The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting test for the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution, but the relationship between settings and performance reveals where the bottleneck lies. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results across resolutions and settings, interpreting what the numbers mean for this specific pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and clearly indicates a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 130 FPS at 1920x1080 to 82.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36.5%. Moving to 3840x2160, the frame rate further drops to 45.4 FPS, representing a 65.1% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This steep descent is the classic signature of a graphics card operating near its limits, with the CPU having less impact as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern across all settings reinforces this conclusion. At Low settings, the 1080p result is 189.9 FPS, which falls to 125.1 FPS at 1440p and 69.6 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 34.1% and 63.4% respectively, showing that even when the graphical load is minimal, the GPU still dominates the performance curve. The 4K Low result being nearly identical to the 4K High result from a scaling perspective suggests that the RX 7700 XT's compute resources are the primary constraint, not the game's visual effects.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K, which is expected given the pixel count difference. 4K has 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p, and the frame rates reflect this heavy burden. At Medium settings, the 1440p result of 99.7 FPS drops to 50.4 FPS at 4K, a 49.4% reduction. This near-halving of performance when moving to 4K is a clear indicator that the Radeon RX 7700 XT, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus, is the limiting component in this configuration for The Technomancer.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node and features a boost clock of 2544 MHz. Its memory configuration includes 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In The Technomancer, this memory bandwidth appears sufficient to feed the GPU's compute units, as the frame rates scale smoothly with resolution rather than showing sudden stutters or collapses that would indicate memory capacity or bandwidth issues.

The GPU's 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the key driver of the measured results. At 4K Ultra settings, the combo manages 37.5 FPS, which is playable but not smooth by modern standards. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is 32.1 FPS (69.6 vs 37.5), showing that the game's higher graphical presets demand significantly more from the GPU. The RX 7700 XT's 96 ROPs and 216 TMUs handle the texture and pixel work, but the sheer pixel count at 4K overwhelms the card's ability to maintain high frame rates at maximum quality.

Interestingly, the GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30097. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, scores 30109 with a deltaPct of 0, indicating essentially identical performance. However, the RX 7700 XT's measured results in The Technomancer show it pulling ahead of what the synthetic benchmarks might suggest, particularly at 1080p where the CPU has more room to feed frames. The GPU's boost clock of 2544 MHz and game clock of 2171 MHz provide solid headroom for sustained performance in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playing The Technomancer with this combo?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot, with High settings delivering 82.6 FPS and Medium delivering 99.7 FPS. At 4K, even Medium settings only achieve 50.4 FPS, making 1440p the most balanced choice for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-12600, scores 28654 with a deltaPct of -0.1, meaning the two are virtually tied in overall performance.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at 1080p?

A: No, the data suggests the opposite. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 189.9 FPS, which indicates the CPU is keeping up. The 1080p results show the GPU is fully utilized, as frame rates scale down proportionally with resolution increases.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 125.1 FPS while Ultra delivers 65.3 FPS, a difference of 59.8 FPS. This 47.8% reduction in performance from Low to Ultra highlights the significant graphical load of the Ultra preset.

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

A: The combo ranks 752nd out of 1656 tested combinations, placing it in the middle of the pack. This ranking reflects the balanced but not exceptional performance of this CPU-GPU pairing in The Technomancer.

Q: Is the GPU's 12 GB memory sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: The measured data shows no memory-related issues at 4K. The 4K High result of 45.4 FPS and 4K Ultra result of 37.5 FPS indicate that the GPU's compute power, not its memory capacity, is the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination ranks 752nd out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the 54.6th percentile of all configurations. This middle-of-the-road ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component scores, but it reflects the game's specific demands. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest that the combo should perform better than it does, yet the game's engine appears to favor other hardware configurations.

The ranking position indicates that while this combo is far from the bottom, it is also not among the top performers. The measured FPS numbers at 1080p are strong, with 130 FPS at High settings, but the 4K results drag the overall ranking down. The combo's performance is consistent with what one would expect from a mid-range GPU paired with an older but still capable CPU, and the 752nd position out of 1656 reflects this balance. The data shows that the combo is more competitive at lower resolutions, where the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads can keep up with the GPU's output.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 189.9 FPS, Medium produces 148.2 FPS, High produces 130 FPS, and Ultra produces 103.2 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the RX 7700 XT has ample headroom, and the Ryzen 7 3700X is able to feed frames efficiently. The gap between Low and Ultra is 86.7 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a 45.7% performance penalty over Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates are still respectable but show the GPU starting to work harder. Low settings deliver 125.1 FPS, Medium delivers 99.7 FPS, High delivers 82.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 65.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 59.8 FPS, a 47.8% reduction. This resolution is where the combo feels most balanced, as even Ultra settings remain above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings produce 69.6 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 60 FPS. Medium settings drop to 50.4 FPS, High settings fall to 45.4 FPS, and Ultra settings struggle at 37.5 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is brutal, with High settings losing 37.2 FPS (a 45% reduction) and Ultra settings losing 27.8 FPS (a 42.6% reduction). The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires dropping to Low or Medium settings to maintain playable frame rates, while 1440p and 1080p offer much more flexibility in visual quality.