The Technomancer

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for The Technomancer with this Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 142 FPS, which drops to 93 FPS at 1440p, and then down to 51 FPS at 4K. That is a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets, suggesting the rendering load scales almost linearly with pixel count.

Looking at the High preset specifically, the frame rate falls from 93 FPS at 1080p to 61 FPS at 1440p (a 34% drop), and then to 34 FPS at 4K (a 44% drop from 1440p). This steep decline at higher resolutions strongly indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor in this configuration. The RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, is being pushed harder as pixel count increases. The data shows that at 4K, even the Medium preset only manages 39 FPS, while Ultra drops to 26 FPS — numbers that suggest the graphics card is saturated.

The scaling behavior also tells us something about the CPU's role. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 142 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see diminishing returns as resolution drops, but the frame rate continues to climb at lower resolutions. This implies the Core Ultra 5 245, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, is not limiting performance in this game at these settings. The CPU's boost clock of 5.10 GHz appears sufficient to keep feeding the GPU frames at 1080p, but the GPU's rendering throughput becomes the ceiling at higher resolutions.

What is particularly telling is the gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 69 FPS (142 vs 73). At 1440p, the gap narrows to 45 FPS (93 vs 48). At 4K, it shrinks further to 25 FPS (51 vs 26). This compression of the settings-based FPS gap at higher resolutions is another classic sign of GPU limitation. When the GPU is already near its limits, reducing graphical quality cannot recover as many frames because the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are the constraining factors, not the shading complexity that settings adjustments typically affect.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s provide context for these numbers. At 4K, the GPU is being asked to fill over 8.3 million pixels per frame, and the measured 26 FPS at Ultra translates to roughly 216 million pixels per second — which is within the card's theoretical pixel rate but leaves little headroom for complex shading. The data suggests that for smooth 4K gameplay, users would need to accept Low settings (51 FPS), and even then, the experience would be marginal.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 61 FPS, which is playable, while 1080p High reaches 93 FPS. At 4K, even Medium only manages 39 FPS, making it difficult to maintain smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1080p?

A: Ultra at 1080p produces 73 FPS, which is 20 FPS lower than High's 93 FPS. The gap represents a 21.5% performance penalty for the highest quality settings, suggesting Ultra may not be worth the cost unless visual fidelity is the priority.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: Based on the measured rows, 4K performance is limited. Low settings achieve 51 FPS, Medium drops to 39 FPS, and Ultra falls to 26 FPS. Only the Low preset approaches acceptable smoothness, indicating the GPU is not well-suited for 4K in this game.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2001 out of 2825 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This position reflects the GPU's age (GeForce 20-series, end-of-life production status) relative to newer hardware.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect gaming here?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 scores 4648 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4394 in Passmark single-thread, ranking in the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The high boost clock of 5.10 GHz suggests it can keep up with the GPU at lower resolutions, evidenced by 142 FPS at 1080p Low.

Q: Does the game scale well with settings changes at 1440p?

A: Yes, the data shows clear scaling. Low yields 93 FPS, Medium 71 FPS, High 61 FPS, and Ultra 48 FPS. The 45 FPS spread across presets gives users flexibility to balance visual quality and performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which settings preset offers the best experience for this hardware combination. At 1080p, the High preset at 93 FPS is the most balanced option. It provides a substantial improvement over Medium's 109 FPS only in quality terms while remaining well above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 73 FPS is still playable but costs 20 FPS for what is likely a marginal visual upgrade in a 2016 Action RPG.

At 1440p, High at 61 FPS is the recommended choice. It sits right at the edge of smooth gameplay and offers better image clarity than 1080p. Medium at 71 FPS provides a safety margin for those who prefer stable frame rates over visual detail. Ultra at 48 FPS is borderline — it may be acceptable for slower-paced exploration but could feel choppy in combat sequences.

For 4K, the situation is more constrained. Low at 51 FPS is the only preset that approaches playability. Medium drops to 39 FPS, which is below the generally accepted smoothness threshold. Given that the game launched in 2016, the visual difference between Low and Medium at 4K may be less pronounced than at lower resolutions, making Low the pragmatic choice for 4K owners.

The data suggests a tiered approach: 1080p High for maximum quality, 1440p High for balanced performance, and 4K Low for resolution-hungry users. The Medium presets at each resolution serve as fallback options when frame rates need a boost — 109 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K respectively.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance across all presets. Low settings produce 142 FPS, which is the highest measured average in the entire dataset. Medium reaches 109 FPS with a minimum of 93 FPS and maximum of 126 FPS, showing some frame time variance but remaining comfortably smooth. High achieves 93 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS standard. Ultra drops to 73 FPS, which remains playable but represents a 49% reduction from Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low yields 93 FPS, exactly matching the 1080p High figure. Medium produces 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS — the consistency here is notable, as the minimum stays above the 60 FPS threshold. High reaches 61 FPS, right at the edge of smoothness. Ultra falls to 48 FPS, which is below the ideal range but could work for less demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low manages 51 FPS, which is the only preset above 50 FPS at this resolution. Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 45 FPS — the minimum suggests occasional stutters in heavy scenes. High drops to 34 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 26 FPS. The 4K data indicates that this RTX 2060 SUPER is not designed for high-fidelity 4K gaming in this title, with even Low settings barely reaching playable frame rates.

The progression across resolutions follows a consistent pattern: each step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K costs roughly 35-45% of the previous frame rate, regardless of preset. This uniform scaling reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's contribution becomes less relevant as pixel count increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the determining factor in this game's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card delivers 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth — a specification that becomes critical when rendering at 4K where texture data demands are highest. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (26 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (73 FPS) illustrates how the memory subsystem and pixel throughput are strained by higher resolutions.

The card's architecture, Turing on a 12 nm process, includes 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits that the measured data approaches at 4K. At 4K Medium, the card produces 39 FPS, which translates to roughly 324 million pixels processed per second — about 30% of the theoretical pixel rate, indicating that shading complexity and memory latency are also factors, not just raw pixel fill.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's boost clock of 1650 MHz (base 1470 MHz) is relatively modest by modern standards, but the card's benchmarks show it remains competitive. The Passmark G3D score of 16462 places it in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival in the database is the RTX 3060 Mobile with a score of 18159 (the RTX 2060 SUPER trails by 0.4%). This close margin suggests the card is still viable for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but its end-of-life production status and 175 W TDP reflect its age.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game at the measured settings, as The Technomancer released in 2016 when 4 GB was the norm for high-end cards. However, the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s becomes the limiting factor at 4K, where the GPU must access larger textures and higher-resolution buffers. The data shows that reducing settings from Ultra to Low at 4K only recovers 25 FPS (26 to 51), suggesting that the memory bandwidth constraint cannot be fully overcome by lowering graphical quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 plays a supporting role in this configuration, and the data indicates it is not the primary bottleneck. This 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Arrow Lake architecture features a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and single-core score of 4648 place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48995.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196, 0.4% higher), AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228, 0.5% higher), Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698, 0.6% lower), and Intel Core i5-14600K (48618, 0.8% lower). This tight clustering shows the Core Ultra 5 245 sits in a competitive performance band, though none of these rivals appear in the measured FPS data for this game.

The evidence for the CPU not being the bottleneck comes from the resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 142 FPS. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect the frame rate to plateau regardless of resolution, but the data shows a consistent decline as resolution increases. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR5, dual-channel) provide ample data throughput for game logic and draw calls.

The Passmark single-thread score of 4394 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 indicate strong per-core performance, which is crucial for older games like The Technomancer that may not fully utilize many cores. The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads (no hyperthreading) mean it has more than enough parallelism for a 2016 title, and the boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures high-frequency operation when single-threaded performance matters most.

The CPU's TDP of 65 W and 3 nm process node (TSMC) suggest it is power-efficient, but these factors do not directly impact gaming performance. What matters is that the measured FPS data shows the CPU can maintain frame rates up to 142 FPS at 1080p, which is well beyond the 60 FPS target most gamers use. This suggests the CPU has headroom for future GPU upgrades without becoming a limiting factor in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2001 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the 29th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's position as the weaker component — the RTX 2060 SUPER sits in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The disparity between these two percentiles suggests the combo is CPU-heavy relative to the GPU, meaning the graphics card holds back the overall gaming experience.

Within the database, this combo's rank is influenced by both the age of the GPU (end-of-life production status, released 2019-07-08) and the game's release date (2016-06-27). The Technomancer is an Action RPG from 2016, and its rendering requirements are likely better suited to the GPU's capabilities at lower resolutions. The measured data confirms this — the combo performs respectably at 1080p (93 FPS High) but struggles at 4K (34 FPS High).

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database include the RTX 3060 Mobile (0.4% higher average score), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (0.5% higher), AMD Radeon RX 460 (1.5% higher), and Intel Arc A770M (1.6% higher). The fact that the RTX 2060 SUPER's closest competitors are a mix of mobile and desktop parts highlights its mid-range positioning. The CPU's nearest rivals, meanwhile, are all strong desktop processors, confirming that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo's ranking.

The combo's rank of 2001 out of 2825 suggests that many other hardware combinations deliver better performance in this game. However, the data also shows that this combo is far from the bottom — it outranks roughly 824 other configs. For a user with this hardware, the practical takeaway is to play at 1080p or 1440p, where the combo delivers playable frame rates, rather than pushing 4K where the GPU's limitations become apparent. The ranking reflects a balanced but outdated GPU paired with a modern CPU, resulting in performance that is adequate for 1080p gaming but not competitive with newer graphics cards at higher resolutions.