The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that clearly favors the GPU in this pairing. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the transition to 4K reveals a hard ceiling imposed by the graphics card. The data shows a system where the CPU has ample headroom, and the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary determinant of performance across all tested settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 91.1 FPS, which drops to 60.6 FPS at 1440p and further to 30.6 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66.4% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, with a 49.5% performance loss, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER's pixel throughput is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 141.6 FPS at 1080p to 92.7 FPS at 1440p and 50.3 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34.5%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 45.7%. This consistent behavior confirms that resolution scaling is not mitigated by lower graphical fidelity—the GPU's rendering pipeline remains the bottleneck.

At Ultra settings, the situation becomes more pronounced. The combo manages 70.9 FPS at 1080p, but this falls to 49.2 FPS at 1440p and a marginal 29.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playable action games. This indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus, cannot sustain high-fidelity rendering at 4K in this title.

The data suggests that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combination. At High settings, 60.6 FPS is achieved, which is playable for most users. The 1080p results show excellent performance, with even Ultra settings reaching 70.9 FPS, but the sharp drop-off at 4K makes that resolution impractical except at Low settings, where 50.3 FPS is attainable.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, running at a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores reveal exceptional multi-threaded capability, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 46438 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 19827. The single-thread performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6555.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The frame rates at 1080p Low settings reach 141.6 FPS, which is a high value but not indicative of CPU saturation. The percentile rank of 94 for the CPU against all processors suggests it is in the top tier, and the nearest rivals show a tight grouping: the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 0.4% faster, the Intel Core i7-14700F is 0.7% slower, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is 1.5% faster. This indicates the CPU is not a differentiator in this game.

The 12-core configuration with 64 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample processing power for game logic and AI, but the measured FPS scaling across resolutions strongly implies that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting component. The fact that frame rates at 1080p High (91.1 FPS) are nearly double those at 4K High (30.6 FPS) confirms that the GPU's rendering workload, not CPU thread scheduling, governs performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run The Technomancer at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it averages 50.3 FPS. At Medium settings, it drops to 38.1 FPS, and at High or Ultra, it falls below 31 FPS, making those presets impractical for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this setup?

A: The data indicates 1440p is the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo achieves 60.6 FPS, providing a good balance between visual quality and smoothness. 1080p offers higher frame rates, but 4K is only viable at Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 19774, which is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070, and 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K5200. This shows it performs very closely to those cards.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X a bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark data does not show CPU limitation. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s high multi-thread score of 46438 in Cinebench R23 suggests it has ample headroom.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 70.9. This is a playable frame rate for most users, although it is lower than the 91.1 FPS seen at High settings, indicating a significant performance cost for the Ultra preset.

Q: How does this combo rank overall?

A: It ranks 1242 out of 1656 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-mid range of all possible pairings. This reflects the GPU's age, as the RTX 2060 SUPER is an end-of-life product.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1242 out of 1656 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the 25th percentile of all tested pairings, indicating that while the CPU is a top-tier part, the GPU drags the overall performance down. The CPU alone sits in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, but the GPU only reaches the 63rd percentile against all GPUs.

This disparity is telling. The Ryzen 9 9900X is a modern, high-end processor with a launch MSRP of $499, and its benchmark scores are within 1.8% of its nearest rivals. In contrast, the RTX 2060 SUPER, with a launch MSRP of 399 USD, is an older Turing architecture card that has been superseded. The rank reflects this imbalance: the system is held back by the graphics card, not the processor.

The data shows that the combo's performance is consistent with a GPU that has an average benchmark score of 19774. This places it in the same performance class as the GTX TITAN and RTX 2070, which are also older or lower-tier cards. Users seeking higher frame rates would need a more powerful GPU, as the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1440p is the recommended configuration. It delivers 60.6 FPS, which is smooth enough for an action RPG, and the visual upgrade over Medium is likely noticeable. At 1080p, High settings provide 91.1 FPS, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, while Ultra settings at 1080p still manage 70.9 FPS.

For 4K, only the Low preset is viable, offering 50.3 FPS. Medium at 4K drops to 38.1 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay, but High and Ultra should be avoided due to their sub-31 FPS averages. The data suggests that the Medium preset at 1440p (71 FPS) is a strong alternative for users who want higher frame rates without sacrificing too much detail.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the performance cost is significant. At 1440p, it produces 49.2 FPS, which is 18.8% lower than High settings. At 1080p, the drop from High to Ultra is 22.2%. Given that High settings already provide good visual fidelity, the extra cost of Ultra is not justified by the measured frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 141.6 FPS on Low, 110.3 FPS on Medium, 91.1 FPS on High, and 70.9 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 70.7 FPS, showing a clear performance hierarchy across presets. The 1080p results are all playable, with even the lowest preset exceeding 70 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 92.7 FPS on Low, 71 FPS on Medium, 60.6 FPS on High, and 49.2 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, averaging about 35% across settings. The High preset at 1440p is the first instance where the frame rate falls below 60 FPS, but it remains acceptable.

At 3840x2160, the results are 50.3 FPS on Low, 38.1 FPS on Medium, 30.6 FPS on High, and 29.2 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show a clear degradation, with only the Low preset maintaining a frame rate above 50 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is minimal (1.4 FPS), indicating the GPU is fully saturated.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is based on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process. It features 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

The GPU's benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 16462 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 87670. Its average benchmark score is 19774, which places it in the 63rd percentile against all GPUs. The nearest rivals are all within 1.3% of its score, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER is a mid-range card that performs similarly to the GTX TITAN and RTX 2070.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role is dominant. The measured frame rates show that the 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the tested settings, but the raw compute power (7.181 TFLOPS FP32) limits performance at higher resolutions. The 4K results, in particular, show that the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates even at Medium settings, reinforcing its position as the bottleneck in this pairing.