The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study in hardware scaling when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the processor demonstrates exceptional headroom that becomes apparent only at lower settings and resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across the three primary resolutions and four quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 169 FPS, which drops to 110 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 61 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 64% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a scaling pattern that is characteristic of a graphics card reaching its limits as pixel count increases.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher quality presets. Moving from 1080p High to 1440p High, the average FPS drops from 111 to 72, a 35% decrease. The jump from 1440p High to 4K High shows a similar proportional decline, with the frame rate falling from 72 to 40 FPS, a 44% reduction. This consistent degradation across resolution steps indicates that the RTX 4060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus width become increasingly strained as the rendering workload expands.

The Ultra preset exhibits the most dramatic scaling curve. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 86 FPS, which falls to 56 FPS at 1440p and 31 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 31 FPS is notably below the 40 FPS minimum typically considered acceptable for smooth gameplay, suggesting that this combination is not viable at the highest settings and resolution. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, with a 61 FPS difference at 1080p (169 vs 86) growing to a 30 FPS difference at 4K (61 vs 31), further confirming the GPU-bound nature of the system at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, provides the graphical foundation for this benchmark configuration. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and boosts to 2460 MHz, with memory clocked at 2125 MHz achieving 17 Gbps effective through its 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer. The 128-bit memory bus delivers a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s, which appears to be a limiting factor in The Technomancer's more demanding scenes.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster operation processors. The FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS, combined with a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s, positions the card as a mid-range solution in the current market. Its percentile ranking of 61 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639, places it near competitors like the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666, -0.2% delta) and AMD Radeon 780M (17588, 0.3% delta).

At 4K Ultra, the RTX 4060's limitations become starkly apparent with a 31 FPS average. The 8 GB VRAM capacity likely struggles with The Technomancer's texture and geometry requirements at this resolution. The 24 RT cores and 96 Tensor cores present on the chip do little to alleviate the raw rasterization workload, as the game's 2016 release date predates widespread ray tracing adoption. The measured data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at 1440p Medium (85 FPS) and 1080p High (111 FPS), where the balance between visual quality and frame rate is most favorable.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database of 2825 tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 achieves a rank of 1497 for The Technomancer. This places the configuration in the 53rd percentile of all tested combos, indicating that while it is not a top-tier performer for this specific title, it sits slightly above the median of all systems evaluated.

The ranking reflects the fundamental mismatch between the CPU and GPU in this pairing. The processor, which performs at the 96th percentile against all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 84003, is paired with a GPU at the 61st percentile. This imbalance means the combo's overall standing is dragged down by the graphics card's mid-range positioning. The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807, 0.2% delta) and AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, 1.1% delta), all scoring within 1.3% of each other, yet none of these processors can compensate for the GPU's limitations in gaming workloads.

The rank of 1497 out of 2825 suggests that users seeking higher positions in the database would need to pair this processor with a more powerful graphics solution. Conversely, those with the RTX 4060 would find better gaming performance with a less powerful CPU, as the current configuration leaves significant processor headroom untapped in most gaming scenarios. This is particularly evident in the 1080p Low result of 169 FPS, which likely approaches the game's engine limits rather than the CPU's computational ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities across twelve distinct configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 169 FPS, followed by Medium at 130 FPS (with a range of 110 to 149 FPS), High at 111 FPS, and Ultra at 86 FPS. The 83 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p demonstrates the significant performance cost of higher quality settings at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset maintains a playable 110 FPS average, while Medium achieves 85 FPS (ranging from 72 to 97 FPS). High drops to 72 FPS, and Ultra falls to 56 FPS. The 54 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p shows a slight narrowing of the performance gap compared to 1080p, as the GPU becomes more constrained. The Medium preset's minimum of 72 FPS suggests that even during demanding scenes, this resolution remains fluid at moderate settings.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations are fully exposed. Low settings produce an average of 61 FPS, which is playable but not smooth by modern standards. Medium averages 47 FPS (ranging from 40 to 53 FPS), High drops to 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 31 FPS. The Ultra result at 4K is the only configuration where the average dips below 30 FPS, indicating that this setting is not viable for this hardware combination. The Medium preset's minimum of 40 FPS and maximum of 53 FPS show that even with reduced quality, frame pacing can be inconsistent at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, part of the Core Ultra Series 2 with Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, provides substantial computational resources that remain largely underutilized in The Technomancer. The processor features 24 cores and 24 threads, indicating a design without hyper-threading, with base and boost clocks of 3.70 GHz and 5.80 GHz respectively. This configuration delivers exceptional synthetic performance, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303.

The CPU's memory subsystem includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support provides a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, which is ample for the game's data requirements. The processor's 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs underscores its position among the top performers, with an average benchmark score of 84003 that is only 0.2% above its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 169 FPS, which likely approaches the game engine's frame rate ceiling. The fact that increasing resolution to 1440p Low only reduces the frame rate to 110 FPS, and 4K Low to 61 FPS, demonstrates that the processor can handle the game's single-threaded and multi-threaded demands without becoming a bottleneck. The Passmark multi-thread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 further confirm the CPU's capacity to deliver consistent performance across varied workloads.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playing The Technomancer with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides the best balance, achieving 85 FPS average with a minimum of 72 FPS. This maintains fluid gameplay while offering improved visual fidelity over 1080p.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which achieves 61 FPS average. Medium at 4K drops to 47 FPS, High to 40 FPS, and Ultra to 31 FPS. For consistent 60+ FPS, 4K is not recommended beyond Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 scores 17639 on average, which is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666) and 0.3% above the AMD Radeon 780M (17588). All four nearest rivals are within 0.9% of each other in performance.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus overkill for this GPU?

A: The benchmark data suggests yes. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile while the GPU ranks in the 61st, and the frame rates at 1080p Low (169 FPS) indicate the CPU has significant headroom that the RTX 4060 cannot fully utilize.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 86 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the highest quality preset that maintains excellent performance without resolution compromises.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1497th out of 2825 tested combinations, placing it in the 53rd percentile. This is slightly above the median, reflecting the GPU's mid-range positioning despite the CPU's high-end classification.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this hardware depends on the user's priority between visual quality and frame rate. For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the 1080p Ultra preset (86 FPS) and 1440p High preset (72 FPS) both exceed this threshold while delivering high visual fidelity. At 4K, the Low preset (61 FPS) is the only setting that maintains playable frame rates, though this sacrifices significant graphical detail.

For those prioritizing smoothness and competitive gameplay, the 1080p Low preset at 169 FPS offers the highest headroom above display refresh rates, though the visual compromise may be undesirable for a story-driven Action RPG. The 1080p Medium preset (130 FPS) provides a strong middle ground, offering improved textures and effects over Low while maintaining frame rates well above 100.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (85 FPS) stands out as the most balanced option, delivering 72 FPS minimums that ensure consistent gameplay. The High preset at this resolution (72 FPS) is also viable, though with less margin for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1440p (56 FPS) falls below 60 FPS and should be avoided for those sensitive to frame pacing.

The most significant finding is that the RTX 4060 cannot adequately support 4K gaming beyond Low settings in The Technomancer. The 4K Medium preset (47 FPS) is playable but noticeably less smooth, while High (40 FPS) and Ultra (31 FPS) are not recommended. Players with 4K displays should either accept Low settings or drop to 1440p for a substantially better experience. The data clearly indicates that 1440p Medium or 1080p Ultra represent the best quality-to-performance ratios for this hardware combination.