The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for modern hardware. This analysis examines the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070, using measured FPS data to understand where the bottlenecks lie and what the experience entails. The data reveals a combo that is heavily influenced by resolution and settings, with the GPU taking on a dominant role as pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable trend: performance degrades as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 145.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that figure drops to 92.4 FPS, a significant reduction of approximately 36%. At 4K, the average FPS falls further to 48.4, which is roughly half of the 1440p score and only about a third of the 1080p result.

This scaling pattern strongly suggests that the system becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The massive drop from 1080p to 4K, where the pixel count quadruples, indicates that the Radeon RX 9070's rendering capabilities are the primary limiting factor at 4K. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears capable of feeding the GPU adequately at 1080p, but the GPU's workload at 4K becomes the dominant constraint.

The data implies that at 1080p, the system is not fully utilizing the GPU's potential, as evidenced by the high frame rates. At 4K, the frame rates suggest the GPU is working near its limit. The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution, from a 108 FPS difference at 1080p to a 33 FPS difference at 4K, further confirming that the GPU's pixel throughput is the key bottleneck at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark scores show solid multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and a 3DMark max threads score of 6165. The processor's 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a capable performer.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, especially at higher resolutions. The fact that frame rates scale down so dramatically with resolution suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p, where the CPU has more influence, the high frame rates of 217.4 FPS on Low and 171.6 FPS on Medium show that the processor can drive the game to high levels of performance.

The data implies that the Ryzen 5 8400F provides a strong enough foundation to avoid holding back the Radeon RX 9070 at 1080p and 1440p. However, its performance relative to rivals is close; it sits within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X. This near-parity suggests that for this game, the CPU choice has a minimal impact on the final frame rate compared to the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience. At 4K, the Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding an average of 43.2 FPS, which may be below the threshold for smooth gameplay on many displays. The High preset at 4K provides 48.4 FPS, while Medium offers a more playable 59.9 FPS. The Low preset at 4K jumps to 76.3 FPS, suggesting that significant performance headroom is available by lowering quality.

For a balanced experience, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot at 4K, offering a frame rate that approaches the 60 FPS target without the steep performance cost of High or Ultra. At 1440p, the High preset delivers 92.4 FPS, which is a strong result, and the Ultra preset still manages 75.5 FPS, indicating that higher quality settings are viable at this resolution.

At 1080p, all presets are highly playable, with even the Ultra preset achieving 109.5 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 217.4 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays. The data suggests that users with 1080p monitors can freely choose Ultra settings, while 4K users will likely need to compromise with Medium or Low settings to achieve higher frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 569th out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, indicating that it is a competent pairing for this game, though not at the very top of the performance charts.

The ranking implies that many other combinations of CPUs and GPUs can achieve higher frame rates in this title. Given that the GPU is likely the main performance limiter at higher resolutions, the rank suggests that other GPUs may offer better performance in this specific game. However, the rank is still respectable, indicating that the combo is capable of providing a good gaming experience, particularly at 1080p and 1440p where the data shows strong frame rates.

This ranking should be interpreted with the understanding that it is specific to The Technomancer. The combo's performance in other games may vary. The data shows that the system is well-balanced, but its position in the rankings highlights that there is headroom for improvement, likely by pairing the CPU with a more powerful GPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the clear driver of performance in this system. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers a substantial memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. Its boost clock of 2520 MHz and 3584 shading units provide the raw compute power needed to process the game's graphics. The GPU's benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 25381, confirm its strong capabilities.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary factor in frame rate differences between settings. Moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p results in a 108 FPS drop, while at 4K the drop is 33 FPS. This demonstrates that the GPU is heavily taxed by higher quality settings, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 79th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is a high-performance part.

The measured FPS data suggests that the RX 9070 is a capable card for The Technomancer, but it is not overkill. At 4K Ultra, it cannot maintain a 60 FPS average, indicating that the game's demands at that setting are high. The GPU's performance at 1440p is more comfortable, with High settings yielding 92.4 FPS. The GPU's role is thus to provide the majority of the frame rate, with the CPU ensuring that it is fed with data.

FAQ

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combo delivers an average of 145.2 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 43.2, which is below the common 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: Which setting preset provides the best balance of quality and performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset offers a strong 92.4 FPS average, while the Ultra preset still achieves a playable 75.5 FPS, making High a good choice for higher frame rates.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more of a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as frame rates scale significantly with resolution, showing a large performance drop from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in this game?

A: This combination of AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 569th out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 217.4 FPS, which is 107.9 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 109.5 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

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

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

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

| 3840x2160 | High | 48.4 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 76.3 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 59.9 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 43.2 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 92.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 141.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 107.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 75.5 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 145.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 217.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 171.6 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 109.5 |

The data shows a consistent performance hierarchy across all resolutions, with Low being the fastest and Ultra being the slowest. The largest performance gap between settings is at 1080p, where the difference between Low and Ultra is over 100 FPS, highlighting the GPU's sensitivity to graphical fidelity at lower resolutions.