The Technomancer

The Technomancer, an Action RPG from 2016, places significant demands on hardware when configured with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B390. The recorded data shows a clear picture: this combination is only suitable for 1080p gaming, and even then, only at lower to medium settings. The benchmark results indicate that the system fails to reach a playable 60 FPS threshold at 1440p or 4K, regardless of the quality preset selected.

Similar Performance Alternatives

To understand where this pairing sits, the database provides nearest rival comparisons for both components. For the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, the recorded data shows a near-identical average benchmark score to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, with a delta of 0%. This means that in CPU-bound scenarios, swapping between these two processors would yield virtually indistinguishable results. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D sits slightly behind at -0.2% in average score, while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 is at -0.4%. The Intel Core i9-12900T trails by -0.5%. These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, so any of these four CPUs would produce essentially the same frame rates in The Technomancer when paired with the same graphics solution. The Core Ultra 5 225 sits in the 85th percentile among all CPUs tested, indicating a strong processor overall, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor here.

On the graphics side, the Intel Arc B390 occupies a much lower tier. Its average benchmark score places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, which is a stark contrast to the CPU's standing. The nearest rivals for the B390 are all older NVIDIA discrete parts. The GeForce GT 520MX scores 1.3% higher, the GeForce 800M scores 1.5% higher, the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 2.5% higher, and the GeForce GT 710 scores 2.7% higher. These are all entry-level or legacy graphics solutions. The deltas are small, meaning the B390 performs in the same ballpark as these older chips. In practical terms, a user moving from a GeForce GT 710 to the Arc B390 would see no meaningful performance uplift in this title, as the measured deltas are under 3%. The benchmark results suggest that this GPU is built for basic display output rather than gaming workloads, and The Technomancer's requirements exceed what it can deliver at higher resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The interaction between the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the Intel Arc B390 reveals a clear division of labor. The CPU is not the bottleneck here. With 10 cores, 10 threads, and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, the Core Ultra 5 225 has ample headroom for a game from 2016. The database shows its Cinebench R23 multi-core score at 25891 and single-core at 3655, both strong figures. The PassMark single-thread score of 4412 reinforces this. The processor's percentile rank of 85 among all CPUs confirms that it can handle the game's logic, AI, and physics without breaking a sweat.

The GPU, however, is severely underpowered. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations units. Its FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, and it uses system-shared memory, meaning it draws from the main system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. The recorded FPS data illustrates this imbalance. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 79 FPS average. At 1080p Medium, it drops to 61 FPS. At 1080p High, it falls to 52 FPS. These numbers show a direct and steep penalty for each step up in quality settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU is not changing between these runs, so the entire FPS variation comes from the graphics processor's workload.

As resolution increases, the GPU becomes even more dominant. At 1440p Low, the average FPS is 52, compared to 79 at 1080p Low. That is a 34% drop from a single resolution increase. At 4K Low, the average is 28 FPS, a 65% drop from 1080p Low. The scaling between presets at the same resolution also points to GPU limits. At 4K, moving from Low to Medium reduces FPS from 28 to 22, and from Medium to High reduces it from 22 to 19. The Ultra preset at 4K yields only 15 FPS. These are all consistent with a graphics processor that cannot keep pace with pixel throughput demands. The CPU's role in this pairing is to enable the maximum potential of the GPU, and the data shows it does so without imposing additional limits. The measured FPS at each resolution and preset is almost entirely a function of the B390's rendering capability.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this specific combination at rank 3285 out of 3696 tested combinations for The Technomancer. That puts it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems. This is a low position, driven almost entirely by the GPU's weak compute performance. The CPU contributes little to the ranking disadvantage, as it sits in the 85th percentile. The combo rank confirms that while the processor is capable, the overall system is held back significantly by the graphics solution. Out of nearly 3700 configurations, only about 411 perform worse. This is not a system built for modern gaming at high settings, and even for an older title like The Technomancer, it struggles.

The rank also reflects the fact that most tested combinations in the database pair stronger GPUs with similar or weaker CPUs. The Core Ultra 5 225 would be better served by a dedicated graphics card in a higher performance tier. As configured, the system's potential is capped at what the Arc B390 can deliver, which is very little. The 1080p Medium result of 61 FPS is the single playable data point, and it barely clears the 60 FPS threshold. Every other preset and resolution combination falls below that line.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Technomancer? The answer is yes, but only under specific conditions. The verdict data is unambiguous. At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. The playableSettings list is empty, meaning no preset at 4K reaches 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same applies: no playable settings exist. Only at 1920x1080 does the system achieve playability, and there, the playable settings are Low and Medium. The best setting at 1080p is Medium, with an average FPS of 61. This is the only configuration that both maintains a playable frame rate and uses the highest possible quality.

For a 60 FPS target, the user must accept 1080p resolution and either Low or Medium settings. Low at 1080p delivers 79 FPS average, which is comfortable. Medium at 1080p delivers 61 FPS average, which is right at the edge. High at 1080p drops to 52 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 40 FPS. Neither of those is playable under the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, even Low only reaches 52 FPS, so no preset is viable. At 4K, the best result is 28 FPS at Low, far below playable. The system can run the game, but the experience is limited to 1080p with reduced visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across all resolutions and presets. At 3840x2160, the results are consistently poor. The High preset averages 19 FPS. The Low preset averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset averages 22 FPS, with a minimum of 19 and a maximum of 25. The Ultra preset averages 15 FPS. None of these come close to the 60 FPS target, and even the most forgiving preset, Low, fails by more than half.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains unplayable. The High preset averages 34 FPS. The Low preset averages 52 FPS. The Medium preset averages 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46. The Ultra preset averages 26 FPS. The best result here, Low at 52 FPS, is still 8 FPS short of the playable threshold. This resolution is not an option for a smooth experience.

At 1920x1080, the data shows a mix of playable and unplayable results. The High preset averages 52 FPS. The Low preset averages 79 FPS. The Medium preset averages 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 and a maximum of 70. The Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. Low and Medium clear the 60 FPS bar, with Medium doing so by just 1 FPS on average. The minimum of 52 FPS on Medium means that some scenes will dip below the target, but the average remains acceptable. High and Ultra are both below 60 FPS, so they are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

The frame time consistency, where available, shows that the Medium preset at 1080p has a 52 to 70 FPS range, indicating noticeable variance. The Medium preset at 1440p has a 34 to 46 FPS range, and at 4K it has a 19 to 25 FPS range. These ranges suggest that the GPU struggles with complex scenes, causing frame drops that are more pronounced at higher resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the database identifies the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, there is no such preset. The playableSettings list is empty, and the bestSettings field is null. The system cannot achieve 60 FPS at 4K under any quality level. The user would have to accept a frame rate in the 15 to 28 FPS range, which is not a viable gaming experience.

At 2560x1440, the same conclusion applies. No preset reaches 60 FPS, so there is no best setting to recommend. The highest average FPS at 1440p is 52 from the Low preset, which still falls short. The system is not capable of delivering a playable experience at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the best setting is Medium. The average FPS at this preset is 61, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. Low is also playable with an average of 79 FPS, but Medium offers a better visual quality while still maintaining the playable frame rate. The recorded data shows that Medium is the optimal choice for users who want the best appearance without sacrificing smoothness. High and Ultra are not viable, as they drop to 52 and 40 FPS respectively.

In summary, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B390 combination is a marginal gaming system for The Technomancer. The CPU is more than adequate, but the GPU limits the experience to 1080p with Low or Medium settings. The data shows that no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the graphics processor's low throughput at higher resolutions. Users seeking a playable frame rate must target 1080p and accept Medium as the ceiling for quality.