of 2817 out of 2825 means that only eight other hardware combinations perform worse in this specific game, underscoring the significant limitations of this mobile-focused setup for a demanding title. The data indicates that this combo is not designed for high-end gaming, and its position reflects the inherent constraints of an integrated GPU that shares system memory.

When examining the components individually, the CPU's benchmark percentile is 79, meaning it outperforms 79% of all processors in the database, while the GPU's percentile is 35, indicating it only outperforms 35% of all graphics cards. This stark contrast highlights the fundamental imbalance of this pairing for gaming workloads. The CPU is a relatively strong performer, but the GPU is the limiting factor, dragging the overall combo ranking down. The nearest rival for the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 6400, has an average score of 6001, which is only 0.3% higher than the Radeon 760M's average, yet the Radeon 760M's performance in this game is still insufficient for high refresh rate gaming. The combo rank of 2817 out of 2825 is a clear signal that users seeking a playable The Technomancer experience should look for dedicated graphics solutions, as this integrated approach is fundamentally constrained.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 760M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process node at TSMC. It features 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation pipelines, with 8 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 800 MHz and boosts up to 2599 MHz, which is a significant dynamic range that allows it to scale performance based on thermal and power headroom. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning the GPU uses the same DDR5 memory as the CPU, with bandwidth that is described as system-dependent. This shared memory architecture is a critical bottleneck, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which is particularly detrimental in a game like The Technomancer that appears to be memory-sensitive.

The GPU's benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 5310 and a Passmark DirectX 11 score of 52, which are modest figures that place it in the 35th percentile of all GPUs. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 400 further confirms its entry-level positioning. In the context of The Technomancer, the measured FPS data reveals that the GPU is the dominant constraint. At 1080p, reducing the settings from Ultra to Low increases the average FPS from 25 to 48, a 92% improvement, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The GPU's 16 ROPs and 32 TMUs are simply insufficient to handle the pixel and texture fill rates required by higher presets. The boost clock of 2599 MHz helps at lower resolutions, but the fundamental lack of dedicated VRAM and the reliance on system memory bandwidth caps its potential. The data shows that the Radeon 760M is only capable of delivering playable frame rates at the lowest settings and resolution, confirming its role as a limiting factor in this system.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for The Technomancer provides a comprehensive view of this combo's capabilities across different resolutions and quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 48 FPS, with no minimum or maximum values recorded. The Medium preset drops to an average of 37 FPS, with a minimum of 32 and a maximum of 43 FPS, indicating some frame time variance. High settings at 1080p average 32 FPS, while Ultra settings average 25 FPS. This progression shows a clear linear relationship between quality and performance, with each step up in preset costing roughly 5-10 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset's minimum of 32 FPS is notable, as it suggests that even at this moderate setting, the system can experience dips that might be noticeable during intense combat scenes.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly across all presets. The Low preset averages 32 FPS, which is identical to the 1080p High preset, demonstrating that resolution scaling has a similar impact to a full quality preset change. Medium at 1440p averages 24 FPS, with a minimum of 21 and maximum of 28 FPS. High settings at 1440p average 21 FPS, and Ultra settings average only 16 FPS. The jump from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings represents a 33% reduction in frame rate, from 48 to 32 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low settings average 17 FPS, Medium averages 13 FPS (with a minimum of 11 and maximum of 15), High averages 11 FPS, and Ultra averages just 9 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K resolution is completely out of reach for this hardware combination, as even the lowest settings fail to break the 20 FPS barrier. The data across all three resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the Radeon 760M is overwhelmed by the demands of The Technomancer, and only the 1080p Low preset provides a remotely satisfactory experience.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling analysis reveals a steep performance drop as pixel count increases, which is a clear indicator of GPU-bound performance. The data shows that at Low settings, the average FPS decreases from 48 at 1080p to 32 at 1440p, and then to 17 at 4K. This represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is even more severe, with a 47% decrease in frame rate. These percentages highlight the GPU's inability to handle the increased pixel throughput required at higher resolutions. The 4K resolution has approximately 4.5 times the pixels of 1080p, and the measured FPS at 4K Low (17 FPS) is roughly 35% of the 1080p Low performance (48 FPS), which is a far larger drop than the pixel count would suggest if the system were purely pixel-bound.

This non-linear scaling indicates that the Radeon 760M is not just limited by pixel fill rate, but also by memory bandwidth and other architectural constraints. At 1080p, the GPU can leverage its boost clock of 2599 MHz to achieve 48 FPS at Low settings, but as resolution increases, the shared system memory becomes a severe bottleneck. The data shows that the difference between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings is 13 FPS (37 vs 24), while the difference between 1440p and 4K at Medium settings is 11 FPS (24 vs 13). This suggests that the performance degradation is somewhat consistent per resolution step, but the absolute frame rates become so low that gameplay is impossible. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that this combo is only viable at 1080p, and even then, only at the lowest quality preset. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU's strong benchmark scores cannot compensate for the integrated graphics' lack of raw power and memory bandwidth.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process node by Intel. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a thermal design power of 28 W. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which is shared with the integrated GPU. In CPU benchmark tests, the Core Ultra 5 125H achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 and a single-core score of 1647.5, along with a Passmark multi-thread score of 21100 and a single-thread score of 3399. These scores place the CPU in the 79th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 27507.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 with a delta of -0.1%, the Intel Core i5-12600K with a delta of -0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X with a delta of -0.3%, all of which are within a fraction of a percent of its average score. This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 125H is a competitive mobile processor that offers solid multi-threaded performance. However, in The Technomancer, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 48 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited in terms of maximum achievable frame rate, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as soon as settings are increased. The CPU's 14 cores and 18 threads are more than sufficient for this game's threading model, as evidenced by the high Cinebench scores. The 4.50 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded tasks, which are common in game logic and physics, are handled efficiently. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo; rather, the Radeon 760M's integrated graphics are the primary constraint. If paired with a discrete GPU, the Core Ultra 5 125H would likely deliver significantly higher frame rates in The Technomancer, as its computational capabilities are far ahead of the GPU's. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth, while shared, is sufficient for the CPU's needs, but the GPU's demands for the same bandwidth create a conflict that further hampers gaming performance. Overall, the CPU is a strong performer that is held back by its integrated graphics counterpart in this specific gaming scenario.