The Technomancer

The Technomancer is an older Action RPG that still manages to stress modern hardware in unexpected ways, particularly at higher resolutions. The data for this configuration, pairing the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 with the Intel Arc B390, reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution, making settings and resolution choices critical for playability. The measured frames per second (FPS) data provides a clear picture of a system that can handle the game at 1080p with adjustments, but struggles significantly as the pixel count increases. The Intel Arc B390, which ranks in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, is the primary bottleneck in this pairing, and its performance dictates that users must prioritize lower settings and resolutions to achieve a smooth experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience for this configuration is found at the Low preset at 1920x1080, which delivers an average of 79 FPS. This is the only settings/resolution combination that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, providing the headroom necessary for a responsive and fluid gaming session. The data shows a clear hierarchy: at 1080p, the Low preset is 27 FPS faster than the High preset (79 vs 52), and a significant 39 FPS faster than the Ultra preset (79 vs 40). This indicates that the performance cost of each graphical tier is substantial, and for a game like The Technomancer, which is an action RPG requiring timely dodges and attacks, the higher frame rate from the Low preset is more beneficial than the marginal visual fidelity gains from higher settings.

For users who cannot tolerate the visual compromises of Low settings, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is a viable secondary option, yielding an average of 61 FPS. This sits right at the 60 FPS mark, but it is important to note that the minimum FPS recorded for this configuration is 52, meaning there will be noticeable dips during intense combat or busy scenes. The High preset at 1080p (52 FPS average) and the Ultra preset (40 FPS average) are not recommended for a consistently smooth experience, as they fall below the ideal playable range. Moving up to 2560x1440, the data shows that even the Low preset only manages an average of 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. At 4K, all presets are effectively unplayable, with the highest average being 28 FPS on Low. The data strongly suggests that 1080p is the intended resolution for this hardware, with Low being the baseline for performance and Medium being the ceiling for a playable experience.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is unequivocally the limiting factor in this system for The Technomancer. Its benchmark results are modest, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a very low standing, and the nearest rivals in the data confirm this position: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% slower). These are all legacy, entry-level mobile or OEM parts, which underscores how limited the Arc B390's raw performance is. The GPU's specs align with this modest performance profile; it features 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its compute power is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS FP32, which is a low figure for modern gaming.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory rather than having its own dedicated VRAM. This is a critical detail, as it means the GPU's performance is heavily dependent on the system memory bandwidth and the CPU. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which introduces a potential bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions where the demand for memory bandwidth increases. This is reflected in the measured FPS. The Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution (IGP) with a TDP of 80 W, and its performance in this game scales poorly with resolution. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 27 FPS (from 79 to 52), and the drop from 1440p to 4K at Low settings is 24 FPS (from 52 to 28). This severe scaling indicates that the GPU simply does not have the fill rate or memory bandwidth to handle the increased pixel load.

CPU Role

In stark contrast to the GPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a powerful and capable processor that is not a limiting factor in this game. It ranks in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26324. Its nearest rivals in the data are all within a narrow band: the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX scores 26274 (0.2% faster), the AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS scores 26402 (0.3% slower), and the Intel Core i9-11900KF scores 26212 (0.4% faster). This shows that the 7600 is competitively placed among a range of high-end laptop and desktop chips. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, built on the Zen 4 architecture. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for gaming, and its multi-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12735 and Geekbench multi-core score of 13413.

The Ryzen 5 7600's role in The Technomancer is to feed the GPU with data, and in this configuration, it is doing so without breaking a sweat. The fact that FPS drops dramatically with resolution increases—from 79 FPS at 1080p Low to 28 FPS at 4K Low—while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant, points directly at the GPU being the bottleneck. The CPU is likely rendering frames far faster than the GPU can process them. This is a classic case of a CPU being far more powerful than its paired GPU, leaving the processor mostly idle while the graphics card is fully saturated. The data indicates that the CPU's high single-thread score (1852 in Cinebench R23) and robust multi-core capabilities are irrelevant to the final FPS here, as the GPU's low performance ceiling is the sole determinant of frame rate. A less powerful CPU could likely deliver identical FPS in this specific scenario, as the Arc B390 is the one holding the system back.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Technomancer with this hardware?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where playable frame rates are achievable. At 2560x1440, even the Low preset only hits 52 FPS average, and at 3840x2160, all presets fall well below 30 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 79 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. This represents a 39 FPS difference, making the Low preset nearly twice as fast.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system for this game?

A: The GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The Intel Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 ranks in the 78th percentile. The FPS scales poorly with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

Q: Can this system achieve a stable 60 FPS at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 61, but the minimum FPS is 52. This means it can average just above 60 FPS, but it will experience drops below that threshold during demanding scenes.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad. It is 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), and 2.5% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446).

Q: What is the FPS drop when moving from 1440p to 4K on Low settings?

A: At 2560x1440 Low, the average FPS is 52. At 3840x2160 Low, the average FPS drops to 28. This represents a 24 FPS reduction, or a performance decrease of approximately 46%.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions is stark and clearly illustrates the GPU bottleneck. At the Low settings preset, the average FPS at 1920x1080 is 79. Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS drops to 52, a reduction of 27 FPS. Moving further to 3840x2160, the FPS plummets to 28, another 24 FPS reduction. This pattern shows that the game becomes exponentially more demanding as the pixel count increases, and the Intel Arc B390 cannot keep up. The scaling is not linear; the jump from 1080p to 1440p represents a 34% decrease in performance, while the jump from 1440p to 4K represents a 46% decrease. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and fill rate are being saturated at higher resolutions, leading to disproportionate performance losses.

This behavior strongly indicates that the limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload would be the same regardless of the output resolution. Instead, we see a clear and dramatic FPS drop with each resolution increase, which is the hallmark of a graphics card that is running out of resources. The fact that the GPU uses "System Shared" memory means it is competing with the CPU for the same memory bandwidth, and at 4K, the demand for that bandwidth likely exceeds what the system can provide, causing the severe performance collapse. The data suggests that this configuration is only viable at 1080p, and users should avoid higher resolutions entirely to maintain a functional frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS | Minimum FPS | Maximum FPS |

| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 79 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 61 | 52 | 70 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 52 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 40 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 52 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 40 | 34 | 46 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 34 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 26 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 28 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 22 | 19 | 25 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 19 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 15 | - | - |

The data clearly shows that the only configuration achieving a 60+ FPS average is 1080p Low. The Medium preset at 1080p is borderline, with an average of 61 FPS but a minimum of 52 FPS, indicating instability. All 1440p settings are below the 60 FPS target, with Low averaging 52 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with even the Low preset failing to reach 30 FPS. This breakdown confirms that the system is entirely GPU-limited and should be used at 1080p with the Low or Medium presets for the best playable experience. The frame time data for Medium presets shows a consistent variance, with the maximum FPS being about 15-20% higher than the average, which points to a non-uniform frame pacing that is typical of a GPU struggling to maintain a consistent load.