The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting stress test for modern hardware given its age and engine quirks. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 across a full matrix of resolutions and settings. The data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but whose CPU capabilities become more relevant as settings and resolution drop, ultimately defining the experience for high-refresh-rate 1080p play.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 70.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average drops to 39.5 FPS, so 1440p is the highest resolution where Ultra settings remain playable.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 4K Ultra preset?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 219.4 FPS. In contrast, the 3840x2160 Ultra preset yields an average of 39.5 FPS. This represents a performance delta of 179.9 FPS, or roughly 5.5 times higher frame rates at the lower resolution and settings.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5900X a bottleneck for the RX 9070 in this game?

A: At 1080p, the frame rates scale dramatically with settings (from 112.6 FPS at Ultra to 219.4 FPS at Low), indicating the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU a high number of frames. The benchmark results for the CPU, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33150 and a single-core score of 4680, suggest it has significant headroom. The limiting factor appears to be the GPU, especially at higher resolutions.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 93.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 70.5 FPS. This is a difference of 23 FPS, or a 24.6% drop in performance when moving from High to Ultra, which is a significant cost for the visual upgrade.

Q: How does this combo's performance rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: The combination is ranked 557th out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the 66th percentile of all tested systems, indicating it outperforms the majority of configurations in the database.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM of the RX 9070 seem sufficient for The Technomancer?

A: Yes, the data indicates that the GPU has ample memory resources. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a rendering load increase rather than a VRAM capacity issue. The GPU's high memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s and 16 GB capacity are more than adequate for this title, which was released in 2016.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the primary driver of performance in The Technomancer, particularly as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. The data shows a clear and consistent scaling of frame rates that correlates directly with the rendering resolution. At 4K, the GPU is heavily taxed, with the average FPS falling from 80.5 at Low settings to 39.5 at Ultra. This 41 FPS spread across the settings presets at 4K demonstrates that the GPU’s compute units, shading units (3584), and texture mapping units (224) are the decisive factors in this resolution range.

The card operates with a base clock of 1330 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz. The boost behavior is crucial, as sustained clock speeds will determine how well it handles the sustained load of an action RPG. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This high bandwidth prevents memory from being a bottleneck, allowing the GPU's processing units to remain fed with texture and geometry data. The performance difference between 1440p and 4K at the same settings (e.g., High at 93.5 FPS vs 50.8 FPS) highlights the substantial pixel throughput required at 4K, a task that falls squarely on the GPU's ROPs (128) and pixel rate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, serves as a robust foundation for this pairing, ensuring the GPU is seldom starved of data. Its single-threaded performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2202 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4680, is strong enough to handle the game's primary game logic and rendering thread. The high boost clock of 4.80 GHz is particularly beneficial in this scenario.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. The jump from 145.8 FPS at 1080p High to 219.4 FPS at 1080p Low shows that when the GPU's workload is reduced, the CPU is able to push frame rates much higher. This indicates that the Ryzen 9 5900X is not a limiting factor at 1080p. Its multi-threaded capabilities, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33150, also ensure that background tasks and the game's auxiliary threads don't cause stuttering. The 64 MB of L3 cache is a significant asset, helping to reduce memory latency and improve performance in scenarios where data is repeatedly accessed.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the vast database of tested hardware combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 9 5900X and Radeon RX 9070 is positioned at rank 557 out of 1656 total combos. This places it in the upper half of all tested systems, indicating a strong, above-average performance capability. While it does not reach the top tier, it decisively outperforms the majority of configurations that have been benchmarked for this title.

The CPU itself is a high performer, holding the 90th percentile against all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 39453 puts it in close competition with other high-end processors, such as the AMD EPYC 4245P (0.2% higher score) and the Intel Core i7-13700 (1% higher score). However, the GPU's ranking is comparatively lower, at the 79th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34780. The fact that the combo's overall rank is lower than the CPU's individual percentile suggests that the GPU is the component that holds the system back from a higher overall placement in this particular game's rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a detailed look at the system's performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers excellent performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 219.4 FPS, which is exceptionally high. Moving up to Medium yields 166.9 FPS, High delivers 145.8 FPS, and Ultra still maintains a very smooth 112.6 FPS. All presets are far above the threshold for a high-refresh-rate monitor.

At 2560x1440, the results remain strong. The Low preset averages 145.5 FPS. The Medium preset provides 111.5 FPS, and High is close behind at 93.5 FPS. The Ultra preset, while still playable, drops to 70.5 FPS, showing the increased load on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck. The Low preset is still capable of 80.5 FPS, which is a solid result. The Medium preset averages 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. The High preset drops to 50.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset significantly falls to 39.5 FPS, making it the only configuration where the experience is not consistently smooth.

Settings Recommendations

For a balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the most compelling choice. It delivers an average of 93.5 FPS, which is well above the smoothness threshold, while still offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium. This resolution provides a sharper image than 1080p without incurring the heavy performance penalty seen at 4K.

For players with a 4K display, the Low preset is the only viable option for a high-refresh-rate experience, averaging 80.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 59 FPS, is a borderline choice for players who prioritize visuals over a guaranteed 60 FPS. The Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K, as the 39.5 FPS average will likely result in a subpar experience.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear winner, offering a high average of 112.6 FPS. This allows players to max out the game's settings while still maintaining frame rates suitable for a 144Hz monitor. The High preset at 145.8 FPS would be the choice for those with a 165Hz or higher refresh rate display.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is a textbook example of GPU-bound behavior. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 145.8 to 93.5, a 35.9% decrease. This is a substantial drop, reflecting the 78% increase in pixel count. However, the larger leap from 1440p to 4K is even more telling. The average FPS at High settings falls from 93.5 to 50.8, a 45.7% decrease, as the pixel count more than doubles.

This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is not linear; it's much steeper when moving from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p. This indicates that the RX 9070's rendering pipeline becomes saturated as the pixel workload increases. The fact that the frame rate at 4K Ultra (39.5 FPS) is less than half of the 1080p Ultra (112.6 FPS) reinforces this. The CPU's performance, which is strong enough to produce over 219 FPS at 1080p, is not the limiting factor in this scaling. The data strongly implies that the GPU's fill rate and shader processing power are the definitive constraints on performance at higher resolutions, and any attempt to play at 4K will require significant compromises in settings to achieve playable frame rates.