The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware, and this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 produces a bottleneck-heavy experience. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary limiting factor at nearly every resolution and settings level, with the CPU’s substantial capabilities largely left untapped. This analysis breaks down the measured performance to show what this combo can and cannot do.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and expected trend: performance degrades significantly as resolution increases, confirming that the GeForce GTX 1650 is the dominant constraint. At 1080p, the system delivers playable frame rates, but moving to 1440p and then 4K quickly pushes the GPU past its limits. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial across all settings, and the leap to 4K results in a slideshow.

For instance, at High settings, the average FPS falls from 45 at 1920x1080 to 29 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 16 FPS. The jump to 3840x2160 is even more punishing, with the average plummeting to 16 FPS. This pattern repeats at every quality preset. At Low settings, the average goes from 68 at 1080p to 44 at 1440p and then down to 24 at 4K. The scaling is not linear; the cost of rendering each additional pixel at higher resolutions becomes progressively steeper for the GTX 1650.

This steep decline in performance from 1080p to 4K is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with its high core count and boost clock, is not the limiting factor here; it is waiting on the GPU to finish rendering each frame. The gap between the 1080p and 4K results is so wide that it shows the CPU is essentially idle in comparison to the GPU’s workload at higher resolutions. The 4K results, ranging from 13 FPS at Ultra to 24 FPS at Low, are all below playable thresholds, making 4K a non-viable option for this combination. The data strongly suggests that users should target 1080p as the primary resolution for any semblance of a smooth experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a flagship-class processor, and its benchmark scores reflect that, but its role in The Technomancer with this GPU is minimal. The CPU features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its multi-threaded performance is exceptional, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44253, and its single-thread performance is also strong at 2439 in the same test. This processor is designed to handle massive computational loads without breaking a sweat.

However, in this game, the CPU’s power is largely irrelevant because the GPU is the bottleneck. The GTX 1650 is simply not fast enough to feed frames to the CPU at a rate that would challenge it. The game's engine, dating back to 2016, is unlikely to be optimized for a 24-core processor, but even if it were, the GPU would still hold things back. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work to do, the average FPS is 68. This is a frame rate that the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus could easily handle, but it is the GTX 1650 that is producing these frames.

The CPU’s high single-core performance, indicated by its Cinebench R20 single-core score of 3453, is also not a factor here. The game is not CPU-bound in this configuration, so the CPU's capability is not the ceiling. Instead, the 68 FPS at 1080p Low is the ceiling for the GPU. The data indicates that the CPU is a silent partner in this duo, providing a stable platform but never being pushed to its limit. The performance of this combo is entirely dictated by the GPU’s output, making the CPU’s impressive specs a moot point for this specific game and resolution range.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the choice of settings is a trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate, with the GPU forcing a clear compromise. At 1080p, the most viable settings are Low and Medium. The Low preset delivers an average of 68 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. The Medium preset offers an average of 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS, which is still very playable and provides a better visual experience. The High preset drops to 45 FPS, which is on the edge of playability for many, and the Ultra preset falls to 35 FPS, which may feel sluggish in action sequences.

For a consistent and enjoyable experience at 1080p, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. It provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining a frame rate that stays above 44 FPS, which is generally considered acceptable for an Action RPG. The High preset at 45 FPS is usable, but the tighter frame pacing of Medium is a safer choice. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as the 35 FPS average is too low for a game that likely features combat requiring quick reactions.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more difficult. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with an average of 44 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 34 FPS, and High and Ultra are not recommended at 29 and 23 FPS, respectively. For 4K, no settings are recommended, as even the Low preset only manages 24 FPS, which is below the threshold for a playable experience. The data clearly shows that this combo is best utilized at 1080p with Medium settings to balance visual quality and performance. Pushing to higher resolutions or settings will result in a significant loss of fluidity.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall standing of this combination in The Technomancer is poor. The combo rank is 2738 out of 2825 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom percentile of all systems. This ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a top-tier part. The measured data shows that the vast majority of other hardware combinations, even those with much weaker CPUs, are likely to outperform this duo because they are paired with a more capable graphics card.

This low rank is not a surprise given the GPU’s performance percentile. The GeForce GTX 1650 sits in the 40th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it is slower than a majority of its peers. Its average benchmark score of 7472 places it in direct competition with integrated graphics solutions, such as the Intel UHD Graphics 750, which has a delta of just 0.4%. This indicates that the GTX 1650 is a very entry-level discrete GPU, and its performance in a modern game like The Technomancer is severely limited.

The CPU, in contrast, is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93785. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon 6520P and AMD EPYC 4564P, have nearly identical scores, showing that it is a high-end part. However, this high CPU performance does not translate into a good game ranking because the GPU is the bottleneck. The combo’s low rank reflects the fact that in gaming, the graphics card is often the most critical component, and a powerful CPU cannot compensate for a weak one.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the decisive component in this pairing, and its characteristics fully explain the measured performance. This GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s. The 4 GB capacity is a major limitation in modern games, and it likely contributes to stuttering or texture pop-in at higher settings. The 128-bit bus also limits the amount of data that can be transferred to and from the VRAM, which is a bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Its compute capabilities are also limited. The GTX 1650 features 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. Its boost clock is 1665 MHz, and it delivers a FP32 performance of 2.984 TFLOPS. These numbers place it firmly in the entry-level category. The GPU’s benchmark scores are correspondingly low, with a Passmark G3D score of 7880 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 305. These scores are consistent with its performance in The Technomancer, where it struggles to maintain high frame rates.

The GPU's role is to be the primary performance limiter. Its low memory bandwidth and compute power mean that it cannot render frames fast enough to utilize the CPU’s capabilities. The data shows that the GPU is responsible for the low frame rates at all resolutions, and its limitations are the reason why the Medium preset at 1080p is the highest recommended setting. The GPU is a legacy part, and its performance is simply not adequate for a demanding title like The Technomancer at higher settings or resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete list of measured FPS data points for this combination.

3840x2160 (4K)

• High: Average 16 FPS
• Low: Average 24 FPS
• Medium: Average 19 FPS, Minimum 16 FPS, Maximum 22 FPS
• Ultra: Average 13 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• High: Average 29 FPS
• Low: Average 44 FPS
• Medium: Average 34 FPS, Minimum 29 FPS, Maximum 39 FPS
• Ultra: Average 23 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p)

• High: Average 45 FPS
• Low: Average 68 FPS
• Medium: Average 52 FPS, Minimum 44 FPS, Maximum 60 FPS
• Ultra: Average 35 FPS

These numbers tell the complete story. The Medium preset at 1080p is the only configuration that offers a consistently playable experience, with an average of 52 FPS and a minimum that stays above 44 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p is the only way to achieve a high frame rate, at 68 FPS. Every other setting or resolution results in average frame rates that are either on the edge of playability or entirely too low for a responsive game. The data is clear: this combo is for 1080p gaming with modest settings, and anything more will be a compromised experience.