The Technomancer

The Technomancer presents an interesting case study for the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 pairing. This 2016 Action RPG, when pushed through the latest hardware, reveals a performance profile that is heavily dictated by resolution and settings, showcasing the immense power of the RTX 5090 while also highlighting the enduring relevance of CPU performance at lower resolutions. The data suggests a system capable of obliterating this title at 1080p, but one that still respects the graphical demands of 4K Ultra settings.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture. With a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, this CPU provides a strong foundation for gaming. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks is telling; it achieves a single-thread score of 1253 in 3dmark and 3603 in Cinebench R23, which are strong indicators of its ability to handle the primary game logic thread. The processor’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for feeding the GPU with data.

The data suggests that at 1080p, this CPU is a significant performance driver. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low settings reach 329.6 FPS, a figure so high that it is almost certainly limited by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and process game state updates. The jump from 1080p Medium (264.6 FPS) to 1080p High (223.6 FPS) shows a predictable decline as the GPU begins to take on more work, but the sheer magnitude of these numbers points to a scenario where the Ryzen 5 9600X is working at its limit to feed the RTX 5090. In the broader context, the CPU holds an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, placing it just 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13490F and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 230 in average benchmark scores, while trailing the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS by 0.4%. This places it in a highly competitive performance tier, well-suited to prevent bottlenecks in most scenarios, but the 329.6 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low hints that even this capable chip has its limits when paired with the fastest consumer GPU available.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GPU’s boost clock of 2407 MHz and its 21760 shading units provide an immense amount of raw computational power. With 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores, it is also future-proofed for ray tracing and AI workloads, though these features are not the focus of this particular game’s benchmark data.

The GPU's dominance is most evident at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 61.8 FPS, a clear sign that the game’s visual fidelity is finally presenting a challenge that the RTX 5090 must work to overcome. The 32 GB of VRAM is far more than The Technomancer requires, ensuring that memory capacity is never a limiting factor. The GPU's 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84306, puts it at the top of the performance heap. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, are essentially identical in performance, with a delta of just 0.1%. This confirms that the RTX 5090 is operating at the absolute peak of what is currently available, and its performance in this game is dictated by the game's engine and the CPU's ability to keep up, rather than any lack of GPU capability.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four settings presets. For players prioritizing the highest possible frame rate, the Low preset at 1080p delivers an average of 329.6 FPS, which is an exceptionally high refresh rate experience. However, this comes at the cost of visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a significant step up in visual quality while still maintaining a very high 264.6 FPS average, making it a strong choice for competitive or high-refresh-rate play. At 1440p, the High preset achieves 148.9 FPS, which is an excellent balance for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors.

The most balanced experience, however, appears to be the High preset at 1440p. It delivers a frame rate of 148.9 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold for many gaming monitors, while offering substantially better visual quality than Medium or Low. At 4K, the High preset is the only viable option for a smooth experience, producing 83.1 FPS. The Ultra preset, while visually the most impressive, drops the frame rate to 61.8 FPS at 4K and 112.5 FPS at 1440p. For a game like The Technomancer, the data suggests that High settings provide the optimal compromise between image quality and performance, ensuring a fluid experience across all resolutions, whereas Ultra is best reserved for players who prioritize visuals over maximum frame smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 6 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This is a stellar result, placing the pairing in the top 0.4% of all systems tested for this game. This high ranking is a direct consequence of the RTX 5090's extraordinary performance, which allows the system to achieve frame rates that are only possible with the most powerful hardware available.

The data implies that this combo is among the very best one could assemble for this title. The only systems that outperform it would need to feature a CPU that is even more capable than the Ryzen 5 9600X at 1080p, where the CPU is the primary bottleneck. At 1440p and 4K, the ranking is likely almost entirely determined by the GPU, and since the RTX 5090 is at the top of the stack, the combo’s position is nearly unassailable. The 6th place finish out of 1656 combos underscores the sheer performance headroom this pairing offers, making it a definitive top-tier choice for playing The Technomancer at any resolution.

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

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K provides a clear picture of which component is the limiting factor at each resolution. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 223.6 FPS at 1080p to 148.9 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 33.4%. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops to 83.1 FPS, a further reduction of 44.2%. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is a total drop of 62.8%, falling from 223.6 FPS to 83.1 FPS.

This behavior is classic for a system that is CPU-bound at lower resolutions and GPU-bound at higher ones. At 1080p, the GPU is so powerful that it can render frames faster than the CPU can provide the necessary data, creating a CPU bottleneck. As the resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows significantly, allowing it to be utilized more fully. The massive 62.8% drop in performance from 1080p to 4K is a direct result of this shift in bottleneck. The data shows that at 4K, the RTX 5090 is finally the limiting component, which is why the frame rate is still exceptionally high but no longer in the hundreds. This scaling reflects the GPU's power; it takes a 4K resolution to move the bottleneck away from the Ryzen 5 9600X.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5090 and Ryzen 5 9600X produce staggering frame rates. The Low preset averages 329.6 FPS, the Medium preset averages 264.6 FPS, the High preset averages 223.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 175.8 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, the system is capable of driving the most demanding high-refresh-rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 222.6 FPS, Medium averages 170.7 FPS, High averages 148.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 112.5 FPS. The 1440p results show a more balanced load between CPU and GPU, offering a sweet spot for high-fidelity, high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes center stage. The Low preset averages 119.3 FPS, Medium averages 92.3 FPS, High averages 83.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 61.8 FPS. While the frame rates are lower than at other resolutions, they are still highly playable, with the High preset providing a smooth experience and the Ultra preset remaining viable for those who prioritize maximum visual detail.

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 148.9 FPS at 2560x1440 with the High preset, which is an excellent result for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K with this hardware?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 61.8 FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is a playable frame rate, though players seeking higher smoothness may prefer the High preset, which averages 83.1 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13490F?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 28246, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-13490F's score of 28173. The performance difference is negligible.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate in the data is 329.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the 32 GB of VRAM on the RTX 5090 necessary for this game?

A: No, The Technomancer is a 2016 title and does not require 32 GB of VRAM. However, the large memory pool ensures that memory capacity will never be a bottleneck.

Q: Where does this system rank among all tested combos in this game?

A: This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 6th out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer.