The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical fidelity. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination, using the provided benchmark data to characterize its behavior across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions. The data indicates a system that is clearly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the powerful CPU ensures headroom for high frame rates at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance curve as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the "High" settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 93 FPS at 1080p to 61 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 34 FPS at 4K. This represents a significant reduction in performance, with the 4K result being roughly 63% lower than the 1080p figure. Such a pronounced decline indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, which is the primary factor limiting performance at these higher resolutions.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. With "Low" settings, the average FPS falls from 142 at 1080p to 93 at 1440p and 51 at 4K. The "Medium" preset shows a similar trajectory, moving from 109 FPS at 1080p to 71 FPS at 1440p and 39 FPS at 4K. The "Ultra" preset, which is the most demanding, sees averages of 73 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and a demanding 26 FPS at 4K. This consistency across presets confirms that the resolution scaling is a fundamental characteristic of the game engine and the GPU's capabilities.

The scaling behavior points directly to the graphics card as the limiting component. The transition from 1080p to 1440p incurs a performance penalty of roughly 32-35% for most presets, while the jump to 4K from 1440p results in a further 44-47% reduction. These are substantial drops that align with the exponential increase in pixel count, a workload that primarily stresses the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth. The CPU, with its high core count and clock speeds, is unlikely to be the bottleneck at these resolutions, as the frame rate is more closely tied to the GPU's ability to fill pixels.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 2001 out of 2825 tested combos. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum for this game. The percentile ranking indicates that a significant number of other hardware configurations are capable of producing higher frame rates in this title.

The ranking suggests that while this combo is capable of playable performance at certain settings, it is not a top-tier configuration for The Technomancer. The GPU, in particular, appears to be a constraining factor, as its overall benchmark percentile of 62 places it below many other graphics cards. The CPU, by contrast, is a high-performing part with a percentile of 92, but its strengths are not fully utilized in this scenario due to the GPU limitation. This imbalance is a key takeaway from the ranking data.

The combo's position in the lower half of the rankings is a direct result of the GPU's performance ceiling. While the CPU is powerful, the measured FPS data shows that the system's overall performance is dictated by the RTX 2060 SUPER. This is a common scenario where a high-end processor is paired with a mid-range graphics card, resulting in a system that is well-balanced for some tasks but not for pushing maximum frame rates in graphically intensive games like The Technomancer.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and the desired frame rate for a smooth experience. The data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and performance. For players prioritizing a high refresh rate at 1080p, the "Low" preset, averaging 142 FPS, offers the headroom for very smooth gameplay, although it comes with a reduction in visual quality.

At 1440p, the "High" preset delivers an average of 61 FPS, which is generally considered the baseline for playable performance on many displays. The "Medium" preset provides a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS, with an average of 71 FPS. Choosing between these two will depend on a player's sensitivity to frame rate dips versus visual enhancements. The "Ultra" preset at 1440p, with an average of 48 FPS, may be playable for some but is likely to feel less fluid.

For 4K resolution, the data suggests that achieving a consistently smooth experience is challenging. The "Low" preset, with an average of 51 FPS, is the only option that approaches 60 FPS. The "High" and "Medium" presets, averaging 34 and 39 FPS respectively, are likely to be too sluggish for fast-paced action. The "Ultra" preset at 26 FPS is not recommended for gameplay. The "Medium" preset is the highest quality option that maintains an average above 30 FPS at this resolution, which might be acceptable for slower, more methodical sections of the game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measurements for each resolution and settings preset combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :---------- |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 26 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 34 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 39 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 51 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 48 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 61 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 71 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 93 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 73 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 93 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 109 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 142 |

The "Medium" preset at each resolution also provides minimum and maximum frame rate data, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the "Medium" preset has a minimum of 93 FPS and a maximum of 126 FPS. At 1440p, the minimum is 61 FPS and the maximum is 82 FPS. At 4K, the minimum drops to 33 FPS with a maximum of 45 FPS. These ranges indicate that frame pacing is relatively stable at lower resolutions, but the variance becomes more pronounced at 4K, where the minimum FPS can be significantly lower than the average, potentially leading to noticeable stutter.

The performance deltas between presets are consistent across resolutions. Moving from "Low" to "Medium" incurs a performance cost of roughly 23-24%, while "High" is another 14-17% slower than "Medium". The jump from "High" to "Ultra" is similarly demanding, costing an additional 22-28% in average FPS. This linear scaling of performance cost with preset levels is typical and allows for predictable tuning based on a player's hardware capabilities and performance targets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary determinant of performance in these benchmark results. Its specifications, including 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but become a limiting factor at 4K. The data shows that the GPU's compute capabilities, rated at 7.181 TFLOPS for FP32, are heavily taxed by the higher pixel counts, resulting in the lower frame rates observed at 3840x2160.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1470 MHz and a boost of 1650 MHz, are typical for its generation. The performance scaling between presets suggests that the GPU is operating at its expected level. The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is a consideration; while it is not explicitly shown to be a bottleneck in the FPS data, the significant performance drop at 4K could be partly attributable to the increased memory pressure from larger textures and higher resolution buffers.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's benchmark scores place it in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18093. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (with a delta of -0.4%) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (with a delta of -0.5%), are extremely close in overall performance. This indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is a solid mid-range performer, but it does not have the raw power to deliver high frame rates at 4K in a demanding title like The Technomancer. The GPU's performance is the clear bottleneck for this combo at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for consistently high frame rates with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where high frame rates are consistently achieved. At the "High" preset, the average FPS is 93, and even the "Ultra" preset maintains an average of 73 FPS, indicating that 1080p is well within the capabilities of this system.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: The benchmark results indicate that 4K gaming is possible but with compromises. The "Low" preset achieves an average of 51 FPS, while the "High" and "Ultra" presets yield 34 and 26 FPS respectively. These lower averages suggest a less fluid experience at 4K, particularly at higher settings.

Q: How does the "Medium" preset perform at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 with the "Medium" preset, the system achieves an average of 71 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. This suggests a stable performance level that is well-suited for a 60 Hz display.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. The steep performance decline as resolution increases, from 93 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 4K on "High" settings, is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's high benchmark percentile (92) compared to the GPU's (62) further supports this conclusion.

Q: What is the performance difference between the "High" and "Ultra" presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, moving from "High" to "Ultra" results in an average FPS drop from 93 to 73, a difference of 20 FPS. This represents a significant performance cost for the additional visual enhancements offered by the "Ultra" preset.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking for this game?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 2001 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum, indicating that many other configurations perform better in this specific title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, provides a substantial amount of processing power that is not fully utilized in this gaming scenario. Its high benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807 and a single-core score of 2228, demonstrate its capability to handle demanding workloads. The CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a notable feature that can benefit gaming performance by reducing memory latency.

Given that the benchmark results show the system is GPU-limited, the CPU's role is to ensure it does not become a bottleneck. The data shows that the CPU is more than capable of keeping up with the RTX 2060 SUPER. The high frame rates observed at 1080p, such as 142 FPS on "Low" settings, indicate that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough data to achieve high performance. The CPU's boost clock of 5.60 GHz further ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is often critical for game logic and draw calls.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals, such as the Intel Core i9-14900 (with a delta of 0.5%) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (with a delta of -0.7%), shows it is a top-tier processor. Its percentile of 92 places it among the highest-performing CPUs in the database. However, in this specific game and with this GPU, the CPU's potential is largely untapped, as the graphics card is the main constraint on frame rates. The CPU's role here is to provide a stable foundation, ensuring that performance is not limited by processor throughput.

The architecture and specifications of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, including its Zen 5 architecture and 4 nm process node, contribute to its efficiency and performance. While these features do not directly translate into higher FPS in a GPU-bound scenario, they ensure that the system remains responsive and that the CPU is not a source of frame rate instability. The benchmark data confirms that this CPU is a powerful companion, but its full capabilities are only realized in CPU-intensive tasks or with a more powerful graphics card.