The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting stress test for a modern flagship pairing. The data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 reveals a system that is overwhelmingly powerful, yet the game's engine and age create distinct bottlenecks that vary dramatically across resolutions and settings. This analysis examines the measured performance to understand how this top-tier hardware handles a title from a previous generation.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a desktop processor built on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, and manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The processor includes a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is typically beneficial for gaming workloads that rely on data locality. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807 and a single-core score of 2228.

In the context of this game, the CPU's role appears significant, especially at lower resolutions. Looking at the measured FPS, the jump from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings shows a substantial drop from 337 FPS to 220 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the game's frame rate is heavily influenced by the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R15 single-core score of 343, is likely a key factor in achieving these exceptionally high frame rates. The data suggests that the game is not fully optimized for multi-threading, making the processor's strong per-core performance more critical than its 16 threads.

The benchmark results place this CPU in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 58386. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, which scores nearly identically with a delta of 0.1%, and the Intel Core i9-14900, which is 0.5% behind. This positioning suggests that while the 9850X3D is a top-tier gaming processor, its raw computational power is comparable to other high-end server and desktop chips, reinforcing that its gaming advantage comes from specific architectural features like the large L3 cache and high clocks rather than an overwhelming lead in all compute tasks.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the flagship of the GeForce 50-series, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and using the GB202 chip on a 5 nm process from TSMC. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's clocks are listed as a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz. This immense memory capacity and bandwidth are more than sufficient for any game, including The Technomancer, which is from 2016 and would not require such resources at its highest settings.

The GPU's role becomes the dominant factor as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 62, a significant decrease from the 173 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra. This scaling indicates a transition from a CPU-bound scenario at 1080p to a more GPU-bound scenario at 4K. The RTX 5090's raw compute power, with an FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS, is being taxed by the higher pixel count and the game's graphics settings. Its Passmark G3D score of 39650 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79842.

Interestingly, the GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are professional and workstation cards like the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X. The RTX 5090 is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT and 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X in average score. This comparison highlights that while the RTX 5090 is a dominant gaming card, its raw computational benchmarks are in a similar league to some older workstation parts, which often have different optimization focuses. In this specific game, the 32 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor, as even the highest settings are unlikely to consume more than a fraction of it, but the sheer processing power is still necessary to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo to achieve a 144 FPS average in The Technomancer?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 144 FPS. At 1920x1080, the average FPS is significantly higher, reaching 221 FPS on High settings, but 1440p is the first resolution where the average matches the 144 FPS target.

Q: How does the frame rate drop when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 173. When moving to 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 62. This represents a substantial decrease of 111 FPS, indicating a heavy GPU load at the higher resolution.

Q: Are there any settings where the RTX 5090 cannot maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 62. While this is above 60 FPS, it is the lowest average recorded in the dataset. The minimum FPS is not provided for this specific configuration, but the average is close to the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the performance delta between the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and its closest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900?

A: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D has an average benchmark score of 58386, while the Intel Core i9-14900 has a score of 58115. This gives the Ryzen processor a 0.5% advantage over the Intel chip in average benchmark scores.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1920x1080 with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 337. This is an exceptionally high frame rate, which suggests the CPU is the primary driver. The GPU is not being fully utilized at this low resolution and settings, allowing the processor's speed to become the bottleneck.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090?

A: The launch MSRP for the RTX 5090 is 1,999 USD.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how settings impact performance. At 1920x1080, all presets yield very high frame rates, with Low at 337 FPS, Medium at 259 FPS, High at 221 FPS, and Ultra at 173 FPS. The jump from Medium to High is a 38 FPS difference, while the jump from High to Ultra is a 48 FPS difference. For a 1080p display, the High preset offers an excellent balance, providing a 221 FPS average that is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, while the visual upgrade from Medium is likely noticeable.

At 2560x1440, the story is similar. Low settings produce 220 FPS, Medium 169 FPS, High 144 FPS, and Ultra 113 FPS. The High preset at 1440p is a solid choice for high-refresh-rate gaming, hitting a 144 FPS average. For users with a 144 Hz monitor, this is the ideal setting to maximize visual quality without sacrificing the refresh rate. Ultra at 1440p still provides a very playable 113 FPS average, but the 31 FPS cost from High to Ultra may not be worth the visual gain for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the choices become more critical. Low settings yield 121 FPS, Medium 93 FPS, High 79 FPS, and Ultra 62 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot in this dataset, offering a 93 FPS average with a minimum of 79 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with a significant visual upgrade over Low. High settings at 79 FPS are also viable, but the drop below 80 FPS average may be noticeable on some displays. Ultra, while still playable at 62 FPS, is the most demanding and might cause frame dips in busier scenes, though the minimum FPS is not recorded for this setting.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 35th out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the top 1.2% of all systems tested, indicating that it is an exceptionally high-performing configuration. The data suggests that while this is a flagship pairing, it is not the absolute fastest system for this specific game. There are 34 other combinations of CPUs and GPUs that achieve a higher aggregate performance metric.

This ranking is somewhat surprising given the hardware's pedigree. The CPU and GPU both sit in the 92nd percentile of their respective categories. The fact that the combo does not rank higher could be attributed to the game's age and its engine's limitations, which may not scale perfectly with the newest architectures. It is possible that other combos, perhaps with different CPU-GPU pairings, are better optimized for this particular title's workload. The data implies that raw component strength does not always translate to a #1 ranking in every game, especially an older title like The Technomancer.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The dataset provides a comprehensive look at the performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

1920x1080: The performance is exceptionally high across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 337 FPS. The Medium preset sees a drop to 259 FPS, with a minimum of 220 FPS and a maximum of 298 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 221 FPS, and Ultra further lowers it to 173 FPS. The frame rate is consistently above 170 FPS, making this resolution trivial for the hardware.

2560x1440: Performance remains very strong. Low settings produce an average of 220 FPS. The Medium preset averages 169 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS. High settings average 144 FPS, and Ultra settings average 113 FPS. This resolution offers a great balance for high-refresh-rate gaming, with even the Ultra preset maintaining an average above 110 FPS.

3840x2160: This is where the hardware is finally challenged. Low settings yield an average of 121 FPS. The Medium preset averages 93 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 79 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, resulting in an average of 62 FPS. The data shows a clear progression of decreasing performance as resolution and settings increase, with 4K Ultra being the only configuration that dips close to the 60 FPS baseline.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling of frame rates across resolutions reveals a classic shift in bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS moves from 337 at 1080p to 220 at 1440p, a 34.7% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops from 220 to 121, a 45% decrease. This pattern suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming a more significant limiting factor at higher resolutions. The game's rendering workload at 4K, even on low quality, is substantial enough to outpace the CPU's ability to feed the GPU, though the CPU's high speed still allows for a 121 FPS average.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The average FPS drops from 173 at 1080p to 113 at 1440p, a 34.7% decrease, and then from 113 to 62 at 4K, a 45.1% decrease. This consistent percentage drop across the resolution steps indicates a strong GPU dependency at this quality level. The nearly identical percentage drops at Low and Ultra settings are particularly telling. It suggests that while the absolute frame rates are different, the relative cost of increasing resolution is similar, pointing to the GPU's pixel processing power as the primary constraint. The CPU, with its strong single-thread performance, is likely not the main bottleneck in this game at any resolution, but its influence is most felt at 1080p where it is able to push frame rates beyond 300 FPS.