The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting test for the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 pairing. The measured data shows a system that is clearly capable of high refresh-rate play at 1080p, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain smooth performance at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results to show exactly where this combination excels and where it begins to struggle.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 112.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 71.1 FPS, a significant 36.8% reduction. The jump to 4K is even more punishing, with the average FPS falling to 39.3, which is just 34.9% of the 1080p score. This scaling pattern is a clear indicator that the RTX 4060's rendering pipeline is being saturated as pixel count increases.

The trend is consistent across all quality presets. At Low settings, the system goes from 169.3 FPS at 1080p down to 60.7 FPS at 4K. This is a 64.1% performance loss, showing that even when the graphical load is light, the resolution increase still overwhelms the graphics card. The data suggests that the 12-core Ryzen 9 7900X is not the limiting factor here; if it were, the frame rates would not scale so dramatically with resolution. Instead, the RTX 4060's 128-bit memory interface and 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth appear to be the choke points at 4K.

At 1440p, the system finds a more balanced state. The High preset delivers 71.1 FPS, which is playable for most genres, while the Medium preset offers a smoother 87.9 FPS. The 4K results, however, indicate that consistent 60+ FPS gameplay is only achievable on the Low preset, which hits 60.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 31.5 FPS, which is not a viable experience for an action game. The data points to a system optimized for 1080p and capable of good 1440p performance, with 4K being a stretch goal for less demanding settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture. Its high boost clock of 5.60 GHz and large 64 MB shared L3 cache provide a substantial foundation for gaming. In this benchmark, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with enough data to keep it busy. The fact that frame rates drop so heavily at higher resolutions confirms that the CPU is not the performance ceiling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see more consistent frame rates across resolutions.

The CPU's benchmark scores support its capability. A Cinebench R23 multicore score of 43695 and a single-core score of 6168 demonstrate immense processing power. This headroom means that even in CPU-intensive scenes within The Technomancer, the Ryzen 9 7900X is unlikely to cause frame drops. The data suggests that this processor is more than adequate for this game, and its performance is somewhat wasted at 1080p, where the GPU is the clear limiting factor.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 7900X is essentially tied. It sits within 0.8% of the Intel Core i9-13980HX and within 0.1% of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 in average benchmark scores. The 7900X is also just 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT. This positioning means that for a game like The Technomancer, any of these CPUs would likely produce very similar results, further confirming that the choice of processor is not the deciding factor in this combo's gaming performance.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the High preset is the sweet spot, providing a comfortable 112.5 FPS. For players with high refresh-rate monitors, the Medium preset offers 132.4 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 169.3 FPS, which could be beneficial for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 83.8 FPS is also perfectly playable and offers the best visual fidelity without sacrificing too much smoothness.

At 1440p, the data suggests that the Medium preset provides the best balance, delivering 87.9 FPS. This is a significant improvement over the High preset's 71.1 FPS and remains visually appealing. The Low preset at 107.4 FPS is an option for those who prioritize frame rate above all else. The Ultra preset at 56.9 FPS is borderline, and players might find it less consistent than desired.

For 4K, the options are limited. The only preset to achieve above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 60.7 FPS. The Medium preset at 45.4 FPS and the High preset at 39.3 FPS are playable but require a tolerance for lower frame rates. The Ultra preset at 31.5 FPS is not recommended for a game that involves combat. Therefore, the recommendation is clear: use Low for 4K, Medium for 1440p, and High or Medium for 1080p depending on preference.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 9 7900X and RTX 4060 ranks 959 out of 1656. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems. While it is not a top-tier performer, it is important to consider that this ranking includes many combinations with much more powerful GPUs. The 959th rank reflects the RTX 4060's position as a mid-range card, rather than a deficiency in the CPU.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 93rd among all processors confirms that the Ryzen 9 7900X is a high-end component. However, the GPU's percentile ranking of 66th among all GPUs is more modest. The combo's overall rank is therefore dragged down by the graphics card, which is the expected bottleneck. This data indicates that the system is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it will not compete with high-end rigs featuring more powerful graphics solutions.

The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals show a tight cluster. The RTX 4060 is just 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti. It is also only 0.7% ahead of the Intel Arc B580. This suggests that in terms of raw compute, the RTX 4060 is very closely matched with these other cards, and the in-game performance is likely to be similar across them.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. With a boost clock of 2460 MHz, it is not a slow card by any means. However, its memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s is modest for modern standards, and this is likely a key reason for its performance drop at 4K. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is also a potential concern, though it did not appear to cause issues in these measured rows.

The GPU's compute capabilities, as shown in its benchmark scores, are solid. A Passmark G3D score of 19545 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2302 indicate it can handle modern game engines. In The Technomancer, the RTX 4060 is the limiting factor at all resolutions. The data shows that its performance scales predictably with resolution, but the absolute frame rates at 4K are low. This is a direct consequence of the limited memory bandwidth and the card's position in the market.

The GPU's TDP of 115 W is low, which is a positive for system builders. It suggests that the card runs cool and does not require a massive power supply, with a suggested PSU of 300 W. However, this efficiency does not compensate for the performance ceiling observed in the 4K benchmarks. For this game, the RTX 4060 is best suited for 1080p and 1440p, where its performance is more than adequate.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset, which averages 60.7 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 45.4 FPS, and the High preset averages 39.3 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this setup?

A: The Medium preset provides the best balance, delivering an average of 87.9 FPS. The High preset is also viable at 71.1 FPS, but Medium offers a smoother experience.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X a bottleneck for the RTX 4060 in this game?

A: No. The data shows that frame rates drop significantly with resolution increases, which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's high benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 43695, suggest it has ample headroom.

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

A: It ranks 959th out of 1656 tested combinations. This places it in the lower-middle tier, primarily due to the RTX 4060's mid-range performance, despite the high-end CPU.

Q: What is the expected performance at 1080p on High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 112.5 FPS. This is a very smooth experience and well-suited for high refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Is the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for The Technomancer?

A: Based on the measured data, yes. No issues related to texture loading or frame hitches were recorded in the benchmark rows. The performance drops are more closely tied to the card's memory bandwidth at 4K.