The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides a sufficient foundation for lower-resolution gaming. This analysis examines the performance data to understand the balance between the processor and GPU, and what settings offer the most playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 68 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 45 FPS, a 34% reduction. At 4K, the average falls to just 25 FPS, a 63% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the Radeon RX 570's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are being overwhelmed by the pixel count at higher resolutions.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For High settings, the frame rate goes from 45 FPS at 1080p to 29 FPS at 1440p and then to 16 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are even more punishing, with the average dropping from 35 FPS at 1080p to 23 FPS at 1440p and a barely playable 13 FPS at 4K. This scaling behavior suggests that the game's rendering pipeline is heavily pixel-bound, and the RX 570's compute resources—5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 32 ROPs—are simply insufficient to maintain fluid frame rates beyond 1080p.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (68 FPS) and Ultra (35 FPS) is 33 FPS. At 4K, the difference narrows to just 12 FPS (25 FPS vs 13 FPS). This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated with pixel shading work that the additional load from higher-quality effects has relatively less impact on the final frame rate. The data implies that the limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU, as even drastic settings changes cannot recover meaningful performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Technomancer with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combination consistently delivers playable frame rates. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves an average of 35 FPS, while the Low preset reaches 68 FPS. At 1440p, the maximum average is 45 FPS on Low, and at 4K, the highest average is 25 FPS, making these resolutions less suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much of a performance difference does the settings preset make?

A: The difference is significant. At 1080p, moving from Low (68 FPS) to Ultra (35 FPS) results in a 33 FPS drop, nearly halving the frame rate. At 1440p, the same settings change reduces the average from 45 FPS to 23 FPS. The impact is less severe at 4K, where the range is only from 25 FPS to 13 FPS, but the overall performance is too low for comfortable play.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, but its role is more significant at 1080p. With 6 cores and 12 threads, the Ryzen 5 2600 has a multi-core score of 1248 in Cinebench R15, which is adequate for the game's CPU demands. The 68 FPS result at 1080p Low indicates the CPU can feed the GPU, but the GPU's capabilities limit higher frame rates.

Q: How does the RX 570's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 28766, placing it 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800M and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 470. It is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M295X and 1.2% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000. These small deltas indicate that the GPU's performance is very much in line with its direct competitors.

Q: What is the worst-case performance scenario for this setup?

A: The worst-case scenario is running the game at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This configuration produces an average frame rate of just 13 FPS, which is far below the threshold for smooth, interactive gameplay. Even the Medium preset at this resolution only manages an average of 19 FPS with a minimum of 16 FPS.

Q: Can this hardware handle the Medium preset?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average of 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS, which is a playable experience. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 34 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 19 FPS, making those resolutions less viable for consistent performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 provides a solid foundation for this game. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it offers a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. The processor's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 46.9 GB/s of memory bandwidth are sufficient for the demands of a 2016 Action RPG. The benchmark results show a Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 1248 and a single-core score of 157.3, indicating balanced performance across threads.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent when examining the 1080p results. At Low settings, the system achieves 68 FPS, but at Ultra, it drops to 35 FPS. This 33 FPS gap is primarily due to the GPU, but the CPU must still handle the increased draw calls and physics calculations. The Ryzen 5 2600's percentile rank of 75 among all CPUs suggests it is a capable processor, comfortably outperforming the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V by 0.2% and the Intel Core i9-11900H by 0.5% in average benchmark scores.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rates at 4K (16-25 FPS) are so low that they are clearly caused by the GPU's inability to process the pixel workload. The CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU to finish its work. This is a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, however, the CPU's performance is still sufficient, as evidenced by the 68 FPS result on Low, which suggests the processor can handle the game's engine logic without becoming a bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3523 out of 3696 tested combinations in The Technomancer. This ranking places it in the lower 5% of all tested systems, indicating that the overall performance is below what most other hardware configurations achieve in this title. The combination of a mid-range 2018 CPU and a 2017 GPU is not well-suited for this game's demanding nature.

The low rank is primarily driven by the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. The RX 570's 74th percentile rank among all GPUs suggests it is a decent card, but The Technomancer appears to be particularly demanding. The combo's rank of 3523 out of 3696 demonstrates that many other pairings, even those with similar individual component performance, achieve better results. This could be due to the game's engine having a preference for certain architectures or a higher sensitivity to memory bandwidth.

The data implies that while the Ryzen 5 2600 is a capable CPU, its pairing with the RX 570 does not yield a competitive experience in this game. The 173 positions from the bottom of the rankings highlight the challenges this hardware faces. Users with this combo should expect to play at 1080p with adjusted settings to find a playable balance, as the system is clearly not optimized for the game's higher-end visual demands.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience for this hardware combination is at 1920x1080 resolution. The Medium preset provides the best balance between visual quality and performance, with an average of 53 FPS and a minimum of 45 FPS. This ensures that the game remains fluid during action sequences, avoiding the dips below 30 FPS that can occur with High or Ultra settings.

For players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p is the best choice. It achieves an average of 68 FPS, which is a smooth experience on most displays. This setting is recommended for competitive or fast-paced gameplay where responsiveness is critical. The High preset at 1080p, with an average of 45 FPS, is a playable middle ground, but it may suffer from occasional slowdowns in busy scenes.

At 1440p, the only viable option is the Low preset, which produces an average of 45 FPS. While playable, the visual quality is significantly reduced. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets at this resolution yield averages of 34, 29, and 23 FPS respectively, all of which are below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K, all presets produce frame rates below 25 FPS, making this resolution unsuitable for anything other than screenshots or static viewing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 68 on Low to 35 on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS, showing a consistent frame pacing. The High preset averages 45 FPS without a recorded minimum or maximum.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 45 FPS, the High preset averages 29 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 34 FPS with a minimum of 29 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. The Ultra preset is the lowest at 23 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. The Low preset averages 25 FPS, the High preset averages 16 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 19 FPS with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 22 FPS. The Ultra preset averages just 13 FPS.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is the only resolution with consistently playable frame rates. The 1440p results are borderline, with only the Low preset reaching 45 FPS. The 4K results are almost universally unplayable, with the highest average being 25 FPS on Low. This breakdown confirms that the RX 570's 4 GB of VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution rendering in this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the primary determinant of performance in The Technomancer. With a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, the GPU's 2048 shading units and 128 TMUs are tasked with rendering the game's graphics. The 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, which is a critical resource for texture loading and frame buffering at high resolutions.

The GPU's performance is reflected in its benchmark scores. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 32084. The GPU's percentile rank of 74 among all GPUs indicates it is a mid-range performer. The nearest rival data shows it is very close in performance to the AMD Radeon RX 470, which is 0.8% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which is 0.4% faster.

The measured FPS data highlights the GPU's limitations. At 1080p, the GPU can manage 68 FPS on Low, but this drops to 35 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, the GPU struggles to maintain 25 FPS even on Low. This indicates that the RX 570's 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 32 ROPs are not enough to handle the pixel throughput required at higher resolutions. The GPU's 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU rating suggest it is a power-efficient card, but its raw performance is a limiting factor for this game.