The Technomancer

The Technomancer is a 2016 Action RPG, and this combo pairing the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus with the AMD Radeon RX 570 produces results that are firmly at the bottom of the tested hierarchy. Benchmark data shows this combination ranks 2712 out of 2825 tested combos for this specific game, placing it in the bottom 4% of all systems evaluated. The measured frame rates confirm that this is a pairing where the GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck, and the powerful CPU cannot compensate for the graphics card’s limitations. For anyone considering this setup, the data indicates that playable performance is only achievable at 1080p with lower settings, and even then, the experience is far from smooth by modern standards.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame places this system at 2712 out of 2825 tested combos, meaning it outperforms only about 113 other configurations. This is a bottom-tier result, and the ranking reflects a fundamental imbalance: the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a top-tier processor, sitting in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the RX 570 is a much more modest performer in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. The data suggests that the CPU is capable of far more than this GPU can deliver, and the overall combo ranking suffers because the graphics card limits the system’s gaming potential.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has an average benchmark score of 93785, which is essentially tied with the Intel Xeon 6520P at 93786 (0% delta). It trails the AMD EPYC 4564P by 1.5%, the AMD EPYC 9175F by 1.9%, and the AMD EPYC 4565P by 2.1%. These are all server-class processors, which highlights that the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is competitive with high-end workstation silicon in raw compute benchmarks. However, in a gaming context, this raw CPU power is largely wasted when paired with a GPU like the RX 570.

For the GPU, the RX 570’s nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the AMD Radeon RX 6800M scores 28874 (0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon R9 M295X scores 28580 (0.7% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 470 scores 28996 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 scores 28421 (1.2% lower). The RX 570’s average benchmark score of 28766 places it squarely in this mid-range group. Yet, in The Technomancer, the RX 570’s 4 GB VRAM and older architecture prove insufficient for high-resolution or high-settings gameplay, dragging the entire combo down.

The percentile data reinforces the mismatch. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking means it is among the top 4% of all processors tested, while the GPU’s 74th percentile is respectable but not exceptional. In a game like The Technomancer, which appears to be GPU-bound at most settings, the combo’s rank is dictated by the weaker component. The data shows that this system is not competitive with even mid-tier combos for this title, and users should expect significant compromises in visual quality and resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GPU has a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The memory subsystem consists of 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a modest specification by any modern standard, particularly when paired with a CPU that supports DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5.

In The Technomancer, the GPU’s VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth become critical factors. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K resolution, the RX 570 struggles severely. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is just 16. Dropping to Low settings at 4K yields 25 FPS on average, while Medium produces 19 FPS (with a minimum of 16 and maximum of 22), and Ultra falls to 13 FPS. These numbers are unplayable for any action-oriented game, and they indicate that the GPU is completely overwhelmed at 4K.

At 1440p, the situation improves slightly but remains poor. High settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 29 FPS, Low settings hit 45 FPS, Medium achieves 34 FPS (min 29, max 40), and Ultra drops to 23 FPS. Only at 1080p does the RX 570 approach playability. At 1920x1080, High settings average 45 FPS, Low settings reach 68 FPS, Medium hits 53 FPS (min 45, max 60), and Ultra manages 35 FPS. The pattern is clear: the GPU’s 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high resolutions, and even at 1080p, Ultra settings push the card to its limits.

The GPU’s benchmark results reinforce this picture. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 570 scores 880. Its Geekbench scores are 39349 in Metal, 32084 in OpenCL, and 42752 in Vulkan. These are low scores compared to modern GPUs, and the percentileVsAllGpus of 74 shows it is better than only about a quarter of the tested GPUs. The RX 570’s launch MSRP was 169 USD, but that historical price does not change the fact that in this game, the GPU is the primary limiter. The data shows that the RX 570 cannot handle The Technomancer’s demands at anything above 1080p with medium settings, and even then, frame rates are inconsistent.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and steep decline in performance as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound behavior. Moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K, the average frame rates drop significantly across all settings. At High settings, the progression is 45 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45% drop from 1440p to 4K, relative to the 1080p baseline. The scaling is not linear, but the trend is unmistakable: the higher the resolution, the more the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

At Low settings, the scaling is similar but with higher absolute numbers. The average FPS goes from 68 at 1080p, to 45 at 1440p, to 25 at 4K. This is a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 44% drop from 1440p to 4K (again relative to 1080p). The fact that even Low settings at 4K cannot maintain 30 FPS confirms that the GPU is utterly inadequate for 4K gaming in this title. The RX 570’s 4 GB VRAM is likely a major factor, as higher resolutions require more memory for textures and framebuffers, and the card simply does not have enough capacity.

For Medium settings, the data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, which provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 and maximum of 60. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 34 FPS with a minimum of 29 and maximum of 40. At 4K Medium, the average is 19 FPS with a minimum of 16 and maximum of 22. The minimum FPS values show that even at 1080p Medium, there are moments where the frame rate dips to 45 FPS, which is noticeable in a game that benefits from smooth action. At higher resolutions, the minimum FPS values are well below playable levels.

The resolution scaling data indicates that the limiting component is unquestionably the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively stable across resolutions, since the CPU workload is largely independent of resolution. Instead, the steep drops from 1080p to 4K are characteristic of a graphics card that cannot keep up with pixel throughput. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is clearly not the issue here. The data suggests that to get playable performance in The Technomancer, users must stay at 1080p, and even then, Low or Medium settings are the only realistic options.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and setting for this combo in The Technomancer?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings produces the highest average FPS at 68, while Medium settings at 1080p yield 53 FPS (min 45, max 60). For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1080p Medium is the most reasonable choice, as High settings drop to 45 FPS and Ultra falls to 35 FPS.

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS recorded is 25 on Low settings, which is below the 30 FPS threshold generally considered playable. High settings at 4K average 16 FPS, Medium averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 13 FPS, all of which are effectively unplayable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the RX 570 ranks in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. The steep FPS drops with increasing resolution confirm that the GPU cannot handle the workload, while the CPU has ample headroom.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 28766. It is 0.4% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (28874), 0.7% faster than the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28580), 0.8% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28996), and 1.2% faster than the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (28421).

Q: What is the CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has an average benchmark score of 93785. It is essentially tied with the Intel Xeon 6520P (93786, 0% delta), and trails the AMD EPYC 4564P by 1.5%, the AMD EPYC 9175F by 1.9%, and the AMD EPYC 4565P by 2.1%.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for Medium settings at different resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 45. At 1440p Medium, the minimum drops to 29. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 16. These values show that even the most consistent settings experience significant frame drops at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in The Technomancer is presented below, organized by resolution and settings. All values are average FPS unless otherwise noted.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are as follows:

• High: 16 FPS average
• Low: 25 FPS average
• Medium: 19 FPS average, with a minimum of 16 and maximum of 22
• Ultra: 13 FPS average

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the results are:

• High: 29 FPS average
• Low: 45 FPS average
• Medium: 34 FPS average, with a minimum of 29 and maximum of 40
• Ultra: 23 FPS average

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the results are:

• High: 45 FPS average
• Low: 68 FPS average
• Medium: 53 FPS average, with a minimum of 45 and maximum of 60
• Ultra: 35 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern across all settings: performance degrades significantly as resolution increases. The largest margin between settings at any given resolution is at 1080p, where Low settings (68 FPS) outperform Ultra (35 FPS) by nearly a factor of two. At 4K, the margin narrows in absolute terms, but all values are so low that the differences are less meaningful. For example, at 4K, Low (25 FPS) is only 12 FPS higher than Ultra (13 FPS), but both are unplayable.

The Medium settings data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, which reveal the frame time variance. At 1080p Medium, the range is 45 to 60 FPS, indicating a 15 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 29 to 40 FPS, an 11 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 16 to 22 FPS, a 6 FPS spread. This suggests that as resolution increases, the frame rate becomes more consistent but at a much lower average, which is typical of a GPU that is completely saturated.

For users targeting 60 FPS, the only configuration that comes close is 1080p Low, which averages 68 FPS. However, this requires sacrificing visual quality. At 1080p High, the average of 45 FPS is noticeably below 60, and at 1080p Ultra, the 35 FPS average is far from smooth. The data indicates that this combo is only suitable for 1080p gaming with modest settings, and any attempt to increase resolution will result in sub-30 FPS performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh codename and built on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It has 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU’s TDP is 125 W, and it supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. It also supports ECC memory and has 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache.

In terms of raw compute, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a powerhouse. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 44253, with a single-core score of 2439. In Cinebench R20, it scores 24461 multi-core and 3453 single-core. The PassMark scores are equally impressive: 68574 in multithread, 5068 in single-thread, 229491 in floating point math, 175986 in integer math, and 804322 in data compression. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 93785 places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are all server-class processors from Intel and AMD, as detailed earlier.

Given this CPU’s capabilities, it is clear that in The Technomancer, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is not the limiting factor. The game’s performance is governed by the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The CPU’s high single-thread score of 5068 in PassMark and 2439 in Cinebench R23 suggests it can handle the game’s logic and AI tasks without issue. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be under the most relative load, the system achieves 68 FPS, which is likely near the GPU’s maximum output rather than a CPU limitation.

The CPU’s memory support for DDR5 with 115.2 GB/s of bandwidth also ensures that memory bandwidth is not a bottleneck, even if the GPU’s 224.0 GB/s is insufficient for higher resolutions. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample capacity for game data, and the 24 threads can handle any background tasks without impacting gameplay. In summary, the CPU is a top-tier component that is wasted in this pairing, and the data confirms that upgrading the GPU would be the only path to better performance in The Technomancer. The CPU’s launch MSRP of $299 reflects its high-end positioning, but in this specific game, its contribution is minimal due to the GPU constraint.