The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, proves to be remarkably scalable on modern hardware. When paired with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, the game delivers a wide spectrum of frame rates that clearly delineate the roles of the CPU and GPU across different resolutions and presets. The data indicates a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while at 1080p, the CPU’s substantial capabilities are brought to the forefront, resulting in extreme performance that exceeds 350 FPS on the lowest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher pixel counts. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 236 FPS at 1920x1080 to 154 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 82 FPS. Scaling further to 3840x2160 yields an average of 85 FPS, which represents a 64% decrease from the 1080p figure. This dramatic scaling curve is a clear indicator that the rendering load is saturating the GPU’s capabilities as pixel count increases.

The pattern holds true across all settings presets. At the Medium preset, the transition from 1080p to 1440p sees a drop from 276 FPS to 180 FPS, and then to 99 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, the most demanding, shows a similar trajectory: 184 FPS at 1080p, 120 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. The consistency of this drop-off—roughly a 30-40% reduction in performance with each step up in resolution—suggests that the game’s rendering pipeline is heavily dependent on fill rate and memory bandwidth, both of which are taxed more as the number of pixels being processed multiplies.

The most telling observation is the gap between presets at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 171 FPS (355 vs. 184). At 4K, that same gap narrows to just 63 FPS (129 vs. 66). This compression of the performance envelope at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic is less of a factor when the GPU is spending more time on pixel shading. The data strongly suggests that for 4K gaming, the RTX 5090 D’s compute and memory resources are the limiting component, while at 1080p, the system is more balanced, allowing the CPU’s high core count and clock speeds to push frame rates to exceptionally high levels.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a formidable piece of silicon, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture. Its specifications—32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s—provide an enormous amount of headroom for a game from 2016. The high memory capacity is a key factor in its 4K performance, as it prevents any potential VRAM capacity limits from becoming a bottleneck, allowing the GPU to focus purely on compute.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz, are relatively high and contribute to its raw throughput. The benchmark results for the card, such as a Passmark G3D score of 44065, place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, indicating top-tier performance. However, the game’s performance scaling indicates that even this level of power is fully utilized as resolution increases.

In The Technomancer, the GPU’s role is best exemplified by the 4K results. At the Low preset, the RTX 5090 D manages 129 FPS, but this drops to 85 FPS on High and 66 FPS on Ultra. This is not a case of the game being poorly optimized; rather, it highlights the sheer number of pixel and shading operations required at 3840x2160. The GPU is clearly the limiting factor at this resolution, as the frame rate scales almost linearly with the rendering workload. The 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth is critical here, as the massive texture and geometry data required for high-resolution rendering must be fed to the processing cores at a sufficient rate to avoid stalling. The data shows that the RTX 5090 D is more than capable of handling this game, but the demands of 4K Ultra push it to a point where 66 FPS is the maximum attainable average.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, the pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves an exceptionally high rank. The data places this combo at rank 2 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This top-tier placement is a direct result of the combined strengths of both components.

The CPU, with its 20 cores and 20 threads, is a high-performance part that scores in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, are only 1% and 1.3% behind in average benchmark score, respectively. This indicates that the 265K is a top-tier processor, but not head-and-shoulders above its closest competitors. However, its performance is sufficient to not bottleneck the GPU, especially at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s ranking is also strong, sitting in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database show that it is a close call at the top, with the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT being just 1.6% behind. The combination of a top-6% CPU and a top-8% GPU results in a synergistic pairing that is near the pinnacle of the database’s rankings. The fact that it is ranked 2nd out of 2825 combos suggests that only one other configuration has managed to squeeze out slightly higher frame rates in this specific game, a signal of the balance and power of this specific pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with the Low preset, the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves an average of 355 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to the 1440p High performance?

A: At 4K with the Ultra preset, the system averages 66 FPS, which is less than half of the 154 FPS average seen at 2560x1440 with the High preset.

Q: Does the CPU become a limiting factor at any resolution tested?

A: At 1080p, the gap between presets is the largest, and the frame rates are exceptionally high, suggesting the CPU is doing its job well. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the more significant frame rate drops.

Q: What is the benefit of the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of memory for this game?

A: The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory ensures that VRAM capacity is never a limiting factor in The Technomancer, even at 4K Ultra settings, allowing the GPU to focus its resources on compute and rendering tasks.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 2nd out of 2825 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.1% of all systems tested for The Technomancer.

Q: Is the performance difference between Low and Ultra presets consistent across all resolutions?

A: No. At 1080p, the difference is 171 FPS. At 4K, the performance gap narrows to 63 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU is more heavily taxed at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, based on the Arrow Lake architecture, provides the computational foundation for this system. With 20 cores and 20 threads, it offers substantial parallel processing power. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is also strong. The CPU’s benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35850 and a single-core score of 2020, place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, confirming its high-end status.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with the Low preset hitting 355 FPS and the Medium preset achieving 276 FPS. These numbers indicate that the CPU is capable of processing the game’s logic and issuing draw calls fast enough to keep the GPU fully fed. The CPU’s high multi-core performance is likely beneficial for handling the game’s complex AI and physics calculations, which are common in Action RPGs.

However, the data also shows that the CPU’s performance is not the primary factor limiting frame rates. As the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the frame rate drops significantly, even with the same CPU. For instance, at the High preset, the frame rate falls from 236 FPS at 1080p to 154 FPS at 1440p and then to 85 FPS at 4K. This demonstrates that the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU’s headroom is not fully utilized. The 125W TDP and the 3nm process node of the CPU allow for these high sustained clocks, which is essential for maintaining high frame rates in less GPU-intensive scenarios. The data suggests that the Core Ultra 7 265K provides ample performance to avoid becoming a limiting factor, even in a best-case scenario for a game from 2016.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings presets for this combination depend heavily on the target resolution. For players seeking the highest possible frame rates at 1080p, the Low preset at 355 FPS offers an incredibly smooth experience, but the Medium preset at 276 FPS provides a better balance of visual fidelity and performance, especially considering the minimum FPS of 235. At 1440p, the High preset at 154 FPS is an excellent choice, providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium (180 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate well above the 144Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors. The Ultra preset at 120 FPS is also viable for 1440p if visual quality is the priority, as it remains above 60 FPS.

For 4K gaming, the choice is more nuanced. The Ultra preset at 66 FPS is playable and offers the best visual quality, but the High preset at 85 FPS provides a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS and is a safer recommendation for a consistent experience. The Medium preset at 99 FPS is the sweet spot for 4K, offering a significant performance boost over High (85 FPS) while still maintaining a high level of visual detail. The data shows that the Low preset at 4K (129 FPS) sacrifices too much visual quality for a performance gain that is not necessary for a smooth experience. Therefore, the Medium preset is the recommended choice for 4K, as it delivers an average FPS of 99 without pushing the GPU to its limits, as evidenced by the recorded maximum of 114 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the average frame rates recorded for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination in The Technomancer.

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptional across all presets. The Low settings produce an average of 355 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 276 FPS, with a minimum of 235 FPS and a maximum of 317 FPS. The High preset yields an average of 236 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, still manages a very high average of 184 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down from 1080p. The Low preset averages 235 FPS. The Medium preset averages 180 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 153 FPS and a maximum of 207 FPS. The High preset averages 154 FPS. The Ultra preset, while still playable, drops to an average of 120 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, but the performance is still respectable. The Low preset averages 129 FPS. The Medium preset averages 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS. The High preset averages 85 FPS. The Ultra preset brings the system to its knees, with an average of just 66 FPS.

The data shows a clear and consistent pattern: performance scales inversely with both resolution and settings quality. The system is capable of delivering a highly enjoyable experience at all resolutions, with 1080p and 1440p offering the headroom for high refresh rate displays, while 4K gaming is best suited for 60Hz displays, where the Medium and High presets provide the best balance of visual quality and frame rate stability.