The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a fascinating case study when paired with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. The benchmark data reveals a system capable of high frame rates, but the scaling across resolutions and settings tells a more nuanced story about where the performance bottlenecks lie in this older title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern: performance scales dramatically as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 148.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that number drops by 37% to 93.4 FPS. The jump to 4K is even more punishing, with the average falling to 50.9 FPS, a 66% reduction from the 1080p figure.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings shows a similar trend, decreasing from 111.7 FPS to 76.8 FPS. Interestingly, the drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings is less severe in percentage terms (from 76.8 to 43.1, a 44% reduction) compared to the 1080p to 1440p drop (a 31% reduction). This suggests that while the GPU is the primary limiter, the game’s engine may not be perfectly optimized to scale workloads linearly with pixel count.

The data implies that at 1080p, the RTX 3080 has substantial headroom, but the frame rates are still far from CPU-limited. The Ryzen 7 9700X, with its high single-thread performance, is more than capable of feeding the GPU even at lower resolutions. The real insight is that 4K Ultra is a demanding target for this hardware combination, pushing the average down to 43.1 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold many players seek. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K (81.2 vs 43.1 FPS) highlights the significant cost of the highest visual fidelity options.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 112.2, which suggests a very smooth experience for this Action RPG at a common high-refresh-rate resolution.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: The data shows a massive difference. 1080p Low achieves 221.6 FPS, while 4K Ultra only reaches 43.1 FPS, making the lower resolution setting over five times faster.

Q: Does the CPU hold back performance at 1080p?

A: The benchmark results indicate the Ryzen 7 9700X is not a limiting factor. At 1080p High, the combo produces 148.5 FPS, and at Low it reaches 221.6 FPS. The linear scaling with GPU load suggests the CPU is providing enough throughput.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 60 FPS target on High settings?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p High is the ideal choice, as it delivers 93.4 FPS. 4K High falls short of the target at 50.9 FPS, making 1440p the highest resolution that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 514th out of 1656 tested combinations, placing it in the 69th percentile of all systems tested for The Technomancer.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. Low settings produce 221.6 FPS, while Ultra produces 111.7 FPS, a reduction of nearly half the frame rate for the highest visual quality.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a modern 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture. It features a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. For a game released in 2016, this CPU provides an immense amount of computational headroom. Its benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 31588 and a single-core score of 4459, place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, demonstrating its strength.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be one of enabling, rather than limiting. The measured FPS scaling with resolution is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, as the CPU workload would be similar. Instead, the FPS drops significantly from 148.5 at 1080p High to 93.4 at 1440p High, confirming the GPU is the primary driver of performance.

The 8 cores and 16 threads are likely more than sufficient for the game's engine, which was designed for an era of 4-core and 8-thread CPUs. The high single-thread performance (3353 in Geekbench single-core) ensures that the main game logic and draw calls are processed without delay. This CPU is not the star of the show here; it is the silent foundation that allows the RTX 3080 to operate at its full potential.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9700X and RTX 3080 achieves a rank of 514 out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the top 31% of all systems tested. While this is a respectable position, it is interesting to note that it is not higher, given the individual components' strong performance percentiles.

The CPU alone ranks in the 89th percentile, and the GPU in the 80th. This discrepancy suggests that the game’s engine is not able to fully utilize the potential of either component. The RTX 3080, being a high-end card, is likely held back by the game's age and its rendering techniques. The 2016 title may not be optimized for modern GPU architectures, leading to a situation where raw compute power doesn't translate directly into higher frame rates.

This ranking implies that there are 513 other combinations that perform better in this specific title, which could include systems with more powerful GPUs or potentially even older, higher-clock CPUs that the game engine favors. The data shows that raw component strength is not the only factor; the game's own optimization plays a significant role in the final ranking.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the best balance between visual fidelity and performance, the data points to 1440p High as the optimal configuration. This setting yields 93.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, while still offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium settings.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 111.7 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 36.8 FPS (from 148.5 to 111.7), a 25% performance hit for the highest quality settings. This might be a worthwhile trade-off for players with 144Hz displays.

For 4K users, the situation is more challenging. High settings at 50.9 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Dropping to Medium at 4K provides 58.6 FPS, which is closer to the 60 FPS target, but still not perfectly smooth. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires accepting Medium settings or lower to maintain a consistent frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptional across all settings. The Low preset achieves 221.6 FPS, Medium hits 174 FPS, High reaches 148.5 FPS, and Ultra settles at 111.7 FPS. This resolution is clearly where this combo excels, offering high frame rates even at maximum quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong. Low produces 144.4 FPS, Medium delivers 112.2 FPS, High achieves 93.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 76.8 FPS. All these figures are above 60 FPS, making 1440p a very capable resolution for this hardware.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3080 begins to show its limits. Low settings produce 81.2 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium reduces that to 58.6 FPS, High to 50.9 FPS, and Ultra to 43.1 FPS. The data shows a clear degradation in performance as the pixel count increases, emphasizing the GPU's role as the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is an Ampere-architecture GPU with 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. It operates at a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz. With 8704 shading units and 68 RT cores, it is a powerful card that ranks in the 80th percentile of all GPUs.

For The Technomancer, the GPU is the undisputed performance limiter at higher resolutions. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is directly tied to the GPU's rendering load. The 10 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for this 2016 title, even at 4K Ultra, as game textures from that era are not as demanding as modern ones.

The RTX 3080's performance, as measured by its 25086 Passmark G3D score, is more than adequate to handle this game. However, the data suggests the game engine may not be fully utilizing the GPU's architecture. The relatively large FPS drops between settings at 4K (from 81.2 on Low to 43.1 on Ultra) indicate that the game's ultra settings include effects that are particularly heavy on the GPU's compute and memory subsystems. This is typical for a title of its era, where certain visual features were not designed with future hardware in mind. The GPU's role here is to provide the raw power to overcome these inefficiencies, which it does successfully at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles with at the most demanding 4K Ultra preset.