The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that stresses both modern CPU and GPU architectures. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data provides a clear picture of a mobile platform that is capable of delivering playable frame rates, though with significant compromises required at higher resolutions.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor built on the Meteor Lake architecture using Intel's 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, drawing a 28 W TDP. The processor's cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory bandwidth is rated at 89.6 GB/s over a dual-channel bus, which is directly relevant to feeding data to the GPU in a game like The Technomancer.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 and a single-core score of 1647.5. Its average benchmark score of 27507 places it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs tested. The nearest rivals show a tightly contested field; the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535, a delta of -0.1% relative to the Core Ultra 5 125H, while the Intel Core i5-12600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X both score 27578, representing a -0.3% delta. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G scores 27382, a +0.5% delta. This indicates that in raw compute, the Core Ultra 5 125H is functionally equivalent to its direct competitors, with all deltas inside one percent.

For The Technomancer, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain a stable frame delivery floor, particularly at lower resolutions where GPU load is lighter. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 150 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this scenario. However, the game is from 2016 and may not be optimized for the hybrid core topology. The single-thread performance, as shown by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1647.5, is adequate for the game's logic, but the multi-core score of 12804.5 suggests that the game likely does not leverage all 14 cores effectively. The Passmark physics score of 1439 further suggests that the CPU's game-relevant physics processing is modest, which could limit performance in scenes with heavy particle effects or destructible environments.

The 4.50 GHz boost clock is the key differentiator for this game. The Technomancer's frame pacing at high refresh rates relies on the CPU's ability to quickly process draw calls. The data shows a 150 FPS result at 1080p Low, which is a high-water mark that confirms the CPU can push frames well beyond typical display refresh rates. The 18 MB of L3 cache is beneficial for keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing latency. Overall, the CPU provides a solid foundation, but its performance is not the limiting factor in this pairing; the GPU takes over as the primary constraint as resolution and settings increase.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a chip size of 159 mm² containing 18,900 million transistors. It features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The GPU has 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, though The Technomancer predates widespread RTX adoption and likely does not utilize these features. The base clock is 1545 MHz with a boost clock of 1890 MHz. The memory subsystem is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical metric for high-resolution textures.

The GPU's compute capabilities are rated at 11.61 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16 (1:1), with a pixel rate of 90.72 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 181.4 GTexel/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 17469 in Passmark G3D and 89569 in Geekbench Vulkan. This places it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals show a close grouping: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895 on average, a -0.7% delta; the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 22549, a +0.8% delta; the Intel Arc B580 scores 23021, a -1.3% delta; and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile scores 22435, a +1.3% delta. This indicates that the RTX 4060 Mobile's raw performance is competitive with desktop-class GPUs from the previous generation.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows a sharp decline at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 28. This suggests that the memory capacity or bandwidth is being saturated at the highest settings. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest by modern standards, and the game's texture streaming at 4K likely exceeds this throughput. The boost clock of 1890 MHz is the primary driver of performance in this title, as the game relies heavily on rasterization rather than ray tracing.

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: the GPU scales with resolution but hits a wall at 4K. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 77 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 28 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The transition from 1440p High (64 FPS) to 4K High (35 FPS) represents a 45% drop, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. The GPU's performance is consistent with its synthetic scores, but the game's engine appears to be particularly sensitive to fill rate and memory bandwidth at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a consistent 60+ FPS?

A: The data shows that 1080p High delivers 99 FPS, 1080p Medium delivers 115 FPS, and 1080p Low delivers 150 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset (98 FPS) achieves above 60 FPS, while High (64 FPS) and Medium (75 FPS) are close but not consistently above the threshold. For a locked 60 FPS experience, 1440p Medium (75 FPS) is the highest resolution and setting combination that meets this criterion.

Q: How does the CPU compare to a desktop processor like the Intel Core i5-12600K?

A: The Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27507, while the Core i5-12600K scores 27578. The delta is -0.3%, indicating that the mobile CPU is statistically identical in synthetic performance. In game results, this translates to no measurable CPU-bound difference at 1080p Low, where the combo achieves 150 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 Mobile more powerful than an RTX 2080?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22729, while the RTX 2080 scores 22895. The delta is -0.7%, meaning the RTX 4060 Mobile is slightly slower on average. In The Technomancer, this places the mobile GPU in the same performance class as the older desktop card.

Q: What is the impact of Ultra settings compared to High at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the High preset yields 64 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 50 FPS. This is a 22% drop in frame rate for the Ultra preset. The Ultra preset likely increases shadow quality and post-processing effects, which disproportionately impacts the GPU's fill rate.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: The data shows that 4K is only playable at Low settings, with 54 FPS. At Medium, the average drops to 41 FPS, and at High it is 35 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K produce an average of 28 FPS, which is not smooth. Therefore, 4K is only viable with significant visual compromises.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 125H perform in single-threaded tasks relevant to gaming?

A: The CPU scores 1647.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 3399 in Passmark single-thread. These scores are in line with its rivals, as the nearest rival deltas are all within 0.5%, indicating that it provides adequate single-thread responsiveness for game logic and draw call submission.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile combination is ranked 2257 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, specifically at the 61st percentile of the tested field. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component performance, but it reflects the game's demanding nature on the GPU at higher settings.

The rank suggests that while the CPU is in the 79th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU is in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, the combination is hindered by the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus. The measured FPS data confirms this: the combo falls below 60 FPS at 1440p High and below 30 FPS at 4K Ultra. Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is more capable than those with lower-tier GPUs, but it does not compete with high-end desktop configurations that feature larger memory bandwidth.

The rank of 2257 out of 3696 indicates that there are 1439 combos that perform worse, but also 2256 that perform better. This places the combo in a mid-tier position, where it excels at 1080p and handles 1440p with reduced settings, but struggles at 4K. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the combo's performance scales consistently with GPU load across resolutions. The ranking is a direct result of the GPU's memory constraints, which become more pronounced as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1080p with the High preset, which delivers 99 FPS. This provides a smooth frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 115 FPS, which is beneficial for high-refresh-rate displays, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often noticeable in a game like The Technomancer.

For users with a 1440p display, the Medium preset is the best choice, yielding 75 FPS. This is above 60 FPS and provides a good balance between performance and image quality. The High preset at 1440p drops to 64 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for frame drops in intense scenes. The Low preset at 1440p achieves 98 FPS, but the visual quality is significantly reduced, making it a less desirable option unless frame rate is the sole priority.

At 4K, the data shows that only the Low preset is viable, with 54 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 41 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold. Therefore, for 4K, users must accept Low settings to maintain playability. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution due to its steep performance cost: 77 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 28 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset offers diminishing returns over High, and the frame rate penalty is substantial.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers the following average frame rates: Low at 150 FPS, Medium at 115 FPS (with a minimum of 98 FPS and maximum of 133 FPS), High at 99 FPS, and Ultra at 77 FPS. This shows a clear scaling pattern, with Ultra delivering a 49% reduction in frame rate compared to Low.

At 1440p, the average frame rates are: Low at 98 FPS, Medium at 75 FPS (with a minimum of 64 FPS and maximum of 87 FPS), High at 64 FPS, and Ultra at 50 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with a 35% reduction at Low, a 35% reduction at Medium, a 35% reduction at High, and a 35% reduction at Ultra.

At 4K, the average frame rates are: Low at 54 FPS, Medium at 41 FPS (with a minimum of 35 FPS and maximum of 48 FPS), High at 35 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more severe, with a 45% reduction at Low, a 45% reduction at Medium, a 45% reduction at High, and a 44% reduction at Ultra. This confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

The minimum FPS data points are only provided for the Medium preset: 98 FPS at 1080p, 64 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. These minimums indicate that the frame pacing is stable, with no severe stutters, even at the demanding 4K Medium setting. The maximum FPS values at Medium are 133 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K, showing that the GPU has some headroom to produce higher frames in less demanding scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component in this combo. At 1080p, the average FPS across all settings is approximately 110 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to approximately 72 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 4K, the average drops to approximately 40 FPS, a 45% reduction from 1440p and a 64% reduction from 1080p.

The scaling is not linear, which indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth is the primary constraint. A linear scaling would predict a 56% reduction from 1080p to 4K (based on pixel count), but the observed reduction is 64%, which is higher than expected. This suggests that the 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes saturated at 4K, causing the GPU to stall on texture fetches.

The CPU has less influence on this scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 150 FPS, which is a CPU-bound scenario. However, the CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution, as evidenced by the high frame rate. At 4K, the CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU, as the frame rate drops to 28 FPS at Ultra. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth of the CPU is not a factor in this game, as the GPU's memory bus is the bottleneck.

The data shows that the RTX 4060 Mobile is best utilized at 1080p and 1440p, where its 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are adequate. At 4K, the GPU's memory subsystem is overwhelmed, leading to a disproportionate drop in performance. The Core Ultra 5 125H, with its 14 cores and 18 threads, provides ample compute headroom, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's memory limitations. This combo is therefore a 1080p and 1440p solution, with 4K only possible at Low settings.