The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that clearly separates CPU and GPU capabilities. When paired with the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Arc B580, the benchmark data reveals a system capable of high refresh rates at 1080p, but one that becomes firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates across four presets and three resolutions provide a clear picture of this combo's strengths and limitations.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the standout choice. The data shows an average of 57.1 FPS at this setting, which is above the 60 FPS threshold often targeted for fluid action. Moving down to 1080p on High yields a very playable 90.9 FPS, making it the optimal choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the most significant performance jump occurs when selecting the Low preset, which delivers 134.8 FPS at 1080p and 91.5 FPS at 1440p. This suggests that for competitive play or maximum smoothness, the Low preset is the most effective, offering over 48% more performance than High at 1080p.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground, hitting 103 FPS at 1080p and 70.8 FPS at 1440p. While this is a solid option, the data indicates that the jump from Medium to High at 1440p only costs about 19% of the frame rate (from 70.8 to 57.1 FPS) while likely providing a substantial visual upgrade. At 4K, the story is different; the Ultra preset is the only setting that drops below 30 FPS, hitting just 24.2 FPS. The High preset at 4K, with 32.1 FPS, is borderline playable, but the Low preset at 47.4 FPS is the only 4K option that approaches a comfortable experience. Given that the Ultra preset at 1440p only achieves 47 FPS, it is clear that the most demanding settings are best reserved for lower resolutions. The data strongly suggests that for a consistent 60+ FPS experience, users should prioritize 1440p with High settings or 1080p with High or Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a formidable processor built on the Zen 4 architecture with 8 cores and 16 threads. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30325 and a single-core score of 4281. This processing power is crucial for maintaining high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The 7700X's 3DMark single-thread score of 1090 and 2-thread score of 2112 indicate strong per-core performance, which is essential for games like The Technomancer that may not fully utilize all 16 threads.

In this pairing, the CPU's role becomes more apparent when analyzing the frame rate scaling. At 1080p, moving from Low (134.8 FPS) to High (90.9 FPS) shows a 32.5% drop, indicating that the GPU is beginning to take on more work. However, the CPU is clearly capable of feeding the Intel Arc B580 at these rates. The processor's PassMark multithread score of 35686 and its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest it is far from being a limiting factor. The data shows that the system's frame rate is primarily dictated by the graphics settings and resolution, not by CPU constraints. Even at 4K with the Low preset (47.4 FPS), the CPU's performance is sufficient to keep up with the GPU, as the frame rate is more than half of what it achieves at 1080p on the same settings. This indicates a well-balanced system where the CPU provides ample headroom for the GPU to operate efficiently across all tested scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 134.8 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 47.4 FPS, and the High preset reaches 32.1 FPS. The Ultra preset is not playable, averaging only 24.2 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700X compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The 7700X has an average benchmark score of 34313. It is 0.4% faster than the Intel Core i5-13500 and 0.5% faster than the Intel Core i7-12800HX, but it is 0.8% slower than both the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and the AMD EPYC 4244P.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 91.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 47 FPS. This represents a performance drop of approximately 48.6% when switching from Low to Ultra.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 rank among all GPUs?

A: The Arc B580 is in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23021. It performs similarly to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, which has a delta of -0.7%.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU become the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 4K. The frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, while the CPU's high benchmark scores indicate it has ample headroom to handle the workload.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1298 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all possible pairings, indicating that while it is not a top-tier combination, it is far from the bottom. The ranking reflects the GPU's 66th percentile standing among all GPUs, which is a modest position. However, the CPU's strong 89th percentile ranking helps to ensure that the system does not suffer from CPU-related bottlenecks.

The combo's rank is likely influenced by the Arc B580's performance profile. While it offers a solid 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 456.0 GB/s bandwidth, its overall compute power (13.67 TFLOPS) places it in a mid-range category. The data shows that the GPU's performance is closely matched with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (delta of -0.7%), which is a popular mainstream card. This suggests that the combo's rank is representative of a mid-range gaming experience. It is not a high-end setup that would dominate the rankings, but it is also not a weak pairing that would struggle with modern titles. The 1298th rank out of 1656 combos indicates that there are many faster configurations, but there are also 358 slower ones, solidifying its position as a competent, budget-conscious choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of this system. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 90.9 FPS at 1080p to 57.1 FPS at 1440p, a 37.2% decrease. Moving to 4K, the frame rate falls further to 32.1 FPS, which is a 64.7% reduction from the 1080p figure. This significant drop indicates that the Intel Arc B580 is the primary constraint as resolution increases, as the workload on the GPU scales exponentially with pixel count.

This pattern is consistent across all presets. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 134.8 FPS at 1080p to 91.5 FPS at 1440p, and then to 47.4 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low is a 64.8% reduction, nearly identical to the High preset's drop. This uniformity suggests that the GPU's rendering capacity is the bottleneck, regardless of the graphical complexity. The CPU's role is minimized at higher resolutions, as it can easily supply the necessary draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that the Ryzen 7 7700X's strong multi-core performance (e.g., a PassMark multithread score of 35686) is more than sufficient to keep the GPU fed, even at 4K. The frame rate scaling is almost purely a function of the GPU's pixel throughput, confirming that users looking to play at 4K will need to significantly lower settings or consider a more powerful graphics card.