The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, exhibits a demanding rendering workload that scales sharply with resolution and settings. Testing the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 reveals a configuration that delivers playable frame rates at 1440p, but one that requires careful tuning at higher resolutions to maintain fluidity. The data shows that the GPU becomes the primary constraint as pixel count increases, while the CPU’s substantial cache and strong single-thread performance ensure the 1080p experience is fully GPU-limited.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160 resolutions illustrate the expected performance curve for this combination. Under the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 117 FPS at 1080p to 77 FPS at 1440p, a 34% reduction. Moving to 4K, the average falls further to 42 FPS, which is a 64% reduction from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel count increases quadratically, placing a much larger workload on the Radeon RX 7700.

The pattern holds across other settings. At Low, the average frame rate is 179 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop), and 64 FPS at 4K (a 64% drop from 1080p). Medium settings show a similar trend: 137 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p (a 34% drop), and 49 FPS at 4K (a 64% drop). Ultra settings produce 92 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop), and 33 FPS at 4K (a 64% drop). The consistent nature of these percentage drops across all quality presets reinforces that the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions is the GPU’s pixel throughput, with the CPU rarely able to compensate for the increased load.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is more moderate than the leap to 4K. The 1440p results represent a balance, with High settings delivering 77 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K results are notably weaker, with the High preset averaging only 42 FPS and the Ultra preset dropping to 33 FPS. This suggests that 4K gaming with this combination requires a compromise in visual settings, with the Medium preset at 49 FPS being a more viable option for those prioritizing frame rate over image quality.

The benchmark data indicates that 1080p and 1440p are the resolutions where the Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Radeon RX 7700 combination performs best. At 1080p, the CPU’s strong single-thread performance is fully utilized, with the GPU often being the limiting factor even at High and Ultra settings. The transition to 1440p increases the GPU load but still allows for high refresh rates, while 4K represents a significant performance challenge, requiring the user to make a choice between visual fidelity and a playable frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate measured for this setup?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 179 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 7700 deliver playable performance at 4K in The Technomancer?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU achieves an average of 42 FPS on High, 49 FPS on Medium, and 64 FPS on Low. Only the Low preset hits the 60 FPS marker, while Medium is borderline, and High and Ultra fall below 45 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 77 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 60 FPS. This represents a 22% reduction in average frame rate for the Ultra preset, which may not justify the visual gain depending on the user's preference.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 has a minimum frame rate of 117 FPS, at 2560x1440 the minimum is 76 FPS, and at 3840x2160 the minimum is 42 FPS. These values represent the recorded low points within the benchmark run.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data at 1920x1080 shows that the frame rates are high, but the drop from Low (179 FPS) to High (117 FPS) suggests the GPU is still the primary constraint. The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as 3494 in single-thread and 25047 in multi-thread, are sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output at this resolution.

Q: How does the RX 7700's performance in The Technomancer compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The average benchmark score for the Radeon RX 7700 is 15852, with the nearest rival being the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15862 (a 0.1% difference). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, which is 1.7% higher. These differences are relatively small, indicating the RX 7700 is closely matched to these GPUs in general compute tasks.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU with a 16 GB GDDR6 memory pool on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The card’s base clock is 1900 MHz, with a boost clock of 2459 MHz, and a game clock of 2041 MHz. These specifications support the card’s strong performance at 1080p and 1440p.

The 16 GB of VRAM is a significant asset for The Technomancer, a game that can utilize substantial memory for textures and assets. At 1080p with Low settings, the game likely does not stress the VRAM, but at 4K with High or Ultra, the memory pool ensures that the frame rate is not hampered by texture swapping. The data shows that the frame rate differences between resolutions are primarily due to the GPU’s compute throughput rather than memory limitations.

The Radeon RX 7700’s compute capabilities are highlighted by its pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s. These specifications are put to the test at higher resolutions, where the GPU’s shading units and ROPs are occupied with processing the increased pixel workload. The FP32 performance is 25.18 TFLOPS, which is a measure of the card’s general compute throughput, and it’s this that is likely the bottleneck when running the game at 4K.

The GPU’s performance in the system is further contextualized by its average benchmark score of 15852, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862, a 0.1% difference), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16014, a 1% difference), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679, a 1.1% difference), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129, a 1.7% difference). These comparisons show that the RX 7700 is closely matched to these GPUs in average benchmark scores, which translates to a similar performance level in The Technomancer.

The measured frame rates at 4K illustrate the GPU’s limitations. The drop from 49 FPS on Medium to 33 FPS on Ultra is a 33% reduction, indicating the GPU’s pixel throughput is the primary constraint. The results at 1440p are more balanced, with the Ultra preset averaging 60 FPS, which is exactly the 60 FPS marker, while the High preset achieves 77 FPS. This suggests that for 1440p gaming, the GPU can handle high settings with a comfortable frame rate, but the Ultra preset will be a closer call for those who demand 60 FPS or higher.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear picture of the performance across all presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 179 FPS, with Medium at 137 FPS, High at 117 FPS, and Ultra at 92 FPS. The Medium preset also recorded a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS. These numbers show that the 1080p performance is excellent, with even the Ultra preset well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 117 FPS, Medium at 90 FPS, High at 77 FPS, and Ultra at 60 FPS. The Medium preset has a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the Ultra preset at 60 FPS, which is a borderline result for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 64 FPS, Medium at 49 FPS, High at 42 FPS, and Ultra at 33 FPS. The Medium preset recorded a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS. These results indicate that 4K is only playable with the Lowest settings, and even then, the average frame rate is just above the 60 FPS target.

The progression across resolutions and settings is consistent. The largest frame rate jump within a resolution occurs when moving from Low to Medium at 1080p (179 to 137 FPS), but the relative decrease is more pronounced when moving from High to Ultra at higher resolutions. The Ultra setting at 4K is the most demanding, with an average of only 33 FPS.

The data indicates that the combination of the Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Radeon RX 7700 excels at 1080p and 1440p, providing high frame rates across all settings. The 4K results are more limited, with the user needing to compromise on settings to achieve a playable frame rate.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. A significant feature is the 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is part of the 3D V-Cache design. This large cache is likely to improve gaming performance by reducing the latency of main memory access, especially in games that are cache-sensitive.

The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong. In the Passmark suite, it scores 3494 in single-thread, 25047 in multi-thread, 70774 in integer math, and 43594 in floating-point math. It also achieves 271649 in data compression and 15797 in data encryption. The average benchmark score is 44573, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. This high percentile indicates that the CPU is among the top performers, though its nearest rivals are close: the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H scores 44466 (a 0.2% difference), the Intel Core i9-13950HX scores 44342 (a 0.5% difference), the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 scores 44309 (a 0.6% difference), and the Intel Core i5-14600 scores 44889 (a 0.7% difference).

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role is more pronounced at lower resolutions. At 1080p with the Low preset, the frame reaches 179 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s maximum output for this game. At 1440p, the High preset averages 77 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 1080p result, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck. The deltaPct values for the CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of each other, indicating that the 7500X3D is extremely competitive with the other top processors.

The CPU’s single-thread score of 3494 is a key indicator for gaming performance, as many games rely on a few strong cores. The multi-thread score of 25047 is also substantial, but the game may not be fully utilizing all 12 threads. The L3 cache size of 96 MB is a major advantage, as it can hold a larger portion of the game’s world data, potentially reducing the need for of the main memory.

The CPU’s TDP is 65 W, and it uses the AMD Socket AM5, with a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s for DDR5 memory. The memory bandwidth is likely sufficient for the game’s needs, but the CPU’s large cache can mitigate this impact. The benchmark results indicate that the 7500X3D is a capable processor, with the single-thread and cache performance to handle high frame rates, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to a specific preset based on resolution. At 1080p, the High preset averages 117 FPS, which is a great balance of visual quality and frame rate. The Medium preset at 137 FPS is also an excellent option for those who prefer a higher frame rate, but the High preset is the recommended default. The Ultra preset, while at 92 FPS, is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, so users with a high refresh rate monitor can also consider it.

At 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice, with an average of 77 FPS. This preset provides a strong visual experience while maintaining a frame rate that is above the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 90 FPS is a good alternative for users who want a higher frame rate, but the High preset is the best balance. The Ultra preset at 60 FPS is exactly at the threshold, which may be acceptable for some, but the High preset offers a 22% improvement in frame rate with a slight decrease in visual fidelity.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, with an average of 49 FPS. The Low preset at 64 FPS is the only option that hits the 60 FPS target, but the Medium preset provides a better visual quality at a cost of only 23% frame rate. The High and Ultra presets, with averages of 42 FPS and 33 FPS, respectively, are not recommended for 4K gaming, as they fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

The analysis of the measured data indicates that the Radeon RX 7700 can handle The Technomancer at 1080p with all settings, and at 1440p with High settings, providing a smooth gaming experience. For 4K, users will need to use the Medium or Low preset to achieve a playable frame rate. The Radeon RX 7700’s performance, combined with the Ryzen 5 7500X3D’s strong single-thread and cache performance, allows for a satisfying experience at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results are limited by the GPU.