The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that clearly separates CPU and GPU responsibilities. The measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 reveals a system where the graphics card is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the processor’s substantial core count ensures headroom is rarely an issue. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data to interpret how this combination behaves, where it ranks among other tested pairings, and which settings offer the most playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across the three tested resolutions shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo averages 76 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 50 FPS, a reduction of 26 FPS. At 4K, the average falls to 27 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 64% performance loss, which strongly indicates that the Radeon RX 580’s rendering capabilities are being saturated as pixel count increases.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. With High settings, the averages are 50 FPS at 1080p, 33 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 17 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is another 15 FPS. This near-linear decline suggests that the GPU’s fillrate and shading power are the limiting factors, not the CPU. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with its 24 cores and boost clock of 5.50 GHz, is unlikely to be a bottleneck at any of these settings, as the frame rate is consistently tied to resolution changes rather than scene complexity or draw calls.

At 4K, the frame rates become critically low. The Ultra preset yields only 14 FPS, and the High preset is barely better at 18 FPS. Even dropping to Low settings at 4K only recovers 27 FPS, which is still below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that this resolution is not viable for any preset, as even the lowest settings place an insurmountable load on the GPU. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is more moderate, but the 4K results confirm that the RX 580 is simply outmatched by the pixel throughput required at that resolution.

The measured minimum and maximum FPS data, available only for the Medium preset, provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the frame time ranges from 50 to 67 FPS, a 17 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 32 to 44 FPS, a 12 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 18 to 24 FPS, a 6 FPS spread. The shrinking variance at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated, reducing the impact of momentary scene complexities. This further confirms that the GPU is the limiting component; the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames, but the GPU cannot process them fast enough at higher pixel counts.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz provide substantial single-thread and multi-thread capability. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor scores 44,253 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,439 in single-core, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. This level of performance is far beyond what a game like The Technomancer, released in 2016, would require for physics, AI, or game logic.

The data does not show any scenario where the CPU becomes the limiting factor. Across all settings and resolutions, the FPS scales consistently with GPU load. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rate plateaus at lower resolutions, where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the 1080p Low preset achieves 76 FPS, which is a high frame rate but not limited by the CPU, as the 1440p and 4K results show a clear decline. The processor’s 36 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample data throughput for the game’s assets.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus shows a 0% deltaPct against the Intel Xeon 6520P, a -1.5% deltaPct against the AMD EPYC 4564P, and a -1.9% deltaPct against the AMD EPYC 9175F. These are all server-class processors with similar average benchmark scores, reinforcing that this CPU is in the top tier of available hardware. For a game from 2016, this processor is vastly overqualified, and the benchmark results reflect that the CPU role is simply to feed the GPU without introducing any frame pacing issues. The measured FPS data has no inconsistencies that would indicate CPU throttling or core scheduling problems.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip built on a 14 nm process, featuring 2,304 shading units and 32 ROPs. Its base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and it is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 12,928 places it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, indicating mid-range performance. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with a -0.1% deltaPct and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER with a -0.4% deltaPct, showing that the RX 580 is competitive with those parts.

The GPU’s role in this pairing is clearly the dominant factor. The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is sufficient for the game’s textures at all settings, but the raw compute power is limited. The FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS is the ceiling for this card, and the measured FPS data shows that ceiling being hit at various resolution and setting combinations. At 1080p Low, the card can produce 76 FPS, but this drops to 50 FPS at 1440p and 27 FPS at 4K with the same settings. This is a direct consequence of the pixel fillrate requirements.

The GPU’s texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s are moderate for its class. The 4K Ultra preset, which likely demands the highest texture filtering and shading complexity, results in just 14 FPS. This is a 82% drop from the 1080p Low result, demonstrating that the GPU is overwhelmed when both resolution and settings are maximized. The data suggests that the RX 580 is best utilized at 1080p, where it can maintain playable frame rates across most presets, but it struggles significantly as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the Radeon RX 580 ranks 2,583 out of 2,825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the bottom 9% of all tested pairings. This rank is heavily influenced by the GPU’s mid-range performance, as the CPU is in the top 4% of all processors. The rank indicates that while the CPU is powerful, the overall gaming performance is dragged down by the GPU’s inability to keep up with the game’s demands at higher settings.

This ranking is not surprising given the GPU’s percentile of 53, which is just above the median. The combo is likely outperformed by systems with lower-tier CPUs but significantly better GPUs. The data shows that the CPU’s performance is not the bottleneck, so any improvement in the GPU would yield a substantial rank improvement. The 2,583rd rank out of 2,825 combos suggests that this pairing is not optimized for this specific game, as the CPU is overkill for the GPU’s capabilities.

In practical terms, this combo ranks poorly because the game’s performance is entirely GPU-bound. The CPU’s 24 cores and high clock speeds contribute nothing to the FPS beyond ensuring that the GPU is not starved of data. The measured FPS data confirms this, as the frame rates are consistently low at 4K, regardless of settings. For users with this combo, the rank serves as a warning that the GPU is the limiting factor, and that upgrading the GPU would be the most effective path to better performance in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo are at 1080p with the Low preset, which yields an average of 76 FPS. This is the only preset and resolution combination that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 58 FPS, which is still playable, and the High preset at 58 FPS offers 50 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 39 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, the Low preset provides 50 FPS, which is acceptable, but the Medium preset at 38 FPS begins to feel less fluid. The High preset at 33 FPS is marginal, and the Ultra preset at 25 FPS is not recommended. At 4K, all presets are below 30 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable. The Low preset at 4K provides 27 FPS, which is the best 4K result, but it is still a sub-30 FPS experience.

Therefore, the data recommends sticking to 1080p for the best experience. The Low preset offers the highest frame rate, but the Medium preset at 58 FPS provides a better balance between visual quality and performance, as it is only 18 FPS lower than Low but likely offers significantly improved visuals. The High preset is also viable if the user prioritizes visual fidelity over frame rate, but the Ultra preset should be avoided as it dips below 40 FPS. For users who must play at 1440p, the Low preset is the only option that maintains a 50 FPS average, while Medium is a compromise at 38 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 76 FPS, Medium settings produce 58 FPS, High settings produce 50 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 39 FPS. The Medium preset has a measured minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS, indicating a stable frame time distribution.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low settings produce 50 FPS, Medium settings produce 38 FPS, High settings produce 33 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 25 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS, showing a wider range of frame times compared to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low settings produce 27 FPS, Medium settings produce 21 FPS, High settings produce 18 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 14 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 18 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS, which is a narrow range, indicating consistent but low performance.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is the only resolution where all presets exceed 30 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low and Medium presets exceed 30 FPS. At 4K, no preset exceeds 30 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution is significant, with a 37 FPS gap at 1080p, a 25 FPS gap at 1440p, and a 13 FPS gap at 4K. This diminishing gap at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the settings have less impact when the pixel count is already overwhelming the GPU.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets achieve playable frame rates above 30 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p yields 76 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 39 FPS. At 1440p, the Low preset drops to 50 FPS, and at 4K, the best result is 27 FPS on Low.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has a 0% deltaPct against the Intel Xeon 6520P, a -1.5% deltaPct against the AMD EPYC 4564P, and a -1.9% deltaPct against the AMD EPYC 9175F. This indicates that the CPU performs nearly identically to these server-class processors in average benchmark scores.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes, the data strongly indicates a GPU bottleneck. The FPS scales consistently with resolution changes, dropping 64% from 1080p Low to 4K Low. The CPU’s high performance, in the 96th percentile, does not compensate for the GPU’s 53rd percentile ranking, and the frame rates are entirely dependent on the GPU’s rendering load.

Q: What is the measured frame rate range for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 has an average FPS of 38, with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. This range shows that the frame times are relatively stable but still below the threshold for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 2,583rd out of 2,825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the bottom percentile of all tested pairings, primarily due to the GPU’s performance limitations at higher resolutions.

Q: Which settings preset offers the highest average FPS at 4K?

A: The Low preset at 3840x2160 offers the highest average FPS at 4K, with a measured average of 27 FPS. The Medium preset produces 21 FPS, the High preset produces 18 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 14 FPS, all of which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay.