The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, places distinct demands on the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the graphics card is the primary scaling factor across resolutions, while the processor provides ample headroom. This analysis walks through the data to explain how the combo behaves, where it stands among other tested configurations, and what settings deliver the best experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, pointing directly at the GPU as the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 117 at 1920x1080 to 77 at 2560x1440, then to 42 at 3840x2160. That represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The pattern is nearly identical across all presets, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is even more revealing. The system produces 179 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 117 FPS at 1440p (-35%) and then to 64 FPS at 4K (-45%). The fact that the percentage drops remain roughly constant regardless of the preset strength indicates that the Radeon RX 7700's rendering throughput is the bottleneck. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect the frame rate to plateau at lower resolutions, but the data shows continuous scaling all the way down to 1080p.

The Medium preset tells the same story with slightly lower absolute numbers: 137 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the heaviest workload, sees 92 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. The consistent halving of performance from 1080p to 4K across all four presets is a textbook GPU-bound signature. The Ryzen 7 7700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is not the constraining factor here; the frame rate is entirely dictated by how many pixels the RX 7700 can push.

The min and max FPS data available for the Medium preset also supports this interpretation. At 4K, the range is 42 to 57 FPS, a span of 15 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 76 to 103 FPS, a span of 27 FPS. At 1080p, the range is 117 to 158 FPS, a span of 41 FPS. The widening range at lower resolutions suggests that while the average frame rate increases, so does the variability, which is typical when the GPU has spare capacity and frame times become less uniform. At 4K, the GPU is saturated, compressing the frame time variance.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 2,825 tested combos in The Technomancer, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 sits at rank 1275. That places it in the upper-middle portion of the overall distribution, just inside the top 45% of all tested systems. The rank is a composite measure of how well the two components work together in this specific game, and it is a relative position rather than an absolute performance figure.

The GPU's individual standing helps contextualize this rank. The Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15,852 across all tested workloads, which puts it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in aggregate performance are the AMD Radeon R9 370X with a score of 15,862 (a delta of -0.1%), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 with 15,679 (a delta of 1.1%), and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 with 16,014 (a delta of -1%). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is also close, scoring 16,129, which is 1.7% higher. This clustering means the RX 7700 is in a highly competitive tier, and its performance in The Technomancer is consistent with that positioning.

The CPU, meanwhile, is a stronger performer in absolute terms. The Ryzen 7 7700X averages 35,909 across all benchmark tests, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35,802, delta of 0.3%), the Intel Core 7 250H (35,728, delta of 0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (35,719, delta of 0.5%). The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is also within 0.7% at 35,670. The CPU's high percentile rank relative to the GPU's 58th percentile explains why the combo's in-game rank of 1275 is driven more by the graphics card's capabilities than by processor headroom.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the best settings for each target frame rate. For smooth 60 FPS gameplay at 1440p, the Ultra preset delivers exactly 60 FPS on average. This is the only settings level at 1440p that hits that mark with the Ultra preset; the High preset at this resolution produces 77 FPS, which is better for high-refresh monitors but not necessary for standard 60 Hz displays. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 90 FPS, offering a significant buffer above 60 FPS, but the visual quality reduction from High to Medium may not be worth the extra 13 FPS.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The High preset achieves 42 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but playable for a slower-paced Action RPG. The Medium preset improves this to 49 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 64 FPS. For 4K owners who prioritize playability over fidelity, the Low preset is the only option that crosses the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 4K is a reasonable compromise, offering a 16.7% improvement over High while maintaining a playable frame rate. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 33 FPS, is not recommended for consistent gameplay.

For 1080p, all presets are viable. The Low preset produces 179 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset at 137 FPS and High preset at 117 FPS both provide smooth experiences on 144 Hz monitors. Even the Ultra preset at 92 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The data suggests that at 1080p, the user has full freedom to choose based on visual preference rather than performance constraint. The sweet spot for most users is likely the High preset at 1080p, balancing fidelity with a frame rate that exceeds most displays' refresh rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 179 FPS on Low, 137 FPS on Medium, 117 FPS on High, and 92 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS, showing a 41 FPS spread. The other presets do not have min/max data available, but the averages indicate a clear performance ladder where each step up in settings costs roughly 20-25% of the frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 117 FPS on Low, 90 FPS on Medium, 77 FPS on High, and 60 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset here shows a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS, a 27 FPS spread. The jump from Low to Medium costs 27 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 13 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 17 FPS. The diminishing returns are evident: the difference between Low and Medium is larger than the difference between High and Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 64 FPS on Low, 49 FPS on Medium, 42 FPS on High, and 33 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS, a 15 FPS spread. The drop from Low to Medium is 15 FPS, from Medium to High is 7 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 9 FPS. At 4K, the performance curve becomes much flatter at the top end, with High and Ultra being only 9 FPS apart, suggesting that the GPU is running out of headroom regardless of the settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2438 MHz, which translates to 19.5 Gbps effective. The GPU has a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. Its 2,560 shading units and 96 ROPs contribute to a pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for The Technomancer, a game from 2016 that does not demand large texture pools. The measured frame rates confirm that memory capacity is not a limiting factor; the performance scaling across resolutions is smooth and predictable, with no sudden drops that would indicate VRAM swapping. The memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is also ample for this title, as the GPU's compute throughput of 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 appears to be the primary constraint.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 15,852. Its nearest rival in aggregate performance is the AMD Radeon R9 370X, which scores 15,862, a difference of just 0.1%. This near tie suggests that in synthetic benchmarks, the RX 7700 is performing exactly as expected for its tier. In The Technomancer specifically, the frame rates are consistent with this positioning, and the GPU's clock behavior—boosting to 2459 MHz under load—is evident in the sustained frame rates across the Medium preset's benchmark run.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a Zen 4 architecture processor codenamed Raphael, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache. Its memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, providing a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. The processor's TDP is 105 W, and it uses the AMD Socket AM5 interface.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 7700X demonstrates strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. Its single-thread score in Cinebench R23 is 1,987, while the multi-core score is 19,088. Geekbench shows 2,289 single-core and 12,451 multi-core. The 3DMark results show scaling from 1,090 on single-thread to 8,859 on 16 threads, indicating good multi-core efficiency. The Passmark multi-thread score of 35,686 and single-thread score of 4,190 further confirm the CPU's capability.

For The Technomancer, the CPU's role is less critical than the GPU's. The frame rate scaling across resolutions is purely GPU-driven, as evidenced by the consistent percentage drops from 1080p to 4K. The 7700X's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for this game, which was released in 2016 and does not require high core counts. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all processors means it is unlikely to bottleneck even at the lowest settings where the GPU produces 179 FPS at 1080p. The processor's high boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that even single-threaded game logic is handled efficiently, though the data does not show any CPU-related frame rate limits in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 delivers exactly 60 FPS on average, making it the only preset at that resolution that hits the 60 FPS target. The High preset produces 77 FPS, which is also viable but not necessary for standard 60 Hz displays.

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at 4K 60 FPS?

A: No. The highest preset that reaches 60 FPS at 3840x2160 is Low, which averages 64 FPS. The Medium preset at 49 FPS and High at 42 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra at 33 FPS is not recommended.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15,852, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15,862) and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15,679). It is 1% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16,014) and 1.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16,129).

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates no. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent across all presets, which is a GPU-bound signature. The Ryzen 7 7700X ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, and its performance is sufficient to support even the 179 FPS seen at 1080p Low settings.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 117 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 92 FPS. This represents a 25 FPS drop, or a 21% reduction in frame rate, for the highest visual quality settings.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS for the Medium preset?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset ranges from 117 to 158 FPS. At 1440p, it ranges from 76 to 103 FPS. At 4K, it ranges from 42 to 57 FPS. These ranges show decreasing variability as resolution increases, indicating the GPU becomes more consistently saturated at higher pixel counts.