The Technomancer

The Technomancer, an Action RPG from 2016, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, using the data provided. The results show a system that scales predictably with resolution, but the relationship between CPU and GPU capabilities requires careful examination to understand the bottlenecks at each setting.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 99 FPS at 1080p to 64 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 35 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The pattern suggests that the system is becoming increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is steeper. The average FPS at 1080p is 150, dropping to 98 at 1440p and 54 at 4K. The jump from 1440p to 4K shows a 45% performance loss, which is proportionally similar to the High preset. However, the absolute numbers are higher across the board, indicating that lower settings reduce the overall workload on the GPU, allowing higher frame rates even at demanding resolutions.

The Medium preset data provides additional context with minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 and maximum of 133. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 and maximum of 87. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 48. The consistency of the minimum-to-average gap suggests stable frame pacing, though the 4K result dips below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider playable.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p, the average is 77 FPS, which is playable. However, at 1440p, this drops to 50 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 28 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 30 FPS, indicating that this combination is not suitable for maximum settings at the highest resolution. The data suggests that the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become limiting factors as resolution increases, particularly with higher quality settings that demand more memory bandwidth.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 provides the most comfortable experience across all settings, with averages ranging from 77 FPS at Ultra to 150 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, the system still delivers playable results on High (64 FPS) and Medium (75 FPS), but Ultra drops to 50 FPS. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves an average above 50 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 77 FPS versus 99 FPS on High, representing a 22% performance penalty for the increased visual quality. At 1440p, the gap widens to 22% (50 vs 64 FPS), and at 4K, Ultra averages 28 FPS versus 35 FPS on High, a 20% reduction. The consistent penalty suggests the Ultra preset adds a uniform workload increase.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: The data shows that 4K gaming is possible but limited. The Low preset achieves 54 FPS, which is playable, while Medium drops to 41 FPS. High (35 FPS) and Ultra (28 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS target and approach or cross the 30 FPS minimum threshold. Players seeking smooth 4K performance would need to use Low settings.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows an average of 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 FPS and maximum of 87 FPS. The gap between minimum and average is 11 FPS, indicating occasional dips but no severe stuttering. The maximum-to-average gap of 12 FPS shows headroom in less demanding scenes.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance relate to the in-game results?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H scores 15028 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1743 in single-core, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. These scores indicate a capable processor that is unlikely to bottleneck the GPU at most settings, as evidenced by the strong 1080p Low result of 150 FPS.

Q: Are there any settings that produce frame rates above 120 FPS?

A: Only one measured configuration exceeds 120 FPS: 1080p Low with an average of 150 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset comes close at 115 FPS, but no other combination reaches this threshold. For high refresh rate displays, the Low preset at 1080p is the only option.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. Its FP32 performance is rated at 15.11 TFLOPS.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's memory configuration appears to be a significant factor at higher resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all settings, but the 128-bit memory bus may limit performance at 4K, where the bandwidth demands increase substantially. The measured data shows that at 4K, even the Medium preset with a minimum of 35 FPS struggles to maintain smooth gameplay, suggesting the memory subsystem is a bottleneck.

The RTX 4060's position relative to its peers is notable. Its average benchmark score of 17639 places it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival is the AMD Radeon HD 7790 with an average score of 17666, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the RTX 4060 is effectively tied with that older card in aggregate benchmarks. However, the RTX 4060's modern architecture provides features like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 support that are relevant for this 2016 title.

The GPU's PassMark scores provide additional context. Its DirectX 11 score of 175 and DirectX 12 score of 76 indicate strong performance in legacy APIs, which is relevant since The Technomancer likely uses DirectX 11. The G3D score of 19545 confirms the GPU's overall capability, while the G2D score of 1037 is less critical for gaming workloads. The GPU's compute performance of 9213 in PassMark GPU Compute suggests it can handle non-graphics tasks without issue.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance. The Low preset averages 150 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 and maximum of 133, indicating stable performance well above the 60 FPS target. High averages 99 FPS, and Ultra averages 77 FPS. All four presets at 1080p are playable, with even the most demanding setting maintaining an average above 75 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable but manageable. Low averages 98 FPS, which remains excellent. Medium averages 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 and maximum of 87, showing that the system can handle 1440p with moderate settings. High averages 64 FPS, which is right at the edge of the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra averages 50 FPS, which is playable but may show noticeable dips during intense action sequences.

At 3840x2160, the system becomes limited. Low averages 54 FPS, which is the only preset that exceeds 50 FPS. Medium averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 48, indicating that frame rates can dip below the 40 FPS mark. High averages 35 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Ultra averages 28 FPS, which falls below the 30 FPS minimum that many consider the floor for playable performance.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the spread is 73 FPS (from 77 to 150). At 1440p, the spread narrows to 48 FPS (from 50 to 98). At 4K, the spread is 26 FPS (from 28 to 54). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as the differences between presets shrink when the render resolution demands more from the hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 1709 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places the system in the 60th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 40% of combinations perform better in this specific game. This ranking is lower than expected given the individual component scores, suggesting that the pairing may have some inefficiency in this title.

The CPU's individual performance is strong, ranking in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core i5-14600T with an average score of 32707, a delta of 0%, meaning they perform identically in aggregate benchmarks. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 scores 32662, a delta of 0.1% slower, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F scores 32750, a delta of -0.2% faster. This places the Ultra 7 155H in a tight cluster of similarly-performing processors.

The GPU's individual performance is more moderate, ranking in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 17639 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon HD 7790 at 17666, a delta of -0.2%. The AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, a delta of 0.3% slower, while the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551, a delta of 0.5% slower. The RTX 4060 is therefore at the top of a group of GPUs that perform within 1% of each other.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile rank and the combo's moderate game-specific rank suggests that The Technomancer may not fully utilize the CPU's capabilities, or that the game is more dependent on GPU performance. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 150 FPS, which is a strong result, but the game's overall ranking of 1709 out of 2825 indicates that other combinations with different CPU-GPU balances perform better.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 99 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS target and provides a significant visual improvement over Medium, which averages 115 FPS but with less detail. The Ultra preset at 77 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize visual quality, but the 22% performance penalty compared to High may not justify the visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, with an average of 75 FPS. This provides smooth gameplay while maintaining acceptable visual quality. The High preset at 64 FPS is acceptable but may dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 50 FPS is borderline, and players who prefer maximum quality should consider whether the lower frame rates are acceptable.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 54 FPS. The Medium preset at 41 FPS is playable but may show noticeable stuttering, and the High preset at 35 FPS is marginal. The Ultra preset at 28 FPS is not recommended, as it falls below the 30 FPS threshold that most consider the minimum for playable performance.

For players with high refresh rate displays, the 1080p Low preset at 150 FPS is the only configuration that takes full advantage of a 144 Hz monitor. The 1080p Medium preset at 115 FPS is also suitable for 120 Hz displays. For 60 Hz displays, 1440p Medium at 75 FPS provides the best balance of resolution and smoothness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H features 16 cores and 22 threads based on the Meteor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, with a TDP of 28 W. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

The CPU's benchmark results indicate strong multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028 and single-core score of 1743 demonstrate a balanced processor that excels in both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. In PassMark tests, the CPU scores 24873 in multithread, 3468 in single-thread, and 86870 in integer math. These results support the notion that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this game.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 83rd among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32697, places it in the upper tier of processors. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of its average score, indicating that the Ultra 7 155H is competitive with other mid-range to high-end processors. The slight negative delta of -0.2% against the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and -0.4% against the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H shows that it is not the absolute fastest, but it is close.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 150 FPS, which is a high frame rate that could potentially stress the CPU in some scenarios. However, the consistent scaling across resolutions suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in most configurations. The CPU's 16 cores and 22 threads provide ample headroom for this 2016 title, and the game likely does not fully utilize the multi-threaded capabilities of this processor.