The Technomancer

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for The Technomancer with the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D shows a clear progression of performance as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the system delivers 158 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 137 FPS, a reduction of 21 FPS. At 4K High, the average falls to 85 FPS, representing a 73 FPS loss from the 1080p figure. The scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 5090 D remains the dominant performance driver even at 4K, though the gap between resolutions narrows as the GPU load increases.

Looking at Low settings across resolutions, the data shows 184 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 129 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 13 percent, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly 19 percent. This suggests that at lower settings, the CPU begins to play a more significant role, particularly at 1080p where the frame rate ceiling approaches what the Ryzen 5 3600 can sustain. The 6-core, 12-thread processor with a 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.20 GHz boost clock appears to be the limiting factor at 1080p Low, where the GPU is underutilized.

At Medium settings, the measured rows include min and max FPS values, providing additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS and maximum of 193 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 145 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS and maximum of 167 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS narrows at higher resolutions, indicating that frame time consistency improves when the GPU is more heavily loaded. The 4K Medium minimum of 84 FPS suggests that even demanding scenes stay above the 60 FPS threshold.

Ultra settings show the most significant resolution scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 145 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 120 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 66 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that approaches the lower bounds of high-refresh-rate gaming, with the 66 FPS average indicating that this is the most demanding preset at the highest resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra represents a 79 FPS drop, or roughly a 54 percent reduction in performance.

The overall trend across all settings shows that the RTX 5090 D with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is capable of pushing high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra configuration is where the GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute is fully exercised. The data suggests that The Technomancer, released in 2016, is not particularly demanding by modern standards, allowing this high-end GPU to maintain playable frame rates even at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for optimizing the balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates, with Ultra achieving 145 FPS and Low reaching 184 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is only 13 FPS (158 versus 145), which suggests that the visual upgrade from High to Ultra is relatively inexpensive in performance terms. For players with 1080p displays, Ultra settings are the recommended choice, as the 145 FPS average remains well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors.

At 1440p, the situation is similar. Ultra settings deliver 120 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS and suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. High settings at 1440p reach 137 FPS, a 17 FPS improvement over Ultra. The data indicates that the step from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 17 FPS, which may be acceptable given the visual improvements. Medium settings at 1440p provide 145 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS, making it the safest choice for maintaining frame rates above 120 FPS in all scenes. For competitive play where frame rate consistency matters more than visual fidelity, Medium at 1440p is the optimal choice.

At 4K, the recommendations shift. Ultra settings average 66 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High settings at 4K achieve 85 FPS, a substantial 19 FPS improvement over Ultra. Medium settings at 4K deliver 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, ensuring that frame rates never drop below the 60 FPS threshold. Low settings at 4K reach 129 FPS, but the visual sacrifice is considerable. For 4K gaming, High settings represent the best balance, offering 85 FPS while maintaining most of the visual enhancements. Players who prioritize smoothness over fidelity should choose Medium at 4K, as the 99 FPS average with an 84 FPS minimum provides a more consistent experience.

The data also shows that the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for all settings at 4K, as The Technomancer was released in 2016 when memory requirements were far lower. The GPU's 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs ensure that texture-heavy scenes at Ultra settings do not bottleneck the rendering pipeline. The measured results indicate that players with high-refresh-rate 1440p displays should use Ultra settings, while those with 4K displays should use High or Medium depending on their frame rate preferences.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 plays a supporting role in The Technomancer, with its 6 cores and 12 threads providing adequate processing power for the game's CPU demands. The processor's 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.20 GHz boost clock are moderate by current standards, but the Zen 2 architecture's 32 MB shared L3 cache helps maintain consistent performance in CPU-bound scenarios. The CPU's benchmark results show a single-thread score of 696 in 3DMark and 214 in Cinebench R15, indicating that single-threaded performance is sufficient for a 2016 game title.

The Ryzen 5 3600's multi-threaded capabilities are demonstrated by its 3DMark 16-thread score of 4605 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045. These results place the CPU in the 71st percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 17035. The nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1260P with a score of 17007 (0.2 percent slower) and the Intel Core i5-11400 with a score of 17067 (0.2 percent faster). This positioning indicates that the Ryzen 5 3600 is a mid-range processor that does not bottleneck the RTX 5090 D in most scenarios.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 184 FPS. This high frame rate approaches the limits of what the Ryzen 5 3600 can sustain, as the GPU is not fully utilized at this resolution and settings combination. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1361 and 4-thread score of 2579 suggest that the CPU can handle the game's main thread and a few additional threads without significant strain. The game's release in 2016 means it likely does not utilize more than 4 to 8 threads effectively, and the Ryzen 5 3600's 12 threads provide ample headroom.

The CPU's 65 TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game's memory access patterns. The 7 nm process node from TSMC with 3,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die size contributes to the CPU's efficiency. The L2 cache of 512 KB per core and L1 cache of 64 KB per core are standard for the Zen 2 architecture. For The Technomancer specifically, the CPU's performance is not a limiting factor at 4K resolutions, where the GPU's rendering workload dominates. At 1080p, however, the CPU's single-threaded performance, as indicated by its Geekbench single-core score of 1536, does cap frame rates below what the RTX 5090 D could theoretically deliver.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Technomancer at 4K Ultra settings smoothly?

A: The measured data shows 66 FPS average at 4K Ultra. This is above 60 FPS but close to the threshold. For a more comfortable margin, High settings at 4K deliver 85 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra settings at 1440p achieve 120 FPS, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. If you prefer higher and more consistent frame rates, Medium settings deliver 145 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 3600 compare to similar CPUs in benchmark performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 17035, placing it in the 71st percentile. It is 0.2 percent faster than the Intel Core i7-1260P and 0.2 percent slower than the Intel Core i5-11400.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The Technomancer, released in 2016, does not require 32 GB of VRAM. The GPU's 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 512-bit bus are far more than needed, but they ensure no memory-related bottlenecks occur.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 158 FPS at 1080p High. This is sufficient for 144 Hz monitors and provides a smooth experience.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 184 FPS, which suggests the Ryzen 5 3600 may be the limiting factor. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the larger frame rate drops when increasing resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary performance driver in this configuration, and its specifications explain the measured frame rates in The Technomancer. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This massive bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory-intensive operations never become a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs deliver the raw compute throughput needed for high-resolution rendering.

The RTX 5090 D's clock speeds include a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, produce 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The GPU's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are more than sufficient for a 2016 title. The GPU's benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 44065 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 376915, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs.

The nearest rivals to the RTX 5090 D include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT with an average score of 76904 (1.1 percent slower) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT with a score of 78940 (1.6 percent faster). The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB variants score 79396 and 79605, respectively, both slightly ahead of the RTX 5090 D by 2.1 and 2.4 percent. This competitive positioning indicates that the RTX 5090 D is a top-tier GPU, and its performance in The Technomancer reflects this.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role is evident in the frame rate differences between settings presets. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 63 FPS (129 versus 66), demonstrating that the GPU's rendering load increases significantly with higher settings. The GPU's 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores are not directly relevant to this game, as The Technomancer predates widespread ray tracing implementation. However, the GPU's raw rasterization performance, driven by its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, is what enables the high frame rates observed.

The GPU's 575 W TDP and suggested 950 W PSU are substantial, but necessary for the performance on offer. The dual-slot design and 304 mm length make it a large card, though the data shows it fits in standard cases. For The Technomancer specifically, the RTX 5090 D is massively overqualified, but the measured results confirm that it delivers exceptional performance even in older titles, with 4K High achieving 85 FPS and 1080p High reaching 158 FPS. The GPU's 32 GB VRAM is never fully utilized by this game, but it ensures compatibility with future titles that may demand more memory.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for The Technomancer with the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is as follows:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 184 FPS average
• Medium: 167 FPS average, 142 FPS minimum, 193 FPS maximum
• High: 158 FPS average
• Ultra: 145 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 160 FPS average
• Medium: 145 FPS average, 124 FPS minimum, 167 FPS maximum
• High: 137 FPS average
• Ultra: 120 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 129 FPS average
• Medium: 99 FPS average, 84 FPS minimum, 114 FPS maximum
• High: 85 FPS average
• Ultra: 66 FPS average

The 1080p results show a 39 FPS spread between Low and Ultra, with the system maintaining high frame rates across all settings. The 1440p results show a 40 FPS spread between Low and Ultra, with all presets exceeding 120 FPS. The 4K results show a 63 FPS spread between Low and Ultra, with Ultra being the only preset that drops below 70 FPS.

The Medium settings rows include minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the minimum of 142 FPS and maximum of 193 FPS indicate a 51 FPS range, while at 1440p, the range is 43 FPS (124 to 167). At 4K, the range narrows to 30 FPS (84 to 114), suggesting that higher resolutions produce more consistent frame pacing. The 4K Medium minimum of 84 FPS is the lowest measured value across all rows, but it remains above 60 FPS.

The combo rank for this CPU-GPU pair in The Technomancer is 352 out of 2825 combinations, placing it in the top 12.5 percent of tested configurations. This ranking reflects the strong performance of the RTX 5090 D combined with the capable Ryzen 5 3600. The data confirms that this system is well-suited for The Technomancer at any resolution, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration maintaining playable frame rates. Players seeking maximum visual fidelity at 4K should use High settings for a better frame rate margin, while those at 1440p can comfortably use Ultra settings.