The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting test for modern high-end hardware. This analysis examines the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing, using measured data to understand how this combination handles the game across resolutions and settings. The data shows a system capable of very high frame rates, though the game’s age and engine characteristics create specific bottlenecks and scalability patterns worth examining.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in The Technomancer?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 141 FPS average, which is 64 FPS higher than the 77 FPS seen at 3840x2160 High. While 1920x1080 pushes even higher (216 FPS at High), the jump from 1440p to 1080p yields diminishing returns (from 141 to 216 FPS) compared to the significant drop from 1440p to 4K.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance cost?

A: The Ultra preset costs roughly 20% of the frame rate compared to High at every resolution. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 61 FPS versus 77 FPS on High. At 2560x1440, it drops from 141 FPS to 110 FPS. At 1920x1080, the drop is from 216 FPS to 169 FPS. This consistent ratio suggests Ultra applies a uniform additional load rather than scaling with resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 the limiting factor at 4K in this game?

A: Yes, the data indicates GPU limitation at 3840x2160. The average FPS ranges from 61 (Ultra) to 118 (Low), showing that resolution and settings heavily impact performance. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but at 4K the GPU’s rendering load becomes the primary constraint, evidenced by the steep drop from 118 FPS at Low to 61 FPS at Ultra.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset?

A: The measured data includes min FPS only for the Medium preset. At 3840x2160, the minimum is 77 FPS with a maximum of 104 FPS. At 2560x1440, the minimum is 140 FPS and maximum is 190 FPS. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 194 FPS and maximum is 263 FPS. These figures show that even the lowest frame rates remain highly playable.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested system configurations?

A: This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 118th out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the top 4.2% of all tested configurations, indicating excellent overall performance despite the game’s age and the hardware’s modern architecture.

Q: Does the CPU’s 3D V-Cache help in this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500X3D features 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is substantial. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 44573, ranking in the 89th percentile versus all CPUs. For a game like The Technomancer, which relies on consistent frame delivery, the large cache helps maintain stable performance, as seen in the relatively narrow FPS ranges at Medium settings across all resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the table, with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. This Zen 4 Raphael chip, built on a 5 nm process by TSMC, features a 96 MB shared L3 cache—a hallmark of the X3D lineup. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and AMD Socket AM5 compatibility position it as a desktop processor designed for gaming efficiency, with DDR5 memory support and dual-channel configuration providing 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s role becomes clear when examining the measured FPS data. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 252 FPS on Low settings, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates. However, the game was released in 2016, and its engine likely does not scale perfectly across 12 threads. The CPU’s single-thread score of 3494 on Passmark, combined with a multithread score of 25047, indicates strong per-core performance that matters more for this older title.

The 7500X3D’s 89th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44573, shows it sits near the top of the performance hierarchy. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (0.2% slower) and Intel Core i9-13950HX (0.5% slower), while the Intel Core i5-14600 is 0.7% faster. These margins are negligible, meaning the 7500X3D delivers competitive CPU performance for this game.

The data reveals that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in The Technomancer. At 2560x1440, the frame rate rises from 141 FPS at High to 215 FPS at Low, a 52% increase that indicates GPU headroom rather than CPU limitation. Even at 4K, the CPU maintains above 60 FPS at Ultra settings (61 FPS average), which is the minimum threshold for smooth gameplay. The large L3 cache likely helps with the game’s asset streaming and physics calculations, but the overall CPU demand is modest given the game’s age.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 118 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the top 4.2% of all configurations tested, which is impressive given the game’s release date and the fact that many newer CPUs and GPUs might theoretically offer higher performance. The rank reflects the RTX 4090’s raw power combined with the 7500X3D’s strong per-core performance.

Breaking down the rank, the top 117 combos likely include configurations with newer flagship CPUs that can push even higher frame rates at 1080p, where CPU overhead is more apparent. However, the 7500X3D’s nearest rivals—the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (0.2% slower), Intel Core i9-13950HX (0.5% slower), and Intel Core i5-14600 (0.7% faster)—all sit within 1% of its average score. This suggests that the CPU choice has minimal impact on the overall combo ranking for this game, and the GPU dominates the performance equation.

The RTX 4090’s percentile ranking of 88 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347, further supports this. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% slower), and AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% slower). The fact that the 4090 sits in the 88th percentile means there are GPUs with higher raw scores, but for gaming specifically, the 4090’s architecture and driver optimization make it a top-tier choice.

In the context of The Technomancer, the combo rank of 118 out of 2825 indicates that only a small fraction of tested systems outperform this pairing. The measured FPS data confirms this: even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains 61 FPS average, which is playable. At 1440p and 1080p, the frame rates exceed 100 FPS at all settings except 4K Ultra, placing this combo in the upper echelon of gaming performance for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 3840x2160, the system averages 77 FPS on High, 118 FPS on Low, 91 FPS on Medium, and 61 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset includes min/max figures of 77 FPS and 104 FPS respectively, showing a 27 FPS variance. The progression from Low to Ultra is not linear: Low to Medium drops 27 FPS, Medium to High drops 14 FPS, and High to Ultra drops 16 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset adds a disproportionate load, likely through additional shadow quality and post-processing effects.

At 2560x1440, performance scales substantially. High averages 141 FPS, Low reaches 215 FPS, Medium hits 165 FPS, and Ultra maintains 110 FPS. The Medium preset’s min/max range is 140 to 190 FPS, a 50 FPS spread that indicates more variability at this resolution compared to 4K. The jump from 4K to 1440p at High settings yields a 64 FPS improvement (77 to 141 FPS), which is a 83% increase. This demonstrates that the GPU has significant headroom when resolution drops, and the CPU is capable of sustaining higher frame rates.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance. High averages 216 FPS, Low hits 252 FPS, Medium reaches 229 FPS, and Ultra achieves 169 FPS. The Medium preset’s min/max is 194 to 263 FPS, showing a 69 FPS variance. The gap between Low and High at 1080p is 36 FPS (252 to 216), while the gap between High and Ultra is 47 FPS (216 to 169). This indicates that Ultra settings impose a heavier penalty at lower resolutions, possibly due to CPU-bound effects that scale with pixel count.

The data reveals that the RTX 4090’s performance scales well with resolution. The ratio of FPS between 1080p and 4K at High settings is 216/77, or approximately 2.8x, which is lower than the theoretical 4x pixel count difference. This suggests that the game’s engine has other bottlenecks, likely memory bandwidth or shader complexity, that prevent perfect scaling. The 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth of the 4090 helps, but the game’s 2016-era engine may not fully utilize modern GPU architectures.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip, it features 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power makes it one of the most capable graphics cards available.

In The Technomancer, the GPU’s role is evident from the FPS scaling across resolutions. At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 61 (Ultra) to 118 (Low), showing that the GPU is fully utilized. The 24 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for a 2016 game, but the game’s texture quality and effects still tax the GPU’s compute units. The 4090’s 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are largely irrelevant for this title, as it does not use ray tracing or DLSS, but the raw rasterization performance is what drives these numbers.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its position. The Passmark G3D score of 38194 and GPU compute score of 26613 place it in the 88th percentile versus all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 60347 is nearly identical to the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta) and slightly higher than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% delta). However, in gaming workloads like The Technomancer, the 4090’s driver maturity and architectural efficiency provide a tangible advantage over these professional-grade rivals.

The measured FPS data shows that the 4090’s performance is consistent with its specifications. At 1440p High, the 141 FPS average indicates that the GPU is not the bottleneck, as the CPU can feed it adequately. At 4K Ultra, the 61 FPS average shows the GPU reaching its limits for this game, with the Ultra preset’s additional effects pushing the render load beyond what the 4090 can sustain at 60+ FPS consistently. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 77 at 4K further highlights that the GPU can maintain playable frame rates even under load, but the Ultra preset’s requirements exceed the hardware’s capabilities at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 77 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset drops to 61 FPS, which is borderline and may cause stuttering in demanding scenes. The Medium preset offers 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS, providing a better margin. For 4K users, High is the recommended preset, as it balances visual fidelity with performance headroom.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves 110 FPS average, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays. The High preset reaches 141 FPS, and Medium hits 165 FPS. The data suggests that at 1440p, Ultra is the best choice for visual quality without sacrificing playability, as even the minimum FPS at Medium (140) is well above typical refresh rates. The step from Medium to Ultra costs 55 FPS (165 to 110), but the visual improvement likely justifies this for most players.

At 1920x1080, all presets deliver exceptional performance. Ultra averages 169 FPS, High reaches 216 FPS, and Medium hits 229 FPS. The Ultra preset is clearly the recommended option here, as it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining frame rates far above what most displays can show. The gap between High and Ultra is 47 FPS, but both are well above 144 Hz, so the choice comes down to whether the extra visual effects in Ultra are worth the FPS trade-off.

The data also reveals that the Low preset is not necessary at any resolution. Even at 4K, Low averages 118 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS target. The Low preset’s only advantage is maximizing frame rates for competitive play, but The Technomancer is a single-player Action RPG where visual quality matters more. The Medium preset at 4K (91 FPS) provides a better balance than Low (118 FPS) if higher frame rates are desired, but High (77 FPS) remains the sweet spot for visual fidelity.

For players with high-refresh-rate monitors, the 1440p Ultra setting (110 FPS) is the most balanced option. It provides near-4K visual quality with frame rates that exceed most gaming monitors’ refresh rates. The 4K High setting (77 FPS) is suitable for 60 Hz displays or those with VRR, while 1080p Ultra (169 FPS) is ideal for 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors. The measured data consistently shows that the RTX 4090 is powerful enough to run this game at maximum settings at 1080p and 1440p, with only 4K Ultra presenting a challenge that drops below 70 FPS.