The Technomancer

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B580 combination, tested with The Technomancer, delivers a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p, but falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K. The recorded data, measured across three resolutions and four quality presets, shows a system that sits in the lower portion of the database, ranked 2787 out of 3696 tested combinations. The Ryzen 5 3600, a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 2 processor, and the Arc B580, Intel's Battlemage GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, produce results that are heavily resolution-dependent, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU holds a 71st percentile against all processors, while the GPU holds a 68th percentile against all GPUs, indicating a generally balanced pairing that nonetheless struggles with 4K rendering in this game.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playable threshold for this database is 60 FPS. At each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is as follows.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the most demanding option that stays above 60 FPS. The recorded average is 70 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available in the test, so the combination can run the game at maximum quality at this resolution without dipping below the playable threshold. All four presets at 1080p exceed 60 FPS on average, with Low at 138 FPS, Medium at 106 FPS, and High at 90 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Medium, with an average of 69 FPS. The High preset at this resolution averages 59 FPS, which is below the threshold, so it is not considered playable. Medium is therefore the most demanding preset that clears 60 FPS at 1440p. Low settings at 1440p average 90 FPS, and Ultra averages 46 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The highest average recorded is 49 FPS on Low settings. High averages 32 FPS, Medium averages 38 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS. None of these meet the playable threshold, so the verdict for 4K is that this combination cannot maintain 60 FPS at any tested setting.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2787 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the lower portion of the database, with most tested combinations achieving higher frame rates. The rank reflects the game's demanding nature at higher resolutions, as well as the balance between the two components.

The CPU itself holds a percentile of 71 against all processors in the database, meaning it outperforms 71 percent of CPUs. The GPU holds a percentile of 68 against all GPUs. These two percentiles are close, suggesting a balanced pairing in general terms. However, in this specific game, the measured frame rates show that the GPU is the dominant factor at 4K, while the CPU is sufficient to drive high frame rates at 1080p.

The average benchmark score for the Ryzen 5 3600 is 17035, and for the Arc B580 it is 23021. The combo rank of 2787 out of 3696 means that the majority of tested systems deliver better performance in The Technomancer. This is not a top-tier result, but it is also not at the very bottom of the database; the combination sits in the lower middle of the distribution. The Ryzen 5 3600 had a launch MSRP of $199, and the Arc B580 had a launch MSRP of 249 USD.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data includes average frame rates for all four presets at each resolution, with minimum and maximum values available for the Medium preset at every resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are as follows. Low settings average 49 FPS. Medium settings average 38 FPS, with a minimum of 32 and a maximum of 44. High settings average 32 FPS. Ultra settings average 25 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, and the minimum recorded at Medium, 32 FPS, is identical to the High average, indicating that even the medium preset experiences significant frame dips at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the results improve considerably. Low settings average 90 FPS. Medium settings average 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 79. High settings average 59 FPS. Ultra settings average 46 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 59 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, meaning that even though the average is playable, there are occasional dips below 60. The High preset's average of 59 FPS is also below the threshold, which is why High is not classified as playable at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the combination performs strongly. Low settings average 138 FPS. Medium settings average 106 FPS, with a minimum of 90 and a maximum of 121. High settings average 90 FPS. Ultra settings average 70 FPS. All four presets exceed the 60 FPS threshold on average, and even the lowest minimum recorded, 90 FPS at Medium, is well above the playable threshold. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a typical range for a demanding game.

The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the system has headroom to run the game at maximum quality; at 1440p, it is limited to Medium; and at 4K, it cannot reach 60 FPS on any setting.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Ryzen 5 3600, based on average benchmark scores, provide context for CPU performance. The Intel Core i7-1260P scores 17007, which is 0.2 percent lower than the Ryzen 5 3600's 17035. The Intel Core i5-11400 scores 17067, which is 0.2 percent higher. The AMD EPYC 7573X scores 17070, also 0.2 percent higher. The AMD EPYC 7742 scores 16998, which is 0.2 percent lower. These four processors are all within a fraction of a percent of the Ryzen 5 3600 in average score, meaning that in The Technomancer, the CPU-side performance of this combination would be nearly identical if any of these were substituted, assuming the GPU remains the same.

For the Intel Arc B580, the nearest rivals are similarly close. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, which is 0.2 percent higher than the Arc B580's 23021. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, which is 0.6 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, which is 0.7 percent higher. The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, which is 1 percent higher. These GPU alternatives would produce very similar frame rates in The Technomancer, given that their average benchmark scores are within 1 percent of the Arc B580.

In practical terms, a system using any of these CPU or GPU alternatives would land in the same performance neighborhood. The frame rates recorded for this combination would likely shift by only a few percent at most, which would not change the playability verdict at any resolution. The 1440p High preset, for example, averages 59 FPS with the Arc B580; a slightly faster GPU such as the RTX 3080 might push that result closer to the threshold, but the improvement would be marginal. The 4K results would remain below 60 FPS regardless of which rival GPU is used, as even the fastest rival, the P106-100, is only 1 percent higher in average score.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured data allows for an analysis of which component matters more in The Technomancer at each resolution. The key observation is the scaling of frame rates as resolution changes.

At 1080p Low, the system achieves 138 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 90 FPS. At 4K Low, it drops to 49 FPS. This is a strong resolution scaling pattern: going from 1080p to 4K at Low settings reduces the frame rate by a large margin. Such a steep drop indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU, a 6-core, 12-thread part with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, is capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p, as evidenced by the 138 FPS result at Low settings.

At 1080p Ultra, the average is 70 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 46 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 25 FPS. The Ultra preset shows even steeper scaling, with a large drop from 1080p to 4K. This is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load at 4K overwhelms the Arc B580's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 456.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU can maintain high frame rates, and the limiting factor is the GPU's ability to render the scene. The Ryzen 5 3600's single-thread performance, as measured by a 3DMark single-thread score of 696 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2124, is sufficient for this game. The game, released in 2016, is not exceptionally demanding on the CPU, and the 6-core, 12-thread configuration provides ample headroom.

At 1440p, the balance shifts. The High preset averages 59 FPS, below the threshold, while Medium averages 69 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as reducing the preset from High to Medium yields a notable improvement. The CPU is not the bottleneck here, because the frame rate responds to GPU-side changes (preset quality) rather than CPU-side changes (resolution).

At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmingly the limiting factor. Even the Low preset, which reduces the rendering load significantly, only reaches 49 FPS. The CPU, meanwhile, is likely underutilized at this resolution, as the frame rate is constrained by the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. The Arc B580's 80 ROPs and 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for 4K in this game.

In summary, the CPU is the stronger link in this pairing for The Technomancer. The GPU becomes the bottleneck at 1440p and especially at 4K, while the CPU is capable of driving 1080p to very high frame rates. The close percentiles of the two components (71 for CPU, 68 for GPU) suggest a balanced system overall, but this game's rendering demands tip the balance toward the GPU being the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run The Technomancer at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 70 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 69 FPS. The High preset averages 59 FPS, below the threshold.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average frame rate is 49 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 38 FPS, High 32 FPS, and Ultra 25 FPS. None reach 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: It ranks 2787 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU. Frame rates drop sharply with resolution, and even Low settings at 4K only reach 49 FPS, indicating the Intel Arc B580 is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate range for Medium settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average is 106 FPS, with a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Technomancer? The answer depends on the resolution and quality target.

At 1920x1080, the combination clears the 60 FPS threshold on every preset. The Ultra preset averages 70 FPS, so players can run the game at maximum quality with a comfortable margin above the playable threshold. This is the recommended configuration for this system.

At 2560x1440, the system is playable on Low and Medium presets. The Medium preset averages 69 FPS, which is the best quality that maintains 60 FPS. The High preset falls short at 59 FPS, and Ultra is not playable at 46 FPS. Players targeting 1440p should use Medium settings for a stable experience.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot maintain 60 FPS on any preset. The best result is 49 FPS on Low settings, which is below the playable threshold. This combination is not suitable for 4K gaming in The Technomancer.

The overall verdict: this is a capable 1080p and entry-level 1440p system for The Technomancer. It handles the game at maximum quality at 1080p, offers a smooth Medium experience at 1440p, and falls short at 4K. The Ryzen 5 3600 provides sufficient CPU performance, while the Intel Arc B580 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.