The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical presets. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 across a matrix of settings, using only the provided benchmark data to interpret the results. The data shows a system capable of high refresh rate gaming at 1080p, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the increasing dominance of the GPU as pixel count rises. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 111 FPS at 1920x1080 to 72 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 40 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 44% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear; the jump to 4K nearly halves the performance seen at 1440p, indicating that the GeForce RTX 4070's rendering workload becomes the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Examining the Low settings preset provides a clearer picture of the CPU's headroom. At Low settings, the system achieves 169 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K. The frame rate still drops significantly with resolution, but the absolute values are much higher. This suggests that even at 4K Low, the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the GPU is still able to produce over 60 FPS. The difference between the High and Low presets at the same resolution highlights the GPU's workload: at 1080p, High settings are 58 FPS slower than Low, and at 4K, High settings are 21 FPS slower. This gap widens as resolution increases, confirming that the pixel fill rate and shading demands are the primary constraints.

The Medium preset offers the only complete min/max FPS data in the pack, showing a range of 110-149 FPS at 1080p, 72-97 FPS at 1440p, and 40-53 FPS at 4K. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS is roughly 30% at each resolution, indicating a consistent level of frame time variance. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (40) is equal to the average FPS at 4K High, which shows that the step from Medium to High at 4K costs more than just a few frames; it pushes the experience into a less stable territory. The data suggests that for a smooth experience, users should prioritize resolution scaling over preset quality when the target is 4K.

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. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 12804.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1647.5 in single-core, placing it in the 79th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, has an average score of 27535, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the Intel chip is essentially on par with that desktop processor in general compute tasks.

For gaming, the single-core performance is often more critical than raw multi-core throughput. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 241 and PassMark single-thread score of 3399 indicate a solid foundation for game logic and physics. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache is also a positive factor for gaming workloads, as it reduces the latency of frequently accessed data. The processor's 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for feeding the GPU, and the data shows it does not appear to bottleneck the RTX 4070 in this game at lower resolutions.

The benchmark results indicate that the CPU's role in The Technomancer is to maintain a high enough frame rate ceiling. At 1080p Low, the system hits 169 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that many CPUs would struggle to feed. The fact that this system achieves this suggests the 125H's single-thread performance and cache configuration are adequate for the game's engine. However, the deltaPct comparison to rivals shows it is not a standout performer; it sits within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G, which is a much lower-tier chip. This implies that while the CPU is capable, it is not the primary driver of high frame rates in this specific title. The GPU is clearly the dominant component, as evidenced by the dramatic FPS changes when adjusting resolution and settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the clear performance driver in this configuration. Based on the Ada Lovelace architecture and built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, it features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. Its boost clock is 2475 MHz, and it has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 26927, placing it in the 81st percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 37648 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, delta 0.1%), but it is 1.3% behind the GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile.

The GPU's VRAM capacity of 12 GB and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are critical for The Technomancer at high resolutions. The measured performance shows that at 4K Ultra, the system only manages 31 FPS, which is a clear indication that the GPU is being overwhelmed by the combination of high pixel count and maximum visual fidelity. The 4K High preset (40 FPS) and 4K Medium preset (47 FPS) are also below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that the GPU's raw compute power is the limiting factor at this resolution. The texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s are high, but The Technomancer's demands at 4K Ultra exceed what this mobile-class GPU can deliver.

The GPU's performance scales well with reduced settings. Dropping from High to Low at 1080p yields a 58 FPS increase (111 to 169), and at 4K, the same settings change yields a 21 FPS increase (40 to 61). This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where lowering settings reduces the shading and texture work required. The GeForce RTX 4070's FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS is substantial, but the data shows it is not enough to handle the game at 4K with high-quality settings, making it a 1440p-class card for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a clear matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system is highly capable. The Low preset achieves an average of 169 FPS, Medium reaches 130 FPS (with a min of 110 and max of 149), High hits 111 FPS, and Ultra still manages a very playable 86 FPS. All presets at 1080p are above the 60 FPS threshold, with even the most demanding Ultra preset offering a comfortable margin for high refresh rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but with a noticeable step down. Low settings produce 110 FPS, Medium averages 85 FPS (min 72, max 97), High drops to 72 FPS, and Ultra falls to 56 FPS. This resolution is where the Ultra preset starts to show its limits, falling just below the 60 FPS mark. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 1440p, the High preset is the most demanding option that still meets that target.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly taxed. Low settings are the only preset that breaks the 60 FPS barrier, averaging 61 FPS. Medium settings average 47 FPS (min 40, max 53), High settings average 40 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 31 FPS. None of the presets above Low provide a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K represents a 30 FPS swing (61 to 31), which is a significant performance penalty for the visual quality gains. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable with the Low preset, or if the user is willing to tolerate frame rates in the 40s.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1497 out of 2825 tested combos. This places it in the 53rd percentile of all systems tested for this game. The ranking indicates that while this is not a top-tier configuration for this title, it is also not a poor one; it sits squarely in the middle of the pack.

The rank suggests that many other CPU and GPU combinations outperform this setup, likely due to more powerful desktop-class components. However, given that the GPU is a mobile part with a 200 W TDP, its performance is respectable. The combo's position is more reflective of the GPU's limitations at 4K than any CPU deficiency. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 is comparable to desktop parts, but the GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus are less than what high-end desktop cards offer.

The deltaPct comparisons for the individual components are informative. The CPU is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (delta -0.1%), while the GPU is virtually tied with the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (delta 0.1%) in average benchmark score. This suggests the system's overall ranking is hindered by the GPU's position relative to other tested graphics cards. The combo rank of 1497/2825 indicates that there are 1328 configurations that perform better, likely with higher-tier desktop GPUs, and 1328 that perform worse. This middle-of-the-road position is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows excellent 1080p performance but struggles at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60 FPS?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the system averages 72 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (61 FPS) achieves an average above 60 FPS. Therefore, 1440p is the highest resolution that offers a comfortable 60 FPS experience with quality settings.

Q: How much of a performance hit is the Ultra preset compared to High?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra (86 FPS) is 25 FPS slower than High (111 FPS). At 2560x1440, Ultra (56 FPS) is 16 FPS slower than High (72 FPS). At 3840x2160, Ultra (31 FPS) is 9 FPS slower than High (40 FPS). The absolute difference shrinks as resolution increases, but the relative penalty remains significant.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in The Technomancer?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. Evidence for this is the large FPS drop when moving from 1440p to 4K at the same settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would not drop as dramatically with resolution. The CPU's high single-thread score of 3399 in PassMark supports its ability to feed frames at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the minimum FPS observed at 4K Medium settings?

A: The measured data for 3840x2160 with Medium settings shows an average FPS of 47, with a minimum FPS of 40 and a maximum of 53. This indicates that frame times can spike, potentially causing stutter.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27507. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, has an average score of 27535, which is a delta of -0.1%. This means the two processors are statistically tied in overall compute performance.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for 4K gaming?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory. While this is a substantial amount, the measured 4K performance is poor, with High settings only reaching 40 FPS. The low frame rates suggest that the GPU's compute throughput, rather than VRAM capacity, is the primary constraint at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend on the user's target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 86 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high refresh rate displays. The High preset at 111 FPS is also excellent, but Ultra provides the full visual experience without a significant performance drawback.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice. It achieves an average of 72 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target and offers a substantial visual improvement over Medium (85 FPS) without the performance penalty of Ultra (56 FPS). The Ultra preset at this resolution is not recommended for a smooth experience, as it falls below 60 FPS. Users with 60 Hz monitors might consider Ultra, but the data suggests High is the sweet spot for a balance of quality and frame rate.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only option that provides a playable average frame rate of 61 FPS. The Medium preset (47 FPS) and High preset (40 FPS) are below the 60 FPS target and will result in a less smooth experience. While the visual quality at Low is reduced, it is the only way to achieve a consistent frame rate at this resolution. Users who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness may choose Medium, but they should be prepared for frame rates in the 40s. The data clearly indicates that this combo is not suited for high-quality 4K gaming in The Technomancer.