The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study for modern high-end hardware. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D across a range of resolutions and settings. The data provided offers a clear picture of how this combination handles the game's engine, revealing where the bottlenecks lie and which configurations deliver the most fluid experience. This page will break down the optimal settings, the role of each component, and provide a detailed look at the frame rates achieved.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for this combination indicates that the choice of settings is a direct trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate. The game's engine responds predictably to the different presets, with the most substantial performance gains coming from dropping to the Low preset. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 271 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for this combo. Moving up to Medium yields 246 FPS, a slight decrease but still exceptionally high. High settings produce 233 FPS, while the Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, still manages a very playable 184 FPS. At this resolution, the GPU is so powerful that even the Ultra preset provides an excellent experience, making the choice purely about visual preference.

At 1440p, the performance scales down but remains more than adequate for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Low preset delivers 235 FPS, Medium produces 180 FPS, and High settings hit 154 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 120 FPS, which is still perfectly smooth for most displays. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1440p, the Ultra preset is the most demanding option but remains well within the playable range. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 34 FPS, which is a noticeable hit but not prohibitive. For players with 144Hz monitors, the High preset at 154 FPS is a near-ideal match, offering a strong balance of visuals and speed.

The 4K resolution is where the RTX 5090 D's power is truly tested. Here, the Low preset yields 129 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 1440p results. Medium settings produce 99 FPS, High settings drop to 85 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the average down to 66 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K is a 30 FPS loss, which is substantial. The High preset at 85 FPS is still very playable, but the Ultra preset, while playable, begins to show the strain on the engine. For the best experience at 4K, the Medium preset at 99 FPS offers a solid balance, but High at 85 FPS is the recommended choice for those prioritizing visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The data suggests that the Ultra preset at 4K is best reserved for players who prioritize fidelity over frame rate and are comfortable with the lower 60-70 FPS range.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, operating on the AM5 platform. Its base clock is 4.20 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The processor's key feature is its large 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is designed to be highly beneficial in gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance, scoring 16,817 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 34,293 in Passmark multi-thread. Its single-thread performance is also solid, with a score of 1,713 in Cinebench R23 single-core.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at lower resolutions. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings. This suggests that the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data, and the bottleneck is not the processor. The 3DMark scores, such as 7,980 for 16 threads and 959 for single-thread, indicate a well-rounded performance profile. The processor's 8 cores and 16 threads are likely sufficient for the game's multithreaded tasks, preventing any CPU-related frame drops.

However, the data does not show a clear CPU limitation at any resolution. As resolution increases, the frame rates drop consistently, which is the classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's performance, especially its high L3 cache, likely ensures consistent frame pacing. The processor's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 83, and its average benchmark score is 33,079. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Intel Core i7-13650HX, have nearly identical average scores, confirming that the 7800X3D is a top-tier gaming processor. The measured FPS data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game, allowing the full potential of the GPU to be expressed.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a flagship graphics card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture. It features a massive 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its core clocks are listed as a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz. The card is equipped with 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs. Its compute capabilities are immense, with an FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 44,065 in Passmark G3D and 310,674 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU's role in The Technomancer is clearly the primary driver of performance, especially at higher resolutions. The 4K results are particularly telling. The card's massive memory bandwidth and compute power are what allow it to maintain high frame rates at 3840x2160. The jump from 85 FPS at High settings to 129 FPS at Low settings at 4K shows how much the GPU's workload is affected by the game's visual effects. The 32 GB of VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor in this game, as The Technomancer is not known for using excessive amounts of VRAM, even at 4K. The card's clock speeds are consistently high, which helps maintain performance.

The GPU's benchmark scores are interesting when compared to its nearest rivals. Its average benchmark score is 77,712, which is only 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and -1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. This is a surprising result, as the RTX 5090 D is a much more powerful card in theory. This suggests that the synthetic benchmarks may not fully capture the card's gaming performance, or that the comparison is against a different tier of hardware. However, the measured FPS in The Technomancer shows the card performing exactly as expected for a top-tier product. The data confirms that the GPU is the main component responsible for the frame rate differences between settings and resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 33rd out of 2,825 tested combinations in The Technomancer. This is an excellent ranking, placing it in the top 1.2% of all tested systems. This high rank is a direct result of the powerful GPU and the capable CPU working well together. The rank indicates that this combo is among the most powerful systems tested for this specific game, and it should provide a top-tier experience for players.

The components themselves are also highly ranked individually. The CPU is in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. This combination of two high-percentile components results in a system that is near the top of the overall rankings. The fact that it is not rank 1 suggests that there are other combinations that perform slightly better, but with 33rd out of 2,825, the difference is likely marginal. The combo's ranking confirms the balance of the system, where neither component is severely bottlenecking the other.

The data suggests that the 33rd rank is a result of the game's engine limitations rather than a flaw in the hardware. The high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p show that the system is not struggling, but the 4K Ultra preset at 66 FPS is the only area where the system is not delivering exceedingly high numbers. This is a common occurrence with older games that are not optimized for the latest hardware. The combo's rank of 33 indicates that it is capable of outperforming the vast majority of other systems, and it is clearly a high-end configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is a clear indicator of the GPU being the limiting component. At 1080p, the High preset yields 233 FPS. Moving to 1440p, this drops to 154 FPS, a 34% decrease. At 4K, the High preset yields 85 FPS, a 64% decrease from the 1080p score. This pattern is consistent across all settings. For example, the Low preset starts at 271 FPS at 1080p, drops to 235 FPS at 1440p, and then to 129 FPS at 4K. This shows that the GPU's workload increases significantly with resolution.

This scaling behavior confirms that the system is GPU-bound in this game. The CPU's performance is consistent regardless of resolution, so the frame rate drop is solely attributed to the GPU struggling to render more pixels. The fact that the 4K scores are still high shows that the RTX 5090 D is a very powerful card, but the game's engine is clearly demanding at that resolution. The Ultra preset shows the most significant scaling, dropping from 184 FPS at 1080p to 120 FPS at 1440p, and then to 66 FPS at 4K.

The data implies that players using a 1080p or 1440p monitor will be heavily GPU-limited, meaning they could likely use a less powerful CPU without seeing a significant performance drop. However, at 4K, the GPU is working at its limits, and the CPU's role becomes more about maintaining a stable frame rate. The resolution scaling analysis shows that for the best experience at 4K, the Medium or High presets are the most sensible choices, as they offer a good balance between visual quality and frame rate. The Large drop from 1440p to 4K, particularly on the Ultra preset, highlights the massive computational expense of 4K rendering.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset to use with this hardware for a smooth experience?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the Ultra preset is perfectly playable, with average frame rates of 184 FPS and 120 FPS respectively. At 4K, the High preset at 85 FPS is the recommended choice for the best balance of visuals and performance, as the Ultra preset drops to 66 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. Frame rates scale down consistently as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's performance is sufficient to not be a limiting factor.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712. This is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, but -1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT and -2.1% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K on the High preset?

A: At 1080p, the High preset achieves an average of 233 FPS. At 4K, the same preset achieves an average of 85 FPS. This represents a 64% decrease in frame rate, showing the significant impact of resolution on the GPU.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's performance comparable to other top CPUs?

A: Yes. Its average benchmark score is 33,079. Its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Intel Core i7-13650HX, have an average score of 33,089, showing a negligible difference of 0%.

Q: What is the overall ranking of this hardware combination in the game?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 33rd out of 2,825 tested combinations in The Technomancer, placing it in the top 1.2% of all systems.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the exact measured frame rate data for this hardware combination, organized by resolution and settings preset.

1920x1080

• Low: Average FPS 271
• Medium: Average FPS 246, Minimum FPS 209, Maximum FPS 283
• High: Average FPS 233
• Ultra: Average FPS 184

2560x1440

• Low: Average FPS 235
• Medium: Average FPS 180, Minimum FPS 153, Maximum FPS 207
• High: Average FPS 154
• Ultra: Average FPS 120

3840x2160

• Low: Average FPS 129
• Medium: Average FPS 99, Minimum FPS 84, Maximum FPS 114
• High: Average FPS 85
• Ultra: Average FPS 66

This data shows a clear and predictable trend. The system provides exceptionally high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K, the performance is still very good, but the Ultra preset will require some compromises. The Medium and High presets at 4K offer the most balanced experience. The minimum FPS values for the Medium preset at all resolutions (209, 153, and 84) indicate that frame pacing remains stable, with no severe drops that would cause stuttering. The performance profile confirms this is a top-tier gaming system for this title.