The Technomancer

The Technomancer, an Action RPG released in 2016, shows how a mid-range 2020 CPU and a high-end 2020 GPU handle a title from the prior console generation. The measured data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at almost every setting level, with the CPU’s six cores providing ample headroom for the game’s older engine. The combination ranks 1578th out of 3696 tested combos in this game, placing it in the upper-middle portion of all configurations. The following sections break down the CPU and GPU roles, offer settings recommendations based on measured frames, and explain how resolution scaling affects the experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It features a 32 MB L3 cache, 512 KB L2 per core, and 64 KB L1 per core. The chip has a TDP of 65 W and is manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. In benchmark tests, the CPU achieves a single-thread score of 917 on 3DMark, 254 on Cinebench R15 single-core, 1541 on Cinebench R23 single-core, and 3364 on Passmark single-thread. Its average benchmark score is 21771, placing it in the 75th percentile among all CPUs tested.

The 5600X’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score are within a very narrow band: the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H scores 21749 (0.1% higher), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U scores 21874 (0.5% higher), the Intel Core i7-11700 scores 21891 (0.5% higher), and the AMD EPYC 9554P scores 21899 (0.6% higher). This shows that the 5600X is extremely competitive with these other processors on general compute performance, despite differences in core counts and clocks. In The Technomancer, the game’s reliance on a few threads means the 5600X’s strong single-core performance is the key factor.

The game’s engine, from the 2016 era, is not heavily threaded. The 5600X’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient to avoid any CPU bottleneck, which is reflected in the measured FPS scaling. At 1080p, the lowest measured average FPS at High settings is 125 FPS, which is far above what the GPU can sustain at 1440p or 4K. The CPU is never the primary limiting factor. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz ensures that even the most demanding single-threaded sections of the game run smoothly. The 65 W TDP indicates the CPU operates with lower power draw, but that is not a performance metric per se; it does mean the CPU is not thermally constrained in most systems.

The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks also translates to the game. For instance, the 3DMark 2-thread score of 1793 and the 4-thread score of 3363 show that the CPU has strong multi-thread scaling, but the game does not require it. The 5600X’s 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it is higher performing than three-quarters of processors on the market, and in this game, that headroom is evident.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience. The game offers four presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. The data shows a consistent pattern across all three resolutions: Medium provides a solid balance of frame rate and visual quality.

At 1080p, the average FPS figures are:

• Low: 191 FPS
• Medium: 147 FPS (min 125, max 169)
• High: 125 FPS
• Ultra: 98 FPS

The jump from Low to Medium costs 44 FPS (from 191 to 147), while the jump from Medium to High costs another 22 FPS (from 147 to 125). Going from High to Ultra costs 27 FPS (from 125 to 98). Ultra yields a still-playable 98 FPS, but the difference in visual quality between High and Ultra is often noticeable, while the frame rate penalty is significant. Medium at 147 FPS offers a high frame rate with the most visual upgrades over Low. The 147 FPS at Medium is also well above the refresh rates of most standard monitors, so users with 144Hz displays can fully utilize them.

At 1440p, the figures are:

• Low: 125 FPS
• Medium: 96 FPS (min 82, max 110)
• High: 82 FPS
• Ultra: 64 FPS

Medium at 96 FPS is nearly 100 FPS, which is smooth for most games. High at 82 FPS is still playable, but Medium provides a 14 FPS advantage over High. Ultra at 64 FPS is below the 70 FPS threshold that many consider optimal for fast-paced action RPGs. The 82 FPS minimum on Medium also ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not drop below 82 FPS, which is comfortable.

At 2160p (4K), the figures are:

• Low: 69 FPS
• Medium: 53 FPS (min 45, max 61)
• High: 45 FPS
• Ultra: 35 FPS

Medium at 53 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 45 FPS, which could be noticeable in fast-paced scenes. High at 45 FPS is just at the edge of playability for some, but the 53 FPS of Medium is better. Low at 69 FPS is the only setting that provides a comfortable frame rate at 4K, but it sacrifices visual fidelity. For a 4K experience, Medium would be the recommended preset, as it hovers around 53 FPS and provides a balanced experience.

The general recommendation is to select Medium for all resolutions if the target is a smooth experience. At 1080p, Medium provides 147 FPS, which is excellent. At 1440p, Medium provides 96 FPS, which is very good. At 4K, Medium provides 53 FPS, which is acceptable for a single-player action RPG. Users with high refresh rate monitors at 1080p can consider High, but the difference between High and Medium is only 22 FPS, while the visual difference may be small.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a clear pattern of FPS drops as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS at each preset drops by approximately 35-40%. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is another 45-50%. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the CPU has plenty of headroom.

At High settings, the FPS numbers are:

• 1080p: 125 FPS
• 1440p: 82 FPS (a drop of 43 frames, or 34%)
• 4K: 45 FPS (a drop of 37 frames from 1440p, or 0%)

The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 43 frames, and from 1440p to 4K is 37 frames. At Low settings, the numbers are 191, 125, and 69, dropping 66 frames from 1080p to 1440p, and 56 from 1440p to 4K. At Medium, the numbers are 147, 96, and 53, dropping 51 and 33 frames. At Ultra, the numbers are 98, 64, and 35, dropping 34 and 29.

The FPS drop percentage is notable. At High, 1440p is 65.6% of the 1080p frame rate, and 4K is 36% of the 1080p. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. The 5600X is not holding back performance at lower resolutions. The fact that at 1080p Low, the game can hit 191 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it only manages 35 FPS, shows that the GPU's pixel throughput is the bottleneck. The RTX 3070 has a pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s, and an FP32 of 20.31 TFLOPS, but these are not directly measured in the game. The data shows that the game’s engine is not able to scale the CPU performance, and the frame rate is tied to the GPU's fill rate.

The 4K data shows that the RTX 3070 is not a 4K Ultra card for this game, nor a 4K High card, as the 4K High average is 45 FPS. Only 4K Low reaches 69 FPS, which is playable but not smooth for all users. The 1440p data shows that the card is well-suited for 1440p, as all presets except Ultra (at 64 FPS) are above 60 FPS. At 1080p, the card is powerful enough to provide high frame rates, but the CPU is not the limiter, as the 191 FPS at Low indicates.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination holds a combo rank of 1578 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the 42.7% percentile (1578/3696 = 0.427), meaning it outperforms 57.3% of all tested combinations. This rank is determined by the game's specific demands, which are more heavily weighted toward single-core CPU performance and GPU fill rate. The 5600X's strong single-thread performance and the RTX 3070's mid-range GPU performance in this game result in a top-half ranking.

The combo rank is not a direct indication of the CPU's percentile (75th percentile among all CPUs) or the GPU's percentile (61st percentile among all GPUs). The game's engine is not particularly demanding on modern hardware, so the rank is influenced by the fact that many combos may have more powerful GPUs or CPUs. For a game from 2016, the RTX 3070 is a high-end card, but its performance at 4K is limited, which holds the combo back from a higher rank. The rank indicates that this pairing is a sensible choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but not the top-tier for 4K.

The combo's ranking can be compared to the CPU's nearest rivals. If the CPU were replaced with an AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (which has a similar average benchmark score of 21749, a 0.1% difference), the combo rank would likely be similar, as the game does not heavily utilize multi-threading. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, has a similar average benchmark score of 17083 (0.7% higher than the RTX 3070's 17208), but the RTX 3070's performance in this game is what matters. The rank data shows that the combo is in the middle of the pack, which is a reasonable place for this hardware in a game that is not particularly demanding.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is an Ampere-based GPU with a GA104 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process by Samsung. It has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The card has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The base clock is 1500 MHz, with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU has a TDP of 220 W and a dual-slot design. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

In this game, the GPU's role is the primary performance limiter at higher resolutions. The benchmark data shows that the RTX 3070 can achieve 191 FPS at 1080p Low, but this drops to 69 FPS at 4K Low. This drop is due to the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p, but at 4K, the bandwidth and fill rate are not enough to maintain high frame rates. The GPU's FP32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s are high, but the game’s engine is likely using a mix of shader and fill rate load.

The RTX 3070's average benchmark score is 17208, and it sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (average score 17083, 0.7% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037, 1% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019, 1.1% higher), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468, 1.5% higher). These are not direct performance rivals in this game, as the game is older, but the RTX 3070 is a capable card for this title.

The 8 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor in The Technomancer, as the game does not use that much memory. The game's textures are from 2016, and the RTX 3070 has ample VRAM. The GPU's ability to handle the game is more about the fill rate and shader performance. The 96 ROPs help with pixel processing, but at 4K, the 35 FPS at Ultra shows that the GPU is stretched. The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz is not a major factor, as the game's performance is not clock-limited at lower resolutions. The GPU is clearly the component that determines the frame rate scaling, as seen in the resolution analysis above.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance. All measurements are from actual data, with no missing values for most rows.

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• High: average 45 FPS
• Low: average 69 FPS
• Medium: average 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS
• Ultra: average 35 FPS

The 4K data shows a spread of 34 frames between Low and Ultra, with Medium being the only setting that provides a minimum frame rate above 45 FPS. The High setting's average of 45 FPS is just at the edge of playability for many, and Ultra at 35 FPS is not recommended for an action RPG that requires quick reactions.

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• High: average 82 FPS
• Low: average 125 FPS
• Medium: average 96 FPS, with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS
• Ultra: average 64 FPS

1440p is the sweet spot for this combo. Medium at 96 FPS is smooth, and High at 82 FPS is still above 60. Ultra at 64 FPS is within the playable range, but barely. The minimum of 82 FPS on Medium ensures a stable experience.

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• High: average 125 FPS
• Low: average 191 FPS
• Medium: average 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS
• Ultra: average 98 FPS

1080p shows the combo's full potential, with Low hitting 191 FPS, a very high number. Medium at 147 FPS is excellent, and High at 125 FPS is still great. Ultra at 98 FPS is above 60. The gap between Low and Medium is 44 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 22 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 27 FPS.

The measured data shows the frame times are stable, as the minimum FPS for 1080p Medium is 125, and the minimum for 1440p Medium is 82, which is a 30% drop in minimum FPS from 1080p to 1440p. The 4K Medium has a minimum of 45 FPS, which is a critical low point.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p provides an average of 96 FPS, with a minimum of 82 FPS. This is the highest average FPS above 90, while High falls to 82 FPS and Ultra to 64 FPS. Medium offers a 20% higher frame rate than High, making it the recommended preset for a 1440p experience.

Q: How does the CPU affect the 4K performance?

A: The 5600X does not limit 4K performance. At 4K, the frame rate is determined by the GPU, as the CPU has enough headroom. The data shows that at 4K Low, the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the 69 FPS is higher than 4K Medium's 53 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limiter.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combos?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and RTX 3070 combo ranks 1578th out of 3696 tested combos, placing it in the upper half (57.3% of the time). This rank reflects the game's moderate demands, where the GPU is the primary factor.

Q: Is the RTX 3070's VRAM a problem for this game?

A: No, the 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for The Technomancer. The game's textures from 2016 are not memory-heavy, and the performance is not limited by VRAM at any setting or resolution.

Q: What is the difference between High and Medium at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Medium averages 147 FPS, while High averages 125 FPS, a difference of 22 FPS. The minimum FPS for Medium is 125, which is the same as the average for High. The visual upgrade from Medium to High is not worth the frame drop for many users.

Q: Are the nearest rival CPUs likely to perform similarly in this game?

A: The CPU's nearest rivals (AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U, Intel Core i7-11700, AMD EPYC 9554P) have average benchmark scores within 0.6% of the 5600X. Since this game is not CPU-bound, their performance in The Technomancer would likely be very similar, with the GPU being the dominant factor.