The Technomancer

The Technomancer is a 2016 Action RPG that, when paired with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and an Intel Arc B370, presents a very specific performance profile. The data shows this combination is heavily limited by the graphics processor, particularly at higher resolutions. The Intel Arc B370, which is an integrated graphics solution on the Panther Lake chip, operates with system-shared memory, and its benchmark results place it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This directly translates to low frame rates that demand careful settings management to achieve a playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and clearly indicates that the Intel Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. The most telling comparison is at Low settings, where the average frame rate falls from 71 FPS at 1920x1080 to 47 FPS at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 26 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 63% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, a steep curve that points directly at the GPU struggling to fill the increasing number of pixels.

At High settings, the trend is similar, with average FPS dropping from 47 at 1080p to 31 at 1440p, and finally to 17 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K remains substantial, with a 45% performance loss. This scaling behavior is typical of a system where the GPU's rendering throughput, rather than the CPU's ability to feed it data, is the limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 3600 is a capable 6-core, 12-thread processor, but its power is largely untapped here because the Arc B370 cannot process frames fast enough to create a CPU-bound scenario.

The data suggests that 4K resolution is not a viable target for this combo. Even at the lowest settings, the average FPS of 26 is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The transition from 1080p to 1440p is more manageable, but still involves a significant performance hit. For players seeking a consistent experience, 1080p is clearly the resolution where this hardware combination has the best chance of delivering acceptable frame rates, and even then, settings will need to be adjusted to find a sweet spot. The extreme drop at 4K reinforces that the Arc B370, with its 25 W TDP and system-shared memory, is not designed for high-resolution gaming.

Settings Recommendations

Given the performance data, the choice of settings is critical for this hardware pairing. The difference between presets is substantial at every resolution. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 71 on Low to 37 on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium results in a 22.5% performance cost, bringing the average down to 55 FPS. Moving from Medium to High costs another 14.5%, landing at 47 FPS. The most expensive step is from High to Ultra, which drops the average by a further 21.3% to 37 FPS.

For a target of 60 FPS at 1080p, the Low preset is the only option that achieves it, with an average of 71 FPS. If a player is willing to accept a lower frame rate, the Medium preset offers a more balanced visual experience at 55 FPS, which is often considered adequate for a slower-paced Action RPG. However, the High preset at 47 FPS and Ultra at 37 FPS are likely to feel less responsive. The measured minimum FPS for Medium at 1080p is 47, which means even the average can dip into less comfortable territory.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset produces an average of 47 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset drops to 36 FPS, and High falls to 31 FPS. These figures suggest that at 1440p, users should stick to Low or Medium settings if they want to maintain a playable frame rate. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with even the Low preset only achieving 26 FPS. The data indicates that the best experience for this combination is at 1080p with either the Low or Medium preset, depending on whether a player prioritizes frame rate or visual fidelity. The measured frame time variance at Medium, with a spread from 47 to 63 FPS at 1080p, also suggests a less stable experience than the Low preset, which has no reported min/max variance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 3000 series, based on the Zen 2 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 2124 points in Cinebench R23 single-core and 15045 points in multi-core. Its average benchmark score of 17035 places it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rival being the Intel Core i7-1260P, which scores 17007 (a 0.2% difference).

The CPU’s performance in this game, however, is largely irrelevant to the final frame rates due to the GPU bottleneck. The benchmark results show that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would have the least amount of GPU work to wait for, the average FPS is 71. This is not a frame rate that would stress a 6-core/12-thread processor. The Ryzen 5 3600’s multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by its 3dmark_max_threads score of 4603, are simply not engaged by The Technomancer at these settings. The game is not demanding enough on the CPU side to differentiate this processor from its rivals.

The data suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor in any of the measured configurations. The bottleneck is exclusively the GPU. The Ryzen 5 3600 has ample headroom for this game, meaning that a more powerful graphics card could be installed without the CPU becoming a significant constraint. The core count and clock speeds of the Ryzen 5 3600 are more than sufficient for the demands of this 2016 title. The processor's role here is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, a task it handles without becoming a performance ceiling. The low frame rates are a direct consequence of the Arc B370's limited pixel throughput, not a lack of CPU processing power.

FAQ

Q: Can I play The Technomancer at 4K with this hardware?

A: Technically, yes, but the experience will be very poor. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 ranges from 13 on Ultra to 26 on Low. None of these settings provide a frame rate that is generally considered playable for a smooth experience.

Q: What is the best settings preset to use at 1920x1080?

A: The data shows that the Low preset is the only one to achieve an average FPS above 60, with an average of 71. If you prefer higher visual quality and can tolerate lower frame rates, the Medium preset offers 55 FPS, which is a reasonable alternative.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 bottlenecking the Intel Arc B370?

A: No. The benchmark results indicate that the frame rates are consistently low across all resolutions and settings, which is a characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 3600 has sufficient processing power, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045, to not limit the Arc B370 in this game.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The average FPS at 2560x1440 on Low is 47, while on Ultra it is 24. This represents a 48.9% reduction in average FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B370 have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The Arc B370 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it draws from the system's main RAM. The memory bandwidth is also listed as "System Dependent". This means its performance is tied to the system's memory configuration, and the benchmark results show it is a significant limiting factor for this game.

Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this combination at any resolution?

A: The highest average FPS is 71, which is achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the clear performance bottleneck in this configuration. This integrated GPU, based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, has 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. Its performance is severely constrained by its 25 W TDP and the use of System Shared memory, which means its bandwidth is system-dependent. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, it scores 1184 points, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, which scores 1186 points (a -0.2% difference).

These specifications and benchmark scores directly correlate with the measured FPS in The Technomancer. The GPU's low fill rate, indicated by its 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate, is insufficient for high-resolution rendering. The data shows that the Arc B370 cannot maintain playable frame rates at 1440p or 4K, regardless of settings. Even at 1080p, it can only achieve an average FPS of 71 on the Low preset, which is the least demanding configuration measured. The GPU's limitations are further highlighted by its FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS, which is modest for modern gaming.

The GPU's role in this pairing is to be the primary limiter. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel count. The lack of any dedicated VRAM, instead relying on system-shared memory, likely contributes to the performance issues. The data suggests that users should view the Arc B370 as a solution for 1080p gaming with reduced settings, not as a high-performance gaming part. Its 5th percentile ranking and the performance delta to its rivals show that it is positioned at the very bottom of the GPU performance hierarchy, which is consistent with the low frame rates observed in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance scales predictably with settings. The Low preset yields the highest average FPS at 71. The Medium preset averages 55 FPS, with a measured minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. The High preset averages 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS. This resolution is the only one where the combination can approach or exceed 60 FPS, and only on the Low preset.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. The Low preset averages 47 FPS. The Medium preset averages 36 FPS, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 41. The High preset averages 31 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 24 FPS. This resolution offers a playable experience only on the Low preset, with Medium being a compromise.

At 3840x2160, the performance is insufficient for smooth gameplay. The Low preset averages 26 FPS. The Medium preset averages 20 FPS, with a minimum of 17 and a maximum of 23. The High preset averages 17 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 13 FPS. All 4K results are below 30 FPS, indicating that this resolution is not viable with this hardware. The overall combo rank for this game is 2603 out of 2825, placing it in the bottom 8% of tested configurations, which aligns with the consistently low average FPS figures across the board.