The Technomancer

# The Technomancer with AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile delivers a benchmark result that places this combo at rank 779 out of 3696 tested combinations in The Technomancer, placing it in the top 21% of all tested systems. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a configuration that handles the 2016 action RPG with substantial headroom at lower resolutions, while 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits. This analysis breaks down the CPU and GPU contributions, scaling behavior, and optimal settings based strictly on the measured data.

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

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread mobile processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Dragon Range, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The CPU features a three-level cache hierarchy: 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 64 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. The processor also integrates Radeon 610M graphics, though the discrete RTX 5090 Mobile handles all rendering in this test.

In terms of raw compute, the 8945HX scores 42713 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6030 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 76212 across all tests. Its percentile ranking versus all CPUs is 95, meaning it outperforms 95% of tested processors. The nearest rivals show how tightly grouped this CPU is at the top: the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX scores 76155 (a delta of 0.1% lower), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P scores 76492 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX scores 76513 (0.4% higher). The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 75779 (0.6% lower). These deltas of under 1% indicate that the 8945HX sits in a performance tier where no single competitor holds a meaningful advantage in synthetic workloads.

For The Technomancer, a game released in 2016, the CPU's role is less demanding than in modern titles. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low reach 245 FPS average, which far exceeds what any display refresh rate would require. At 1080p High, the average drops to 160 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra it falls to 125 FPS. The fact that even Ultra settings at 1080p produce over 120 FPS average suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at any tested configuration. The 16-core, 32-thread design provides far more parallel processing capacity than a 2016-era game can utilize, meaning the limiting factor shifts entirely to the GPU as resolution and settings increase. The high single-thread score of 6030 in Cinebench R23 also indicates that even lightly threaded game logic will not constrain performance.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB203 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm TSMC process with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. It operates with a base clock of 990 MHz and a boost clock of 1515 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The memory subsystem consists of 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 10496 shading units, 328 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 82 RT cores, and 328 tensor cores, with a pixel rate of 169.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 496.9 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is rated at 31.80 TFLOPS, with FP16 at the same 31.80 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The TDP is 95 W, and the interface is PCIe 5.0 x16. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5090 Mobile scores 5871 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 201834 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 198405 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its PassMark G3D score is 30034, with a GPU compute score of 13401. The average benchmark score across all tests is 45152, and the percentile versus all GPUs is 84. The nearest rivals show an interesting mix: the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 45384 (0.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti scores 44795 (0.8% lower), the Intel Arc A730M scores 45592 (1.0% higher), and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 45972 (1.8% higher). Despite being a mobile part, the RTX 5090 Mobile trades blows with desktop GPUs from previous generations, though the deltas remain within 2% of these rivals.

For The Technomancer, the GPU's 24 GB VRAM is far more than the game requires, even at 4K Ultra with high-resolution textures. The measured frame rates show the GPU scaling with settings: at 4K, average FPS ranges from 45 at Ultra to 88 at Low, while at 1080p the range is 125 to 245 FPS. The boost clock of 1515 MHz is modest compared to desktop parts, but the sheer number of shading units compensates. The 896 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory-bound scenarios at 4K do not introduce stutter, as evidenced by the 4K Medium minimum FPS of 57, which is only 10 FPS below the average of 67. The GPU's performance at 4K High (58 FPS average) indicates it is operating near its practical limit for this title at the highest resolution, while lower resolutions expose CPU or engine limitations rather than GPU constraints.

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

The measured data reveals clear scaling patterns across the three tested resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 160 at 1080p to 105 at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and then to 58 at 4K (a 45% reduction from 1440p, or 64% from 1080p). At Low settings, the averages are 245 at 1080p, 160 at 1440p (a 35% reduction), and 88 at 4K (a 45% reduction from 1440p, or 64% from 1080p). At Medium settings, the averages are 188 at 1080p, 123 at 1440p (a 35% reduction), and 67 at 4K (a 46% reduction from 1440p, or 64% from 1080p). At Ultra settings, the averages are 125 at 1080p, 82 at 1440p (a 34% reduction), and 45 at 4K (a 45% reduction from 1440p, or 64% from 1080p).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four settings presets is striking. Each step from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by roughly 34-35%, and each step from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by roughly 45-46%. This uniform scaling pattern indicates that the performance is purely GPU-bound across all tested configurations. If the CPU were a limiting factor, we would expect the 1080p results to show less scaling between settings or smaller drops when moving to 1440p, as the CPU would cap the frame rate regardless of resolution. Instead, the 245 FPS at 1080p Low and 125 FPS at 1080p Ultra demonstrate that the GPU has headroom at 1080p, but the consistent proportional drops suggest the engine's rendering workload scales predictably with pixel count.

The 4K results are particularly telling. At 4K Ultra, the average of 45 FPS is below the 60 FPS target that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. At 4K High, the average of 58 FPS is close to but still under 60. The 4K Medium average of 67 FPS clears that threshold, and 4K Low at 88 FPS provides comfortable headroom. This progression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the sole limiting component, with no evidence of CPU bottlenecking or memory bandwidth constraints. The 1440p results, ranging from 82 FPS at Ultra to 160 FPS at Low, all exceed 60 FPS, making 1440p the resolution where this combo delivers consistently smooth performance across all settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Technomancer?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 delivers the most consistent experience, with all four settings presets exceeding 60 FPS average. The lowest average at 1440p is 82 FPS at Ultra, while 1080p ranges from 125 to 245 FPS and 4K ranges from 45 to 88 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 Mobile compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 45152, which is 0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45384), 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (44795), 1.0% lower than the Intel Arc A730M (45592), and 1.8% lower than the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45972). All deltas are within 2%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 45, while at 4K Low it is 88. This 49% performance difference between settings at the same resolution is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance, since the CPU workload does not change significantly with graphics settings.

Q: What minimum FPS can be expected at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows a minimum FPS of 104 at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with an average of 123 and a maximum of 141. This minimum is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 8945HX's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance relative to rivals?

A: In Cinebench R23, the 8945HX scores 6030 single-core and 42713 multi-core. Its average benchmark score of 76212 is within 0.6% of its nearest rivals, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX at 0.1% lower and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D at 0.6% higher. The CPU's percentile rank of 95 indicates it outperforms 95% of all tested CPUs.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K with any settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 4K Medium averages 67 FPS with a minimum of 57, and 4K Low averages 88 FPS. However, 4K High averages 58 FPS and 4K Ultra averages 45 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset provides the best balance, with an average of 67 FPS and a minimum of 57 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that consistently stays near or above 60 FPS, as High averages 58 FPS and Ultra averages 45 FPS. The Low preset at 4K achieves 88 FPS but sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily when Medium is available at 67 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice, delivering an average of 82 FPS. This exceeds the 60 FPS target while providing the highest visual fidelity. The High preset at 105 FPS and Medium at 123 FPS offer higher frame rates, but the Ultra preset's 82 FPS average still provides a smooth experience with maximum settings. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 104, suggesting that even the most demanding scenes will not drop below comfortable levels.

At 1920x1080, all presets deliver well above 120 FPS average, ranging from 125 FPS at Ultra to 245 FPS at Low. The Ultra preset at 125 FPS is the obvious choice, as it provides the best visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most displays. The Medium preset at 188 FPS and High at 160 FPS offer even higher headroom, but the visual improvements from Ultra are worth the modest FPS reduction. For players with 240 Hz displays, the High preset at 160 FPS or Medium at 188 FPS may be preferable to maintain frame rates closer to the display's maximum refresh rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low at 245, Medium at 188 (with a minimum of 160 and maximum of 216), High at 160, and Ultra at 125. The spread from Low to Ultra is 120 FPS, representing a 49% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to highest settings. The Medium preset's minimum of 160 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 160 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the measured average FPS values are: Low at 160, Medium at 123 (with a minimum of 104 and maximum of 141), High at 105, and Ultra at 82. The spread from Low to Ultra is 78 FPS, representing a 49% reduction. The Medium preset's minimum of 104 FPS shows consistent performance, while the Ultra preset's 82 FPS average remains well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the measured average FPS values are: Low at 88, Medium at 67 (with a minimum of 57 and maximum of 78), High at 58, and Ultra at 45. The spread from Low to Ultra is 43 FPS, representing a 49% reduction. The Medium preset's minimum of 57 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS minimum recorded across all tested configurations, indicating that 4K is the only resolution where this combo approaches performance limits. The High preset at 58 FPS average and Ultra at 45 FPS average fall short of the 60 FPS target, making Medium the highest playable preset at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile combination ranks 779 out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the top 21.1% of all systems tested. This rank reflects the combo's position relative to every other CPU-GPU pairing in the database for this specific game. The CPU's 95th percentile ranking and the GPU's 84th percentile ranking in synthetic benchmarks suggest that the combo's in-game rank is slightly lower than the CPU's percentile but higher than the GPU's percentile, indicating that The Technomancer's workload benefits more from CPU performance than the average game.

The rank of 779 out of 3696 means there are 778 combos that perform better in this game, which represents a significant number of systems. However, given that many of those systems likely use desktop components or more recent hardware, the 8945HX + RTX 5090 Mobile combo still delivers competitive performance for a mobile platform. The measured frame rates at 1440p and 1080p are high enough to provide an excellent experience, and even 4K is playable with Medium settings. The combination of a top-5% CPU and a top-16% GPU results in a system that handles this 2016 title with ease at mainstream resolutions, with the 4K Ultra preset being the only configuration that falls below playable frame rates.