The Technomancer

# The Technomancer with Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, shows distinct performance characteristics when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. Measured data across three resolutions and four quality presets reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, with CPU headroom becoming apparent only at lower resolutions and settings. The combo ranks 130th out of 2,825 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.6% of all tested systems for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent with a GPU-limited scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 202 FPS at 1920x1080 to 132 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 70 FPS (34.7%). Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 73 FPS, representing a 63.9% decrease from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 5080's rendering workload is the primary constraint as pixel count increases.

The Low preset shows even more dramatic scaling. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 309 FPS average. This falls to 202 FPS at 1440p (a 34.6% drop) and then to 111 FPS at 4K (a 64.1% drop from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets suggests that pixel throughput is the dominant factor, regardless of quality settings.

Ultra settings exhibit the largest absolute scaling penalty. From 158 FPS at 1080p, the average drops to 103 FPS at 1440p (34.8% lower) and then to 57 FPS at 4K (63.9% lower than 1080p). The near-identical percentage reductions across all four presets—roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 45% from 1440p to 4K—point to a consistent fill-rate bottleneck rather than any setting-specific limitation.

The data reveals that resolution scaling in The Technomancer is almost perfectly predictable for this combo. Doubling the pixel count from 1080p to 4K reduces average FPS by approximately 64% across all presets. This uniformity indicates that the game's rendering pipeline is not introducing variable CPU overhead at different resolutions; instead, the GPU's pixel processing capability is the limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU can still feed frames adequately at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 14,769 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,085 in single-core, placing it at the 89th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 46,062 sits nearly exactly between the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46,030, +0.1% delta) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46,098, -0.1% delta), indicating a well-balanced mid-to-high-range processor.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is best observed at 1080p Low, where the system reaches 309 FPS average. This high frame rate suggests the CPU can sustain substantial draw-call throughput, though it is likely nearing its limit given the game's age and the single-threaded nature of many 2016-era titles. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (102.4 GB/s bandwidth) provide adequate data feeding for the GPU at lower resolutions.

However, the CPU's influence diminishes as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 57, a figure that is overwhelmingly determined by the GPU's pixel throughput rather than CPU capability. The fact that the 1080p Low result (309 FPS) is more than five times the 4K Ultra result (57 FPS) demonstrates that the CPU is not the limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU's 14 threads are sufficient for this title; The Technomancer's engine does not appear to scale beyond a handful of threads, so the remaining cores provide headroom that goes largely unused.

Benchmark results indicate the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4,516 is strong for a desktop part, which helps explain the high frame rates at low settings. Yet, the system never appears to hit a hard CPU ceiling—even at 1080p Low with 309 FPS, the GPU is still processing 309 frames per second, suggesting the CPU is feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them at that resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this configuration for The Technomancer. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the GPU has ample memory resources for this title, which launched when 4 GB cards were high-end. The 10,752 shading units and 112 ROPs provide substantial pixel throughput, reflected in the 293.1 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The GPU's clock speeds—2,295 MHz base and 2,617 MHz boost—are high, and the 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability is more than sufficient for a 2016 game. In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5080 scores 36,565 in PassMark G3D and 86,637 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it at the 87th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 56,083 is 0.6% above the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757) and 2.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828), while sitting 2.2% below the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (57,367).

In The Technomancer, the GPU's performance profile is clear from the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the GPU delivers between 158 FPS (Ultra) and 309 FPS (Low), indicating it is not fully saturated at the lowest settings. By 1440p, the frame rates range from 103 FPS (Ultra) to 202 FPS (Low), still high but showing the GPU working harder. At 4K, the range tightens to 57-111 FPS, with the GPU clearly becoming the primary constraint.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what The Technomancer requires, even at 4K Ultra. This means memory capacity is never a limiting factor; instead, the GPU's compute and rasterization throughput determine performance. The RTX 5080's 879.3 GTexel/s texture rate and 112 ROPs handle the game's visual effects efficiently, but the measurable FPS at 4K Ultra (57 average) shows the raw pixel workload of 4K resolution still challenges this high-end card in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 309 FPS, Medium averages 237 FPS with a minimum of 201 FPS and maximum of 273 FPS, High averages 202 FPS, and Ultra averages 158 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 151 FPS (95.6% higher at Low), indicating that quality settings have a substantial impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decrease across all presets. Low delivers 202 FPS, Medium averages 155 FPS (minimum 132, maximum 178), High averages 132 FPS, and Ultra averages 103 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 99 FPS, a 96.1% improvement at Low, showing that the relative impact of settings remains similar to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the system produces its lowest frame rates. Low averages 111 FPS, Medium averages 85 FPS (minimum 72, maximum 98), High averages 73 FPS, and Ultra averages 57 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 54 FPS (94.7% difference), but the absolute numbers are much lower. The Medium preset shows the only recorded minimum and maximum values across all resolutions, with a 26 FPS range at 4K, a 46 FPS range at 1440p, and a 72 FPS range at 1080p.

The measured data shows consistent step-downs between presets. At each resolution, the FPS order is always Low > Medium > High > Ultra, with Medium sitting roughly 25-33% above High and High sitting 25-30% above Ultra. This consistent hierarchy suggests the presets scale predictably in visual quality and performance cost.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Technomancer?

A: At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 150 FPS average, with Low reaching 309 FPS. At 2560x1440, High averages 132 FPS and Ultra averages 103 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low (111 FPS) and Medium (85 FPS) exceed 60 FPS average. The data suggests 1440p provides the best balance of high frame rates and resolution, with Ultra still playable at 103 FPS average.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: The average FPS drops by approximately 64% from 1080p to 4K across all presets. Specifically, High falls from 202 FPS to 73 FPS, Low from 309 FPS to 111 FPS, Medium from 237 FPS to 85 FPS, and Ultra from 158 FPS to 57 FPS.

Q: Is this system CPU-limited or GPU-limited in this game?

A: The system appears GPU-limited at 4K and CPU-limited at 1080p Low. At 1080p Low, the GPU delivers 309 FPS, suggesting it has headroom, while at 4K Ultra, the 57 FPS average aligns with GPU pixel throughput limits. The uniform ~64% FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K indicates GPU dependency scales with resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56,083 is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757), 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698), and 2.3% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (57,367) by 2.2%.

Q: What is the highest frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 309 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset at 1080p reaches a maximum of 273 FPS, while the minimum FPS recorded across all tests is 72 FPS at 4K Medium.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The 16 GB GDDR7 memory on the RTX 5080 is well beyond the requirements of The Technomancer. Even at 4K Ultra, VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor based on the measured performance data. The GPU's compute and ROP throughput are the constraining factors, not memory capacity.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS average, the 3840x2160 Medium preset (85 FPS average) provides a comfortable margin, while 4K High (73 FPS) and 4K Ultra (57 FPS) sit near or below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 4K offers the best balance for high-resolution play, with a recorded minimum of 72 FPS ensuring minimal drops below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, every preset exceeds 100 FPS average. Ultra delivers 103 FPS, High 132 FPS, Medium 155 FPS, and Low 202 FPS. For the smoothest experience with maximum visual quality, 1440p Ultra at 103 FPS average is the recommended choice, as it maintains triple-digit frame rates while using the highest quality settings.

At 1920x1080, all presets are exceptionally playable. High (202 FPS) and Ultra (158 FPS) both provide far more than enough frame rate for any display, so the choice comes down to visual preferences. The Medium preset's minimum of 201 FPS shows that even the most demanding scenes remain above 200 FPS at this resolution.

The data indicates that the Medium preset provides the most consistent performance across resolutions, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum values. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 201 FPS and maximum is 273 FPS (a 72 FPS range); at 1440p Medium, the range is 132-178 FPS (46 FPS); and at 4K Medium, the range is 72-98 FPS (26 FPS). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests the GPU becomes more consistently utilized as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination ranks 130th out of 2,825 tested combos for The Technomancer, placing it in the top 4.6% of all systems tested. This high ranking reflects the strong performance of both components, though the game's age means many modern high-end systems can achieve similar or better results.

The rank is more heavily influenced by the GPU than the CPU in this title. The RTX 5080's 87th percentile standing among all GPUs is complemented by the CPU's 89th percentile ranking, but The Technomancer's resolution scaling behavior shows that the GPU determines frame rates at 4K, while the CPU only becomes relevant at low settings and resolutions. The combo's rank of 130 suggests that 129 other combinations produce higher average FPS in this game, likely including systems with faster GPUs or CPUs better optimized for the game's single-threaded workloads.

Given the CPU's synthetic benchmark scores—14,769 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,085 in single-core—the processor is adequate but not exceptional for gaming. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-13900HX, scores 46,098 average (0.1% higher), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scores 46,030 (0.1% lower). These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the CPU contributes little differentiation to the combo's ranking.

The RTX 5080's performance, however, is a differentiator. Its PassMark G3D score of 36,565 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637 place it in the upper tier of GPUs, and its measured FPS in The Technomancer reflect this. The 4K High result of 73 FPS average and 1440p Ultra result of 103 FPS average are strong showings for a 2016 title, indicating the GPU handles the game's effects efficiently without optimization issues.

Overall, this combo ranks in the 95.4th percentile of all tested systems for The Technomancer, making it a top-tier configuration for this game. The ranking is primarily driven by the RTX 5080's raw rendering power, with the Core Ultra 5 235 providing sufficient CPU support to avoid bottlenecking at any resolution or settings combination tested.