The Technomancer

The Technomancer presents a demanding workload for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, even when paired with the high-end AMD Ryzen 9 9900X. The data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck across most settings. The measured results indicate that 1080p is the only resolution where a consistently smooth experience is achievable, while higher resolutions require significant compromises.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended starting point. The data shows an average of 82.5 FPS at this setting, which is a robust frame rate for an Action RPG. While the Low preset achieves a much higher 131.3 FPS, the jump from Low to High represents a substantial visual upgrade for a relatively modest performance cost of 48.8 FPS. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p drops the average to 64.6 FPS, which is still playable but introduces a 21.7% performance penalty over High for what are likely diminishing returns in graphical enhancements.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset, averaging 62.3 FPS, becomes the most viable option. The High preset at this resolution drops to 55.9 FPS, which approaches the threshold where frame pacing issues can become noticeable in fast-paced combat. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not recommended, as the 44.9 FPS average falls below the smoothness standard most players expect. For 4K resolution, the data suggests that only the Low preset, at 43.4 FPS, provides a remotely playable experience, though it will look significantly less detailed than the game’s potential.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Technomancer at 4K resolution with high settings?

A: No. The measured data shows an average of only 31.6 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings, which is below the 60 FPS target for a fluid experience. The Ultra preset at 4K is even more demanding, yielding just 24.8 FPS.

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

A: The difference is significant. The Low preset averages 131.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 64.6 FPS. This represents a 50.8% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combination?

A: The benchmark results indicate a strong GPU limitation, especially at higher resolutions. For example, moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings causes a 32.3% drop in FPS (from 82.5 to 55.9). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the graphics card cannot keep up with the increased pixel count.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 16074. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, has an average score of 15996, which is 0.5% lower. It also sits slightly above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, which has a score of 15786 and a deltaPct of 1.8% relative to the RTX 2060.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset is the most balanced choice for 2560x1440. It achieves an average of 62.3 FPS, which is smoother than the 55.9 FPS of the High preset and significantly better than the 44.9 FPS of the Ultra preset.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 9900X have enough processing power for this game?

A: Yes. The CPU is not a bottleneck in these tests. Its strong multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 46438, ensures that the game's logic and physics calculations are not holding back the frame rate, which is instead limited by the GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions clearly demonstrates the GPU's central role in performance. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 82.5 at 1920x1080 to 55.9 at 2560x1440, a 32.3% decrease. This drop is expected, as the GPU must render 1.78 times more pixels. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more severe, with the average falling from 55.9 to 31.6 FPS, a 43.5% reduction for another 2.25 times increase in pixel count.

This pattern is consistent across all quality presets. For instance, at Medium settings, the average FPS is 102.6 at 1080p, 62.3 at 1440p, and 38.3 at 4K. The performance cost of each resolution step is proportionally larger than the previous one, which is a classic indicator of a GPU that is becoming saturated. The CPU, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, is not the constraining factor here; the RTX 2060's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are what ultimately define the performance ceiling at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for The Technomancer, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 holds a rank of 1367 out of 1656 tested combos. This places it in the lower 17.5% of all configurations, indicating that while it can run the game, it does not deliver top-tier performance relative to other systems. The ranking reflects the significant GPU bottleneck, as the CPU is a top-tier component, but the GPU is a mid-range part from a previous generation.

The combination's low rank is primarily attributable to the RTX 2060. Its 6 GB of VRAM and 336.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p gaming but become a liability at higher resolutions and detail levels. The data shows that the system is only capable of a high-refresh experience at 1080p with lower settings, which is a niche performance profile. The high rank of the CPU does little to boost the overall standing of the combo in this specific game's benchmark results.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end processor with 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture. Its base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide substantial single-threaded performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6555. This is important because even though The Technomancer is an Action RPG that can utilize multiple threads, the main game thread still benefits from high single-core speed.

However, the benchmark data suggests that the CPU's role is largely supportive in this configuration. The severe frame rate drops when moving from 1080p to higher resolutions are not indicative of a CPU bottleneck, which would show more consistent frame rates regardless of resolution. Instead, the CPU's strong multi-threaded capabilities, highlighted by a Geekbench multi-core score of 19827, ensure that it is not the limiting factor. The system's performance is dictated by the GPU's ability to process the graphics workload, with the CPU having ample headroom to handle all game logic and physics without causing stalls.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 131.3 FPS
• Medium: 102.6 FPS
• High: 82.5 FPS
• Ultra: 64.6 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 82.8 FPS
• Medium: 62.3 FPS
• High: 55.9 FPS
• Ultra: 44.9 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 43.4 FPS
• Medium: 38.3 FPS
• High: 31.6 FPS
• Ultra: 24.8 FPS

These numbers quantify the performance landscape. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with even the Ultra preset maintaining an average above 60 FPS. At 1440p, the Low preset is the only one to break the 80 FPS barrier, while the Ultra preset falls well below the 60 FPS target. At 4K, all presets fail to reach 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset's average of 24.8 FPS is a slideshow. The data clearly shows that each quality setting has a tangible and measurable impact on performance, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening as resolution increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the decisive component in this system's gaming performance. It features a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its benchmark scores, including a Passmark G3D score of 14111, place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range performer.

The data from The Technomancer unequivocally shows that the RTX 2060 is the bottleneck. The game's performance scales directly with the GPU's workload. The 32.3% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is a clear sign that the GPU is running out of processing power. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is also a likely contributor to the poor 4K performance, as the game's textures at that resolution may exceed the available memory, forcing the system to use slower system memory. The GPU's 12 nm Turing architecture, while competent, is simply not powerful enough to deliver high frame rates at demanding resolutions for this title.