The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for modern hardware. The measured data for this Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile combo shows a wide performance envelope, ranging from 39 FPS at 4K Ultra to 214 FPS at 1080p Low. This page analyzes those results to provide clear settings guidance and component-level insights based strictly on the measured FPS rows.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data reveals a clear hierarchy in performance scaling across the four available presets. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 214 FPS for Low, 164 FPS for Medium, 140 FPS for High, and 109 FPS for Ultra. This indicates that even at the highest quality preset, the system delivers a very smooth experience well above the 60 FPS threshold. The step from High to Ultra costs 31 FPS, which is a significant drop for what is often a marginal visual gain in older titles. For competitive play or maximum fluidity, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear choice, but the data suggests that High is the sweet spot for balancing visual fidelity with a high refresh rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern continues but the margins tighten. The average FPS values are 140 for Low, 107 for Medium, 92 for High, and 72 for Ultra. Here, the Ultra preset still maintains a playable average, but the 72 FPS figure is notably closer to the edge of comfort for fast-paced action. The High preset, with its 92 FPS average, offers a substantial buffer and is the recommended starting point for this resolution. The drop from High to Ultra is 20 FPS, which represents a 21.7% performance penalty. The data shows that Medium and High options provide the best frame time consistency, with the Medium preset showing a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. Average FPS drops to 77 for Low, 59 for Medium, 50 for High, and 39 for Ultra. The Ultra preset is effectively unplayable for a smooth experience, and even High dips below the 60 FPS target. For 4K gaming, the data strongly suggests using the Medium preset, which achieves a 59 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. This provides the best playable experience at this resolution, though users with variable refresh rate displays might find the Low preset’s 77 FPS average more comfortable. The performance delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 38 FPS, indicating a massive 97% performance scaling range that highlights the GPU's workload.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is the primary driver of frame rates in The Technomancer, as evidenced by the dramatic FPS shifts when altering resolution and quality settings. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth proves sufficient for the game's demands at all tested configurations. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, where even the Low preset only yields 77 FPS, while the same preset at 1080p produces 214 FPS. This 137 FPS difference is a direct consequence of the increased pixel count and memory pressure at higher resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1290 MHz and a boost of 1665 MHz, are typical for a mobile part, but the architecture's efficiency is what allows it to hit these numbers. The benchmark results for the GPU show a Passmark G3D score of 24926, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile with an average score of 38349 and a deltaPct of -0.6, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 with an average score of 37648 and a deltaPct of 1.3. This places the 4080 Mobile in a competitive position, but the game's specific workload shows that raw compute power isn't everything.

The frame rate scaling from 4K Ultra (39 FPS) to 4K Low (77 FPS) demonstrates the GPU's sensitivity to texture and shading complexity. The 38 FPS gain from lowering settings is a larger absolute jump than the 33 FPS gain seen when moving from 1440p Ultra (72 FPS) to 1440p Low (140 FPS). This suggests that at 4K, the GPU's shading units and texture units are heavily saturated, and reducing their workload has an outsized impact on performance. The GPU's FP32 performance of 24.72 TFLOPS and texture rate of 386.3 GTexel/s are the resources being taxed here. The measured data indicates that for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, the Medium preset is the ceiling for this GPU in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX provides a strong foundation for the GPU, but the benchmark data suggests it is rarely the bottleneck in The Technomancer. With 20 cores and 20 threads, the CPU has ample parallel processing capability, reflected in its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 40642 and Passmark multithread score of 47985. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5737, ensures that game logic and draw calls are processed efficiently. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz is a key asset here.

Evidence of the CPU's sufficiency is found in the 1080p Low preset results. At 214 FPS, the system is producing the highest frame rate in the dataset, which approaches the limits of what a game engine from 2016 can typically output. The fact that the FPS scales so dramatically with resolution (214 FPS at 1080p to 77 FPS at 4K at Low settings) indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth are more than adequate for this game's data streaming needs.

In the nearestRivals data, the CPU's average benchmark score of 63173 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-13790F, which has a deltaPct of 0.1. This places the 265HX in a solid performance tier. The Passmark single-thread score of 4500 is particularly relevant for older games like The Technomancer, which often have single-threaded logic loops. The data confirms that the CPU is not holding back the GPU at any settings or resolution, as the FPS differences between presets are consistently large. This is a balanced pairing for this title, with the GPU being the decisive factor in overall performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for a 60 FPS target at 1440p?

A: The data shows that the High preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 92 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 72 FPS. Both are above 60 FPS, but High provides a larger buffer for demanding scenes. If you want the absolute highest quality, Ultra is still playable, but High is safer for maintaining a consistent 60+ FPS experience.

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

A: Yes, but with compromises. The measured results show a 59 FPS average at 4K Medium, with a minimum of 50 FPS. The Low preset achieves 77 FPS. At 4K High and Ultra, the average drops to 50 FPS and 39 FPS respectively, which may be too inconsistent for smooth gameplay. Medium is the recommended setting for a playable 4K experience.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 Mobile the limiting component in this setup?

A: Yes, the benchmark data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. This is evident from the scaling of frame rates with resolution. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 214 at 1080p to 140 at 1440p and 77 at 4K. This significant drop with pixel count is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX has an average benchmark score of 63173. Its closest rival is the Intel Core i7-13790F, which has an average score of 63080, showing a negligible deltaPct of 0.1. This means the 265HX is statistically tied with that chip in overall performance, placing it in a high percentile (93rd) of all CPUs.

Q: What does the FPS range on Medium settings tell us?

A: The Medium preset has the only recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the range is 139 to 189 FPS. At 1440p, it's 91 to 123 FPS. At 4K, it's 50 to 68 FPS. This data shows that the frame pacing is consistent, with no severe stutters, as the minimum FPS is always a reasonable fraction of the average.

Q: Is there a big performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. At every resolution, the Ultra preset is significantly slower than Low. For example, at 1080p, the average FPS drops from 214 on Low to 109 on Ultra, a 105 FPS difference. At 4K, the drop is from 77 FPS to 39 FPS. This indicates a heavy reliance on GPU shading and texture work.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions is the most telling indicator of the system's balance. When moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at the High preset, the average FPS drops from 140 to 92, a 34.3% reduction. This is a significant hit that corresponds to the 77.8% increase in pixel count (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million). The scaling is not perfectly linear, suggesting that additional factors like memory bandwidth come into play.

The jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at High is even more punishing. The average FPS falls from 92 to 50, a 45.7% decrease. The pixel count increases by 125% (from 3.69 million to 8.29 million), but the frame rate does not drop proportionally. This indicates that the GPU is running out of raw compute throughput, and the 12 GB of VRAM might be hitting capacity limits with the larger frame buffers and higher resolution textures.

The data for the Low preset shows a similar trend. FPS drops from 214 at 1080p to 140 at 1440p, and then to 77 at 4K. The absolute drop from 1440p to 4K is 63 FPS, which is larger than the 74 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p. This suggests that the GPU's compute units are saturated at 4K, and the scaling becomes more pronounced. The pattern strongly indicates a GPU-bound scenario across all tested settings. The CPU's performance headroom is clear, as it maintains high frame rates at lower resolutions without limiting the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: The data shows this is the resolution where the system excels. At Low settings, the average FPS is 214, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset achieves an average of 164 FPS, with a measured range of 139 to 189 FPS. The High preset yields 140 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the average down to 109 FPS. All presets are eminently playable, with even the worst-case Ultra setting providing a high-refresh-rate experience.

2560x1440: This resolution offers a balanced experience. The Low preset maintains a high average of 140 FPS. Medium produces 107 FPS, with a range of 91 to 123 FPS. High follows at 92 FPS, and Ultra drops to 72 FPS. The data indicates that for a 1440p monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate, the High or Medium presets are the best choices, as they provide frame rates that can utilize the display's capabilities. The Ultra preset's 72 FPS average is still smooth but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

3840x2160: The 4K results are where the GPU's limits are exposed. The Low preset is the only one that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 77. The Medium preset hits an average of 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68, which is a borderline playable experience. High drops to 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 39 FPS. The data clearly shows that for a consistent 60 FPS at 4K, the Medium preset is the highest quality option available. The step from Medium to High costs 9 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 11 FPS, showing a steep decline in performance as settings increase.