The Technomancer

The Technomancer, an Action RPG from 2016, presents a demanding workload that scales distinctly with both resolution and graphics presets. When paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, the measured data reveals a clear hierarchy of playable settings. This combination of a high-core-count Zen 3 processor and an Ampere-based GPU provides a robust foundation, but the game's engine demonstrates a steep performance cost at higher quality levels, particularly at 4K resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with smooth frame rates, and this balance shifts dramatically depending on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 93.7 FPS, which is a strong result, but the jump from Medium (110.6 FPS) to Low (143.8 FPS) shows significant headroom. For players with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Low preset offers the best experience, nearly hitting the 144 Hz mark. However, the High preset at 93.7 FPS is still excellent for standard 60 Hz displays and provides a substantially better visual experience than Low. The Ultra preset at 72 FPS is also viable at this resolution, offering the highest fidelity while remaining comfortably above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the trade-offs become more pronounced. The High preset achieves an average of 61.9 FPS, which is right at the threshold for smooth gameplay on a 60 Hz display. This is the recommended preset for this resolution, as it provides the best visual quality without dipping below playable frame rates. The Medium preset at 71.5 FPS offers a slight performance buffer, which could be preferable for those who experience frametime spikes, but High is the sweet spot. The Low preset, at 91.6 FPS, is noticeably faster but sacrifices significant visual detail. The Ultra preset is not recommended here, as its 46 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the data shows that this combination is pushed to its limits. The High preset yields a 33.7 FPS average, which is not smooth enough for most action games. To achieve a more playable experience, dropping to Medium (39.9 FPS) or Low (49.2 FPS) is necessary. The Low preset, while visually compromised, is the only option that approaches a playable 50 FPS. The Ultra preset at 24.9 FPS is effectively unplayable. Therefore, for 4K, the recommendation is to use the Low preset if fluidity is the priority, or Medium if the user can tolerate lower frame rates for better visuals. The data clearly shows that High and Ultra presets are not viable at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the primary determinant of the performance ceilings observed in this benchmark. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is sufficient for the textures and data loads of The Technomancer at 1080p and 1440p, but the steep decline in performance at 4K suggests the GPU's compute capabilities are the limiting factor. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz, with a base of 1410 MHz, drives its 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This raw throughput is what determines the average frame rates across the different presets.

The RTX 3060 Ti's standing among other GPUs is strong but not dominant. Its average benchmark score of 25120 places it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals in the data are the AMD Radeon RX 6700M with a score of 25180, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 at 25235, and the AMD Radeon 890M at 25246. The performance deltas are minimal, with the RTX 3060 Ti trailing the RX 6700M by -0.2%, the RX 6600 by -0.5%, and the 890M by -0.5%. This indicates that the 3060 Ti is in a very tight performance cluster with these competitors, and its in-game results in The Technomancer are representative of this mid-range tier.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. While it does not appear to be a bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p, where the performance scales predictably with the GPU's compute load, the massive drop in performance at 4K could be partially attributed to memory pressure, though the data cannot definitively separate this from pure shader complexity. The GPU's architecture, with 4864 shading units and 152 texture mapping units, is well-equipped for the game's DirectX 12 Ultimate features, but the engine's age means it may not utilize all of these capabilities efficiently.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks at position 1223 out of 1656 total combos for this game. This places it in the lower-mid range of all possible pairings. The rank is a holistic measure of the combo's ability to run The Technomancer, and given the game's release date of 2016, it is likely that many newer, more powerful components have since surpassed it. The combo's performance is heavily weighted by the GPU's capabilities, as the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this title.

The CPU itself, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, is a high-end part. Its average benchmark score of 49062 places it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i5-14600K with an average score of 49166, the Intel Core i5-14600KF at 49367, the AMD EPYC 4345P at 49595, and the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H at 48698. The performance deltas are extremely small, showing the 5950X is within -1.1% of the EPYC 4345P and -0.6% of the i5-14600KF, while holding a 0.7% lead over the Xeon Gold 5318H. This suggests that the 16-core, 32-thread processor provides ample headroom for the game, but the overall combo rank is dragged down by the RTX 3060 Ti's mid-range standing.

The disconnect between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's low rank highlights that The Technomancer is a GPU-bound title. The 5950X's 4.90 GHz boost clock and 64 MB of L3 cache are more than sufficient to feed the GPU, meaning the frame rates are almost entirely dictated by the graphics card's performance. This is a typical scenario for a game from this era, where CPU demands are relatively modest, and the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across all settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are well-distributed. The Low preset leads with an average of 143.8 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 110.6 FPS, representing a 23.1% reduction from Low. The High preset achieves 93.7 FPS, which is a further 15.3% reduction from Medium. Finally, the Ultra preset drops to 72 FPS, a 23.2% reduction from High. This shows a predictable scaling curve where each preset tier costs a significant portion of performance.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges but with lower absolute numbers. The Low preset averages 91.6 FPS, which is 36.3% lower than the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset hits 71.5 FPS, a 22% drop from Low at this resolution. The High preset reaches 61.9 FPS, a 13.4% reduction from Medium. The Ultra preset manages 46 FPS, a 25.7% drop from High. The delta between 1080p and 1440p for the same preset is substantial, showing the increased pixel count's impact on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance metrics become challenging. The Low preset is the fastest, with an average of 49.2 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 39.9 FPS, a 18.9% reduction from Low. The High preset drops to 33.7 FPS, a 15.5% reduction from Medium. The Ultra preset is the slowest at 24.9 FPS, a 26.1% reduction from High. The step from 1440p to 4K is severe, with the Low preset at 4K being 46.3% slower than the Low preset at 1440p. This data confirms that the RTX 3060 Ti is not designed for 4K gaming in this title, and even the lowest settings cannot maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with the High preset (93.7 FPS) or 2560x1440 with the High preset (61.9 FPS) both achieve this target. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, with the highest being Low at 49.2 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: For the same preset, the average FPS drops significantly. For example, the High preset falls from 93.7 FPS at 1080p to 61.9 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 34%. The Low preset sees a similar trend, dropping from 143.8 FPS to 91.6 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever playable with this hardware?

A: The Ultra preset achieves an average of 72 FPS at 1080p, which is playable. However, at 1440p it drops to 46 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 24.9 FPS, making it not recommended at those resolutions.

Q: How does this combo's overall ranking compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1223rd out of 1656 total combinations for this game. This places it in the lower-mid range, indicating that while it can handle the game at lower resolutions, it is not a top-tier performer for The Technomancer.

Q: What is the GPU's performance relative to its closest competitors?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 25120. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25180, meaning the 3060 Ti is 0.2% slower. It is also 0.5% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 and the AMD Radeon 890M.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU in this game?

A: No. The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 49062. The frame rates in The Technomancer scale with resolution and settings in a way that indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, not the 16-core processor.