The Technomancer

# The Technomancer with AMD Ryzen 5 7500F + Intel Arc B390

This combination of AMD's Ryzen 5 7500F processor and Intel's Arc B390 integrated graphics produces a peculiar pairing in The Technomancer: a strong six-core CPU paired with a GPU that ranks in the 9th percentile among all tested graphics solutions. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings tell a story of a system where the graphics component is the overwhelming constraint, yet the CPU's capabilities still shape the experience in meaningful ways. This analysis examines the measured FPS data, the roles each component plays, and what the numbers imply for players considering this hardware configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic collapse as resolution increases, revealing the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 79 FPS average. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops that to 52 FPS, a reduction of 27 FPS. At 4K with Low settings, the average falls to 28 FPS, which is a 51 FPS drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern—roughly halving performance at each major resolution step—is characteristic of a GPU that is fully saturated at lower resolutions and simply cannot maintain throughput as pixel count expands.

The High settings preset shows a similar trajectory: 52 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is even more revealing, with 40 FPS at 1080p falling to 26 FPS at 1440p and just 15 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that the Intel Arc B390 is working near its absolute limits even at 1080p, and the resolution scaling is almost perfectly linear with the pixel count increase. The 4K-to-1080p ratio at Medium settings (22 FPS vs 61 FPS) shows that 4K demands roughly 2.8 times the processing power that 1080p does, which aligns with the 4x pixel difference being partially mitigated by other system factors.

What this scaling implies is that the Ryzen 5 7500F is never the limiting factor in this configuration. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at higher resolutions rather than continue dropping. Instead, the consistent decline across every settings preset points squarely at the GPU. The data suggests that at 1080p Low, the system approaches what might be a CPU-influenced ceiling around 79 FPS, but even that modest figure is likely below what the 7500F could deliver with a more capable graphics solution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is a 3 nm integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, running at a base clock of 300 MHz with a boost of 2500 MHz. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning the GPU draws from the same DDR5 memory pool as the CPU rather than having dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means performance can vary based on the system's memory configuration.

The GPU's benchmark results are modest, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This places it in the 9th percentile among all tested GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (scoring 1463, which is 1.3% lower), the GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% lower), the GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% lower), and the GT 710 (1443, 2.7% lower). These rivals are all older, low-end discrete GPUs, which contextualizes the Arc B390's position: it performs in the same neighborhood as entry-level dedicated graphics from a decade ago, despite being a modern integrated solution.

The measured frame rates in The Technomancer align with this positioning. At 1080p Low, the 79 FPS average is playable, but the GPU's limitations become apparent as settings increase. The 4K Ultra result of 15 FPS is effectively unplayable, and even 1440p High at 34 FPS struggles to maintain smooth motion. The system shared memory means there is no dedicated VRAM pool, so texture-heavy scenes at higher settings likely force the GPU to compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s provide theoretical ceilings, but the measured data suggests real-world performance falls well short of those figures at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture with a 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth, and its PCIe interface is Gen 5 with 24 lanes. The CPU's benchmark scores are substantial: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22799, a single-core score of 3218, a Geekbench multi-core score of 12362, and a single-core score of 2374.

In the context of The Technomancer, the 7500F's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, but the measured frame rates indicate the CPU is rarely stressed. The 79 FPS at 1080p Low is the highest measured average across all configurations, and it is plausible that this figure approaches what the Arc B390 can deliver rather than what the CPU can produce. The 7500F's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11850H (avg score 24935, 0.1% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F (25005, 0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-13620H (24911, 0.2% lower), and the Intel Core 5 210H (24872, 0.4% lower). These rivals all have within 0.5% of the 7500F's average benchmark score of 24964, indicating that this processor is competitively positioned in its segment.

The CPU's percentile ranking at 77 among all tested CPUs suggests it is a strong performer, but in this game and with this GPU, that strength is largely untapped. The 7500F's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient for The Technomancer's demands, and its high single-thread performance (evidenced by the 3218 Cinebench R23 single-core score) means that even lightly threaded game logic will not bottleneck the system. The data implies that pairing this CPU with a more powerful discrete GPU would yield significantly higher frame rates in this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best playable configuration for this combo in The Technomancer?

A: The 1080p Low preset delivers the highest measured average at 79 FPS, making it the only configuration that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset achieves 61 FPS, which is also playable, while all other settings and resolutions fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443). All of these are within a 3% range.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500F the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The measured FPS drops consistently as resolution increases across all settings, which indicates GPU limitation. The 7500F's benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core 22799, single-core 3218) suggest it is capable of far higher frame rates than the Arc B390 can deliver.

Q: What happens to frame rates when going from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 61 at 1080p to 40 at 1440p and finally to 22 at 4K. The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 52, while at 4K Medium it drops to 19, showing a significant reduction in both average and minimum performance.

Q: How does the 7500F rank against other CPUs in benchmark scores?

A: The 7500F has an average benchmark score of 24964, placing it in the 77th percentile among all CPUs. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F, scores 25005, which is 0.2% higher, while the Intel Core i7-11850H scores 24935, which is 0.1% lower.

Q: What does the 4K Ultra result of 15 FPS indicate about the GPU?

A: This is the lowest measured average in the dataset and indicates that the Arc B390 is insufficient for 4K gaming at maximum settings in this title. The GPU's system shared memory and 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs make high-resolution, high-settings gaming impractical.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only preset that delivers a consistently smooth experience is 1080p Low, which averages 79 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset at 61 FPS is also viable for players who prefer better visual quality while maintaining playable frame rates. The 1080p High preset drops to 52 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, the Low preset at 52 FPS is the only configuration that approaches playability, while Medium drops to 40 FPS and High falls to 34 FPS. The 4K resolution is not recommended at any settings, as even Low averages 28 FPS, which is below the threshold for acceptable motion clarity. The Ultra preset at any resolution is effectively unusable, with the best case being 40 FPS at 1080p and the worst being 15 FPS at 4K.

For the best experience per the measured rows, players should prioritize 1080p with Medium settings, as this offers a balance of 61 FPS average with improved visual fidelity over Low. The minimum FPS of 52 at this configuration ensures that frame drops remain manageable. Players who value frame rate above all else should choose 1080p Low, while those who prefer visual quality at the cost of smoothness might accept 1080p High at 52 FPS, though this is a marginal tradeoff.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in The Technomancer is as follows:

At 3840x2160 (4K), the High preset averages 19 FPS, Medium averages 22 FPS with a minimum of 19 and maximum of 25, Low averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. No minimum or maximum values are recorded for High, Low, or Ultra at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 34 FPS, Low averages 52 FPS, Medium averages 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. Again, min/max values are only available for Medium.

At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 52 FPS, Low averages 79 FPS, Medium averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p shows the tightest min-max range relative to its average, with a 18 FPS spread between minimum and maximum.

The scaling across settings at each resolution is consistent: Low is always the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the slowest. The gap between Low and Ultra is 39 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 13 FPS at 4K. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that as the GPU becomes more saturated, the settings-based performance differences diminish, suggesting that resolution is the dominant factor in determining frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2500 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 12% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's severe limitation relative to the CPU's capabilities. The 7500F is a strong processor in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile among GPUs, creating a significant imbalance.

The combo rank of 2500 out of 2825 suggests that most other tested combinations deliver better performance in this game. The data implies that the Arc B390 is the primary reason for this low ranking, as the CPU's benchmark scores are competitive with its nearest rivals (all within 0.5% of its average score). The measured FPS figures at 1080p Low (79 FPS) are the highest achievable with this combo, but they fall short of what the 7500F could support with a more capable GPU.

The ranking also highlights a broader trend: The Technomancer appears to be a GPU-intensive title that rewards systems with stronger graphics hardware. The fact that this combo's best result (79 FPS at 1080p Low) is still below what many mid-range discrete GPUs would achieve at higher settings reinforces the notion that the Arc B390's integrated nature is the defining constraint. For players considering this combination, the data suggests that investing in a discrete GPU would dramatically improve the experience, as the 7500F's headroom is substantial but entirely untapped in this configuration.