The Technomancer

The Technomancer, an Action RPG released in 2016, places significant demand on the GPU, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D with the AMD Radeon RX 570 demonstrates a clear bottleneck in high-resolution scenarios. The benchmark data offers a methodical view of how this combination handles the game across various settings, with the results firmly indicating that the graphics card is the limiting component.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows an obvious and steep performance decline as resolution increases, a clear sign of the GPU being the primary performance limiter. At the "Low" preset, the average FPS drops from 68 at 1080p to 45 at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 34%, and then further to 25 at 4K, which represents a further 44% drop from the 1440p figure. This trend continues across all presets, illustrating how the rendering load at higher resolutions heavily taxes the RX 560's compute capabilities.

The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K is not linear, with the most significant performance penalty occurring between 1440p and 4K. For instance, on the "Medium" preset, the average FPS drops from 53 at 1080p to 34 at 1440p, a 36% decline, but then plummets to 19 at 4K, a 44% drop from the 1440p score. This exponential decrease in performance is characteristic of a system where the GPU's processing power and memory bandwidth cannot keep up with the pixel and texture demands of 4K rendering.

When examining the "High" preset data, the same pattern emerges, with average FPS moving from 45 at 1080p to 29 at 1440p and finally to 16 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K in the High preset is 45% of the 1440p value, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%. This suggests that as the resolution increases, the GPU is not just scaling with workload but is hitting a performance wall. The data shows that the 1080p resolution is the only one where the system is able to produce a fluid, playable experience, while 4K performance is clearly a low-quality or slideshow-level experience.

The overall pattern across all settings and resolutions indicates that the limiting component in this combo is unequivocally the GPU. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D, with its high single-thread performance, is not the constraint, as the FPS drops are directly proportional to the GPU rendering load. The minimal FPS numbers, where available, also reinforce the GPU limitation; at 4K Medium the min FPS is 16, while at 1440p Medium it's 29, and at 1080p Medium it's 45, all of which correlate with the average FPS drops.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the clear performance bottleneck in this setup. This GPU, based on the Polaris 20 chip with the GCN 4.0 architecture and manufactured on a 14 nm process, is objectively the limiting factor at higher resolutions. Its specifications include 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, which contribute to a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s. The card is equipped with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s.

The GPU's memory and ROP capabilities are likely the primary constraints when moving to 4K. At the 4K Ultra setting, the average FPS is just 13, which is a 63% drop from the 4K Low setting of 25 FPS. This indicates that even when the CPU is not a factor, the GPU simply cannot maintain a playable frame rate. The GPU's FP32 performance is listed as 5.095 TFLOPS, and its boost clock is 1244 MHz. With a TDP of 150 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W, the card is not a high-end component by modern standards.

The benchmark results for the RX 570 show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 42752. The percentile ranking against all GPUs is 74, meaning it performs better than 74% of GPUs. This places it in the mid-range of GPUs, which is well below the level needed for 4K gaming. The data reveals that the GPU is the bottleneck for all resolutions above 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3523 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the lower percentile (the 5th percentile), which is a very low standing. This rank is a strong indication that the system is not well-suited to the game, and the low rank is primarily due to the GPU being an older, mid-range component that is not adequate for high-end gaming.

In terms of rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a high-end CPU, and its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmark tests are the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G, the Intel Core i7-13650HX, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX, all of which have an average score of 33089, a 0% deltaPct. The AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 6950H is also a rival with an average score of 33201, a -0.4. This shows that the CPU is very powerful and competitive with these modern chips.

The RX 570's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which has an average score of 28874 and a deltaPct of -0.4, the AMD Radeon R9 M295X, which has a score of 28580 and a deltaPct of 0.7, the AMD Radeon RX 470 with a score of 28996 and a deltaPct of -0.8, and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 with a score of 28421 and a deltaPct of 1.2. The deltaPct values show that the RX 570's average score of 28766 is very close to these, indicating that the GPU is a mid-range part that is similar in performance to these other cards. Its place in the combo rank is, therefore, not surprising.

The very low rank in this game confirms the fact that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, and the CPU's performance is largely wasted in this context, as it cannot push the frame rate beyond what the GPU is capable of.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance in The Technomancer. At 1080p, the system can handle the game well. At the Low preset, the average FPS is 68, which is well above the playable threshold. The Medium preset delivers an average of 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 60, which is a stable and playable experience. The High preset drops to an average of 45 FPS, which is still playable, but with less headroom. The Ultra preset falls to an average of 35 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target, but can be considered playable on a 60Hz display, though the experience is not smooth.

At 1440p, the performance decreases significantly. The Low preset achieves an average of 45 FPS, which is a playable frame rate. The Medium preset has an average of 34 FPS (min 29, max 40), which is on the edge of playability and will show noticeable stutter. The High preset drops to 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 23 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users.

At 4K, the system is not capable of delivering a good experience. The Low preset only manages an average of 25 FPS, and the Medium preset drops to 19 FPS (min 16, max 22), which is a very poor experience. The High preset manages just 16 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 13 FPS, which are both unplayable.

The data shows a clear correlation between the settings and the frame rate, with the performance penalty from Low to Ultra being around 50% at all resolutions. For example, at 1080p, the Ultra is 48% slower than Low (35 vs 68), and at 4K, the Ultra is 48% slower than Low (13 vs 25). This consistent percentage drop suggests that the game scales its settings in a linear fashion, and the GPU is the bottleneck at all settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Technomancer at 4K?

A: No. The best 4K result is the Low preset at an average of 25 FPS, and the Ultra preset at only 13 FPS. The data shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combination.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data indicates that 1080p with the Low preset is the only configuration that achieves an average FPS near 60, hitting 68 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p also averages 53 FPS, which is close, but the Low preset is the only one that exceeds 60.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The FPS scales and drops with resolution, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, is a high-end processor with a high single-core performance, and it is not the constraint.

Q: How does the GPU's memory size affect performance?

A: The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. Given the memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, the 4GB is likely a constraint at 4K, but the GPU's compute performance and ROPs are the primary bottleneck, as the FPS drops consistently with resolution.

Q: What are the minimum FPS numbers?

A: The measured data includes minimum FPS for the Medium preset: 45 at 1080p, 29 at 1440p, and 16 at 4K. These minimums indicate stutters and frame drops, which are more prominent at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the system's combo rank compare to other tested combinations?

A: The combo rank is 3523 out of 3696 combos, which places it in the 5th percentile. This is a very low ranking, indicating that this system is not suitable for the game's high requirements.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a very powerful CPU that is not a limiting factor in this game. It is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It has 1 MB of L2 cache per core and 96 MB of L3 cache, which is a significant amount. The CPU has a TDP of 120 W and supports DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores are high, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16817 and a single-core of 1713, and a Geekbench multi-core of 15610.

The CPU's performance in the game is not a bottleneck, as the frame rates at 1080p are much higher than the 4K scores. The 1080p Low preset achieves 68 FPS, which is a high frame rate that suggests the CPU can handle the game's logic and physics without issue. The CPU's 3DMark scores also show its strength: a single-thread score of 959 and a 16-thread score of 7980. This is a balanced and strong CPU, and the game is not heavy enough to load all its cores. The data shows that the CPU does not limit frame rates, and it's the GPU that is the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience for this system is the 1080p resolution. For a target of 60 FPS, the Low preset is the only configuration that achieves an average of 68 FPS, which is the ideal setting for a smooth experience. If the user prefers a higher fidelity, the Medium preset at 1080p is also a viable option, with an average of 53 FPS, which is close to but slightly below the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 1080p provides an average of 45 FPS, which is still playable but with a noticeable compromise in smoothness.

For a balance of quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1440p provides an average of 34 FPS, which is a low frame rate and not ideal for fast-paced action. The 4K resolutions are not recommended at all, as even the Low setting only achieves an average of 25 FPS.

The data indicates that the sweet spot is 1080p with Medium or Low presets. The 1080p Medium setting offers a good balance with its 53 FPS average, but for a locked 60 FPS, the Low preset is the way to go. If the user is willing to accept a lower average FPS, the High and Ultra presets at 1080p are also an option, but they will not provide the fluid experience that the Low and Medium presets do. Given the GPU's limitations, it is best to prioritize a smooth FPS over the highest visual detail.