The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting test for the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination. The measured data reveals a system that is clearly powerful, yet the game’s engine and the specific hardware configuration create a nuanced performance profile across resolutions and settings. The benchmark results indicate a setup that is heavily influenced by both the CPU's strengths and the GPU's capabilities, with the balance shifting depending on the workload.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 152.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that figure drops to 100.4 FPS, a reduction of roughly 34%. The jump to 4K is even more dramatic, with the average FPS falling to 55.9, which is a 63% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline as resolution increases is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

However, the story is different at lower settings. With Low settings, the 1080p average is a massive 232.6 FPS. At 1440p, it only drops to 151.6 FPS, and at 4K, it is still a very playable 84.7 FPS. The gap between the Low and High settings at 4K is 28.8 FPS, while at 1080p, that same gap is 79.7 FPS. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is working hard to feed the GPU, and lowering the graphical load allows the CPU to push frame rates much higher. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU's headroom is less critical. The data implies a powerful CPU that can easily handle 1080p, but the GPU's rendering load at 4K is what ultimately caps performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for the best experience. For players targeting high refresh rates at 1080p, the High preset at 152.9 FPS is an excellent choice, offering a balance of visual fidelity and speed. The Ultra preset at 122 FPS is still very smooth, but the 30.9 FPS difference might not justify the additional graphical load for competitive play. At 1440p, the High preset again appears optimal, delivering 100.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 120 FPS is also a strong contender if players prefer a higher frame rate buffer.

At 4K, the situation becomes more delicate. The Ultra preset drops to 45 FPS, which is below the ideal for smooth action gameplay. The High preset at 55.9 FPS is borderline, but the Medium preset at 64.6 FPS provides a more comfortable margin. The data suggests that for a consistent 4K experience, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, as it ensures frame rates stay above 60 FPS while maintaining a higher level of detail than the Low preset. The Low preset at 84.7 FPS is the fallback for maximum fluidity, but it sacrifices too much visual quality for most players. The best experience per the measured rows is a trade-off: High at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware, this combination ranks at 394 out of 1656 combos. This places it in the top 24% of all tested system configurations for this game. This is a strong result, but it is not at the very top, which suggests that while the CPU and GPU are both high-end, other components or system configurations can yield better raw performance in this specific title. The rank indicates that this is a high-performing pairing, but there is still a significant amount of headroom above it in the database.

The ranking is a reflection of the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings. The combo's strength is clearly at 1080p and 1440p, where the CPU's power is fully utilized. The 4K results, while playable, are not as dominant, which likely holds the combo back from a higher rank. The data shows a system that is a top-tier performer for most gaming scenarios, but it is not the definitive best for this game, as the rank of 394 implies that many other combinations achieve higher average frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The raw data provides a complete picture of the system's performance. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 232.6 for Low, 178.7 for Medium, 152.9 for High, and 122 for Ultra. The progression shows a consistent scaling, with the Low preset being nearly double the frame rate of the Ultra preset. At 2560x1440, the averages are 151.6 for Low, 120 for Medium, 100.4 for High, and 76 for Ultra. This shows a similar pattern, but the absolute numbers are lower, as expected. At 3840x2160, the averages are 84.7 for Low, 64.6 for Medium, 55.9 for High, and 45 for Ultra. The 4K results show a significant performance drop, particularly at the higher settings.

These numbers illustrate the scaling efficiency of the hardware. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 110.6 FPS, which is a substantial 90% increase in performance. At 4K, that difference shrinks to 39.7 FPS, a 88% increase, but from a much lower base. The data shows that the GPU's rendering capabilities are the primary constraint at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU is able to keep the GPU well-fed, allowing the graphical settings to have a larger relative impact on the frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a critical component in this system, and its role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. This high bandwidth is essential for feeding the large amount of data required at 4K resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz and its 10240 shading units are the primary drivers of the raw rendering performance. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the frame rate drops to 45 FPS.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks also provides context. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5077, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 171798. These scores indicate a very capable GPU, but the game's specific engine and its demands are what ultimately matter. The GPU's percentile rank of 83 against all GPUs shows it is a top-tier part, but the measured in-game results show that it is not invincible, especially at 4K with maximum settings. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is likely sufficient for this game, even at 4K, but the core rendering power is what limits the highest settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate is 100.4 FPS.

Q: Which resolution and settings combo offers the highest average frame rate?

A: The highest average frame rate is 232.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the performance at 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: The average frame rate at 4K Ultra is 45 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it is 122 FPS, a difference of 77 FPS.

Q: Is the frame rate at 4K High playable?

A: The average frame rate at 4K High is 55.9 FPS, which is slightly below the common 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and High presets at 1440p?

A: The Low preset achieves 151.6 FPS, while the High preset achieves 100.4 FPS, a difference of 51.2 FPS.

Q: Does the system perform better at 1080p or 4K?

A: The data shows significantly higher average frame rates at 1080p across all settings, with the Low preset at 232.6 FPS compared to 84.7 FPS at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D plays a crucial role, particularly at lower resolutions. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it offers substantial parallel processing power. Its high boost clock of 5.20 GHz and a large 96 MB of shared L3 cache are key features. The benchmark results show a strong CPU, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34004 and a single-core score of 4800. The Geekbench multicore score of 18413 further confirms its prowess. The CPU's percentile rank of 90 against all CPUs indicates it is a top-tier processor.

The CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p. The fact that the frame rate scales so dramatically from 122 FPS at Ultra to 232.6 FPS at Low suggests that the CPU is capable of producing much higher frame rates than the GPU can render at higher settings. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is not the bottleneck, and the GPU's workload is the primary constraint. However, at 4K, the CPU's headroom is less relevant, as the GPU is fully saturated. The data shows a CPU that excels at feeding a powerful GPU at high frame rates, but its impact on the final frame rate diminishes as the resolution increases and the GPU becomes the limiting factor.