The Technomancer

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor built on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor features a substantial 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is the standout attribute for gaming workloads that benefit from large, fast on-die data pools. Its memory bandwidth is rated at 83.2 GB/s across a dual-channel DDR5 interface.

In PassMark synthetic testing, the chip posts a single-thread score of 3494 and a multithread score of 25047. Its average benchmark score of 44573 places it at the 89th percentile among all CPUs. The nearest rivals in the database are the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (avg score 44466, deltaPct 0.2), the Intel Core i9-13950HX (avg score 44342, deltaPct 0.5), and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (avg score 44309, deltaPct 0.6). The Intel Core i5-14600 is slightly ahead with an avg score of 44889, a deltaPct of -0.7 relative to the 7500X3D. These deltas are all within a single percentage point, indicating that the 7500X3D sits in a tightly contested performance band.

For The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The game is not known for extreme multi-threaded scaling, so the 6-core/12-thread configuration with high per-core efficiency is well-suited. The 4.00 GHz base and 4.50 GHz boost clocks provide sufficient single-thread headroom for the game's logic. The 96 MB L3 cache is particularly beneficial in this context, as it reduces latency for frequently accessed game data, helping maintain stable frame pacing.

The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 150 FPS. This high frame rate is a strong indicator that the CPU is capable of driving the GPU to its limits at lower resolutions. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 77, which suggests the CPU is not becoming a bottleneck at standard gaming resolutions. The CPU's PassMark physics score of 2779 and integer math score of 70774 further support its ability to handle the game's computational demands without stalling the render pipeline.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is a 50-series GPU based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, using the GB207 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process. It packs 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 2317 MHz, with a boost clock of 2572 MHz, and memory running at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). The 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is rated at 13.17 TFLOPS.

In PassMark G3D testing, the RTX 5050 scores 17326, with a percentile rank of 66 among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 21035. The nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (avg score 21153, deltaPct -0.6), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (avg score 21237, deltaPct -1), the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (avg score 20713, deltaPct 1.6), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (avg score 21379, deltaPct -1.6). The RTX 5050 thus sits within a 2% delta of these comparable parts, indicating a mid-pack positioning.

For The Technomancer, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is the critical resource. The game's High and Ultra settings at higher resolutions will stress memory capacity. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 28, which suggests the GPU is heavily constrained—likely by both memory bandwidth and fill rate. The 320.0 GB/s bandwidth is a limiting factor at 4K, where the render target demands high data throughput. The 32 ROPs also cap pixel throughput, which is evident in the steep drop from 1080p to 4K.

The RTX 5050's DirectX 12 PassMark score of 66 is notably low compared to its DirectX 11 score of 150. This disparity may reflect driver maturity or architectural characteristics, but for a 2016 title like The Technomancer, which likely relies on older DirectX paths, the DirectX 11 performance is more relevant. The GPU's Vulkan score of 89381 in Geekbench indicates strong compute capability, but the game's rendering engine is likely not leveraging that fully.

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 150 at 1080p, to 98 at 1440p, and down to 54 at 4K. This represents a 34.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 44.9% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is roughly proportional to the pixel count increase (1080p to 1440p is a 1.78x pixel increase, 1440p to 4K is a 2.25x increase), but the FPS drop is less severe than the pixel count ratio, indicating that the GPU is still managing to maintain efficiency in lower settings.

At High settings, the pattern shifts. The average FPS goes from 98 at 1080p, to 64 at 1440p, and down to 35 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 34.7%, similar to Low settings, but the 1440p to 4K drop is 45.3%, slightly steeper. This suggests that at High settings, the GPU's memory bandwidth and ROP throughput become more significant bottlenecks as resolution increases.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is much steeper. The average FPS goes from 77 at 1080p, to 50 at 1440p, and down to 28 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 35.1%, but the 1440p to 4K drop is 44.0%. The absolute FPS at 4K Ultra (28) is below playable thresholds, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated.

The key observation is that the FPS drops are not linear with pixel count, and the gap between settings widens at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 73 FPS (150 vs 77), but at 4K, the difference narrows to 26 FPS (54 vs 28). This convergence at 4K strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, while at 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to let the GPU express its full range of settings. The data shows that the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are the primary constraints at 4K, as the FPS collapses to 28-54 regardless of settings.

# FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 98, with no min or max FPS recorded.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1721 out of 2825 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between 1080p Low and 1440p Low?

A: The average FPS drops from 150 at 1080p Low to 98 at 1440p Low, a decrease of 52 FPS or 34.7%.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the FPS drops to 28-54 across all settings, and the gap between settings narrows significantly compared to 1080p.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU and GPU?

A: The CPU has a launch MSRP of $269, and the GPU has a launch MSRP of 249 USD.

Q: What are the min and max FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS is 64, the average is 75, and the maximum is 87.

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination ranks 1721 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the 39th percentile of all combos (calculated as 1721/2825), meaning roughly 61% of tested configurations perform better in this game. The ranking reflects a mid-to-low tier position, driven primarily by the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

The CPU's strong synthetic performance (89th percentile) does not translate to a high combo rank because the GPU holds the system back in this title. The RTX 5050's 66th percentile GPU rank and its 8 GB VRAM capacity are the limiting factors. The combo's rank is more aligned with the GPU's percentile than the CPU's, which confirms that The Technomancer is GPU-bound in this configuration.

Compared to the nearest GPU rivals, the RTX 5050 sits within 2% of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT and the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL in average benchmark score. The combo's rank suggests that in actual gaming, the RTX 5050 performs similarly to these mid-range parts, which is consistent with the measured FPS data showing playable but not exceptional frame rates at 1080p.

The rank also indicates that while the CPU is a top-tier part, the overall system is not optimized for this specific game, likely due to the game's age and its reliance on older rendering techniques that do not fully utilize the RTX 5050's modern feature set.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across settings is as follows:

• Low: 150 FPS
• Medium: 115 FPS (min 98, max 132)
• High: 98 FPS
• Ultra: 77 FPS

The 1080p results show a smooth scaling curve, with a 35 FPS drop from Low to Medium, a 17 FPS drop from Medium to High, and a 21 FPS drop from High to Ultra. The min FPS at Medium is 98, which matches the High average, indicating that the medium preset provides consistent frame delivery.

At 2560x1440, the measured average FPS is:

• Low: 98 FPS
• Medium: 75 FPS (min 64, max 87)
• High: 64 FPS
• Ultra: 50 FPS

The 1440p results show a steeper scaling curve. The drop from Low to Medium is 23 FPS, from Medium to High is 11 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 14 FPS. The min FPS at Medium is 64, which aligns with the High average, suggesting that the GPU is becoming more stressed.

At 3840x2160, the measured average FPS is:

• Low: 54 FPS
• Medium: 41 FPS (min 35, max 48)
• High: 35 FPS
• Ultra: 28 FPS

The 4K results show a compressed range, with only a 26 FPS difference between Low and Ultra. The min FPS at Medium is 35, which equals the High average, indicating that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling. All 4K settings produce frame rates below 60 FPS, with Ultra dipping below 30 FPS.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for a smooth experience depend on the target resolution.

At 1080p, the High preset (98 FPS average) offers a strong balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset (77 FPS) is also viable for those prioritizing image quality, as it remains above 60 FPS. The Medium preset (115 FPS) is recommended for high-refresh-rate displays, as it provides a significant FPS boost over High while maintaining acceptable visuals.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (75 FPS average) is the best choice for a 60+ FPS experience. The High preset (64 FPS) is playable but hovers near the 60 FPS threshold, and the Ultra preset (50 FPS) drops below it. For consistent frame delivery, Medium is the recommended preset, as its min FPS of 64 stays above 60.

At 4K, no preset achieves a consistent 60 FPS. The Low preset (54 FPS) is the only option that stays above 50 FPS, but it is still below the standard 60 FPS target. The Medium preset (41 FPS) offers a visual upgrade but at a significant performance cost. For 4K gameplay, the Low preset is the most playable option, though users should expect frame rates in the 50s.

Across all resolutions, the data indicates that the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with min FPS values that closely track the average of the next-higher preset. The High preset is a solid choice at 1080p and 1440p, but the Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p where the GPU has enough headroom to maintain playable frame rates.