The Technomancer

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1447th out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the pairing in the bottom 13% of all configurations tested for this title. The ranking reflects a combination that can run the game, but it sits well behind the majority of systems in the database, meaning users should temper expectations for high-refresh-rate or high-fidelity play.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1447 out of 1656 is a clear indicator that this is not a performance-oriented pairing for The Technomancer. Benchmark results show the CPU and GPU each sit near the middle of their respective percentile rankings — the CPU is in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 55th percentile — yet their combined output lands them in the lower tier of tested combos. This suggests the game is demanding on both components simultaneously, and the overall system score suffers as a result.

When looking at the individual component scores, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 20875 is nearly identical to its closest rivals. The Intel Core i5-12500 scores 20897, a delta of -0.1%, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE scores 20900, also a -0.1% delta. The AMD EPYC 7J13 trails slightly at 20845, a 0.1% difference, while the Intel Core i5-12600T leads at 20917, a -0.2% delta. The GPU’s average score of 14286 places it within 0.7% of its nearest competitor, the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT at 14389. These tight margins indicate that neither component is dramatically outperforming or underperforming its direct alternatives, yet the combination still ranks poorly for this game.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER brings 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, with an effective data rate of 14 Gbps. The GPU’s base clock is 1530 MHz, boosting to 1785 MHz. This memory configuration is modest by modern standards, and the 6 GB capacity can become a limiting factor in a game like The Technomancer, which appears to scale its memory demands with resolution and settings.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show a mixed picture. In PassMark, the DirectX 11 score of 104 is notably higher than the DirectX 12 score of 50, suggesting the card’s older architecture handles this game’s API load unevenly. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1278 reflects the card’s overall capability. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 12699 and G2D score of 805 provide a baseline for its compute and 2D performance. With a 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs, the GTX 1660 SUPER is an average performer, and the data shows it struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions in this title.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Cezanne. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. The CPU has a 16 MB L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 512 KB L2 per core. Its 7 nm process node and 65 W TDP make it an efficient part, but for a game released in 2016, the single-thread performance matters more than the multi-thread capabilities.

Benchmark results indicate strong multi-threaded performance relative to single-thread. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 16429, while the single-core score is 2319. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5386 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 5411, showing the CPU scales well with additional threads. However, the single-thread 3DMark score of 836 is comparatively low, and this is where The Technomancer likely puts pressure on the system. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 3058 and multithread score of 19330 confirm this pattern. In a game that may not fully utilize all 12 threads, the modest single-thread performance can bottleneck the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable results across most settings. On Low, the average frame rate is 112.7 FPS, which is smooth for fast-paced action. Medium drops to 84.3 FPS, and High comes in at 74.1 FPS. Ultra is the only setting where the frame rate dips below 60, averaging 58.3 FPS. These numbers suggest that at 1080p, the system can handle the game comfortably on Medium and High, with Ultra being a borderline option.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 69.2 FPS, which remains playable. Medium averages 55.2 FPS, and High averages 46.5 FPS. Ultra falls to 37.4 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. This resolution requires compromises, and the data shows that even Medium settings cannot maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles significantly. Low settings average 38.5 FPS, Medium averages 32 FPS, and High averages 26.5 FPS. Ultra is nearly unplayable at 19.6 FPS. These results indicate that 4K is not a viable option for this combination, even at the lowest settings, as the average frame rate barely reaches 40 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system produces 112.7 FPS. At 1440p Low, this drops to 69.2 FPS, a reduction of 43.5 FPS. At 4K Low, it falls to 38.5 FPS, a further reduction of 30.7 FPS. The pattern is consistent across all settings, with the Ultra preset showing the most dramatic decline: 58.3 FPS at 1080p, 37.4 FPS at 1440p, and 19.6 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior points to the GPU as the primary constraint. The CPU’s performance does not change with resolution, so the fact that frame rates drop by roughly half from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER is being pushed to its limits. The 6 GB VRAM buffer and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this title. The GPU’s 48 ROPs and 1408 shading units are simply not enough to maintain fill rates at higher resolutions, and the benchmark results reflect this bottleneck clearly.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running The Technomancer at 1080p?

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 112.7 FPS on Low settings, 84.3 FPS on Medium, and 74.1 FPS on High at 1920x1080. Ultra settings drop to 58.3 FPS, which is still near the playable threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: The data indicates 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At 2560x1440, even Medium settings only average 55.2 FPS, and at 3840x2160, Low settings average just 38.5 FPS. Stick to 1080p for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 20875. The Intel Core i5-12500 scores 20897, a -0.1% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE scores 20900, also a -0.1% delta. The AMD EPYC 7J13 scores 20845, a 0.1% delta, and the Intel Core i5-12600T scores 20917, a -0.2% delta.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 scores 14314, a -0.2% delta, the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics scores 14315, a -0.2% delta, and the AMD Radeon Vega 11 scores 14352, a -0.5% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores 14389, a -0.7% delta.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at higher resolutions?

A: The data suggests yes. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is 19.6 FPS, while at 1080p Low it is 112.7 FPS. This substantial drop indicates the GPU cannot keep up with the rendering demands, even though the CPU’s performance remains constant.

Q: Is the Ultra preset usable at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 58.3 FPS, which is marginally playable. At 1440p, it drops to 37.4 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 19.6 FPS. The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, and even then, the frame rate is below 60 FPS.