The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting case for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing. The measured frames-per-second data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by resolution and settings, with the GPU becoming the dominant factor as graphical load increases. The benchmark results show a clear scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K that defines the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a predictable and significant drop in average FPS as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 223 FPS at 1080p to 146 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 77 FPS, and then further down to 80 FPS at 4K. This pattern indicates that at lower resolutions and settings, the system has ample headroom, but the GPU begins to struggle as pixel count rises.

The scaling becomes more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 146 at 1080p to 96 at 1440p, and then to 52 at 4K. This represents a 64% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra settings show the most dramatic decline, starting at 114 FPS at 1080p, falling to 75 FPS at 1440p, and bottoming out at 41 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting the RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed to their limits.

The data suggests the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads from the Zen 4 architecture can keep up with the GPU's output, as shown by the 223 FPS Low result. However, at 4K, the GPU's 8704 shading units and 68 RT cores are clearly the bottleneck, particularly at Ultra settings where the average FPS drops to 41. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is 39 FPS, compared to a 109 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's rendering capabilities are saturated at higher resolutions regardless of the CPU's performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining a smooth frame rate above 60 FPS at Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where Ultra settings maintain an average FPS above 60, achieving 114 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 75 FPS, while 3840x2160 falls to 41 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3080's performance at 4K High compare to its performance at 1080p Low?

A: At 4K High, the average FPS is 52, while at 1080p Low it is 223. This represents a 171 FPS difference, showing that the GPU is far more capable at lower resolutions and settings.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7700X a limiting factor at any resolution?

A: The benchmark data does not directly indicate CPU limitations. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 223 FPS, which is a high frame rate that suggests the CPU's 5.40 GHz boost clock and 32 MB of shared L3 cache are sufficient for this game at that resolution.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 112, with a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 129. This 34 FPS range indicates a relatively stable frame rate.

Q: How does the combo rank in this game compared to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1040 out of 3696 tested combinations in The Technomancer, placing it in the upper percentile of tested systems.

Q: What settings provide the highest average FPS at 4K?

A: The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is achieved with Low settings, which yields 80 FPS. Medium settings produce 61 FPS, High produces 52 FPS, and Ultra produces 41 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X brings substantial processing power to this pairing. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, the CPU operates at a base clock of 4.50 GHz and can boost up to 5.40 GHz. This configuration places the CPU in the 85th percentile against all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35909. The 3dmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance: 8859 for 16 threads and 8852 for max threads, while single-thread performance is 1090. The Cinebench R23 scores of 19088 multicore and 1987 singlecore further illustrate the CPU's capability.

The CPU's performance is relevant to The Technomancer's results because the game does not appear to be CPU-bound in the measured configurations. The highest average FPS of 223 at 1080p Low suggests the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at that resolution. The 3dmark 8-thread score of 7057 indicates that the CPU's mid-range thread count is strong, which is important for a game that may utilize multiple cores. The memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s and support for DDR5 memory provide a solid foundation for data transfer to the GPU.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 with a delta of 0.3%, the Intel Core 7 250H with 0.5%, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 with 0.5%, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H with 0.7%. These narrow deltas indicate that the 7700X performs competitively with these processors, though the differences are minimal. In the context of this game, the CPU's role is to ensure the GPU is not starved of data, and the data suggests it does so effectively, particularly at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 1040 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places the pairing in the top 28% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end configuration. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 85th percentile performance and the GPU's 68th percentile performance, creating a system that is well-suited for this title.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 23172, with a percentile rank of 68 against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA P106-100 with a delta of -0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 with -0.3%, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M with -0.4%, and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X with -0.4%. These small negative deltas indicate that the RTX 3080 outperforms these GPUs by a slight margin. The combo's rank of 1040 suggests that while the individual components are strong, there are many other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in this specific game, likely due to more recent GPU architectures.

The ranking data shows that the combo is not at the top of the charts, but it is comfortably above the median. With 3696 total combos tested, a rank of 1040 means the system outperforms approximately 2656 other combinations. This is a respectable result, especially considering the game's 2016 release date, which may limit the effectiveness of newer hardware features.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values show a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce an average of 223 FPS, Medium settings produce 171 FPS with a minimum of 146 and maximum of 197, High settings produce 146 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 114 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 109 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant overhead at this resolution even at the highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 146 for Low, 112 for Medium with a minimum of 95 and maximum of 129, 96 for High, and 75 for Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra narrows to 71 FPS, showing that the GPU is beginning to feel the pressure of the higher pixel count. The Medium settings provide a minimum FPS of 95, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 80 for Low, 61 for Medium with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 71, 52 for High, and 41 for Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 39 FPS, and the Medium settings' minimum of 52 FPS indicates that frame drops can occur below 60 FPS. The Ultra setting's 41 FPS average is the lowest measured value, suggesting that this configuration is not ideal for 4K gaming at the highest settings.

The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the impact of settings on FPS diminishes. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 109 FPS, but at 4K, it is only 39 FPS. This indicates that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as its rendering capabilities are stretched thin.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and preference for frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings achieve an average FPS above 60, with even Ultra settings providing 114 FPS. For users with high refresh rate monitors, Low settings at 223 FPS or Medium settings at 171 FPS would be ideal for maximizing smoothness. Ultra settings at 114 FPS offer a balance between visual quality and performance.

For 2560x1440, the data suggests that High settings at 96 FPS provide a good experience, while Medium settings at 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS offer a more consistent frame rate. Ultra settings at 75 FPS are still playable but may not be suitable for competitive play. The minimum FPS of 95 for Medium settings ensures that frame drops are unlikely to be noticeable.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations change significantly. Low settings at 80 FPS are the only configuration that consistently stays above 60 FPS. Medium settings at 61 FPS are borderline, with a minimum of 52 FPS that could cause stuttering. High settings at 52 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold and would be best avoided for a smooth experience. For 4K users, Low or Medium settings are the most viable options, with Medium offering a better visual quality at a slight cost to frame rate stability.

The data indicates that the "sweet spot" for this combo is 1440p with High settings, which provides 96 FPS, or 1080p with Ultra settings at 114 FPS. These configurations balance visual fidelity with performance, offering a smooth experience without compromising on graphics quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the primary driver of performance in this game at higher resolutions. With 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, the GPU provides a memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s, which is sufficient for most modern games but can become a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU's base clock of 1440 MHz and boost clock of 1710 MHz, combined with 8704 shading units, deliver a FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its capabilities. The Passmark G3D score is 25086, while the Geekbench OpenCL score is 152423. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 4407, indicating strong DirectX 12 performance. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking against all GPUs shows that it is above average but not at the top tier. The nearest rival GPUs, such as the NVIDIA P106-100 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16, have very similar average scores, with deltas of -0.3%.

The GPU's role in The Technomancer is evident from the FPS data. At 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 223 FPS Low result. However, at 4K, the GPU's limitations become apparent, with Ultra settings dropping to 41 FPS. The 41 FPS result suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading units are insufficient for the demands of 4K Ultra settings in this game. The GPU's 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores do not appear to provide a significant advantage in this title, likely due to the game's 2016 release date predating the widespread use of ray tracing.

The GPU's TDP of 320 W and suggested PSU of 700 W indicate that it is a power-hungry component, but the measurement data does not include power consumption figures. The GPU's 8 nm process node from Samsung and 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die show that it is a large, complex chip, but the performance in this game is ultimately limited by the resolution and settings chosen.