The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, places heavy demands on both processor and graphics card. When pairing the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, the benchmark data reveals a system with substantial headroom at lower resolutions, but one that becomes firmly GPU-limited as resolution scales upward. The measured results provide a clear picture of where this combo excels and where its limits lie.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a classic scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 142 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same High preset, the average drops to 93 FPS, a reduction of roughly 35%. At 3840x2160, the High preset yields only 51 FPS, representing a further 45% drop from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the Radeon RX 6800 XT becomes the limiting component as pixel count rises.

The Low preset data reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 216 FPS, which is a very high ceiling. At 1440p Low, it still manages 141 FPS. But at 4K Low, the average falls to 78 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 138 FPS, whereas at High settings that same gap is 91 FPS. This suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is struggling to keep up with the 4K pixel workload, while the CPU has enough headroom to push much higher frame rates at lower resolutions.

Looking at the Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS data, the pattern becomes more nuanced. At 1080p Medium, the average is 166 FPS with a min of 141 and max of 191. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 109 FPS with a min of 92 and max of 125. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 60 FPS with a min of 51 and max of 69. The consistency of the min-to-max range at each resolution suggests the frame pacing remains stable, but the overall performance ceiling drops significantly with each resolution step.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 111 FPS, which is playable for most users. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 72 FPS, still smooth for many displays. At 4K Ultra, the average plummets to 40 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable gaming on most setups. The data indicates that 4K Ultra is not a viable option for this combination in The Technomancer, while 4K High and Medium are marginal.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a Zen 5 architecture processor built on a 4 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The processor has a 65 W TDP and supports DDR5 memory on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its L3 cache is 32 MB shared, with 1 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core.

In the benchmark data, the CPU's synthetic scores place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its PassMark multithread score is 36470, and its single-thread score is 4691. These numbers indicate strong per-core performance, which is relevant for The Technomancer's frame rate at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 216 FPS, which is likely close to the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability in this title.

The nearest rivals for this CPU, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX with a delta of 0.2% and the Intel Core i7-14700KF with a delta of -0.2%. The Ryzen 7 9700F also sits close to the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% delta) and Intel Core i7-14700K (0.9% delta). These are all high-end desktop and mobile processors, indicating that the 9700F is not the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios.

In The Technomancer specifically, the CPU's role becomes apparent when comparing the Low preset across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 216 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 141 FPS. This 75 FPS drop is significant, but the absolute numbers are still very high. The fact that the CPU can push 216 FPS at 1080p Low suggests it has ample headroom for this game's engine, which is not particularly CPU-intensive by modern standards given the 2016 release date.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset to choose at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets deliver playable frame rates. Low hits 216 FPS, Medium 166 FPS, High 142 FPS, and Ultra 111 FPS. For competitive play or high refresh rate displays, Low or Medium would be appropriate. For visual quality, Ultra at 111 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for most users at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low delivers 141 FPS, Medium 109 FPS, High 93 FPS, and Ultra 72 FPS. All of these are above 60 FPS, so the choice depends on the user's preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate. High at 93 FPS offers a good balance of quality and smoothness, while Ultra at 72 FPS is still playable but might feel less responsive on high refresh rate monitors. Medium at 109 FPS is the best option for users prioritizing frame rate without sacrificing too much visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations become more constrained. Low delivers 78 FPS, which is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Medium averages 60 FPS with a min of 51 FPS, meaning it will dip below 60 FPS at times. High drops to 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 40 FPS. For 4K gaming, Low is the only preset that maintains a consistent 60+ FPS experience. Medium is viable for users who can tolerate occasional dips below 60 FPS, but High and Ultra are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination ranks 845th out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the 70th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 70% of the combinations in the database. Given the game's 2016 release date, this ranking reflects a system that is well above average for this title.

The ranking suggests that this combo is not at the absolute top tier for The Technomancer, but it is firmly in the upper third. The RX 6800 XT's 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests the GPU is capable, but the game's engine and the specific demands of The Technomancer may not fully utilize its capabilities at higher resolutions. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking indicates that the processor is not holding back performance in most scenarios.

The gap between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's overall rank suggests that The Technomancer is more GPU-bound than CPU-bound, especially at higher resolutions. This is consistent with the resolution scaling data, which shows significant FPS drops as resolution increases. For users looking to improve performance in this specific title, upgrading the GPU would likely yield better results than upgrading the CPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a RDNA 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 7 nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1825 MHz with a boost clock of 2250 MHz, and it has 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 6800 XT achieves a PassMark G3D score of 24980 and a PassMark GPU compute score of 13245. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3689. These numbers place the GPU in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile (1.5% delta) and Intel Arc A550M (-2.5% delta).

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, even Low settings yield only 78 FPS, while at 1080p, the same preset delivers 216 FPS. This 138 FPS difference is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's pixel processing capability. The RX 6800 XT's 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 performance is substantial, but The Technomancer's engine appears to scale heavily with resolution, indicating a strong reliance on fill rate and memory bandwidth.

The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2016 when 4 GB to 8 GB was common. The 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth provides ample throughput for the game's texture streaming needs. The data suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU has enough headroom to deliver high frame rates at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Technomancer?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings delivers 93 FPS, which is a good balance of visual quality and smoothness. At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 100 FPS, making it the best choice for high refresh rate displays. At 3840x2160, only Low settings (78 FPS) consistently exceed 60 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 78. At 4K Medium, it averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS. 4K High averages 51 FPS, and 4K Ultra averages 40 FPS. Users who prioritize smooth gameplay should stick to Low or Medium at 4K.

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

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 216 FPS, indicating CPU headroom. As resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, FPS drops significantly across all presets, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

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

A: This combo ranks 845th out of 2825 tested combinations in The Technomancer, placing it in roughly the 70th percentile. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 85th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What preset should I use at 1440p for the best experience?

A: The data shows that High settings at 1440p deliver 93 FPS, which is above 60 FPS and offers good visual quality. Medium delivers 109 FPS, and Ultra delivers 72 FPS. For the best balance, High is recommended, though Medium is better for users prioritizing frame rate.

Q: Does the RX 6800 XT's 16 GB VRAM make a difference in this game?

A: The 16 GB VRAM is far more than The Technomancer requires, given its 2016 release date. The 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for the game's needs. The data does not indicate any VRAM-related bottlenecks, as performance scales consistently with resolution and settings.