The Technomancer

The Technomancer is an Action RPG from 2016 that stresses systems differently depending on resolution and settings. With an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, the measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern: this is a GPU-bound pairing at higher resolutions, with the CPU only becoming relevant at lower settings. The data shows a playable experience at 1080p across most presets, but 4K demands compromises. Below is a breakdown of how this combo behaves, based strictly on the measured FPS rows.

Resolution Scaling

The drop in average FPS from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 93 FPS at 1920x1080 to 61 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 34 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 34% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 44% reduction from 1440p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the pattern is similar: 73 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The scaling is nearly linear in percentage terms, which indicates the rendering load is scaling directly with pixel count.

Looking at Low settings, the numbers are higher but the relative drop is even more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 142 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 93 FPS (a 35% decrease). At 4K Low, it falls to 51 FPS (a 45% decrease from 1440p). This steeper percentage drop at lower settings suggests that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor more quickly as resolution rises, because the CPU overhead is already handled efficiently by the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

The gap between High and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between High (93 FPS) and Ultra (73 FPS) is 20 FPS. At 1440p, it is 13 FPS (61 vs 48). At 4K, the gap narrows to 8 FPS (34 vs 26). This means the extra cost of Ultra settings is relatively smaller at 4K, but the absolute frame rates are so low that the difference is less meaningful for playability.

The 4K Medium setting provides a middle ground with 39 FPS average and a minimum of 33 FPS. Compared to 4K High at 34 FPS, Medium offers a modest 15% improvement. However, the jump from 4K Low (51 FPS) to 4K Medium (39 FPS) is a 24% penalty, which is significant. The data suggests that resolution scaling is the dominant factor in performance, and the RTX 2060 SUPER simply cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K regardless of the CPU's capability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz. The GPU has 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. These specifications are consistent with the measured performance: the card is capable of solid 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles at 4K.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K. At 4K High, the average FPS is 34, which is below the 60 FPS target most gamers prefer. Even at 4K Low, the average is only 51 FPS. This is not a CPU limitation; the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is more than capable of feeding the GPU. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM is also a consideration at 4K, though the measured frames do not indicate a hard failure, just lower averages.

At 1440p, the GPU starts to show its strength. High settings yield 61 FPS average, which is playable, and Low settings hit 93 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS, indicating consistent performance without major dips. This suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is well-suited for 1440p gaming in this title, provided the settings are not maxed out.

The GPU's benchmark scores also contextualize its position. Its PassMark G3D score is 16462, and it sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (with a deltaPct of -0.4) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (deltaPct of -0.5). This places the RTX 2060 SUPER in a competitive mid-range tier, which aligns with the measured FPS being decent but not exceptional at higher resolutions.

The 4K Ultra setting at 26 FPS is the worst-case scenario. This is below the 30 FPS threshold for console-like playability, and the data shows no minimum or maximum values for that row, suggesting the variance might be high. In contrast, the 1080p Low setting at 142 FPS shows the GPU is not the limiting factor at that resolution and preset; the CPU's strength becomes evident there.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, High settings (93 FPS average) offer a strong balance between visual quality and smoothness. Ultra at 1080p (73 FPS) is still playable, but the 20 FPS drop from High may not justify the visual gains. Low at 1080p (142 FPS) is only useful for competitive play or if the user has a high refresh rate monitor, but Medium (109 FPS) is a better middle ground for those who want more headroom.

At 1440p, High settings (61 FPS average) are the recommended choice. This provides a solid 60 FPS experience without dropping to the lower visual quality of Medium (71 FPS) or the higher cost of Ultra (48 FPS). Medium at 1440p shows a minimum of 61 FPS, which means it can dip below 60 in demanding scenes, but the average of 71 FPS suggests it is generally smooth. For a more stable experience, High is preferable because its average is closer to the minimum.

At 4K, the options are limited. Low settings (51 FPS) are the only preset that approaches playability, but even then, the average is below 60 FPS. Medium (39 FPS) and High (34 FPS) are marginal for single-player games, and Ultra (26 FPS) is not recommended. If the user insists on 4K, Low is the only viable choice, but the data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this GPU.

The measured minimum FPS for Medium settings at 1080p is 93 FPS, which is the same as the High average at that resolution. This indicates that Medium at 1080p is very consistent, with no severe frame drops. Similarly, Medium at 1440p has a minimum of 61 FPS, which is exactly the same as the High average, showing that the frame pacing is stable. For users who prioritize consistency, Medium at 1080p or 1440p might be the safest bet.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 93 at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is 4K playable with this combo?

A: At 4K, the highest average FPS is 51 with Low settings. Medium and High yield 39 and 34 FPS respectively, while Ultra drops to 26 FPS. This means 4K is only marginally playable on Low.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Mobile?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093, while the RTX 3060 Mobile has a score of 18159, resulting in a deltaPct of -0.4. This means they are virtually identical in performance.

Q: What is the best setting for a 1440p monitor?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 provide an average of 61 FPS, which is the recommended choice. Medium offers 71 FPS but with a minimum of 61 FPS, so High is more consistent.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data does not show a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 142 FPS, which indicates the GPU is still able to perform well. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is clearly not limiting the RTX 2060 SUPER in this game.

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

A: The difference is 20 FPS. High averages 93 FPS, while Ultra averages 73 FPS. This is a significant drop for a single preset tier.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combos for The Technomancer, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2609 out of 3696 combinations. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which might seem surprising given the CPU's strength. However, the ranking likely reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, where the measured FPS drops below 60.

The CPU itself is highly capable, with an average benchmark score of 39768 and a percentile of 87 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (deltaPct of 0.4) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (deltaPct of -0.7). The GPU, in contrast, has an average score of 18093 and a percentile of 62. This mismatch between CPU and GPU performance explains why the combo ranks lower: the CPU is overqualified for the GPU in this game.

The rank of 2609 out of 3696 means that roughly 70% of tested combos perform better in this title. This is not a criticism of the CPU, but rather a reflection that the RTX 2060 SUPER is a mid-range GPU from 2019, and The Technomancer's demands at 4K push it to its limits. At 1080p, the combo would likely rank higher, but the overall rank is dragged down by the 4K results.

The deltaPct values for the GPU's rivals are all negative, ranging from -0.4 to -1.6, which means the RTX 2060 SUPER performs slightly worse than its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks. This corroborates the measured FPS data, which shows the GPU struggling at 4K. For a better rank, a more powerful GPU would be necessary, but the data shows that this combo is best used at 1080p or 1440p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a 9000-series processor with 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 4.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. It features a large L3 cache of 96 MB shared, which is a hallmark of the X3D series. The CPU has a TDP of 120 W and uses the AMD Socket AM5. Its architecture is Zen 5, built on a 4 nm process node.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 23230, while the single-core score is 2080. PassMark multithread score is 40009. These numbers indicate that the CPU is more than capable of handling the demands of an Action RPG like The Technomancer, which is not particularly CPU-intensive by modern standards.

The measured FPS data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU in this game. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 142 FPS, which is a high frame rate that still leaves headroom. This suggests that the CPU can push even higher frame rates if the GPU were faster. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's single-thread performance, as evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2964, is also excellent for game logic and physics.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (deltaPct of 0.4) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (deltaPct of -0.7). This shows that the 9800X3D is competitive with other high-end processors, but its main advantage is the 96 MB L3 cache, which is not directly reflected in these synthetic scores but helps in gaming scenarios. In this game, the CPU's role is to ensure consistent frame delivery, and the data shows it does so effectively.

Given that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, the CPU's power is not fully utilized at that resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's strength becomes more apparent, allowing the GPU to reach 142 FPS on Low settings. This indicates that for users who prioritize high refresh rates at 1080p, this CPU is an excellent match for the RTX 2060 SUPER, but for 4K gaming, the CPU is overkill relative to the GPU.