The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination. The data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows signs of CPU limitation at 1080p, making for a nuanced performance profile across different settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the RTX 4070 Ti scales as resolution increases, with the game’s demands shifting between components. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 217.5 FPS, which is remarkably high and suggests the CPU is nearing its limit. Moving to 1440p Low drops performance to 180.5 FPS, a 17% reduction, while at 4K Low it falls to 99.8 FPS, a 54% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern indicates that at Low settings, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution climbs, but the relatively modest drop from 1080p to 1440p (37 FPS) suggests the CPU is still playing a significant role at the lower resolution.

The picture changes dramatically when examining Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 138 FPS, but this falls to 89.5 FPS at 1440p and just 49.8 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 64%, which is steeper than the 54% drop at Low settings. This disparity suggests that Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed hard at 4K Ultra, where the frame rate drops below 50 FPS, indicating that even this high-end card struggles with the game’s most demanding configuration at 4K.

The scaling between Medium and High settings is also telling. At 1440p, High delivers 115.7 FPS while Medium achieves 137.6 FPS, a 19% difference. At 4K, the gap narrows to 12%, with High at 64.1 FPS and Medium at 73 FPS. This convergence at higher resolutions reinforces that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, while at 1440p and below, the CPU has more headroom to expose the differences between settings presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in The Technomancer?

A: The maximum recorded average FPS is 217.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at Medium or High settings. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 73, and at High it is 64.1. However, at 4K Ultra, performance drops to 49.8 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 44900, which is 0.6% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile’s 45152 score. It is 1.5% behind the Intel Arc A730M, but 1.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 180.5 FPS while Ultra produces 89.5 FPS, representing a 50.4% reduction in average FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for this GPU in this game?

A: The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, appear sufficient for most scenarios. However, the 1080p Low result of 217.5 FPS suggests the CPU is limiting performance, as the GPU is capable of higher frame rates at lower resolutions and settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combination ranks 261 out of 1656 tested combos, placing it in the top 15.8% of all systems tested in The Technomancer.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain much of the observed performance. With 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, the GPU has substantial raw compute capability, as reflected in its 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for the higher-resolution textures and effects in The Technomancer.

The GPU’s clock behavior is notable: the base clock is 2310 MHz with a boost of 2610 MHz. This 300 MHz boost headroom allows the card to dynamically scale performance based on thermal and power constraints. The measured results show that this boost capability is effectively utilized, particularly at 1080p where the GPU can run at higher clocks due to lower memory pressure. At 4K Ultra, however, the 49.8 FPS result indicates that the GPU is fully saturated, and the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor despite the substantial 504.2 GB/s available.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 85 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44900, confirms its high-end positioning. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 5090 Mobile (0.6% faster) and the Intel Arc A730M (1.5% faster), but it outpaces the AMD Radeon Pro 580 by 1.6%. In The Technomancer specifically, the GPU shows it can deliver playable frame rates at 4K with adjusted settings, but the drop from High to Ultra at 4K (64.1 to 49.8 FPS) highlights the significant cost of the highest quality preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for different priorities. For players targeting 60 FPS at 4K, High settings with 64.1 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the visual quality boost over Medium (73 FPS) while still maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Ultra at 4K should be avoided, as the 49.8 FPS result falls below playable thresholds for many users.

At 1440p, the system has substantial headroom. Ultra settings deliver 89.5 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS, making this the recommended preset for users with 1440p displays who prioritize visual fidelity. The jump from High (115.7 FPS) to Ultra (89.5 FPS) is a 22.6% reduction, but the absolute performance remains excellent. For competitive play or high refresh rate monitors, High settings at 1440p provide 115.7 FPS, which is smooth enough for most gaming scenarios.

At 1080p, the recommendation depends on the refresh rate of the display. For 144 Hz monitors, High settings at 177.2 FPS exceed the refresh rate and provide a smooth experience. Ultra at 138 FPS is also viable for 144 Hz displays, but the 39.2 FPS difference between High and Ultra suggests that High offers a better balance of visual quality and performance. Low settings at 217.5 FPS are only necessary for 240 Hz displays, where the extra headroom might be beneficial, but the visual compromise is significant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured data shows a consistent pattern across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 138 at Ultra to 217.5 at Low, with Medium at 202.5 and High at 177.2. The step from Low to Medium is modest (15 FPS reduction), but the jump from Medium to High is substantial (25.3 FPS reduction), and High to Ultra costs another 39.2 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests that the Ultra preset introduces particularly demanding effects.

At 2560x1440, the range is from 89.5 at Ultra to 180.5 at Low, with Medium at 137.6 and High at 115.7. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p varies by preset: Low drops by 37 FPS, Medium by 64.9 FPS, High by 61.5 FPS, and Ultra by 48.5 FPS. The larger absolute drops at Medium and High indicate that these presets are more sensitive to resolution increases, likely due to memory bandwidth constraints.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 49.8 at Ultra to 99.8 at Low, with Medium at 73 and High at 64.1. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows reductions of 80.7 FPS (Low), 64.6 FPS (Medium), 51.6 FPS (High), and 39.7 FPS (Ultra). Interestingly, the absolute FPS drop becomes smaller at higher quality settings, suggesting that as the GPU becomes more saturated, the relative impact of resolution decreases.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are modest by modern standards, but the CPU’s benchmark scores indicate solid performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 16429 in multi-core and 2319 in single-core, while its Passmark single-thread score is 3058.

The CPU’s role in The Technomancer becomes apparent when examining the 1080p Low result of 217.5 FPS. This is the highest frame rate across all measurements, and it suggests the GPU is not fully utilized at this setting. The Ryzen 5 5500’s single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 836 score in 3dmark single-thread and 233 in Cinebench R15 single-core, appears to be the limiting factor. The game’s engine likely has a primary game thread that cannot be fully parallelized, capping performance around 217 FPS regardless of GPU headroom.

At higher resolutions, the CPU’s influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. However, the 1440p Low result of 180.5 FPS still shows a significant drop from 1080p, indicating that the CPU is still contributing to overall performance. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 79 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20875, places it as a mid-range processor. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12500, scores 20897 (0.1% higher), while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE scores 20900 (0.1% higher), showing that the 5500 is competitive with mainstream alternatives.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 261 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the top 15.8% of all systems. This ranking reflects the strong GPU performance, which can deliver high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while the CPU provides adequate support without becoming a major bottleneck except at the lowest settings and resolutions.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 85 versus all GPUs is notably higher than the CPU’s 79 percentile, confirming that the graphics card is the stronger component in this pairing. The combo’s overall ranking suggests that while the system is well-suited for this game, there is room for improvement in the CPU department. A faster processor could potentially push the 1080p Low result beyond the 217.5 FPS ceiling, though the practical benefit would be limited to high refresh rate displays.

The measured data shows that this combo excels at 1440p, where it can maintain high frame rates across all settings. At 4K, the system is viable with Medium or High settings, but Ultra is not recommended. The ranking of 261 out of 1656 indicates that this is a strong configuration for The Technomancer, but not an elite one, with the CPU being the component that prevents the system from ranking higher.