The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales predictably with resolution. Testing the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT reveals a configuration that is firmly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong multi-threaded capabilities become more apparent at 1080p. The measured data indicates a system that delivers smooth gameplay across most settings, though the most extreme quality presets at 4K will challenge the GPU’s limits.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and clearly indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the primary limiting component as resolution increases. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 108.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 71.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 35%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 38.1 FPS, which is a 65% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline is a classic sign of pixel throughput becoming the bottleneck, as the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are taxed by the quadrupling of pixel count from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality settings. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 208.5 FPS at 1080p to 138.5 FPS at 1440p, and then to 76.8 FPS at 4K. Interestingly, the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is larger than from 1080p to 1440p, suggesting that the GPU’s compute resources are overwhelmed at the highest resolution regardless of the graphics load. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to reach high frame rates, but the GPU’s rendering capacity is the ceiling at 4K.

The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is also telling. The Ultra preset averages 38.1 FPS, while Low averages 76.8 FPS, a gap of 38.7 FPS. This demonstrates that the RX 7800 XT has enough headroom to handle the extra shading and texture work at lower resolutions, but at 4K, the additional load from Ultra settings pushes the rendering pipeline past its efficient operating point. The benchmark results suggest that for a consistent 60 FPS experience, users should target 1440p with High settings, which yields 88.3 FPS, or 1080p with Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X provides a solid foundation for this game, with its 8 cores and 16 threads proving sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU in most scenarios. The processor’s base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz, combined with its Zen 3 architecture, deliver strong single-threaded performance that is critical for game logic and draw call submission. In single-threaded workloads, the CPU scores 921 in 3dmark_single_thread and 3193 in cinebench_r23_singlecore, which are respectable figures that indicate adequate responsiveness for The Technomancer’s engine.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are more than adequate for this title. With a 3dmark_16_threads score of 6858 and a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 22620, the Ryzen 7 5700X can handle background tasks and any multi-threaded game processes without issue. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame pacing. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU load is minimal, the CPU is able to push the frame rate to 208.5 FPS, indicating that it is not the limiting factor at this resolution.

However, the CPU’s influence wanes as resolution increases. At 4K, the frame rates are significantly lower across all settings, and the gap between Low and Ultra narrows in absolute terms, though not in percentage. This suggests that the CPU is not struggling to keep up with the GPU’s rendering demands; rather, the GPU is simply unable to process pixels fast enough. The Ryzen 7 5700X’s 16 threads are likely underutilized in this game, as the title’s age suggests it may not scale perfectly across all cores, but the high single-thread score of 3385 in passmark_single_thread ensures that the primary game thread is well-served.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT pair achieves a combo rank of 621 out of 1656 combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the upper third of all tested systems, indicating that it is a capable configuration for this game, but not at the very top tier. The rank reflects a balance between the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance and the GPU’s high-end rasterization capabilities, though the game’s age means that newer, more powerful components will naturally score higher.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 83 against all CPUs shows that the Ryzen 7 5700X is a strong processor, but it is not the absolute best available. Its average benchmark score of 26214 places it in close competition with several rivals, including the Intel Core i9-11900KF, which scores 26196, a delta of just 0.1%. This indicates that the CPU is not a weak link in the combo, and its performance is well-matched to the GPU. The GPU’s percentile of 76 against all GPUs is slightly lower, but its average benchmark score of 32619 shows it is a high-end part, with rivals like the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 scoring 32540, a delta of 0.2%.

The combo’s rank of 621 suggests that while the individual components are strong, the pairing does not achieve the top-tier performance seen in the highest-ranked combos. This is likely due to the game’s engine and its specific demands, which may not fully utilize the RX 7800 XT’s capabilities or the Ryzen 7 5700X’s 16 threads. The data implies that users with this combo can expect a smooth experience, but they should not expect to see the absolute maximum frame rates that the hardware is capable of in other, more modern titles.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a clear picture of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers excellent results, with an average of 208.5 FPS at Low settings. This drops to 162.2 FPS at Medium, 135 FPS at High, and 108.9 FPS at Ultra. These figures indicate that the RX 7800 XT is rarely the bottleneck at this resolution, and the CPU’s strong performance allows for high frame rates even at the most demanding quality preset. The 1080p Ultra result of 108.9 FPS is particularly notable, as it shows the system can handle the game’s maximum visual fidelity without dropping below the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong, with Low settings averaging 138.5 FPS, Medium at 106.4 FPS, High at 88.3 FPS, and Ultra at 71.1 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the Ultra preset losing 37.8 FPS, but the results are still playable across all settings. The 1440p High result of 88.3 FPS is a sweet spot for this configuration, offering a balance between visual quality and smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle with the highest settings. Low settings average 76.8 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 55.4 FPS, High to 50.3 FPS, and Ultra to 38.1 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is below the 40 FPS threshold, which may cause noticeable stuttering in fast-paced action scenes. The data shows that for 4K gaming, users should stick to Low or Medium settings to maintain a reasonable frame rate, as the gap between Medium and High is only 5.1 FPS, while High to Ultra is a further 12.2 FPS drop.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly influence the measured results. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus and a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s, the GPU has ample memory resources for The Technomancer’s textures and assets. The 3840 shading units and 96 ROPs provide substantial pixel processing power, which is evident in the high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. The boost clock of 2430 MHz ensures that the GPU can reach its maximum performance under load, though the game clock of 2124 MHz suggests a more realistic sustained frequency during gaming.

The GPU’s RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process, provides efficient performance, but the game’s age means it may not utilize all of the GPU’s features, such as ray tracing cores. The 60 RT cores are present, but The Technomancer likely does not use them, meaning the GPU’s rasterization capabilities are the primary driver of the scores. The FP32 performance of 37.32 TFLOPS is substantial, but the game’s engine may not be optimized to fully exploit this compute power, which could explain the relatively steep performance drop at 4K.

The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is a key factor in the 4K results. At higher resolutions, the GPU must access more texture data, and the high bandwidth helps mitigate potential bottlenecks. However, the data shows that even with this bandwidth, the GPU is still limited by its pixel fill rate at 4K Ultra. The passmark_g3d score of 24176 indicates strong overall graphics performance, and the GPU’s percentile of 76 places it above the majority of tested GPUs. The nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA P104-100 with a score of 32747 (a delta of -0.4%), show that the RX 7800 XT is competitive, but the game’s specific demands ultimately determine the final frame rates.