The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload when paired with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and the AMD Radeon RX 580. The benchmark data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics card, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions and settings. The measured frame rates indicate that this combination is best suited for 1080p gameplay, where it can achieve playable results, while higher resolutions push the GPU to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, clearly identifying the AMD Radeon RX 580 as the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 51.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 31.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a significant reduction of 20.3 FPS. The slide continues to 15.4 FPS at 3840x2160, which is a 70% decrease from the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that the GPU's rendering capabilities are being exhausted as pixel count increases.

The data points to a system where the CPU has ample headroom. The Ryzen 7 9700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is not the limiting factor here. The frame rate collapse at 4K is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the Polaris 20 chip's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 256.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are insufficient for the workload. The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution further confirms this; the gap between settings widens as resolution increases, showing that the GPU is struggling with both pixel fill rate and shading complexity.

For instance, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 36.4 FPS, but at 4K, that difference narrows to 17.2 FPS. This compression of performance at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is hitting a hard ceiling, unable to translate the lower graphical demand of Low settings into proportionally higher frame rates. The data suggests that users seeking smoother gameplay at 1440p or 4K would need to significantly lower settings or consider a more powerful GPU, as the current configuration is firmly anchored by the graphics card's capabilities.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a modern, high-performance processor that is clearly not the performance limiter in The Technomancer. With a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, it provides substantial single-threaded and multi-threaded processing power. Its synthetic benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 31588 and a single-core score of 4459, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. The processor’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory further ensure it can feed the GPU with data without becoming a bottleneck.

In this game, the CPU's role appears to be secondary. The frame rates across all settings and resolutions are more consistent with GPU limitations than CPU constraints. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most likely to become a factor, the average FPS of 75.8 is well within the capabilities of the Ryzen 7 9700X. The processor's performance relative to its rivals, such as being 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 in average benchmark score, shows it is a top-tier part that is unlikely to cause stutters or frame dips in this title. The data indicates that the CPU is providing a stable platform, and the observed performance is almost entirely dictated by the Radeon RX 580.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playing The Technomancer with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution that provides consistently playable frame rates. At High settings, it averages 51.4 FPS, while 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 drop to 31.1 FPS and 15.4 FPS respectively, indicating a steep decline in playability.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 36029, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940) and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802). It is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and 0.8% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 580 more or less powerful than the GTX 570?

A: The Radeon RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 13559, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 13564, showing a 0% deltaPct. The data suggests they offer similar overall performance in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the impact of changing graphics settings from Low to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate ranges from 75.8 FPS on Low settings down to 39.4 FPS on Ultra. High settings yield 51.4 FPS, and Medium settings produce 61 FPS, showing a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and performance.

Q: Does this configuration perform better with lower graphical settings at 4K?

A: Even at 4K with Low settings, the average frame rate is only 28.9 FPS. While this is an improvement over the 11.7 FPS seen at Ultra, it still falls below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating the GPU is too weak for 4K in this title.

Q: How does the GPU's score compare to the GTX 950?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580's average benchmark score of 13559 is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950's score of 13549, indicating they are very closely matched in overall compute performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for The Technomancer with this hardware combination show a clear hierarchy based on resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the game is playable across most settings. Low settings produce an average of 75.8 FPS, while Medium drops to 61.0 FPS. High settings are still smooth at 51.4 FPS, but Ultra brings the average down to 39.4 FPS. This suggests that 1080p is the intended resolution for this GPU, allowing for a balance between visual quality and performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the strain on the GPU becomes evident. The average frame rate at Low settings is 51.3 FPS, which drops to 36.3 FPS at Medium and 31.1 FPS at High. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding an average of only 22.9 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows that 1440p is only viable with lower settings, and even then, the frame rates are noticeably lower than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the Radeon RX 580 is clearly out of its depth. The average frame rates are 28.9 FPS at Low, 23.0 FPS at Medium, 15.4 FPS at High, and 11.7 FPS at Ultra. None of these results are playable for a smooth experience, confirming that 4K is not a realistic option for this configuration. The data across all three resolutions demonstrates a consistent pattern: the GPU is the primary bottleneck, and its limitations become more pronounced as resolution and settings increase.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the decisive factor in this system's gaming performance. Its specifications, including 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, are from the older GCN 4.0 architecture. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These are modest figures by modern standards, and the benchmark results reflect that.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 13559 places it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at a 0% deltaPct. This indicates that the RX 580 is an entry-level to mid-range part by today's metrics. Its performance in The Technomancer is consistent with this classification. The data shows that the GPU's compute power and memory bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution gaming, leading to the low frame rates observed at 1440p and 4K. The RX 580's role is to provide a baseline experience at 1080p, where its 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance can keep up with the game's demands at lower settings. However, for any serious gaming at higher resolutions or with maximum settings, this GPU is the limiting component, and the data suggests that it is the primary reason for the performance ceiling seen in this configuration.