The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B570 across a range of resolutions and settings. The data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics card, with the CPU showing significant headroom even at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline is the key indicator of where the system's bottleneck lies. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 80 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same High preset, the average drops to 52 FPS, a reduction of 28 frames. The leap to 3840x2160 is even more punishing, with the average falling to 29 FPS, a 35% drop from the 1440p figure and a 64% drop from the 1080p result.

This scaling pattern is typical of a system limited by the GPU. If the CPU were the primary constraint, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the game's logical simulation load would stay constant. Instead, the data shows a steep decline that correlates directly with the increase in pixel count. This indicates that at 1080p, the Intel Arc B570 is already working at a high capacity, and the additional pixel fill-rate demands of 1440p and 4K push it further into a state of saturation.

The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at each resolution further confirms this. At 1080p, the spread between Low (121 FPS) and Ultra (62 FPS) is a massive 59 frames. This demonstrates that even at the lowest resolution, the game's visual settings have a profound impact on performance, a characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. At 4K, the same preset spread shrinks to 22 frames (44 FPS on Low versus 22 FPS on Ultra), because the GPU is so overwhelmed by the pixel workload that the relative cost of the additional visual effects is compressed. The data suggests that a more powerful GPU would be required to make this combination viable for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p or for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings for this hardware combination are heavily dependent on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a fluid gaming experience, the data suggests that prioritizing the Low or Medium presets is necessary for most resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields an average of 62 FPS, which is playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced action. The High preset offers a significant improvement to 80 FPS, while Medium achieves 93 FPS. The Low preset pushes the average to 121 FPS, which is the only setting that provides a clear margin for high-refresh-rate displays. For a balanced experience at 1080p, High appears to be the sweet spot, offering a solid frame rate without the visual compromises of the lower presets.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. The High preset manages an average of 52 FPS, which is on the lower edge of playability for many users. The Medium preset, with an average of 61 FPS, provides a more comfortable margin. The Ultra preset drops to 41 FPS, which is likely too inconsistent for a smooth experience. The Low preset, at 79 FPS, is the only option that approaches a high-refresh experience, but it comes with significant visual downgrades. Therefore, Medium appears to be the recommended preset for 1440p, as it provides the best balance between visual fidelity and playable performance.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve a consistently smooth 60 FPS. The Low preset averages 44 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset drops to 33 FPS, and High falls to 29 FPS. The Ultra preset is effectively unplayable at 22 FPS. For 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset is viable for a playable experience, and even then, users will need to accept a frame rate well below 60 FPS. The measured minimum FPS for the 4K Medium preset is 28, with a maximum of 39, indicating significant frame time variance that could lead to stutter.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the central figure in this performance analysis. Its specifications, including 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus and a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s, are directly relevant to its performance in The Technomancer. The GPU's compute capabilities are defined by its 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines, operating at a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz.

The benchmark results show the Arc B570 sits in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which it edges out by 0.1%, and the Intel Arc A750, which is 0.1% faster. This places the B570 in a competitive, mid-range tier, which aligns with the observed gaming performance. The GPU's compute score in Passmark's G3D test is 14195, and its DirectX 12 score is 72, which is lower than its DirectX 11 score of 118. This suggests the architecture may have varying levels of optimization depending on the API.

The data indicates that the VRAM capacity and bandwidth are not the primary limiting factors at the tested settings. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with pure rasterization and fill-rate limits, rather than memory capacity issues. The 10 GB frame buffer is sufficient for the game's textures at these settings, as there is no evidence of a sudden performance cliff that would indicate VRAM swapping. The GPU's pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are the more likely bottlenecks at higher resolutions, as the scene complexity and pixel count overwhelm these fixed-function units.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a detailed view of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 121 FPS on Low, 93 FPS on Medium, 80 FPS on High, and 62 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution has a recorded minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS, showing a 28-frame variance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decrease to 79 FPS on Low, 61 FPS on Medium, 52 FPS on High, and 41 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset again provides the only min/max data, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS. This 18-frame variance is tighter than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The averages are 44 FPS on Low, 33 FPS on Medium, 29 FPS on High, and 22 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 28 FPS and a maximum of 39 FPS. This narrow 11-frame window at 4K suggests the GPU is operating at near-maximum capacity, with frame times becoming more uniform but at a very low overall level. The lack of min/max data for other presets suggests the measurement system may only have captured those metrics for the Medium preset, or that the variance was not considered significant.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Technomancer with this hardware?

A: Based on the data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo can consistently achieve frame rates above 60 FPS on multiple presets. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset achieves a 79 FPS average, while 3840x2160 fails to reach 60 FPS on any setting.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% lower than the Intel Arc A750 (20582). It also outperforms the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M by 0.4% but is 0.5% slower than the AMD Radeon R9 M390X.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B570 in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. Frame rates drop significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU-limited system. The CPU's high benchmark scores suggest it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The data shows that the Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS. This is the highest preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a balance of quality and performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 121 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 62 FPS. This represents a 59 FPS difference, or a performance drop of roughly 49% when moving from the lowest to the highest visual quality settings.

Q: Does the GPU's 10 GB of VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: The data does not show any performance anomalies indicative of VRAM capacity limits. The frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K is consistent with compute and fill-rate limitations, not memory swapping.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end desktop processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). It features 12 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, as reflected in its benchmark scores. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253. Its Geekbench scores are 22174 multi-core and 3010 single-core.

The CPU's performance percentile of 92 places it in the top tier of all processors. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9015, which is 0.1% slower, and the Intel Core i9-14900, which is 1.1% faster. The Ryzen 9 9900X's Passmark multi-thread score is 54643, and its single-thread score is 4672. These results indicate a processor with immense computational capability.

However, in the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role is secondary. The measured FPS data shows a clear GPU bottleneck, meaning the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 121 FPS, but this is likely still within the CPU's capability to feed the GPU with draw calls. The CPU's large 64 MB L3 cache and high clock speeds ensure it can handle the game's logic without introducing frame pacing issues. The data suggests that this processor would be far more utilized in a system with a more powerful GPU, or in CPU-intensive scenarios such as high-unit-count strategy games, but for this specific title, it is not the performance constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for The Technomancer, this configuration of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2256 out of 2825 total combos. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range performance level.

This ranking is somewhat paradoxical given the CPU's high standing. The Ryzen 9 9900X is in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, while the Arc B570 is only in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The combo's overall rank of 2256 reflects the game's heavy reliance on the GPU, meaning the powerful CPU cannot compensate for the graphics card's limitations. The pairing is unbalanced for this title; a lower-tier CPU with a higher-tier GPU would likely achieve a better ranking. The data shows that the system's overall performance is anchored by the GPU, and the CPU's potential is largely untapped in this specific game. This ranking serves as a clear indicator that for The Technomancer, the graphics card is the component that determines the experience.