The Technomancer

The Technomancer is a 2016 Action RPG, and pairing the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D with the Intel Arc B390 produces a very specific performance envelope. The measured data shows this is a combination strictly for lower resolutions and settings, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck. The Arc B390 is classified as an IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) with a 3 nm process, and its benchmark percentile of 9 places it in the bottom tier of all GPUs. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D, by contrast, is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor from the 7000 series with a 96 MB shared L3 cache and an 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs. This massive disparity in component strength dictates how the game will behave.

Settings Recommendations

The data clearly indicates that the only way to achieve a consistently playable frame rate is to use the Low preset. At 1920x1080, the Low setting yields an average of 79 FPS, which is the only measured configuration that breaks the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at the same resolution drops to an average of 61 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High and Ultra presets at 1080p produce averages of 52 FPS and 40 FPS, respectively, which are not smooth experiences for an Action RPG.

The scaling is brutal when moving up in resolution. At 2560x1440, even the Low preset only manages an average of 52 FPS, which matches the 1080p High preset. The 4K results are effectively unusable for gameplay, with the Low preset averaging just 28 FPS and the Ultra preset falling to 15 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is a mere 13 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU is completely saturated and cannot handle the pixel count. Therefore, the recommendation is straightforward: use the Low preset at 1920x1080. This is the only combination that provides an average frame rate high enough for a responsive gaming experience.

If a player insists on higher visual fidelity, the Medium preset at 1080p is the absolute ceiling, but the data suggests this will result in frequent dips. The Medium preset at 1080p has a min FPS of 52, which is identical to the average of the High preset. This suggests that even on Medium, the system is often operating at the edge of its capability. For a game like The Technomancer, which features combat and exploration, maintaining a higher average FPS is more valuable than increasing shadow quality or texture details, especially given how poorly the GPU performs at higher loads.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the defining component in this configuration, and not in a good way. Its architecture is Xe3-LPG, built on a 3 nm process, but its performance metrics are extremely low. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Critically, its memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This makes its bandwidth "System Dependent," which is a severe limitation for a game like The Technomancer that requires fast texture streaming.

The GPU’s benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12) is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are ancient, low-end parts like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (with a delta of 1.3%) and the GeForce GT 625 OEM (with a delta of 2.5%). This is not a competitive gaming GPU; it is an integrated solution that happens to be paired with a powerful CPU. The data shows that the GPU's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are insufficient for 1440p or 4K gaming.

The frame time data reinforces this. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average is 40 FPS with a min of 34 FPS and a max of 46 FPS. This wide variance indicates that the GPU is struggling to maintain a consistent frame pacing. The lack of dedicated VRAM means that as the resolution increases, the GPU has to compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which further degrades performance. The Arc B390 is simply not a gaming-oriented part, and the measured results confirm that its capabilities are limited to 1080p gaming at the lowest settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only viable resolution. At this resolution, the Low preset achieves an average of 79 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops the Low preset average to 52 FPS, and 3840x2160 sees it fall to 28 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D holding back the Intel Arc B390?

A: No. The CPU is significantly more powerful than the GPU. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D has a Passmark multithread score of 25047 and a single-thread score of 3494, while the Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU is not the bottleneck; the GPU is limiting frame rates.

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset produces an average of 40 FPS. At 2560x1440, it drops to 26 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it is 15 FPS. None of these are recommended for smooth gameplay, as they are all below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the frame rate scale with settings at 1080p?

A: The measured averages are: Low at 79 FPS, Medium at 61 FPS, High at 52 FPS, and Ultra at 40 FPS. Each step up in settings costs roughly 10-20 FPS, which is a significant penalty for a GPU in this performance class.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B390 similar to any other GPU?

A: The benchmark data places it near the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is just 1.3% higher than the GT 520MX, indicating it is in the same performance class as these older, low-end mobile parts.

Q: Does the system memory affect the GPU's performance?

A: Yes. The Arc B390 uses "System Shared" memory, making its bandwidth "System Dependent." This means the GPU's performance is directly tied to the speed and availability of the system's DDR5 memory, which can cause stutters and frame drops under load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities. At 3840x2160, the results are as follows: the Low preset averages 28 FPS, Medium averages 22 FPS (with a min of 19 and max of 25), High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. All of these are below playable thresholds. The difference between Low and Ultra is only 13 FPS, showing that the GPU is entirely overwhelmed by the pixel count.

At 2560x1440, the system becomes more usable but still struggles. The Low preset averages 52 FPS, which is a solid jump from 4K. Medium averages 40 FPS (min 34, max 46), High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The data shows that even at 1440p, the Low preset is the only option that approaches a smooth experience, and it still falls short of 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the results are the best this combo can offer. The Low preset averages 79 FPS, providing a genuinely playable experience. The Medium preset averages 61 FPS (min 52, max 70), which is borderline. High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 39 FPS drop, which is a massive penalty. The 1080p Low setting is the only configuration in the entire dataset that achieves an average above 60 FPS, making it the definitive target for this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2500 out of 2825 combos. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, which is a poor result. The combo's rank is almost entirely dragged down by the GPU's lack of performance. The CPU is a high-end part with an average benchmark score of 44573, but the GPU's average score of 1482 is a severe limiting factor.

The data suggests that this is a mismatched pairing. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a modern desktop processor that supports DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5, while the Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution designed for low-power mobile devices. The combination of a high-end CPU with a bottom-tier GPU results in a system that cannot effectively utilize the CPU's potential in gaming. The rank of 2500 out of 2825 is a clear indicator that this is not a recommended configuration for playing The Technomancer, as many other tested combos will provide much better frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a formidable processor on its own. It features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. It is built on a 5 nm TSMC process and has a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is characteristic of the X3D series. Its Passmark benchmarks are strong: a single-thread score of 3494, a multithread score of 25047, and a physics score of 2779. It ranks in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with a nearest rival being the Intel Core i5-14600, which it trails by only 0.7%.

However, in this specific game configuration, the CPU's role is muted. The measured FPS data shows that the frame rates are consistently low, regardless of the CPU's capabilities. For example, at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 40. This is not a CPU bottleneck; a 6-core/12-thread processor with a 4.50 GHz boost clock is more than capable of feeding frames to a GPU. The bottleneck is the GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is insufficient for the game's rendering demands.

The CPU does provide a stable foundation, as evidenced by the consistent minimum FPS values in the Medium settings (e.g., 52 FPS min at 1080p Medium). This suggests that the CPU is not causing micro-stutters or frame pacing issues. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D's 96 MB L3 cache likely helps with game logic and physics calculations, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's inability to render frames at a higher rate. In essence, the CPU is waiting for the GPU, and the combined performance is limited to the 1080p Low preset for a smooth experience.