The Technomancer

The Technomancer is a 2016 Action RPG that can still stress modern hardware, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Intel Arc B570 produces a clear picture of where the bottlenecks lie. This pairing—a 6-core, 12-thread CPU with a 96 MB L3 cache and a 10 GB GPU—delivers playable but not spectacular results, particularly at higher resolutions. The data shows a system that is firmly GPU-limited at 4K, but which scales impressively when resolution drops, revealing a CPU that has ample headroom to push high frame rates at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic scaling curve, with the most dramatic shifts occurring between 1080p and 1440p, and then again towards 4K. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 80 FPS at 1920x1080 to 52 FPS at 2560x1440, a significant 35% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the average plummets to 29 FPS, which is a 44% drop from the 1440p figure and a 64% drop from 1080p. This steep decline is a textbook indicator that the Intel Arc B570 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the rendering load on the GPU outpaces its capabilities.

The pattern repeats across all settings. At Low settings, the system achieves 121 FPS at 1080p, which falls to 79 FPS at 1440p and then to 44 FPS at 4K. This shows that even when the graphical load is minimized, the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K, confirming that the resolution itself is the primary wall. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, starting at 62 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 41 FPS at 1440p, and finally becoming nearly unplayable at 22 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 4K Ultra result is below 30 FPS suggests that the GPU is completely saturated, and the CPU's role has diminished to near-zero.

What is most telling is the relationship between the Low and Ultra presets at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between them is 59 FPS (121 vs 62), indicating that the GPU is doing a huge amount of work. At 4K, the difference shrinks to 22 FPS (44 vs 22), which shows that the GPU is so overwhelmed that even reducing settings cannot yield a proportional improvement in frame rate. This is the signature of a hard GPU bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D, with its high single-thread score of 3494 and multithread score of 25047, is clearly not the issue; it is waiting for the B570 to finish its frame rendering.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture, clocked at 4.00 GHz base and 4.50 GHz boost. Its defining feature is the large 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is a significant advantage in gaming workloads. In The Technomancer, a game that is not known for being heavily multithreaded, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The benchmark results indicate that this CPU is more than adequate for the task.

Looking at the PassMark scores, the 7500X3D achieves a single-thread score of 3494, which is a strong result and places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. This explains why the 1080p Low preset reaches 121 FPS; the CPU can handle the high frame generation rate without breaking a sweat. The multithread score of 25047 is also robust, but The Technomancer, given its age, likely does not scale perfectly across all 12 threads. The CPU's performance in physics (2779) and integer math (70774) suggests it can handle complex game simulations, but these are less critical than raw draw call throughput in this title.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the 7500X3D holds its own. It is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and 0.5% faster than the Intel Core i9-13950HX in average benchmark score, while being 0.7% slower than the Intel Core i5-14600. These are negligible differences in synthetic tests, and in a real-world game scenario, the CPU is unlikely to be the deciding factor between playable and unplayable frame rates. The data strongly suggests that the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep the Arc B570 fed at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU's workload is so heavy that the CPU's performance headroom becomes irrelevant.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance for this specific hardware combination depends heavily on the target resolution. For users with a 1080p display, the High preset at 80 FPS is an excellent starting point. It offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (93 FPS) and Low (121 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Pushing to Ultra at 62 FPS is also viable, but the 18 FPS cost for the extra visual fidelity may not be worth it for all users. For those who prioritize maximum smoothness, dropping to Medium provides a 13 FPS boost with a minor visual compromise.

At 2560x1440, the choice becomes more critical. The Medium preset at 61 FPS is the sweet spot, delivering a playable experience with a decent visual quality. The High preset at 52 FPS is also acceptable, but it is closer to the edge of what many consider smooth. The Low preset at 79 FPS is the only way to achieve a high refresh rate experience at this resolution, but it comes with a substantial reduction in graphical detail. Ultra at 41 FPS is not recommended for a comfortable experience, as it falls below the 60 FPS target and may feel sluggish.

For 4K resolution (3840x2160), the data paints a grim picture. The Low preset at 44 FPS is the only playable option, and even that is below the ideal 60 FPS. Medium at 33 FPS and High at 29 FPS are both borderline unplayable for a fast-paced action RPG. Ultra at 22 FPS is a slideshow. Therefore, the recommendation for 4K is to use the Low preset if you must play at this resolution, or to consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a much better experience. The performance cost of 4K is simply too high for the Arc B570 in this title.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Technomancer at 4K smoothly?

A: No. The data shows the best 4K result is 44 FPS on the Low preset. High and Ultra presets produce 29 FPS and 22 FPS respectively, which are not smooth. The Arc B570 does not have enough performance for a consistently playable 4K experience in this title.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a 60+ FPS experience?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 80 FPS, and Medium delivers 93 FPS, both above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (79 FPS) and Medium preset (61 FPS) achieve the 60 FPS target. No 4K preset reaches 60 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D holding back the Intel Arc B570?

A: No. Benchmark results indicate the CPU is not the limiting factor. The frame rate drops are consistent with a GPU bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU's high single-thread score of 3494 and 89th percentile ranking suggest it has ample headroom.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the High and Ultra presets?

A: At 1080p, the difference is 18 FPS (80 vs 62). At 1440p, the difference is 11 FPS (52 vs 41). At 4K, the difference is 7 FPS (29 vs 22). The gap narrows as resolution increases, showing the GPU becomes the sole limiting factor.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity of 10 GB cause any issues?

A: The data does not indicate any VRAM-related stutters or crashes. The measured FPS values are consistent and do not show signs of texture thrashing, suggesting 10 GB is sufficient for this game at the tested settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750?

A: The B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% lower than the Arc A750's score of 20582. This indicates they are essentially equivalent in raw performance, with a negligible deltaPct of -0.1%.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is a 10 GB GDDR6 graphics card based on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage). It operates at a fixed clock speed of 2500 MHz for both base and boost, and features a 160-bit memory bus providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. With 2304 shading units and 144 texture mapping units, it is a mid-range part that sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. In The Technomancer, its role is paramount, as the game's visual effects and resolution scaling place a heavy burden on the GPU.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks is telling. It achieves a PassMark G3D score of 14195 and a DirectX 12 score of 72. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, has an average score of 20534, which is just 0.1% higher than the B570's 20556. This places the B570 in a performance class that is capable of 1080p gaming but struggles at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data confirms this: the GPU can produce 121 FPS at 1080p Low, but this drops to 44 FPS at 4K Low, a 64% reduction.

The 10 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game, as the measured FPS values do not show any signs of memory-related performance cliffs. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is also adequate for the card's compute capabilities. However, the GPU's raw compute power, at 11.52 TFLOPS FP32, is the limiting factor. The game's demands at 4K Ultra require more shading and pixel processing than the B570 can deliver, resulting in the 22 FPS average. The 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate are simply not enough to handle the 8.3 million pixels of a 4K display with high-detail textures and effects. This makes the GPU the definitive bottleneck in this pairing, and the only way to improve performance is to reduce its workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data is directly from the measured results for The Technomancer with the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Intel Arc B570.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Ultra: 62 FPS average
• High: 80 FPS average
• Medium: 93 FPS average (min 79, max 107)
• Low: 121 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Ultra: 41 FPS average
• High: 52 FPS average
• Medium: 61 FPS average (min 52, max 70)
• Low: 79 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Ultra: 22 FPS average
• High: 29 FPS average
• Medium: 33 FPS average (min 28, max 39)
• Low: 44 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: every increase in resolution costs a significant number of frames, and every increase in settings also costs frames. The 1080p Low result of 121 FPS is the only time the system approaches high-refresh-rate territory. The 1440p Medium result of 61 FPS is the only 1440p preset that hits the 60 FPS target. All 4K presets fall below 45 FPS, confirming that this resolution is not viable for a smooth experience with this hardware. The combination ranks 2256 out of 2825 tested combos in this game, indicating that it is a below-average performer for this title, largely due to the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.