The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, shows a clear performance hierarchy when paired with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the graphics card is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, while the processor’s capabilities become more apparent at lower settings and resolutions. The data indicates a well-balanced pairing, but one that requires specific settings adjustments to achieve the smoothest experience at each target resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is substantial and consistent across all settings, pointing directly to the GPU as the limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 116 FPS at 1080p to 79.8 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 41.1 FPS at 4K. This represents a 64.6% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, with a 48.5% decrease, indicating that the RX 6750 XT’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are being heavily taxed at 4K.

This trend is even more pronounced when examining the Low settings. The 1080p Low average is 181.1 FPS, which drops to 119.2 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 63.6 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate is barely above 60 FPS confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a smaller performance gap between 1440p and 4K, as the GPU would have more headroom to work with. Instead, the data shows a consistent and dramatic decline, proving that the Radeon RX 6750 XT is the component determining the upper limits of performance in The Technomancer.

The scaling between settings at a fixed resolution further reinforces this. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average frame rate from 181.1 FPS to 89.8 FPS, a 50.4% drop. This is a larger relative decrease than what is seen at 4K, where the same settings change reduces the frame rate from 63.6 FPS to 34.2 FPS, a 46.2% drop. This suggests that at 1080p, the system has more overall throughput, but the GPU’s workload scales significantly with each graphical preset, whereas at 4K the GPU is already saturated, and the additional load from higher settings has a slightly less pronounced relative impact.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, provides a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of bandwidth that is crucial for a game like The Technomancer, which can be demanding on memory at high resolutions and texture settings. The 12 GB capacity is also a significant factor, as it allows the GPU to hold more textures and geometry data locally, reducing the need to stream from system memory, which can cause stutters.

The GPU’s boost clock is listed at 2600 MHz, with a game clock of 2495 MHz. These high clock speeds, combined with 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, contribute to a pixel rate of 166.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 416.0 GTexel/s. These specifications translate to a theoretical FP32 performance of 13.31 TFLOPS. In practice, this power is evident in the 4K High result of 41.1 FPS, which, while not a solid 60 FPS, is a playable frame rate for a demanding title. The GPU’s ability to push 63.6 FPS at 4K on Low settings shows that its raw compute power is sufficient for less demanding visual loads.

The data suggests that the RX 6750 XT is the deciding factor in the 4K performance envelope. The benchmark results show that the GPU’s average benchmark score is 35327, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, has an average score of 35264, a delta of 0.2%, showing they are nearly identical in synthetic tests. However, in-game, the RX 6750 XT’s performance is more variable, indicating that its real-world performance is not solely predicted by its average synthetic score.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, operates at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, provides strong single-threaded performance, which is often critical for game logic and physics. The CPU’s benchmark scores reflect this, with a single-thread score of 917 in 3dmark and 2622 in Cinebench R23. These strong single-thread results are likely why the system can achieve 181.1 FPS at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are also relevant, as modern games increasingly use multiple cores. The Ryzen 5 5600X scores 5588 in the 3dmark max threads test and 18578 in Cinebench R23 multicore. This level of multi-threaded performance ensures that the CPU will not be a significant hindrance in most gaming scenarios. The processor’s 32 MB of L3 cache is another asset, as it helps to reduce memory latency and improve data access speeds for frequently used game assets.

However, the data indicates that the CPU’s role becomes less critical as resolution increases. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is too steep to be attributed to CPU limitations. For instance, at Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 89.8 FPS at 1080p to 34.2 FPS at 4K. This massive reduction is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance. The CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with data fast enough at lower resolutions, but as the rendering load on the GPU increases, the CPU’s contribution becomes relatively smaller. The CPU’s 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20680, confirms it is a high-performing processor that is a good match for the RX 6750 XT.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT achieves a rank of 799 out of 1656 combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the upper half of all tested systems, specifically in the 48.2nd percentile. This ranking suggests that while this combination is capable, it is not at the top tier of performance for this specific game. The mid-pack ranking is likely due to the game’s age and its particular optimization, which may not fully utilize the capabilities of newer hardware.

The ranking is determined by the measured FPS across all tested resolutions and settings. The combo’s strong 1080p performance, where it exceeds 116 FPS on High settings, positively contributes to its standing. However, its 4K performance, which dips below 60 FPS on all settings, likely prevents it from ranking higher. The data shows that the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, but it struggles to maintain high refresh rates at 4K.

It is useful to consider how the individual components rank against their peers. The CPU is 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT in average benchmark score, and 0.5% behind the Intel Core i5-12490F. Meanwhile, the GPU is 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 in its average score. This suggests that the combo’s overall rank is a function of both components being solid mid-to-high performers, but not top-tier in their respective categories. The 799th rank out of 1656 is a fair representation of this balanced but unremarkable performance level.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The detailed FPS measurements provide a clear picture of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the system is highly capable across all settings. The Low preset yields an average of 181.1 FPS, Medium delivers 139.6 FPS, High achieves 116 FPS, and Ultra still manages a very playable 89.8 FPS. These numbers show that for 1080p gaming, the combo is more than sufficient for high refresh rate monitors, even at the highest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but requires some settings adjustments for the most demanding users. The Low preset averages 119.2 FPS, which is excellent. Medium settings produce 87.9 FPS, and High settings yield 79.8 FPS. Ultra settings, however, drop to 62.2 FPS. This indicates that for a stable 60 FPS experience at 1440p, users can realistically use High or even Ultra settings, but those seeking higher frame rates may need to stick with Medium or Low.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The Low preset averages 63.6 FPS, which is the only setting that reaches a playable 60 FPS. Medium settings average 51.1 FPS, High settings drop to 41.1 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 34.2 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, the game must be set to Low. For higher visual fidelity, users will have to accept frame rates in the 30-50 FPS range, which may be acceptable for a slower-paced Action RPG.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low settings achieve an average of 63.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, High settings deliver 79.8 FPS, and Ultra is close at 62.2 FPS. At 1920x1080, all settings including Ultra far exceed 60 FPS, with an average of 89.8 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at higher resolutions?

A: The data shows performance drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU’s strong single-threaded performance is more relevant for achieving high frame rates at 1080p, such as the 181.1 FPS seen on Low settings.

Q: Is this combination better suited for 1080p or 4K gaming?

A: The benchmark results clearly favor 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p, the system can push over 116 FPS on High settings. At 4K, the average frame rate on High is only 41.1 FPS, which is not ideal for fast-paced action.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combinations?

A: It ranks 799 out of 1656 total combos, placing it in the upper half of the database. This indicates a solid, balanced performance but not a top-tier result for this specific game.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how does it relate to 4K performance?

A: The GPU has a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. Despite this substantial bandwidth, the 4K performance is limited, with even the Low preset averaging only 63.6 FPS, showing that the GPU’s compute capabilities are the limiting factor at that resolution.

Q: Is the CPU's performance adequate for this game?

A: Yes, the CPU’s benchmark scores are strong, with a single-thread score of 2622 in Cinebench R23 and a multi-thread score of 18578. The CPU’s high performance ensures it is not a significant bottleneck, especially at lower resolutions where frame rates are high.