The Technomancer

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread desktop processor built on the Arrow Lake-S architecture with a 3 nm process node from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, drawing a 65 W TDP. The CPU features a 24 MB shared L3 cache, with 192 KB L1 and 3 MB L2 per core, and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Its integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU provides a fallback display solution, though this game's performance is driven by the discrete GPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Core Ultra 5 245 posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648. Its PassMark multithread score is 38706, while the single-thread score is 4394. The CPU's overall average benchmark score is 48995, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs tested. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 5 245 is essentially neck-and-neck with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (deltaPct -0.4) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (deltaPct -0.5), while edging out the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (deltaPct 0.6) and the Intel Core i5-14600K (deltaPct 0.8). This means the processor sits in a tightly contested performance band where no single rival holds a decisive edge.

For The Technomancer, an Action RPG from 2016, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The 14 cores and 14 threads — with no hyper-threading — provide ample parallel throughput for modern game engines, but this title's age means it likely relies more on single-thread performance for its core simulation loop. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4648 and PassMark single-thread score of 4394 indicate strong per-core capability, which is critical for maintaining consistent frame pacing in CPU-bound scenarios. The boost clock of 5.10 GHz is particularly relevant here, as older game engines often scale directly with clock frequency rather than core count.

The measured FPS data supports this interpretation. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 280 FPS average — a scenario where the CPU must keep up with a high frame rate. The fact that the system sustains 280 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the Core Ultra 5 245 is not a limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU is capable of rendering frames faster than the CPU can issue them. Conversely, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 52 FPS, indicating the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking and its proximity to the Ryzen 9 7900 in average score suggest it has headroom for this game's demands, even when paired with a high-end GPU like the RTX 5070 Ti.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die size of 378 mm² housing 45,600 million transistors. It operates with a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2452 MHz, while the GDDR7 memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card is equipped with 16 GB of VRAM, which is substantial for a game released in 2016, even at 4K resolution with Ultra settings. The GPU's 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 235.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 686.6 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 43.94 TFLOPS.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5070 Ti scores 6604 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 212363 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 225122 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its PassMark G3D score is 32974, with a GPU compute score of 20203. The average benchmark score is 49957, placing the card in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals show a mixed picture: the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 is 0.1% faster, while the Intel Arc A550M is 0.4% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT leads by 2%, and the Radeon RX 6800 XT trails by 3.1%. These deltas are small, indicating the RTX 5070 Ti sits in a competitive performance tier, though the RX 6900 XT holds a slight edge in raw average score.

For The Technomancer, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for any preset at any resolution, as the game's textures and geometry from 2016 are unlikely to exceed even 8 GB under normal conditions. The 896.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution rendering do not become bottlenecks. The measured FPS data reflects this — at 4K Ultra, the combo averages 52 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 280 FPS. The GPU's boost clock of 2452 MHz is the primary driver of these results, as higher clocks translate directly to higher fill rates and shader throughput.

The PassMark DirectX scores (192 for DX10, 300 for DX11, 127 for DX12) indicate that the card's performance varies by API, with DX11 being the strongest. The Technomancer likely uses DirectX 11, which aligns with the card's highest PassMark DirectX score. This suggests the GPU is well-optimized for the game's rendering path. The 86th percentile ranking confirms the RTX 5070 Ti is a high-end part, but the 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS shows that even this level of hardware cannot fully brute-force the game's most demanding settings at 3840x2160.

# FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, placing it in the 90th percentile. It is 0.4% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and 0.5% slower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, but 0.6% faster than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.8% faster than the Intel Core i5-14600K. These deltas are all under 1%, so the CPU is effectively tied with its nearest competitors.

Q: What is the RTX 5070 Ti's performance position relative to other GPUs?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 49957, putting it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 is 0.1% faster, while the Intel Arc A550M is 0.4% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT leads by 2%, and the Radeon RX 6800 XT trails by 3.1%. This places the card in a competitive mid-to-high tier, with the RX 6900 XT as the most notable challenger.

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo achieves in The Technomancer?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 280 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution with Medium settings, the average drops to 215 FPS, and with High settings it falls to 184 FPS. The minimum measured FPS across all configurations is 66 at 4K Medium, while the maximum is 248 at 1080p Medium.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution across different settings?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 101 at Low settings to 52 at Ultra settings. Medium settings yield 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 89, while High settings produce 66 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is the lowest across all resolutions and settings tested.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 280 FPS, which is the highest measured value. This suggests the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates, and the GPU is not limiting at this resolution. The 14-core, 14-thread configuration with a 5.10 GHz boost clock provides sufficient single-thread performance for the game's engine.

Q: Does the combo rank highly among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 243 out of 2825 tested combinations, placing it in the top 8.6% of all combos. This is a strong result, though the 4K Ultra average of 52 FPS shows there is a performance ceiling at the highest settings.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 243 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the pair in the top 8.6% of all configurations tested for this game, which is a strong showing given the game's 2016 release date and the modern hardware involved. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 90th percentile standing and the GPU's 86th percentile standing, with the combo performing slightly better than either component's individual percentile might suggest.

The rank of 243 out of 2825 means 2582 other combos score lower, while 242 score higher. This puts the combo in the upper echelon, but not at the very top — a result consistent with the 4K Ultra average of 52 FPS, which is playable but not exceptionally high. The gap between this combo and the top-ranked configurations likely stems from the GPU's 86th percentile position, as the absolute fastest GPUs in the database would push 4K Ultra frame rates higher. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking is less likely to be a limiting factor, given the game's age and the measured 280 FPS at 1080p Low.

Interpreted against the nearest rival combos, the CPU's deltaPct values (all within ±0.8% of rivals) suggest that swapping the Core Ultra 5 245 for a Ryzen 9 7900 or Core i5-14600K would produce nearly identical results. Similarly, the GPU's deltaPct values (ranging from -2% to +3.1%) indicate that the RX 6900 XT would offer a modest improvement, while the RX 6800 XT would be a slight downgrade. The combo's rank is therefore robust to minor hardware variations, and it should deliver consistent performance across a range of similar components.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), providing a comprehensive picture of the combo's performance envelope. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 280 at Low settings to 144 at Ultra settings. The Medium preset produces 215 FPS with a minimum of 183 and maximum of 248, while High settings yield 184 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 136 FPS, indicating that settings have a significant impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 183 FPS at Low, 141 FPS at Medium, 120 FPS at High, and 94 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 120 and maximum of 162. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings — roughly 35% lower FPS on average — which is expected given the pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 3.69 million. The 4K resolution (3840x2160) shows averages of 101 FPS at Low, 77 FPS at Medium, 66 FPS at High, and 52 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset again provides min/max values of 66 and 89 respectively.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the combo is capable of very high frame rates at 1080p, with even Ultra settings exceeding 140 FPS. At 1440p, all presets remain above 90 FPS, making this resolution the sweet spot for high refresh rate displays. At 4K, only Low settings exceed 100 FPS, while Ultra drops to 52 FPS — playable but not ideal for competitive play. The minimum FPS values, where available, show that the Medium presets maintain reasonable frame pacing, with the 4K Medium minimum of 66 FPS being the lowest recorded.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At this configuration, the combo produces an average of 141 FPS with a minimum of 120 and maximum of 162. The minimum of 120 FPS is high enough to avoid noticeable stutter on a 120 Hz or 144 Hz display, while the average of 141 FPS provides headroom for demanding scenes. The step up to High at 1440p costs 21 FPS on average (down to 120), which is a 15% reduction for marginal visual gains. Conversely, dropping to Low at 1440p yields 183 FPS, but the visual quality loss is unlikely to be worth the 42 FPS increase for most players.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, delivering 77 FPS average with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 89. This is the only 4K preset that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS, making it the safest option for smooth gameplay. High settings at 4K drop to 66 FPS average, which is technically playable but leaves less margin for frame drops. Ultra at 4K averages 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for a smooth experience. Low at 4K provides 101 FPS, but the visual compromise may be too severe for a game with atmospheric environments.

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, 1080p Ultra at 144 FPS is a strong option, as it delivers high visual fidelity while staying above 120 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset at 215 FPS is ideal for competitive play, though the difference between Medium and Ultra at 1080p (71 FPS) may not justify the visual downgrade for most users. The data suggests that the combo is best utilized at 1440p with Medium or High settings, where the GPU's 16 GB VRAM and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth are fully leveraged without hitting the CPU bottleneck that appears at 1080p.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the combo's performance degrades as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 280 at 1080p to 183 at 1440p and 101 at 4K — a reduction of 35% from 1080p to 1440p and 45% from 1440p to 4K. This is close to the theoretical scaling based on pixel counts, which predicts a 44% drop from 1080p to 1440p (2.07M to 3.69M pixels) and a 56% drop from 1440p to 4K (3.69M to 8.29M pixels). The measured drops are slightly less than theoretical, suggesting the GPU has some headroom at lower resolutions.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 215 FPS at 1080p, 141 FPS at 1440p (34% drop), and 77 FPS at 4K (45% drop). High settings show 184 FPS at 1080p, 120 FPS at 1440p (35% drop), and 66 FPS at 4K (45% drop). Ultra settings follow the same pattern: 144 FPS at 1080p, 94 FPS at 1440p (35% drop), and 52 FPS at 4K (45% drop). The consistency of these percentages across all settings indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling factor, with the CPU playing a minimal role in the frame rate differences.

The fact that the FPS drops are smaller than the pixel count increases suggests the system is not purely GPU-bound at 1080p — the CPU's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock are likely limiting the maximum frame rate at lower resolutions. This is particularly evident at 1080p Low, where 280 FPS may be close to the CPU's practical limit for this game's engine. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the scaling approaches the theoretical pixel-count relationship. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is the clearest indicator of GPU limitation, as the RTX 5070 Ti's 43.94 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is fully utilized at this resolution. The takeaway is that this combo is best suited for 1440p gaming, where the CPU and GPU are more evenly matched, and the 4K experience requires accepting Medium settings to maintain a minimum of 66 FPS.