The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 action RPG, presents an interesting test case for the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER pairing. This combination, with its 6-core, 12-thread processor and 6 GB GDDR6 graphics card, produces a set of benchmark results that reveal a system with clear strengths and notable limitations depending on the resolution and settings chosen. The data paints a picture of a configuration well-suited for 1080p gaming, but one that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 2 architecture, code-named Matisse. It operates at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and can boost up to 4.20 GHz. This 7 nm processor, with a 65 W TDP, features a substantial 32 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows a clear scaling pattern from single to multi-threaded workloads. For instance, its 3DMark score jumps from 696 in the single-thread test to 4605 in the 16-thread test, indicating that the additional cores are effectively utilized. The Cinebench R23 results further corroborate this, with a single-core score of 2124 and a multi-core score of 15045.

The relevance of these characteristics to The Technomancer’s performance becomes apparent when analyzing the frame rate data. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 110 FPS. When the settings are increased to Ultra at the same resolution, the average drops to 56 FPS. This significant 54 FPS swing suggests that the game is responsive to the CPU’s capabilities at lower graphical loads, where the processor is more likely to be the primary driver of performance. The CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark 16-thread score of 4605, likely helps maintain consistent frame pacing in a game that may spawn multiple AI and physics threads.

However, the CPU’s role diminishes as the resolution increases. The data shows that the frame rate ceiling set by the CPU at 1080p Low (110 FPS) is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU’s performance relative to other processors is solid, holding a 71st percentile ranking. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400, scores nearly identically with a deltaPct of -0.2, showing that this Ryzen 5 3600 is competitive with a modern mid-range Intel chip. The architecture’s efficiency, with a 65 W TDP, suggests it can sustain its boost clock without excessive thermal throttling, which is crucial for maintaining performance in long gaming sessions. The data implies that for this specific game, the Ryzen 5 3600 provides ample headroom to avoid being the limiting factor, except perhaps in the most CPU-bound scenarios at low resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four settings presets. At 1080p, the jump from High to Medium is substantial, with average FPS increasing from 72 to 84. The most significant leap, however, is from Medium to Low, where the average FPS goes from 84 to 110. This suggests that the High and Ultra presets impose a heavy graphical load on the system.

For a smooth gaming experience, the 1080p Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 84 FPS, with a minimum of 72 FPS, ensuring that frame times remain mostly consistent and above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset also maintains a playable 72 FPS average, but the Medium preset offers a more comfortable margin. While the Low preset offers the highest frame rates, it likely comes at the cost of visual fidelity, which may not be desirable for an action RPG where atmosphere is key.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again proves to be the most balanced option, achieving an average of 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS. This is a borderline playable experience, as the minimum FPS dips below 60, which could lead to noticeable stutters in demanding scenes. The High preset at 1440p produces an average of 47 FPS, which is less ideal for a game requiring precise timing. The Ultra presets at both 1080p (56 FPS) and 1440p (37 FPS) are not recommended, as the frame rates drop to levels that could impact gameplay fluidity. The data suggests that for the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, particularly for 1080p where it guarantees a consistently smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The frame rate data across resolutions reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 72 at 1080p to 47 at 1440p, and then further to 26 at 4K. This represents a 35% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 45% decrease from 1440p to 4K. This steep decline is a strong indicator that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting component at higher resolutions.

The GTX 1660 SUPER, with its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, has a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This is sufficient for 1080p, but as the pixel count increases, the demand on the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute units grows exponentially. The transition from 1080p to 1440p increases the pixel count by 78%, and the frame rate drop of 35% shows that the GPU is struggling to keep up with the increased workload. The 4K resolution, with over 8 million pixels, proves to be too demanding for this card, as evidenced by the sub-30 FPS averages at High and Medium settings.

The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K further emphasizes the GPU’s limitations. The average FPS at 4K Low is 39, which drops to 20 at 4K Ultra. This 19 FPS difference is smaller than the 54 FPS difference seen at 1080p, indicating that at 4K, the GPU is saturated even at the lowest settings. The processor’s role here is minimal; the Ryzen 5 3600 is simply waiting for the GPU to finish rendering each frame. The data strongly suggests that for resolutions beyond 1080p, the GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary bottleneck, and reducing graphical settings has diminishing returns at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the specific context of The Technomancer, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER holds a rank of 3157 out of 3696 tested combos. This places it in the lower 15th percentile of tested systems. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component performance, but it reflects the fact that the GTX 1660 SUPER is a mid-range card from 2019, and many of the combos ranked above it likely feature more powerful GPUs.

The combo’s low rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s performance ceiling. While the CPU is a strong performer, ranking in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, the GPU only ranks in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. This mismatch means the system’s overall gaming performance is capped by the graphics card. The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580, scores nearly identically with a deltaPct of 0.4, indicating that this GTX 1660 SUPER is on par with a well-regarded budget card from the same era.

The rank of 3157 out of 3696 implies that a significant majority of tested systems can outperform this combo in The Technomancer. This is to be expected, as the game’s release date in 2016 means that modern systems with newer, more powerful components will naturally achieve higher frame rates. However, the data shows that this combo is still capable of delivering a playable experience at 1080p, which suggests that the rank is more a reflection of the hardware’s age rather than a complete inability to run the game. The combination of a capable CPU and a mid-range GPU results in a system that is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can provide a smooth experience, but it falls behind in higher-resolution scenarios.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture and features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. Its memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s over a 192-bit bus. The GPU has a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. Its compute capabilities include 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s, with a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s.

The VRAM capacity and bandwidth are critical factors in The Technomancer’s performance. At 1080p, the 6 GB VRAM is likely sufficient, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential. The benchmark results show that the GPU can achieve an average of 110 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a respectable figure. However, as the resolution increases to 4K, the VRAM and bandwidth become strained. The 4K High preset yields only 26 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not only compute-limited but also potentially memory-limited, as the larger frame buffers consume more of the available bandwidth.

The GPU’s performance relative to its rivals shows it is a solid mid-range option. With an average benchmark score of 12986, it sits close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (deltaPct 0.4) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 (deltaPct 0.4). This indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER provides performance in the same ballpark as these other popular cards. The 53rd percentile ranking versus all GPUs confirms that it is an average performer overall. In the context of this game, the data suggests that the GPU’s 6 GB VRAM is a limiting factor at 4K, but it is the raw compute power that primarily dictates the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU’s boost clock of 1785 MHz, when sustained, allows it to deliver these results, but it is clear that the card is not designed for high-refresh-rate or high-resolution gaming in demanding titles.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably. The Low preset achieves an average FPS of 110. The Medium preset averages 84 FPS, with a minimum of 72 and a maximum of 97. The High preset averages 72 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 56 FPS. This shows a clear and consistent scaling, with the system capable of high refresh rates at lower settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. The Low preset averages 72 FPS. The Medium preset averages 55 FPS, with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 63. The High preset averages 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1440p is a more demanding environment, and the system begins to struggle to maintain 60 FPS, particularly at higher settings.

At 3840x2160, the system’s limitations become starkly apparent. The Low preset averages 39 FPS. The Medium preset averages 30 FPS, with a minimum of 26 and a maximum of 35. The High preset averages 26 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 20 FPS. These results are generally below the threshold for smooth gameplay, suggesting that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combination in The Technomancer. The data shows a consistent pattern: the system is well-suited for 1080p gaming, capable of 1440p at lower settings, and largely unsuitable for 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in The Technomancer?

A: The data indicates that the 1920x1080 Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering an average FPS of 84 with a minimum of 72. This provides a smooth and consistent experience, unlike the 1440p Medium preset, which has a minimum FPS of 47.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 perform in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance, scoring 15045 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4605 in 3DMark 16-thread tests. Its single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 score of 2124 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 696.

Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER the main bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests this. The average FPS at 4K High is 26, and even at 4K Low, it only reaches 39 FPS. The GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this game.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in The Technomancer?

A: This specific combination ranks 3157 out of 3696 tested combos, placing it in the lower 15th percentile. This low rank is primarily due to the GPU’s mid-range performance level.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. The Low preset achieves an average of 110 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 56 FPS. This 54 FPS difference highlights the significant graphical load of the Ultra preset.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER's performance compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580?

A: The benchmark scores are nearly identical. The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average score of 12986, while the RX 580 has a deltaPct of 0.4, indicating they are effectively tied in overall performance.