The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, shows a striking performance profile when paired with the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. The data reveals a combination that is heavily influenced by resolution, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all presets and resolutions, providing a clear picture of what this hardware can deliver.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K dramatically alters the performance ceiling, clearly demonstrating where the system’s limits lie. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 220 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 191 FPS, a 13% decrease, and then to 3840x2160 Low it falls further to 106 FPS, a 44% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that even at Low settings, the jump to 4K heavily taxes the GPU.

However, the scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher presets. At High settings, the averages are 189 FPS at 1080p, 127 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 63%, which is significantly steeper than the 52% drop seen on Low settings. This suggests that as the graphical load increases, the RTX 4080 SUPER’s rendering workload becomes the dominant limiting factor, while the Ryzen 5 5500 has ample headroom to keep feeding it frames at lower resolutions.

The 4K Ultra preset is the most demanding scenario, yielding just 54 FPS. This is a 75% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result of 152 FPS. The data strongly implies that at 4K, the GPU is operating near its maximum capacity, and the CPU’s role is minimized. Conversely, at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound, as the FPS at Low (220) and Medium (200) are remarkably close, suggesting the processor is the limiting factor preventing even higher frame rates. The RTX 4080 SUPER is powerful enough to render these scenes much faster, but it is waiting on the CPU.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the Medium preset offers the best compromise between visual fidelity and performance. At 1080p, Medium delivers an average of 200 FPS, which is only 20 FPS less than Low but likely provides a substantial visual upgrade. At 1440p, Medium maintains a smooth 149 FPS, and even at 4K it achieves a playable 82 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, making it the highest preset that remains comfortably above 60 FPS at that resolution.

High settings are also viable, but the returns diminish at higher resolutions. The data shows 189 FPS at 1080p and 127 FPS at 1440p, both excellent figures. However, at 4K, the average drops to 70 FPS, which is playable but starts to approach the threshold where frame pacing could become noticeable on high-refresh-rate displays. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low settings provide the highest averages (220 FPS at 1080p), but this comes at a significant cost to visual quality.

Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the combo produces 152 FPS and 99 FPS respectively. At 4K, the 54 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS target that many consider the baseline for a smooth experience. The benchmark results indicate that Medium is the sweet spot for this combination, delivering high frame rates at all resolutions while maintaining a higher level of graphical detail than the Low preset.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at 4K with high settings?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 70 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold, but it is not as high as the frame rates seen at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU pairing?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 offers an excellent balance. At Medium settings, it achieves 149 FPS, and at High settings, it reaches 127 FPS. This resolution provides high frame rates without the extreme performance penalty seen at 4K.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: Benchmark results suggest the CPU can limit performance at 1080p. The average FPS at 1080p Low (220) and Medium (200) are close, but the jump to High (189) and Ultra (152) shows a scaling that is more likely tied to the GPU load. At 4K, the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the GPU is clearly the limiting factor.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER perform relative to its closest rivals?

A: According to the data, the RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, scores 54247, making the SUPER 0.1% slower. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.7% faster in these aggregate benchmarks.

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

A: The difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 191 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 99 FPS. This represents a 48% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the combo maintain a stable frame rate at 4K Medium settings?

A: Yes, the data shows a minimum FPS of 69 and a maximum of 94 at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, with an average of 82 FPS. This indicates a relatively stable performance window.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for The Technomancer, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER holds a specific position. According to the data, this combo ranks 381 out of 3696 tested combinations. This places it in the top 10.3% of all systems tested, indicating a high-performing setup overall.

The rank reflects the synergy between the two components. While the RTX 4080 SUPER is a top-tier GPU, the Ryzen 5 5500 is a more mid-range processor. This pairing means the system’s overall ranking is likely held back by the CPU’s performance in CPU-bound scenarios, but it excels in GPU-bound situations like 4K gaming. The ranking of 381 suggests that while many combinations are slower, a significant number of others—likely those pairing the same GPU with faster CPUs—achieve higher overall scores.

The data implies that this is not a balanced pairing for maximum performance. A more powerful CPU would likely push this combo higher in the rankings, especially at 1080p where the processor is more likely to be the bottleneck. However, for users targeting 1440p or 4K, the rank reflects the GPU’s strength, as the system is able to deliver high frame rates in those scenarios despite the CPU's more modest capabilities.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319, provide context for its gaming performance. In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions.

The data shows that at 1080p, the FPS difference between Low (220) and Medium (200) settings is only 20 FPS, while the difference between Medium and Ultra (152) is 48 FPS. This pattern suggests that at Low and Medium settings, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can process game logic and draw calls. The 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.20 GHz boost clock are sufficient for this task, but they do set a ceiling on the maximum frame rate.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes. The frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K on High settings (127 to 70 FPS) is a 45% drop, which is more aligned with the GPU's rendering load than CPU limitations. The 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate for this 2016 title, as it was not designed to utilize a large number of cores. The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are also sufficient for the game's demands. The data indicates that while the CPU is not a weak point, it is also not a strength, and its performance caps the system's potential at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measured for each resolution and settings combination. The data is clear and consistent, showing a predictable decline in performance as resolution and settings increase.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 220 FPS average
• Medium: 200 FPS average (minimum 170, maximum 230)
• High: 189 FPS average
• Ultra: 152 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 191 FPS average
• Medium: 149 FPS average (minimum 126, maximum 171)
• High: 127 FPS average
• Ultra: 99 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 106 FPS average
• Medium: 82 FPS average (minimum 69, maximum 94)
• High: 70 FPS average
• Ultra: 54 FPS average

This data shows a consistent scaling pattern. At every resolution, the Ultra preset costs a significant amount of performance compared to High, often a 20-25% reduction. The Medium preset offers a substantial performance boost over High, making it the most efficient setting in terms of FPS per visual fidelity. The Low preset is the only way to achieve the highest frame rates, but it represents a last resort for competitive play or very high refresh rate displays. The measured minimum FPS values for Medium settings show that frame pacing is stable, with the 4K minimum (69 FPS) being the lowest recorded, but still above the 60 FPS threshold.