The Technomancer

# The Technomancer with Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for this pairing of Intel's Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2060. The measured data shows a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering smooth frame rates at 1080p. The combo ranks 2212 out of 2825 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, which suggests that while the CPU has headroom, the aging GPU is the primary constraint for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are steep and revealing. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 85 at 1920x1080 to 56 at 2560x1440, a 34% reduction, and then to 31 at 3840x2160, a further 45% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the render resolution directly dictates the workload. The RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are being pushed hard as pixel count increases.

At Low settings, the trend is even more pronounced. The 1080p average of 130 FPS drops to 85 at 1440p (a 35% decrease) and then plummets to 47 at 4K (a 45% drop from 1440p). The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate is below 50 FPS indicates that the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth, rated at 336.0 GB/s, are simply insufficient for 4K output in this game. The jump from 1080p to 1440p consistently costs about one-third of the performance, while the jump to 4K costs nearly half of the 1440p performance, suggesting a non-linear scaling penalty as the GPU approaches its limits.

The data implies that the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is not the limiting factor in these scenarios. With 20 cores and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, the CPU can feed frames faster than the RTX 2060 can render them. The 1080p Low result of 130 FPS is likely near the ceiling for this game's engine, but the consistent scaling across resolutions points squarely at the GPU as the bottleneck. The 12 nm TU106 chip, with a base clock of 1365 MHz and boost of 1680 MHz, shows its age when asked to fill 4K pixels.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the star of the show in terms of determining playability. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, but The Technomancer's high-resolution textures and effects seem to strain this capacity. The measured frame times at Medium settings show a min FPS of 30 at 4K, which is just at the edge of playability, while the average of 36 FPS is not smooth. The GPU's 1920 shading units and 120 texture mapping units are working hard, but the 48 ROPs may be the limiting factor at high resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark scores tell a story of a mid-range part. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 and Passmark G3D score of 14111 place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the GeForce GTX 580 (0% delta) and the Radeon 680M (0.1% delta), which are all within a percentage point of each other. This suggests the RTX 2060 is a competent but not outstanding performer in synthetic tests, which aligns with the in-game results.

Interestingly, the GPU's Passmark scores show a DirectX 11 score of 110 versus a DirectX 12 score of 53, indicating that this Turing architecture part is significantly faster in older APIs. The Technomancer, being a 2016 title, likely uses an older DirectX 11 pipeline, which plays to the RTX 2060's strengths. However, the 4K results remain poor, confirming that pixel throughput, not API overhead, is the limiting factor. The 12.90 TFLOPS FP16 performance is not fully utilized in this game, as most titles of this era rely on FP32, which is rated at 6.451 TFLOPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core Ultra 7 265 and RTX 2060 ranks 2212 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the 22nd percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 78% of tested combos perform better in this specific game. This low ranking is surprising given the CPU's capabilities but makes sense when considering the GPU's limitations. The CPU is a top-tier part in the database, with an average benchmark score of 64640 and a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 4464P, scores 64823, a delta of -0.3%, meaning the Core Ultra 7 265 is virtually tied with server-class silicon.

The GPU, however, drags the combo down. With an average benchmark score of 15290 and a 58th percentile ranking, the RTX 2060 is a mid-pack performer. Its nearest rival, the GeForce GTX 580, scores 15283, a 0% delta, showing that the RTX 2060 is barely ahead of a card from 2010 in synthetic benchmarks. The combo rank of 2212 suggests that many systems with older or weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs outperform this pairing in The Technomancer, as the game is clearly GPU-bound.

The delta between the CPU's high percentile (93) and the GPU's lower percentile (58) highlights the imbalance. A more balanced pairing would have a GPU in the 80th percentile or higher to leverage the CPU's capabilities. In this case, the RTX 2060 is the weak link, and the measured FPS data confirms that no amount of CPU headroom can overcome the GPU's pixel-pushing limits at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with High settings, which achieves an average of 85 FPS. This provides a smooth, responsive experience without the need to drop to Medium, which yields 100 FPS but with a lower visual fidelity. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 19 FPS (85 to 66), which is a 22% reduction for likely marginal visual gains. Therefore, High is the sweet spot for 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests that Medium settings at 65 FPS is the most playable option, with a min FPS of 55 and max of 75. High settings at 56 FPS are acceptable but closer to the edge of smoothness, while Ultra at 43 FPS begins to feel sluggish. Low settings at 85 FPS are smooth but sacrifice too much visual quality for a 1440p resolution. For 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset.

For 4K, the data is clear: this combo is not suited for 3840x2160. Even Low settings only achieve 47 FPS, which is borderline, and Medium dips to 36 FPS with a min of 30. High and Ultra at 31 and 24 FPS respectively are unplayable. If 4K is a must, Low settings are the only viable option, but the experience will be compromised. Players should stick to 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings for the best balance of performance and quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are: Low 130 FPS, Medium 100 FPS (min 85, max 115), High 85 FPS, and Ultra 66 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 49% reduction, showing that the settings presets have a significant impact on performance at this resolution. The Medium preset's min FPS of 85 ensures that even in busy scenes, the frame rate stays above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to: Low 85 FPS, Medium 65 FPS (min 55, max 75), High 56 FPS, and Ultra 43 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 49% again, but the absolute values are lower. The Medium preset's min of 55 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, but the average of 65 FPS is acceptable for most players. High at 56 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 47 FPS, Medium 36 FPS (min 30, max 41), High 31 FPS, and Ultra 24 FPS. The Medium preset's min of 30 FPS is the bare minimum for playability, and the High and Ultra presets are effectively unplayable. The data shows a clear cliff between 1440p and 4K, where the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute power run out of headroom.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 4K, even Low settings only achieve 47 FPS, while Medium drops to 36 FPS and Ultra to 24 FPS. The 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 2060 are insufficient for smooth 4K gameplay, so this is not recommended.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 85 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. At 1440p, Medium at 65 FPS is the most playable option, but 1080p is the sweet spot for this GPU.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in this context?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, which is 0% different from the GeForce GTX 580 (15283) and 0.1% ahead of the Radeon 680M (15270). It is also 0.6% ahead of the RTX 3050 OEM (15199) and 0.8% ahead of the RX 7600 (15171), showing it is a mid-pack GPU.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 a bottleneck in this game?

A: No. With 20 cores, a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, the Core Ultra 7 265 has ample headroom. The frame rate scaling across resolutions indicates the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in the database?

A: This specific combo ranks 2212 out of 2825 tested combinations for The Technomancer, placing it in the lower 22% of all tested systems. This is due to the GPU's mid-range performance, not the CPU.

Q: Should I use Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The data shows Ultra at 1080p achieves 66 FPS, which is playable, but High at 85 FPS offers a 22% performance increase. Given the visual difference between High and Ultra is often minor, High is the preferred preset based on the measured rows.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 2.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and it has 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark results are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960. In Passmark, it scores 49682 in multithread and 4689 in single thread, with a physics score of 2923.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The game's engine, being from 2016, likely uses fewer than 8 threads effectively, so the Core Ultra 7 265's 20 cores are mostly idle. The high single-core performance, evidenced by the Cinebench R15 single-core score of 600, ensures that the CPU can handle game logic and physics without bottlenecking the GPU. The Passmark physics score of 2923 suggests strong computational throughput for in-game physics.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P, which scores 64823 (a -0.3% delta), and the Core Ultra 7 265F, which scores 64438 (a 0.3% delta). This shows that the Core Ultra 7 265 is a top-tier processor in synthetic benchmarks. However, in this game, its capabilities are underutilized. The 1080p Low result of 130 FPS is likely near the engine's frame rate cap or the point where the GPU becomes the limit, not the CPU. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU could yield much higher frame rates in The Technomancer, as the CPU is clearly not the constraining factor at any resolution tested.