The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is heavily influenced by graphical settings and resolution, with the CPU's substantial cache and core configuration playing a crucial supporting role. The data indicates a pairing that delivers high refresh rate performance at 1080p but transitions into a more demanding 4K experience where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and clearly illustrates the shifting workload balance. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves an average of 170.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces this to 114 FPS, a 33.1% decrease. At 4K, the average further drops to 59.2 FPS, representing a 65.3% decline from the 1080p baseline. This steep scaling curve is typical of a scenario where the GPU is increasingly saturated at higher pixel counts.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the RTX 4070 SUPER is not the limiting factor. The frame rates scale almost linearly with the reduction in resolution when comparing Low settings: 259 FPS at 1080p, 166.8 FPS at 1440p, and 95.1 FPS at 4K. This pattern indicates that the CPU, with its high boost clock of 5.20 GHz, is capable of feeding frames at a rate that exceeds the GPU's output capacity at lower resolutions. The benchmark results imply that for gamers targeting maximum refresh rates on 1080p displays, the GPU is leaving performance on the table.

However, the situation inverts at 4K. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is dramatic, from 95.1 FPS down to 48.6 FPS. This wide spread at 4K, compared to the narrower spread at 1080p (259 FPS Low vs 133.2 FPS Ultra), confirms that the GPU's rendering throughput is the dominant constraint. The RTX 4070 SUPER, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, is being pushed to its limits by the 3840x2160 resolution, particularly with higher graphical fidelity presets. The game's engine appears to scale rendering complexity heavily with resolution, making the GPU the clear bottleneck in this configuration at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is built on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, and features 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.20 GHz are high, but the defining characteristic is the 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large cache is particularly effective in gaming workloads, often reducing memory latency and improving frame pacing. The benchmark data for this game shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution tested.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores support this finding. In Cinebench R23, it scores 34004 points in the multicore test and 4800 points in the single-core test. Its Passmark single-thread score is 4430, and its 3DMark single-thread score is 1212. These results place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating top-tier performance. Its average benchmark score of 37780 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6353P, which scores 37811, a negligible delta of -0.1%.

The game's performance data shows that even at 1080p Low settings, where the CPU would be most likely to bottleneck due to high frame rates, the system achieves 259 FPS. This high frame rate suggests the CPU is still not saturated, as the architecture's design allows it to handle the game's draw calls and physics calculations with headroom. The game, released in 2016, likely does not utilize more than a few cores, but the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark 2-thread score of 2394, is more than adequate. The CPU's role here is to provide a stable, high-performance platform that ensures the GPU is the sole variable in performance scaling.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 48.6 FPS.

Q: How does the performance at 1080p High compare to 1440p High?

A: The system delivers an average of 170.4 FPS at 1080p High, which drops to 114 FPS at 1440p High, a reduction of 56.4 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The data suggests the GPU is not the limit at 1080p Low, as the system achieves 259 FPS. The CPU's high performance, indicated by its 5.20 GHz boost clock, allows it to keep up with the GPU's frame output at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 4K, the average FPS goes from 95.1 on Low settings to 48.6 on Ultra settings, a difference of 46.5 FPS.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for the CPU in this combo?

A: The launch MSRP for the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is $479.

Q: How does this CPU's average benchmark score compare to its closest rival?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 37780, which is only 0.1% lower than the Intel Xeon 6353P's score of 37811.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER holds the rank of 265 out of a total of 1656 tested combos. This places it in the top 16% of all tested systems, a strong showing that underscores the high level of performance on offer.

This ranking is a direct result of the synergy between the two components. The CPU, being in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU, in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, both represent high-end hardware. The combination avoids a significant bottleneck at common gaming resolutions, allowing the hardware to perform to its full potential. The rank of 265 suggests that while there are many faster systems, this combo is firmly in the upper echelon of performance for this title. It outperforms the vast majority of other combinations, making it a high-tier choice for playing The Technomancer at high settings and resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average FPS for this combo across various resolutions and settings.

1080p:

• Low: 259.0 FPS
• Medium: 198.5 FPS
• High: 170.4 FPS
• Ultra: 133.2 FPS

1440p:

• Low: 166.8 FPS
• Medium: 131.5 FPS
• High: 114.0 FPS
• Ultra: 88.3 FPS

4K (2160p):

• Low: 95.1 FPS
• Medium: 74.0 FPS
• High: 59.2 FPS
• Ultra: 48.6 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions: moving from Low to Ultra settings results in a significant FPS penalty. The largest absolute drop is seen at 1080p, where the difference between Low and Ultra is 125.8 FPS. At 4K, the same settings range yields a difference of 46.5 FPS. This indicates that the performance scaling with settings is more pronounced at lower resolutions where the CPU can maintain high frame rates, while at 4K the GPU's workload dominates and the relative impact of settings is smaller but still notable. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, the High settings preset is the boundary, as it delivers 59.2 FPS, while Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, all settings presets deliver well above 60 FPS, with Ultra just missing the 90 FPS mark. At 1080p, the system is capable of exceeding 130 FPS on the highest settings, making it ideal for high refresh rate displays.