The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting stress profile for the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The benchmark data shows a system where the GPU is the dominant factor at high resolutions, but the CPU begins to assert its influence as resolution drops. The combination of a six-core Zen 4 processor and the flagship Ada Lovelace GPU produces a wide spread of frame rates, from a highly playable 74.9 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 278.6 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating a pairing that scales aggressively with settings and resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The performance delta from 4K to 1080p is stark, revealing a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-limited at lower ones. At the Ultra preset, the average frame rate climbs from 62.7 FPS at 3840x2160 to 108.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 168.1 FPS at 1920x1080. This progression shows a 73.6% increase in performance from 4K to 1440p, and a further 54.4% jump from 1440p to 1080p. The scaling is not linear, which is typical, but the magnitude suggests that the RTX 4090 is being held back by the CPU at 1080p, as the frame rate gains are not directly proportional to the pixel count reduction.

At the High settings tier, the same pattern emerges with even more pronounced scaling. The 4K result of 74.9 FPS jumps to 139.7 FPS at 1440p, a 86.5% increase, and then to 215.1 FPS at 1080p, another 54% gain. The Low preset shows the most extreme scaling, with 120.1 FPS at 4K, 215.1 FPS at 1440p, and 278.6 FPS at 1080p. The 1080p Low result is particularly telling, as it is nearly identical to the 1440p High result (278.6 vs 215.1), suggesting that the CPU is the limiting factor in both scenarios, and the GPU has headroom to spare.

The data indicates that the limiting component shifts based on resolution. At 4K, the RTX 4090 is the primary bottleneck, as even the most demanding preset yields a playable frame rate, and the gap between Low and Ultra is a manageable 57.4 FPS. However, at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 7600 becomes the constraint. The difference between Low (278.6 FPS) and High (215.1 FPS) is 63.5 FPS, but the jump from High to Ultra (168.1 FPS) is a significant 47 FPS drop, indicating that the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough to maintain the higher frame rates. This is a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions with a top-tier GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090’s role in this pairing is defined by its massive memory bandwidth and raw compute power. With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, offering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, the card is well-equipped to handle the texture and geometry demands of The Technomancer at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 2520 MHz and its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance ensure that it can process the game’s effects and lighting at high resolutions without issue. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the clear limiting factor, with the frame rate scaling almost perfectly with the settings preset, from 62.7 FPS at Ultra to 120.1 FPS at Low.

The GPU’s performance is also evident in the scaling behavior at 1440p. The card maintains a high level of performance, with 108.9 FPS at Ultra and 215.1 FPS at Low. However, the gap between the 1440p Low (215.1 FPS) and 1080p Low (278.6 FPS) results is only 63.5 FPS, which is smaller than the 95 FPS jump seen from 4K Low (120.1 FPS) to 1440p Low (215.1 FPS). This suggests that as resolution decreases, the GPU’s utilization also decreases, and the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes more critical. The RTX 4090’s 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are not directly tested by this game’s standard rendering path, but the raw shader performance is more than sufficient.

The GPU’s 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473, places it in the top tier of hardware. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, are professional or workstation cards that are not directly comparable in gaming workloads, but the delta percentages (ranging from -0.4% to -1.3%) indicate that the RTX 4090’s synthetic benchmark score is slightly below these specific rivals. This is a synthetic metric, however, and the measured gaming FPS shows the RTX 4090 is exceptionally strong in this title. The GPU’s 24 GB frame buffer is ample for any resolution or texture pack, and it is unlikely to be a limiting factor in The Technomancer.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested CPU and GPU combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 36 out of 1656 combinations. This places it in the top 2.2% of all tested systems, which is an exceptional result. The rank reflects the overall performance across all tested games and settings, and this high placement is driven by the GPU’s raw power and the CPU’s strong single-threaded performance. The Ryzen 5 7600 has an 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26617, and it sits very close to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (0.2% higher score) and the Intel Core i9-12900HK (-0.2% lower score).

The combination’s high rank confirms the balance of the components, but the benchmark data for this specific game reveals that the CPU is not always the bottleneck. The combo’s rank of 36 indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of systems, and this is consistent with the measured FPS results. The Ryzen 5 7600’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, provide sufficient processing power for most gaming scenarios, but the data shows that at 1080p, the CPU’s performance ceiling is reached. The fact that the combo ranks so highly despite this CPU limitation in certain scenarios highlights the sheer dominance of the RTX 4090 in most situations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for The Technomancer show a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 62.7 at Ultra to 120.1 at Low. The Medium preset delivers 91.7 FPS, while High offers a playable 74.9 FPS. This indicates that 4K Ultra is the most demanding configuration, and while it is playable, users seeking higher refresh rates would need to drop to High or Medium. At 2560x1440, the performance improves significantly, with 108.9 FPS at Ultra, 139.7 FPS at High, 167.3 FPS at Medium, and 215.1 FPS at Low. This resolution offers the best balance between visual fidelity and frame rate, with even the Ultra preset providing a smooth experience.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with 168.1 FPS at Ultra, 215.1 FPS at High, 254.2 FPS at Medium, and 278.6 FPS at Low. The jump from Medium to Low is only 24.4 FPS, which is smaller than the 39.1 FPS jump from High to Medium. This suggests that the CPU is beginning to limit performance at these high frame rates, as the GPU is not the primary constraint. The data shows that the 1080p High result (215.1 FPS) is identical to the 1440p Low result (215.1 FPS), which is a strong indicator of a CPU bottleneck at 1080p High. The frame rate is capped by the CPU’s ability to process the game logic, not the GPU’s ability to render the scene.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience, the 2560x1440 resolution with High settings appears to be the sweet spot. This configuration delivers 139.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p. The 1440p High setting offers a 46.8% performance increase over 4K High (74.9 FPS) while maintaining a higher pixel density than 1080p. For users with high refresh rate monitors, the 1440p Medium preset at 167.3 FPS is an excellent choice, as it provides a substantial performance boost over High while still looking good.

At 4K, the High preset (74.9 FPS) is the recommended setting for a balance of quality and performance. The Ultra preset (62.7 FPS) is playable but may feel less smooth on high refresh rate displays. The Medium preset (91.7 FPS) is the best option for 4K users who prioritize frame rate over maximum visual fidelity. At 1080p, all settings are playable, but the Ultra preset (168.1 FPS) is the only one that provides a challenge for the GPU; the lower settings are likely CPU-limited, and users will see diminishing returns in frame rate gains as they lower settings further. The data suggests that for this combination, 1440p is the ideal resolution, as it provides a balanced workload for both the CPU and GPU, avoiding the CPU bottleneck seen at 1080p and the GPU strain at 4K.