The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but exhibits a nuanced relationship between CPU and GPU at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics across resolutions, settings, and component roles, using only the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 163 FPS at 1920x1080 to 107 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 59 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear; the jump to 4K is particularly punishing, which is typical for a game of this era where the rendering load expands significantly with resolution.

Looking at Low settings, the trend is even more pronounced. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 249, which drops to 162 at 2560x1440 and then to 89 at 3840x2160. The absolute frame rates are higher, but the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is a substantial 64%. This suggests that even when the graphical load is minimized, the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth at 4K become the bottleneck. The RTX 5070, with its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is being saturated by the sheer number of pixels at 4K.

The gap between settings narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 122 FPS (249 vs 127). At 4K, that gap shrinks to 43 FPS (89 vs 46). This compression of performance at 4K is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario. When the GPU is the bottleneck, the impact of CPU-side settings like draw distance or physics is diminished, and the frame rate is dictated almost entirely by the GPU's ability to process pixels. The data shows that the RTX 5070 is a capable card for 1440p gaming in this title, but 4K pushes it to its limits, especially with higher preset levels.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear picture of which settings offer the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 191 FPS with a minimum of 162 FPS. This is a very smooth experience, and the headroom above 60 FPS is substantial. Moving to High yields 163 FPS, which is still excellent, but the 28 FPS difference between Medium and High suggests that the visual gains at High might not justify the performance cost for players seeking the highest possible frame rates on a high-refresh-rate monitor.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset produces 125 FPS average with a minimum of 106 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this resolution, as it remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for demanding scenes. The High preset at 107 FPS is also viable, but the minimum frame rates are not recorded, making it harder to guarantee consistency. The Ultra preset at 83 FPS is playable, but the drop from Medium is significant, and the lack of a recorded minimum frame rate for Ultra introduces uncertainty. For a competitive or high-refresh experience at 1440p, Medium appears to be the most reliable choice based on the available data.

The situation changes at 3840x2160. The Medium preset yields an average of 69 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS, making it the only preset that consistently stays above the 60 FPS mark. High settings average 59 FPS, which dips below the ideal threshold. Low settings are faster at 89 FPS, but likely come with a substantial visual penalty. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of 46 FPS, which is not suitable for smooth gameplay. Therefore, for 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended default, as it provides a playable frame rate without resorting to the lowest visual quality settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 features 10 cores and 10 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This configuration is modern and capable, but its role in The Technomancer appears to be secondary to the GPU. The benchmark results show that the game is not heavily CPU-bound at higher resolutions, as the frame rate scaling is primarily tied to resolution and settings. However, at 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS of 249 suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding frames to the GPU at a very high rate.

The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655, indicate strong performance. Its percentile rank of 85 among all CPUs confirms that it is a high-performing processor. In the context of this game, the 10-core design likely helps with background tasks and game logic, but the fact that the frame rate drops so dramatically with resolution points to the GPU being the limiting factor. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is still capable of pushing frame rates high enough that the GPU becomes the primary constraint once settings are increased. For instance, the jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p results in a drop from 249 to 127 FPS, a change of 122 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is doing significantly more work at Ultra, and the CPU is not holding it back. The Core Ultra 5 225's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, have nearly identical average benchmark scores (deltaPct of 0 and -0.2 respectively), which suggests that any of these CPUs would perform similarly in this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for a consistent 60+ FPS experience with this combo in The Technomancer?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides an average of 125 FPS and a minimum of 106 FPS, ensuring a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, only the Medium preset (69 FPS average, 58 FPS minimum) reliably stays above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 5070's performance compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070's average benchmark score is 40377. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, has a score of 40318, a deltaPct of 0.1. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 39568, a deltaPct of 2, meaning the RTX 5070 is about 2% faster. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 scores 40063, a deltaPct of 0.8.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the main bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p. The FPS drops significantly from 1080p to 4K (e.g., 163 to 59 at High settings), demonstrating that the RTX 5070 struggles with the increased pixel count. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, as evidenced by the 249 FPS average at Low settings.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 162 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. This is a difference of 79 FPS, or roughly a 49% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the Core Ultra 5 225 have a high enough single-core performance for this game?

A: The Core Ultra 5 225 has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655. Given that the game achieves 249 FPS at 1080p Low settings, the single-core performance appears more than adequate. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU at higher settings and resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for The Technomancer?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination ranks 532 out of 2825 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 19% of all systems.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing for The Technomancer. With 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus and a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, its memory subsystem is robust. The GPU's clocks are 2325 MHz base and 2512 MHz boost, and it has 6144 shading units. These specifications contribute to its measured performance, which shows a clear scaling pattern with resolution and settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Passmark G3D score of 29137 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077. Its percentile rank of 82 among all GPUs indicates it is a high-end part. However, the game's performance at 4K Ultra (46 FPS) shows that it is not an absolute powerhouse for this specific title. The game appears to be highly demanding on the GPU's pixel processing capabilities, as the frame rate drops by 122 FPS from Low to Ultra at 1080p and by 43 FPS at 4K for the same settings change.

The RTX 5070's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, have similar average benchmark scores (deltaPct of 0.1 and 0.8, respectively). This suggests that the RTX 5070's performance is comparable to these prosumer cards in general tasks. In The Technomancer specifically, the GPU's role is to render the scene, and the data shows that it can handle 1440p with high settings (107 FPS) and 4K with medium settings (69 FPS), but it is stretched at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination:

• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Ultra: 46 FPS average
• High: 59 FPS average
• Medium: 69 FPS average (min 58, max 79)
• Low: 89 FPS average

• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Ultra: 83 FPS average
• High: 107 FPS average
• Medium: 125 FPS average (min 106, max 143)
• Low: 162 FPS average

• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Ultra: 127 FPS average
• High: 163 FPS average
• Medium: 191 FPS average (min 162, max 220)
• Low: 249 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: for each resolution, the FPS decreases as settings increase. The minimum and maximum values are only recorded for the Medium preset, which helps establish a performance envelope for that setting. At 1080p Medium, the frame time variance is from 162 to 220 FPS, indicating a stable experience. At 1440p Medium, the range is 106 to 143 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 58 to 79 FPS. These ranges suggest that the Medium preset offers the most consistent frame pacing across all resolutions, which is crucial for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination ranks 532 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the 81st percentile of all systems tested, meaning it outperforms roughly 81% of the other configurations in the database for this specific game. This is a strong ranking, indicating that this pairing is well-suited for the title.

Given that the game is from 2016, it is not surprising that a modern high-end CPU and a current-generation GPU can achieve high frame rates. The rank of 532 suggests that while this combo is very capable, there are still 531 other combinations that perform better. These likely include systems with more powerful GPUs, such as those with higher memory bandwidth or more shading units. The combination's rank is a holistic measure of its ability to run the game smoothly across all tested settings and resolutions. The fact that it achieves over 60 FPS at 4K Medium and 125 FPS at 1440p Medium demonstrates that it is a balanced system, but the GPU is the component that ultimately determines its position in the ranking.