The Technomancer

Resolution Scaling

The Technomancer presents a demanding workload that scales predictably with resolution, and the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 shows a clear progression from fluid high-refresh territory at 1080p to borderline playability at 4K. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 111 FPS on average, which drops to 72 FPS at 2560x1440 and then falls further to 40 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 64% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at High settings, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The scaling pattern across all settings levels tells a consistent story. At Low settings, the average frame rate moves from 169 FPS at 1080p to 110 FPS at 1440p and 61 FPS at 4K—a 64% total drop. Medium settings show a similar trajectory: 130 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K, with the 4K figure now accompanied by a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. Ultra settings push the hardest, starting at 86 FPS at 1080p, declining to 56 FPS at 1440p, and bottoming out at 31 FPS at 4K.

The resolution scaling data suggests that the 1080p to 1440p transition costs roughly 35-40% performance depending on the preset, while the 1440p to 4K jump carries a similar penalty. This is a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 169 FPS result hints that the CPU can push well beyond what most displays refresh at, but the GPU still manages to keep frame rates high. At 4K Ultra, the 31 FPS average indicates that the game is heavily taxing the RTX 4060's capabilities, with the settings preset having more impact at lower resolutions than at higher ones.

What the data reveals is that this combination is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in The Technomancer, but 4K requires significant settings compromises. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 83 FPS, while at 4K that same gap narrows to 30 FPS, further confirming that resolution scaling compresses the performance envelope as the GPU saturates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 sits at the heart of this configuration, and its specifications directly inform the measured results in The Technomancer. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip on a 5 nm process from TSMC, this GPU features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for this 2016-era title but shows limitations at higher resolutions and settings presets.

Clock speeds are notably relevant to the frame rates observed. The base clock of 1830 MHz and boost clock of 2460 MHz enable the GPU to sustain high throughput when thermal and power headroom allow. The RTX 4060's 115 W TDP is modest, and the 300 W suggested PSU requirement indicates the card was designed for mainstream systems. The PCIe 4.0 x8 interface provides sufficient bandwidth for the game's data demands, though the card's 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores—features that The Technomancer likely does not heavily utilize given its 2016 release—remain underutilized.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it in a specific competitive context. Its PassMark G3D score of 19545 and average benchmark score of 17639 represent its overall capability. The nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 with an average score of 17666 (a -0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon 780M at 17588 (0.3% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 17551 (0.5% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 at 17509 (0.7% delta). This grouping shows the RTX 4060 is positioned in a tight performance cluster, with none of its nearest rivals exceeding it by more than a fraction of a percent in aggregate benchmarks.

In The Technomancer specifically, the GPU's role becomes clear through the measured FPS data. At 1080p Ultra, the average of 86 FPS suggests the GPU is working hard but not overwhelmed. The 4K Ultra result of 31 FPS indicates a hard ceiling imposed by the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is likely sufficient for this game at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with Ultra settings, memory pressure may contribute to the lower frame rates. The GPU's 40 mm width and dual-slot form factor also hint at a card designed for broad compatibility rather than extreme cooling, which aligns with its 115 W TDP.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 provides the processing foundation for this combination, and its specifications suggest it is not the bottleneck in The Technomancer at most settings levels. This Arrow Lake-S architecture CPU, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC, features 14 cores and 14 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The 65 W TDP reflects a power-efficient design, and the 24 MB of shared L3 cache, alongside 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 per core, provides ample on-die storage for game data.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 in a dual-channel configuration yields a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, which is sufficient for feeding the GPU in this title. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes from the CPU ensures the GPU receives data without significant latency, though the RTX 4060's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface means it cannot fully exploit the newer standard.

Benchmark results for the Core Ultra 5 235 place it in a strong position. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and single-core score of 2085 indicate solid multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. The PassMark multi-thread score of 37816 and single-thread score of 4516 further corroborate this. The CPU's percentile ranking of 89 against all CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of processors in the database. Its average benchmark score of 46062 places it in a tight race with rivals: the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scores 46030 (0.1% delta), the Intel Core i9-13900HX scores 46098 (-0.1% delta), the AMD EPYC 4364P scores 45970 (0.2% delta), and the AMD EPYC 7303 scores 45960 (0.2% delta). This grouping shows the Core Ultra 5 235 is competitive with much more expensive processors in aggregate performance.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the 169 FPS average indicates the processor can drive frame rates well beyond typical display refresh rates. The 14 cores and 14 threads—a configuration without hyper-threading—are more than adequate for a 2016 Action RPG that likely does not scale beyond a handful of threads. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz provides the single-threaded headroom that older game engines often rely upon. The data suggests that the CPU is rarely the limiting component; instead, the GPU becomes the constraining factor as resolution and settings increase.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in The Technomancer with this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates, with Low achieving 169 FPS, Medium at 130 FPS, High at 111 FPS, and Ultra at 86 FPS. For players prioritizing smoothness on a 144 Hz display, High settings at 1080p offer the best balance, as the 111 FPS average is within reach of high refresh rates while maintaining visual quality. Ultra at 1080p drops to 86 FPS, which is still smooth but may not fully saturate a 144 Hz panel.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts toward Medium settings. The Medium preset delivers 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS, providing a solid experience for 1440p gaming. High settings at this resolution yield 72 FPS, which is acceptable but begins to approach the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable. Low at 1440p achieves 110 FPS, but the visual trade-off is substantial. Ultra at 1440p falls to 56 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action sequences.

At 3840x2160, the options narrow considerably. Low settings produce 61 FPS, which is the only preset that maintains a playable average at 4K. Medium drops to 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS, which may be tolerable for slower-paced exploration but will struggle during combat. High at 4K manages only 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 31 FPS. For 4K users, Low settings are the only viable choice, and even then, the 61 FPS average suggests occasional dips below 60 FPS. The data indicates that this combination is best suited for 1080p High or 1440p Medium as the optimal settings presets for the measured configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 achieves a combo rank of 1497 out of 2825 total tested combinations for The Technomancer. This places it in the 53rd percentile—slightly above the median of all tested systems. The ranking reflects that while the individual components are capable, the overall combination does not crack the upper echelons of performance for this game.

The rank position suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates in The Technomancer, likely due to more powerful GPUs that can better handle the game's rendering demands at higher resolutions. The RTX 4060's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the Core Ultra 5 235's 89th percentile among CPUs, creates a system where the GPU is the weaker link for this title. The CPU's strong benchmark scores—including its competitive position against the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX—do not translate into a higher combo rank because the game is primarily GPU-limited at the tested settings.

The 1497th rank out of 2825 combinations indicates that roughly 47% of tested systems outperform this pairing in The Technomancer. This is not a poor result—it places the combo in the upper half of the field—but it does highlight that the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus constrain performance in this title at higher resolutions. For users considering this combination, the data suggests it is a competent mid-range solution that excels at 1080p and handles 1440p well, but it will not compete with higher-end GPUs in the database for this specific game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for The Technomancer with the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 169 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 130 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS and a maximum of 149 FPS. High settings produce 111 FPS on average. The Ultra preset yields 86 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low settings achieve 110 FPS. Medium delivers 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. High settings produce 72 FPS on average. Ultra settings yield 56 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Low settings achieve 61 FPS. Medium delivers 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. High settings produce 40 FPS on average. Ultra settings yield 31 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern where each resolution step costs roughly 35-40% performance at equivalent settings. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame time consistency: at 1080p, the range spans 110 to 149 FPS; at 1440p, it spans 72 to 97 FPS; and at 4K, it spans 40 to 53 FPS. These ranges indicate acceptable frame pacing, though the minimums approach the threshold of noticeable stutter at 4K.

Across all resolutions, the delta between Low and Ultra settings is substantial: 83 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. This diminishing gap with increasing resolution reinforces the conclusion that the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck at higher pixel counts, while the CPU's strong single-threaded performance—evidenced by its 2085 Cinebench R23 single-core score—keeps 1080p frame rates exceptionally high even at Low settings. The measured results provide a comprehensive picture of this combination's capabilities in The Technomancer, with clear guidance for settings optimization based on resolution priorities.