The Technomancer

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F paired with the Intel Arc B370 is a severely constrained configuration for The Technomancer, ranking in the bottom 8% of all tested combos. The data shows a system where the integrated-class GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck, making the CPU’s role almost secondary. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 71 FPS, but this collapses to just 13 FPS at 4K Ultra, demonstrating a component that cannot sustain playable frame rates at higher resolutions or settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 71 at 1920x1080 to 26 at 3840x2160 — a 63% reduction in performance. This scaling pattern is typical of a graphics card that exhausts its compute and memory capabilities as pixel count increases. The 45 FPS gap between these two resolutions is not a sign of CPU limitation; it indicates the Arc B370 is being saturated by the rendering workload.

Moving to High settings, the drop is less steep in absolute terms but equally telling: 47 FPS at 1080p falls to 17 FPS at 4K, a 64% loss. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical between Low and High settings suggests the GPU is consistently the limiting factor across the entire quality spectrum. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the scaling to flatten at higher resolutions, where the GPU becomes more stressed; instead, the frame rates continue to plummet, confirming the graphics processor is the sole constraint.

The Medium settings results provide the only min/max FPS data across all resolutions, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 and maximum of 63. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 36 FPS with a minimum of 30 and maximum of 41. At 4K Medium, the average is 20 FPS with a minimum of 17 and maximum of 23. The consistent spread — roughly 15 FPS between min and max at each resolution — indicates the GPU is producing steady, if low, output without sudden spikes or stutters. This is a sign of a GPU that is fully loaded rather than one experiencing driver hiccups.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing. At Ultra settings, 24 FPS at 1440p drops to 13 FPS at 4K — a 46% reduction. This near-linear scaling with pixel count (1440p has 3.7 million pixels, 4K has 8.3 million) suggests the Arc B370’s 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are being exhausted by the sheer fill-rate demand. The 20 ROPs on this GPU are clearly insufficient for 4K rendering in this title, regardless of how the CPU might be performing.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the definitive performance limiter in this configuration. With a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost of 2400 MHz, the GPU has a wide clock range, but the architecture is fundamentally an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 25 W TDP. The memory configuration is "System Shared" with "System Dependent" bandwidth, meaning the GPU relies on the CPU’s DDR4 memory bus — a dual-channel setup providing 51.2 GB/s. This shared memory architecture is a severe disadvantage for a game like The Technomancer, which demands dedicated VRAM bandwidth.

The GPU’s benchmark results paint a bleak picture. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are all legacy parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, delta -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, delta -0.7%), and AMD FirePro M2000 (score 1168, delta 1.4%). This means the Arc B370 performs within 1% of graphics cards from over a decade ago. The fact that it is marginally slower than the HD 5770, a 2009-era desktop card, underscores how far behind the curve this IGP is for gaming.

The GPU’s architecture is Xe3-LPG on a 3 nm process from Intel, but the process node advantage does not translate into gaming performance. The shading units number 1280, with 40 TMUs and 20 ROPs. The texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, which sounds adequate on paper, but the pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s is the binding constraint. At 4K, the GPU must fill 8.3 million pixels per frame; at 48 GPixel/s, it can theoretically fill 5.7 frames per second at full utilization, but the measured 13 FPS at Ultra suggests the actual efficiency is far lower due to shader complexity and memory bandwidth limitations.

The GPU’s reliance on system memory is the critical weakness. With no dedicated VRAM, the Arc B370 must share the CPU’s DDR4 bus, contending with the processor’s own memory access. This is why the measured FPS scales so poorly with resolution — each increase in pixel count demands more memory bandwidth, and the shared bus simply cannot deliver. The 10 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are irrelevant when the fundamental memory subsystem is the bottleneck.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a capable desktop processor that is entirely underutilized in this pairing. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer), the CPU has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node from TSMC are standard for a mid-range desktop part. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 32 MB shared L3 cache. This is a modern, capable CPU that would not bottleneck most games at 1080p or even 1440p.

The CPU’s benchmark scores confirm its strength. The PassMark multithread score is 19236, with a single-thread score of 2872 and an average benchmark score of 36945. This places the CPU in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, a solid performance tier. The nearest rivals are all within 1%: Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (score 36938, delta 0%), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (score 37018, delta -0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (score 37093, delta -0.4%), and Intel Core i9-12900T (score 37112, delta -0.5%). This indicates the 5600F is competitive with modern mid-range and even some higher-end processors.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The PassMark physics score is 1043, and the floating-point math score is 34548, indicating strong computational throughput. However, the measured FPS shows no evidence of CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 71 FPS, but the GPU is still the constraint — the same GPU that scores in the 5th percentile. If the CPU were limiting, we would see frame rates plateau across resolutions at a level below the GPU’s capability; instead, we see frame rates drop linearly with resolution, a classic GPU-bound signature.

The CPU’s 12 threads are more than sufficient for a 2016 Action RPG. The game’s release date in June 2016 means it was designed for CPUs with far fewer cores. The 5600F’s 32 MB L3 cache and 4.00 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom for the game’s single-threaded performance demands. The data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the bottleneck — even at 4K Ultra with 13 FPS, the frame rate is entirely dictated by the GPU’s rendering capabilities, not the CPU’s processing speed.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2603 out of 2825 tested combinations in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 7.9% of all systems evaluated. This is a poor result, driven almost entirely by the GPU. The rank reflects that this configuration is substantially worse than the vast majority of alternatives, including systems with older dedicated GPUs. The fact that the Arc B370’s nearest rivals are ATI cards from a decade ago directly explains this low ranking.

The combination of a top-15% CPU with a bottom-5% GPU creates an imbalanced system. The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs is nullified by the GPU’s 5th percentile ranking. In gaming workloads, the GPU typically dominates the performance equation, and this case is no exception. The combo rank of 2603 out of 2825 is a direct consequence of the GPU’s inadequacy, not any fault of the CPU.

Comparatively, the CPU’s rivals — Intel Core Ultra 5 225, AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Intel Core i9-12900T — are all within 0.5% of the 5600F’s average benchmark score. This means that swapping the CPU for any of these would not materially change the gaming performance in The Technomancer. The GPU is the single point of failure. The rank of 2603 suggests that even the weakest dedicated GPUs from the past decade would likely outperform this IGP configuration, as the GPU’s rivals are all legacy parts with negligible performance differences.

The data indicates that this combo is unsuitable for The Technomancer at any resolution above 1080p Low, and even at 1080p Low, the 71 FPS average is only achieved with the lowest quality settings. The rank reflects this reality: the combo is in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, and the gaming experience will be poor unless resolution and settings are drastically reduced.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 71 FPS, which is the only playable result in the entire dataset. Medium settings drop to 55 FPS (min 47, max 63), still playable but with noticeable frame dips. High settings yield 47 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 37 FPS. The 34 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p shows the GPU’s sensitivity to graphical quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades significantly. Low settings average 47 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 34% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 36 FPS (min 30, max 41), High settings drop to 31 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 24 FPS. The 23 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is narrower than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is becoming more uniformly stressed as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are borderline unplayable. Low settings average 26 FPS, Medium settings average 20 FPS (min 17, max 23), High settings drop to 17 FPS, and Ultra settings collapse to 13 FPS. The 13 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest across all resolutions, showing that the GPU is completely saturated regardless of quality settings. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 17, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Across all resolutions, the Medium settings data provides the only complete min/max FPS information. At 1080p, the range is 47-63 FPS; at 1440p, it is 30-41 FPS; at 4K, it is 17-23 FPS. The consistent pattern of roughly 15 FPS between min and max at each resolution suggests stable frame pacing, but the absolute values are too low for a satisfying experience at 1440p and 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 13 FPS is effectively a slideshow, and even 1080p Ultra at 37 FPS is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at 1080p 60 FPS?*

A: Only at Low settings, where the average is 71 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 55 FPS, which is below 60 FPS, and High settings yield 47 FPS. Ultra settings at 1080p produce 37 FPS. The 60 FPS target is only achievable with the lowest quality settings.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% faster), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% faster), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% slower). All rivals are within 1.4% of the Arc B370’s performance.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600F the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 36945, while the GPU ranks in the 5th percentile with a score of 1184. The frame rate scaling with resolution and settings clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the best playable setting for this combo?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 71 FPS, which is the only setting and resolution combination above 60 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 55 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. At 1440p Low, the average is 47 FPS, which may be acceptable for some users but is below the 60 FPS target.

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

A: It ranks 2603 out of 2825 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 7.9% of all systems. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s 5th percentile performance, as the CPU is in the 85th percentile.

Q: What is the frame rate consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The min/max FPS data at Medium settings shows a consistent 15 FPS spread across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 47-63 FPS (average 55). At 1440p, it is 30-41 FPS (average 36). At 4K, it is 17-23 FPS (average 20). This stability indicates no sudden frame drops, but the low averages make the higher resolutions unplayable.