The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for the tested configuration pairing the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D with the Intel Arc B390. The measured data reveals a system where the graphics solution is the primary constraint, with performance metrics falling into ranges that require careful settings management to achieve playable frame rates. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results, focusing on the interplay between the CPU, GPU, and resolution scaling to provide a clear picture of the expected experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured average FPS across all resolutions, the "Low" preset consistently delivers the highest frame rates, making it the only viable option for smooth gameplay at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 79 FPS, which is a substantial 29.5% improvement over the High preset's 52 FPS. This difference is critical, as it allows for a fluid experience that the higher settings cannot match at this resolution. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset still manages a respectable 52 FPS, while the Medium preset drops to 40 FPS, and High falls to 34 FPS. For those prioritizing frame rate consistency, Low is the clear choice at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset yields an average of 28 FPS, which is below the generally accepted threshold for smooth action gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K produces 22 FPS, and the High preset only manages 19 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it produces the lowest scores across the board: 40 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and a mere 15 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that for an optimal experience, users should prioritize the Low preset for 1080p and 1440p gameplay. At 4K, even the lowest settings fail to provide a playable frame rate, indicating that this resolution is beyond the practical capabilities of this hardware combination for this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a high-end desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 4 architecture. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16817 and a single-core score of 1713. The processor's large 96 MB shared L3 cache is a notable feature for gaming, often providing a performance advantage in CPU-bound scenarios. However, in The Technomancer, the data indicates the CPU is not the bottleneck. The frame rates scale almost entirely with the graphics settings and resolution, which are GPU-dependent factors. The CPU's high scores, such as a Geekbench multi-core score of 15610 and a Passmark multithread score of 34293, ensure it is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7980 further confirms its strong multi-threaded performance.

The CPU's performance relative to its peers is essentially a tie. Its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Intel Core i7-13650HX, both have an average score of 33089, resulting in a deltaPct of 0. The AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 6950H is slightly ahead with a score of 33201, a deltaPct of -0.4, which indicates the 7800X3D is marginally behind. This close grouping suggests that the CPU is not a differentiating factor in this game's performance. The measured FPS deltas between settings at the same resolution are far more significant than any minor difference between the CPU and its rivals. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 39 FPS, a gap that dwarfs the negligible differences seen in CPU benchmarks. The evidence points to the GPU being the sole limiting factor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 3 nm process and an Xe3-LPG architecture. Its performance is its defining characteristic, and the benchmark data shows it is the primary constraint in The Technomancer. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This low percentile is reflected in the game's frame rates. The graphics card has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its memory is system-shared, meaning its bandwidth is system-dependent, which can be a limiting factor in demanding titles.

The GPU's performance is comparable to some of the most basic dedicated graphics cards from a previous generation. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, with a score of 1463 and a deltaPct of 1.3, and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, with a score of 1460 and a deltaPct of 1.5. This puts the Arc B390 in a very low-performance tier. The data shows that the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates even at 1080p, with the Ultra preset averaging only 40 FPS. This pattern of performance is a clear indicator that the integrated GPU's compute and memory bandwidth capabilities are insufficient for the game's demands at higher settings. The GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is simply not enough to push high pixel counts at high detail levels.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2500 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places the combo in the bottom 11.5% of all tested systems, confirming its status as a low-performance configuration for this specific game. The high-ranking CPU is effectively held back by the low-ranking GPU, resulting in an overall system score that reflects the weakest link. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs, which heavily drags down the combo's overall standing.

The disparity between the CPU and GPU performance is stark. The CPU is in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, indicating a high-end component, while the GPU is in the 9th percentile, indicating an entry-level or integrated solution. This pairing creates a significant bottleneck where the CPU's potential is largely unrealized. The combo's rank of 2500 suggests that most other tested combinations, even those with less powerful CPUs, likely outperform this setup because they are paired with more capable graphics solutions. The data indicates that the overall gaming experience is dictated almost entirely by the GPU, and the CPU's contribution is minimal in this context.

Resolution Scaling

The impact of resolution scaling is dramatic and clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of the system. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the Low preset results in an average FPS drop from 79 to 52, a 34.2% decrease. Scaling further to 3840x2160 reduces the average FPS to 28, a 64.6% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This significant performance degradation with increasing resolution is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU is not stressed by higher resolutions, so the entire performance cost is borne by the GPU.

This trend is consistent across all settings. On the High preset, the frame rate drops from 52 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 1440p and finally to 19 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows an even steeper decline, from 40 FPS at 1080p to 26 FPS at 1440p and 15 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor. The 4K results, all of which are below 30 FPS, are particularly telling. They show that the Arc B390 is not capable of handling the pixel count required for 4K output in this game, regardless of the graphical settings. The consistent and large FPS drops with each resolution step confirm that the Intel Arc B390 is the definitive performance bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for playing at 1920x1080?

A: The Low preset provides the highest average frame rate at 79 FPS for 1920x1080 resolution. This is significantly higher than the Medium preset's 61 FPS and the High preset's 52 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D the reason for the low frame rates?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not the bottleneck. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D has high benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16817, and its performance is comparable to its nearest rivals. The frame rates scale with resolution and settings, which are GPU-dependent.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 2500 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the lower percentile of all tested systems, primarily due to the GPU's low performance.

Q: What is the average FPS on the Medium preset at 2560x1440?

A: The average FPS on the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 40. The minimum FPS recorded is 34, and the maximum is 46.

Q: Is it possible to play this game at 3840x2160 with this hardware?

A: The data suggests it is not a smooth experience. At 3840x2160, the Low preset only achieves an average of 28 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are lower, at 19 FPS and 15 FPS respectively, all of which are below playable levels.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has a benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, has a score of 1463, which is a deltaPct of 1.3. This indicates the Arc B390 is only slightly faster than these older, low-end GPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measurements for each resolution and settings preset combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :------ | :------ | :------ |

| 3840x2160 | High | 19 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 28 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 22 | 19 | 25 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 15 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 34 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 52 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 40 | 34 | 46 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 26 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 52 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 79 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 61 | 52 | 70 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 40 | - | - |

The data confirms a linear and steep performance curve. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, showing a range of 6 to 7 FPS around the average at each resolution. For example, at 1080p Medium, the FPS ranges from 52 to 70. The absence of min/max data for other presets suggests the frame times were more consistent, or the data was not captured. Overall, the performance is heavily dependent on the GPU, with the CPU providing ample headroom that is not utilized in this title.