The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that clearly separates GPU-bound and CPU-bound scenarios. With the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, the measured data reveals a system whose performance is almost entirely dictated by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the modern 6-core processor ensures headroom at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the FPS measurements to understand where the bottleneck lies and how to optimize the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 110 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average falls to 72 FPS, a 34.5% reduction. At 4K Low, it drops further to 39 FPS, which is only 35.5% of the 1080p Low performance. This pattern is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario. The GTX 1660 SUPER's fillrate and memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, causing the frame rate to plummet.

The trend is consistent across all settings, but the scaling factor changes. With High settings, the drop from 1080p (72 FPS) to 1440p (47 FPS) is a 34.7% decrease, and then to 4K (26 FPS) it's a 63.9% decrease from the 1080p baseline. The 4K High result of 26 FPS is barely playable, indicating the GPU is completely overwhelmed. The data implies that even at 1440p, the GTX 1660 SUPER is working near its limits with this game, as the 47 FPS average at High is just on the edge of smoothness.

Interestingly, the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor at any resolution in this data. The 1080p Low setting produces 110 FPS, which is a high frame rate but not one that suggests the Ryzen 5 7400F is maxed out. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions and settings. Instead, the FPS continues to climb as resolution drops, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint. The data suggests that the Ryzen 5 7400F is capable of feeding the GTX 1660 SUPER more frames than it can render, especially at 1080p, meaning the game's performance is almost entirely a function of the graphics card's workload.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 110, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is 4K gaming a viable option with the GTX 1660 SUPER for this title?

A: The data shows 4K performance is very poor. The best 4K result is 39 FPS at Low settings, and at Ultra, it drops to 20 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K is not a practical resolution for a smooth experience.

Q: How much performance is gained by switching from Ultra to Low settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS increases from 37 (Ultra) to 72 (Low). This represents a 94.6% performance uplift.

Q: Does the combination perform better at 1440p High or 1080p Ultra?

A: The 1440p High setting yields an average of 47 FPS, while 1080p Ultra yields 56 FPS. The 1080p Ultra setting provides a higher average frame rate.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the entire data set?

A: The lowest average FPS is 20, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7400F a bottleneck for the GTX 1660 SUPER in this game?

A: Based on the scaling data, no. The FPS consistently increases as resolution decreases, from 20 FPS at 4K Ultra to 110 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the GPU, not the CPU, is the limiting component across all tested configurations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the decisive component in this pairing. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is put under heavy strain by The Technomancer, especially at higher resolutions. The 4K results, averaging between 20 and 39 FPS depending on settings, suggest that the memory bandwidth and the GPU's compute power are insufficient for the pixel-pushing demands of 4K.

The card's clock speeds also play a role. With a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, the GPU's performance is consistent with its 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power. The data shows that this level of performance is adequate for 1080p, where it achieves a playable 56 FPS at Ultra and a very smooth 84 FPS at Medium. However, the jump to 1440p exposes its limitations, with the average FPS at High falling to 47, a figure that may be acceptable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

The GTX 1660 SUPER's performance relative to its peers is also telling. Its average benchmark score of 12986 places it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580, has an average score of 12928, a delta of just 0.4%. This indicates that the two cards are nearly identical in raw compute power. The data from The Technomancer suggests that this class of GPU is best suited for 1080p gaming, as pushing beyond that resolution requires a significant drop in settings to maintain acceptable frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the data points to 1080p Medium as the optimal configuration. This setting yields an average of 84 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. The minimum FPS is above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring a smooth and consistent experience. Moving up to 1080p High drops the average to 72 FPS, which is still playable, but the lack of min/max data for that setting makes it harder to judge frame-time consistency. The Medium preset offers a better safety margin.

If the user prioritizes visual fidelity over frame rate, 1080p Ultra is a viable option, producing an average of 56 FPS. This is a significant drop from Medium, but it remains within a playable range for a slower-paced Action RPG. However, the data suggests that 1080p High (72 FPS) is a better compromise than Ultra, as it offers a substantial performance boost with likely minimal visual difference in most scenarios.

At 1440p, the situation is more challenging. The Medium preset yields 55 FPS, which is just below the ideal 60 FPS target. The High preset at 47 FPS is less desirable. Given the data, 1440p gaming is possible but requires accepting a lower frame rate. The analysis indicates that users with a 1440p monitor should strongly consider using the Medium preset and potentially lowering some in-game effects to maintain a stable 55 FPS. The 1080p Medium setting is the clear winner for the best overall experience based on the measured metrics.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand database of tested hardware combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is positioned at rank 2416 out of 2825 total combos. This places it in the lower 14.5% of all tested systems. This rank is a strong indicator that the GTX 1660 SUPER, while a competent 1080p card, is not a high-end performer in this specific game when paired with a modern CPU.

The rank is likely influenced by the GPU's performance ceiling rather than the CPU. The Ryzen 5 7400F is a strong processor, ranking in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32750. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600T, scores 32707, a delta of only 0.1%. This shows the CPU is more than capable. The fact that the combo rank is so low suggests that the GPU is holding the system back, especially when compared to other combos in the database that likely feature more powerful graphics cards.

The data implies that this combo is not a top-tier performer, but it is a functional one for 1080p gaming. The rank of 2416 out of 2825 serves as a warning that users should not expect high-refresh-rate or high-resolution performance from this pairing. It is a mid-to-low-range setup that is best suited for 1080p with medium-to-high settings, as confirmed by the measured FPS data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full set of measurements provides a detailed look at the performance envelope. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 110 FPS average.
• Medium: 84 FPS average, with a minimum of 72 and a maximum of 97.
• High: 72 FPS average.
• Ultra: 56 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably:

• Low: 72 FPS average.
• Medium: 55 FPS average, with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 63.
• High: 47 FPS average.
• Ultra: 37 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed:

• Low: 39 FPS average.
• Medium: 30 FPS average, with a minimum of 26 and a maximum of 35.
• High: 26 FPS average.
• Ultra: 20 FPS average.

The data shows a clear and consistent hierarchy. Higher resolutions and settings always result in lower FPS. The Medium settings are the only ones with recorded min/max FPS, which provides valuable insight into frame-time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 72 FPS minimum ensures a smooth experience. At 1440p Medium, the 47 FPS minimum could lead to noticeable stutters in demanding scenes. At 4K Medium, the 26 FPS minimum makes the game nearly unplayable.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F plays a supporting but crucial role in this configuration. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, its compute capabilities are far beyond what The Technomancer requires. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as 21765 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3072 in single-core, place it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. This indicates a high level of performance that is unlikely to be a bottleneck in a 2016 title.

The evidence for this is in the FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the system produces 110 FPS. If the CPU were a limiting factor, we would expect to see this number cap out regardless of resolution or settings. Instead, the FPS drops steeply as the GPU workload increases, dropping to 20 FPS at 4K Ultra. This inverse relationship between FPS and resolution is the definitive sign of a GPU bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 7400F is feeding the GTX 1660 SUPER as fast as it can, but the GPU cannot keep up.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth provide a solid foundation for game data. While The Technomancer is not a CPU-intensive title by modern standards, the Ryzen 5 7400F's strong single-thread performance ensures that the game's logic and physics calculations are handled with ease. The data confirms that this processor is more than adequate for this game, and its performance headroom means it would not be a limiting factor even if a more powerful GPU were installed.