The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales predictably with resolution. Using an Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, the measured data provides a clear picture of where this combination excels and where it struggles. The results show a system that is firmly capable of high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, playable at 1440p, but one that hits a hard wall at 4K. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and settings, offering practical guidance on how to get the most out of this specific hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 103 FPS at 1920x1080 to 67 FPS at 2560x1440, a 35% reduction. Pushing further to 3840x2160, the average plummets to 37 FPS, which is a 64% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario; the CPU has enough headroom, but the RTX 2070 SUPER's rendering throughput cannot keep pace with the quadrupling pixel count.

The trend is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the system achieves 157 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 102 FPS at 1440p and further to 56 FPS at 4K. Even with the lowest graphical load, the 4K result is barely playable, indicating that the sheer pixel fill rate demand is overwhelming the GPU. At the Ultra preset, the situation is more severe: the 80 FPS average at 1080p falls to 53 FPS at 1440p and collapses to a 29 FPS average at 4K, a result that is not suitable for smooth gameplay.

This data indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the definitive bottleneck for The Technomancer at resolutions above 1080p. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, with its 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock, is not the constraint here. The frame rate deltas between resolutions are too large to be attributed to CPU limitations. For users targeting 4K, this combination is underpowered; for 1440p, it sits on the edge of playability depending on the settings preset; and for 1080p, it provides a high-performance experience that is only limited by the chosen quality level.

Settings Recommendations

Navigating the settings presets is key to a good experience with this hardware. The measured data provides a clear hierarchy. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 103 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium’s 120 FPS while still maintaining a triple-digit frame rate. The Ultra preset, at 80 FPS, is also viable for users who prioritize image quality over maximum smoothness, as 80 FPS is still a solid experience, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 23 FPS, a substantial hit for what is often a marginal visual gain.

At 1440p, the choice becomes more critical. The High preset delivers a respectable 67 FPS average, which is smooth for most action RPGs. The Medium preset, at 79 FPS, offers a buffer for more demanding scenes, but the Low preset at 102 FPS is likely overkill and sacrifices too much visual fidelity. For a balanced experience, the High preset is the recommended starting point. If frame rate stability is a concern, dropping to Medium provides a 12 FPS improvement, which is a noticeable gain. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with its 53 FPS average, is playable but may feel less responsive during intense combat.

For 4K, the options are limited. The Medium preset, with an average of 43 FPS and a minimum of 37 FPS, is the only preset that approaches a playable state, but it will still suffer from noticeable stutter in demanding scenes. The High preset at 37 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 29 FPS should be avoided entirely. The Low preset at 56 FPS is technically the smoothest, but the visual degradation at this resolution is likely too severe to be worth the performance gain. The data strongly suggests that 4K is not a realistic target for this combo, and users should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a proper experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the defining component in this system's gaming performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in this title, but the 4K results suggest it is not enough to feed the GPU's processing units at that resolution. The card's boost clock of 1770 MHz and its 2560 shading units are responsible for the raw compute, and the benchmark results show that these are adequate for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming but are quickly overwhelmed as resolution increases.

The GPU’s overall standing is reflected in its benchmark scores. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 18169, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the Intel Arc A750 and Intel Arc B570, with the RTX 2070 SUPER trailing them by 1.5% and 1.3% respectively. This indicates that while it is not a top-tier card by modern standards, it remains competitive with mid-range offerings. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 further contextualizes its DirectX 12 performance, which is what The Technomancer would utilize.

The 65th percentile ranking is a useful indicator of the card's capabilities. It shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER is a middle-of-the-pack performer in the current hardware landscape. In The Technomancer, this translates to a card that can handle 1080p with ease, manage 1440p with some settings compromises, and cannot handle 4K. The 8 GB memory capacity is likely a contributing factor to the 4K struggles, as higher resolutions require larger texture buffers and more memory for geometry, which can lead to performance degradation when capacity is exceeded.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured data offers a detailed view of the performance envelope. At 1920x1080, the results are consistently high. The Low preset averages 157 FPS, Medium averages 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 139 FPS, High averages 103 FPS, and Ultra averages 80 FPS. This shows a smooth, predictable scaling where each step up in quality costs a meaningful but manageable number of frames, making 1080p an excellent resolution for this hardware.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates become more moderate. The Low preset is still very fast at 102 FPS. The Medium preset averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS, showing a decent frame time consistency. The High preset averages 67 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 53 FPS. This resolution offers a good balance between visual fidelity and performance, provided the user is willing to stick to Medium or High settings for a consistently smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the limitations of the GPU are fully exposed. The Low preset averages 56 FPS, which is the only playable option. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS, indicating noticeable dips that will be felt during gameplay. The High preset averages 37 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 29 FPS. These 4K numbers confirm that the RTX 2070 SUPER is not a 4K-capable card for this title, as even the lowest settings struggle to maintain a solid 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1620 out of 2825 total combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the 43rd percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it is a below-average performer when compared to the entire spectrum of hardware combinations. This is a direct consequence of the aging GPU, which is holding back the more modern CPU.

This ranking is a crucial piece of context. It shows that while the CPU is a capable performer in its own right, the overall gaming experience in The Technomancer is severely limited by the GPU. The rank of 1620 suggests that the majority of tested combos, which likely include more recent graphics cards, will deliver higher frame rates. The data implies that users with this CPU should consider a GPU upgrade as the most effective way to improve their performance in this game, as the current pairing is leaving significant performance on the table.

The disparity between the CPU's potential and the final result is a key takeaway. The Core Ultra 5 245 is a modern processor with a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, but its pairing with a GPU in the 65th percentile results in a combo that ranks in the 43rd percentile for this specific game. This illustrates the importance of a balanced system; a powerful CPU cannot compensate for a GPU that is not powerful enough to render the game at the desired settings and resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 plays a supporting role in The Technomancer, and the data suggests it is more than adequate for the task. With 14 cores and 14 threads, a base clock of 3.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, it has substantial processing power. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and single-core score of 4648 place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a high-performing processor that can easily handle the game's logic and physics calculations.

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark score, are the Intel Core i5-14600K, which it trails by 0.8%, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which it trails by 0.5%. This close grouping shows that the Core Ultra 5 245 is competitive with other strong mid-range and high-end processors. Its performance in this game is unlikely to be the bottleneck, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale dramatically with GPU load, which is the expected behavior when the CPU is not the limiting factor.

The fact that the Core Ultra 5 245 is not the constraint is evident in the frame rate data. At 1080p, the system is able to push frame rates well above 100 FPS, which requires a CPU capable of feeding the GPU with enough draw calls and game state updates. The CPU’s high single-thread performance, as indicated by its Cinebench R23 score, is particularly important for this. In this title, the CPU provides a solid foundation, and the user's focus for improving performance should be directed squarely at the graphics card, not the processor.