The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combo. The benchmark data reveals a system that scales predictably across resolutions, but with specific bottlenecks that become apparent at the highest settings. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to understand where this pairing excels and where it struggles.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 191 FPS. This drops to 125 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 69 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 64% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. The scaling is not linear, suggesting that the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as the pixel count rises.

Looking at High settings, the same trend holds. The average FPS at 1080p is 125, which drops to 82 at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and then to 45 at 4K (a 45% reduction from 1440p). This steeper drop between 1440p and 4K indicates that the RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus are being pushed harder at 4K, where the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s becomes a more critical factor.

The most significant drop occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings. The average FPS goes from 96 to 53, a 45% decrease. This is a larger relative drop than the 1440p to 4K transition at Low settings (45% vs 45%, actually equal), but the absolute gap of 43 FPS between 1080p and 4K at Medium is stark. The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, while at 4K, the GPU's raw throughput and memory subsystem are the primary constraints.

The Ultra preset data reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 98 FPS, which is still very playable. However, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 35, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. This 64% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is the largest percentage drop across all settings, indicating that the combination of high resolution and maxed-out graphical features places an overwhelming load on the GPU. The data suggests that the RTX 3070 is a capable 1440p card for this title, but 4K gaming requires significant settings compromises.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, built on the Ampere architecture with an 8 nm process, is the primary driver of the FPS differences across resolutions. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in The Technomancer, but at 4K, the capacity and bandwidth appear to become limiting factors, especially at higher presets.

The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz are standard for this card. With 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, the RTX 3070 delivers 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. In the context of this game, which is from 2016 and likely not optimized for ray tracing, the 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are less relevant. The traditional rasterization performance is what matters most here.

The measured FPS at 1080p Low (191 FPS) shows that the GPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions and settings. The frame rate is high enough that the CPU's performance in single-threaded tasks becomes more important. However, as settings increase to Ultra, the GPU's workload grows. At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 64, which is still smooth, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 35 FPS. This demonstrates that the RTX 3070's compute and memory resources are insufficient for the highest resolution and quality combination in this title.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 22214 places it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (avgScore 17083, deltaPct 0.7) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (avgScore 17037, deltaPct 1), are very close in aggregate performance. However, these aggregate scores do not directly translate to The Technomancer's specific workload. The data shows that the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM is a tangible limitation at 4K, where the Ultra preset pushes the average FPS down to 35.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combo ranks 1179 out of 2825 total combinations for The Technomancer. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, indicating that it is a competent but not top-tier pairing for this specific game.

The combo's percentile position is notable. When considering that the GPU alone is in the 61st percentile and the CPU is in the 90th percentile, the combo's rank of 1179 out of 2825 (which is roughly the 58th percentile) suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU's high percentile score of 90% does not translate to a similarly high game rank, which confirms that The Technomancer is more reliant on GPU performance.

The rank of 1179 implies that there are 1178 other tested combos that perform better in this game, and 1646 combos that perform worse. This middle-of-the-pack positioning is consistent with the RTX 3070's age and 8 GB memory capacity. Newer GPUs with more VRAM and higher bandwidth would likely rank higher, but the data shows that this combo is still viable for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

The nearest CPU rivals for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 are all within 1% of its average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (deltaPct -0.4) and AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (deltaPct -0.5) are slightly slower, while the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (deltaPct 0.6) and Intel Core i5-14600K (deltaPct 0.8) are slightly faster. These small deltas suggest that the CPU is not the primary differentiator in this combo's game rank.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 191 FPS at Low, 147 FPS at Medium, 125 FPS at High, and 98 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a min FPS of 125 and a max of 169, indicating good frame pacing. The Low and Ultra presets do not have min/max data, but the averages suggest a wide range of playability.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 125 FPS at Low, 96 FPS at Medium, 82 FPS at High, and 64 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p has a min FPS of 82 and a max of 110, which shows that the frame rate remains within a playable range even during demanding scenes. The Low preset at 125 FPS is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, while the Ultra preset at 64 FPS is still acceptable for most gamers.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The averages are 69 FPS at Low, 53 FPS at Medium, 45 FPS at High, and 35 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset has a min FPS of 45 and a max of 61, which means that the frame rate can dip into the 40s during intense moments. The Ultra preset at 35 FPS is the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it difficult to recommend for smooth gameplay.

The data shows a clear pattern: the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming across all settings, but at 4K, only the Low preset (69 FPS) provides a consistently smooth experience. The High preset at 4K (45 FPS) is playable but not ideal, and the Ultra preset (35 FPS) is too demanding for this GPU.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At this resolution, the combo achieves 82 FPS at High and 64 FPS at Ultra, providing a good balance between visual quality and smoothness. At 1080p, the frame rates are higher (125 FPS at High), but the visual fidelity is lower.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K, the average FPS is 69 at Low, 53 at Medium, 45 at High, and 35 at Ultra. Only the Low preset delivers a consistently smooth experience above 60 FPS. The High preset at 45 FPS is playable, but the Ultra preset at 35 FPS is not recommended for fast-paced action.

Q: How does the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM affect performance?

A: The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in this title, as evidenced by the high frame rates at these resolutions. However, at 4K with higher presets, the VRAM capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appear to be limiting factors, causing the average FPS to drop to 45 at High and 35 at Ultra.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 holding back the RTX 3070?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. The combo's rank of 1179 out of 2825 is lower than the CPU's 90th percentile score would suggest, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the 191 FPS average is high enough to strain the CPU, but the GPU still drives the overall performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS at Low is 125, while at Ultra it is 64. This represents a 49% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset. The Medium preset at 96 FPS and High at 82 FPS provide intermediate steps.

Q: How does the combo's rank compare to the GPU's percentile?

A: The RTX 3070 is in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, and the combo ranks 1179 out of 2825 tested combinations for this game. This rank is slightly lower than the GPU's percentile, which suggests that other factors, such as the game's specific engine requirements, influence the overall performance.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience in The Technomancer, the data suggests that 2560x1440 with the High preset is the optimal configuration. This combination yields an average of 82 FPS, which is smooth for most displays. The High preset provides a significant visual upgrade over Low and Medium while maintaining a frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 1440p (64 FPS) is also viable, but the 22% drop in performance from High may not justify the marginal visual improvements in a game from this era.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset (98 FPS) is the best choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors. The frame rate is high enough to take advantage of 144 Hz displays, and the visual quality is maximized. The Medium preset (147 FPS) is also excellent for competitive play, but the Ultra preset offers a better balance of quality and speed.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset (69 FPS) is the only configuration that provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset (53 FPS) is playable but may experience dips to 45 FPS, which could be noticeable in fast-paced combat. The High and Ultra presets at 45 FPS and 35 FPS, respectively, are not recommended for a fluid experience. Users with 4K displays should either lower the resolution to 1440p or accept the reduced visual quality of the Low preset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, with 14 cores and 14 threads, is a modern desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz provide strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for older games like The Technomancer that may not be well-optimized for multi-core processors. The CPU's 24 MB of L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s of DDR5 memory bandwidth support the GPU effectively.

In the benchmark data, the CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 32924, and the single-core score is 4648. These scores place the CPU in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong overall performance. The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, has an average score that is 0.4% lower, while the Intel Core i5-14600K is 0.8% higher. These small differences suggest that the CPU is not a significant differentiator in gaming performance.

The CPU's role in The Technomancer appears to be secondary to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the 191 FPS average suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates. However, the combo's game rank of 1179 out of 2825, which is lower than the CPU's percentile, indicates that the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions and settings are the primary constraint. The CPU's 14 cores are likely underutilized in this title, as most games from 2016 rely on fewer threads, but the high boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures that single-threaded performance is not a bottleneck.