The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting study in hardware scaling when paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet demonstrates the CPU’s capacity to drive very high frame rates at 1080p. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to determine the balance of load between the 16-core processor and the Ada Lovelace graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates where the performance ceiling lies for this combination. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 192.1 FPS, which is a substantial figure. However, the jump to 1440p High reduces the average to 126 FPS, a drop of 66.1 FPS. Moving further to 4K High, the average falls to 69.2 FPS, representing a total decline of 122.9 FPS from the 1080p baseline. This steep scaling curve is classic evidence of a GPU-limited scenario at higher resolutions.

The data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary constraint as pixel count increases. The 4K Ultra setting yields 53.4 FPS, which is the lowest measured result in the entire set. This is a 101.7 FPS reduction compared to the 1080p Ultra score of 155.1 FPS. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets: the difference between 1080p and 1440p is significant, but the difference between 1440p and 4K is even more pronounced. For instance, at Medium settings, the 1440p result of 149.8 FPS drops to 82.9 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 66.9 FPS.

The limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU. The 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X, with its 64 MB of L3 cache, has ample headroom to feed the graphics card, but the sheer workload of rendering at 3840x2160 overwhelms the 10240 shading units of the RTX 4080 SUPER. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings shows a 45.1% reduction in frame rate, which is a typical penalty for quadrupling the pixel count. This indicates that for users targeting 4K, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the definitive bottleneck, and settings adjustments will have a direct impact on playability.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 9 5950X and RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 120 out of 1656. This places it in the top 7.2% of all configurations in the database. The high rank is a reflection of both components’ strengths, but the ranking is particularly impressive given the game’s age and its tendency to be more sensitive to single-threaded performance.

The rank of 120 indicates that there are 119 other combinations that deliver higher average frame rates in this title. Given the CPU’s strong single-thread score of 5450 in Cinebench R23, it is likely that many of the configurations ahead of this one are utilizing even newer processors with higher boost clocks. However, the 93rd percentile standing of the Ryzen 9 5950X among all CPUs, combined with the 88th percentile standing of the RTX 4080 SUPER among all GPUs, confirms that this is a high-end pairing.

The data suggests that the bottleneck at lower resolutions is not the CPU, as its 3.40 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost clock are sufficient to push frame rates past 200 FPS at 1080p. The rank of 120 out of 1656 is a strong result, but it also shows that there is a performance ceiling that even this hardware cannot surpass in this specific title. The gap to the top combinations is likely due to the game’s engine limitations and its preference for higher clock speeds over core counts.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X plays a supporting role in The Technomancer, providing a robust foundation that prevents CPU-induced frame rate dips. With 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, the processor has far more computational resources than a 2016 title typically requires. The measured Cinebench R23 multicore score of 38607 confirms its immense parallel processing power, but the game’s performance is not heavily reliant on this metric.

The single-thread performance is more relevant for this game. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5450 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 944 indicate that the CPU is capable of handling the game’s primary game logic thread. The 1080p Low setting result of 249.5 FPS is particularly telling; this high frame rate suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck even when the GPU has less work to do. The boost clock of 4.90 GHz is critical here, as it allows the processor to execute instructions quickly.

The 64 MB of L3 cache is another asset, as it helps reduce memory latency for frequently accessed data. The passmark data shows a physics score of 1878 and an integer math score of 185520, which are relevant to game simulation and AI calculations. However, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU’s role is to provide consistent frame pacing rather than to be the primary driver of FPS. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 53.4 FPS, which is far below what the CPU is capable of delivering. This confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, and the Ryzen 9 5950X is never the reason for a performance shortfall in this configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 249.5 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops to 53.4 FPS, which is the lowest score in the measured dataset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1440p High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves 126 FPS. The scaling pattern from 1080p to 1440p indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the CPU has sufficient headroom to provide higher frame rates.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested configurations?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 120th out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer.

Q: How much of a performance drop is seen when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 126 FPS at 2560x1440 to 69.2 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 56.8 FPS.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 5950X's 16-core configuration provide any advantage in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests that the game does not heavily utilize the 16 cores. The high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5450, is more influential in achieving high frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing for The Technomancer. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for the game’s requirements, and its 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that textures and geometry can be fed to the processing units without stalling. The GPU’s 10240 shading units are the workhorses that determine the frame rate at higher resolutions.

The benchmark results show a clear correlation between GPU load and resolution. The passmark G3D score of 34245 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6600 place the GPU in the 88th percentile of all graphics cards. The measured frame rates reflect this capability, but the game’s demands are still significant. The 4K High setting of 69.2 FPS is a playable result, but the 4K Ultra setting of 53.4 FPS shows the strain of enabling all visual effects.

The boost clock of 2550 MHz is a key factor in the GPU’s performance. The difference between 1080p Low (249.5 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (155.1 FPS) is 94.4 FPS, which demonstrates how the GPU’s fill rate and shader processing are taxed by higher-quality settings. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s performance is consistent with its position relative to rivals, being only 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT in average benchmark score. This data indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of the combo’s 120th rank, and its capabilities are the deciding factor for performance beyond 1080p.