The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting challenge for modern hardware. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D processor and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card demonstrates how a powerful contemporary CPU can interact with a previous-generation GPU in an older title. The measured data shows that this pairing is capable of delivering playable frame rates at most settings, with the primary bottleneck shifting between the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and quality preset selected. The benchmark results indicate a system that is well-balanced for 1440p gaming but begins to show its limits when pushed to 4K Ultra settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At this resolution, the combo achieves an average of 111 FPS on Low settings and 73 FPS on High, while still maintaining a solid 57 FPS on Ultra. This provides a good balance between visual fidelity and performance.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the system averages 61 FPS on Low and 47 FPS on Medium settings. However, performance drops to 40 FPS on High and 31 FPS on Ultra, which may not be smooth enough for all players.

Q: How does the CPU benchmark performance compare to its rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762. This places it 0.6% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, which scores 55093, and 1.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, which scores 54053. It also outperforms the Intel Xeon 6505P and Intel Core i7-14700F by 2% and 2.1%, respectively.

Q: What is the GPU's performance standing relative to other cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 27425. This puts it essentially on par with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, which scores 27435. It is also 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, which scores 27565, and 1.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell, which scores 27135.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1920x1080, the average frame rate drops from 171 FPS on Low settings to 87 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a significant 84 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset is much more demanding on the GPU.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems for this game?

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 1464 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the upper half of all systems tested, indicating a strong but not top-tier performance level.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, which are significant factors in its performance. The processor features a substantial 128 MB of L3 cache, which is crucial for gaming performance, as it allows for more data to be stored closer to the cores for faster access. The CPU's benchmark scores reflect its capability, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739.

In a game like The Technomancer, released in 2016, the CPU's role is often to maintain a stable frame rate by handling game logic, physics, and AI. The data suggests that this processor is not a limiting factor at any of the tested resolutions. For instance, at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 171 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that requires a strong CPU to avoid bottlenecking the GPU. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its Geekbench single-core score of 3041, ensures that it can handle the game's main thread efficiently.

The processor's performance is further contextualized by its percentile ranking, which places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. This indicates that it is more powerful than the vast majority of processors on the market. When comparing to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54762 is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF's score of 55093, with a negligible delta of -0.6%. This suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the performance of these two processors would be indistinguishable. The advantage of the 9900X3D's large 128 MB L3 cache may become more apparent in specific games that benefit from it, but the overall synthetic benchmark scores show a tight race at the top.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. The card's clock speeds are a key part of its performance profile, with a base clock of 2321 MHz, a game clock of 2424 MHz, and a boost clock of 2581 MHz. It has 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, which are essential for rendering pixels at high resolutions. The GPU's compute power is rated at 13.21 TFLOPS for FP32 operations.

The GPU's role in The Technomancer becomes increasingly important as resolution and settings are increased. The measured FPS data shows a clear trend: as the resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the average frame rates drop significantly at the same settings. For example, at High settings, the average FPS drops from 112 at 1080p to 73 at 1440p and finally to 40 at 4K. This pattern indicates that the RX 6700 XT is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, especially at 4K.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals is interesting. With an average benchmark score of 27425, it is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, which scores 27435. However, the RX 6700 XT is a desktop card, while the RTX 4070 Mobile is a laptop part. The data also shows the RX 6700 XT is 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 in average score, which is a surprising result given the RTX 3090 is a much more expensive and powerful card in most scenarios. This highlights that synthetic benchmarks do not always translate perfectly to real-world gaming performance, where the RTX 3090's larger memory bandwidth and CUDA core count would typically give it a significant advantage. The RX 6700 XT's 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for The Technomancer at all tested settings, as the game does not appear to be memory-limited based on the measured data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo provide a detailed look at its performance across different resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system is clearly GPU-bound at higher settings but has plenty of headroom. The average FPS is 171 on Low, 131 on Medium, and 112 on High. These are all very playable numbers, with even the High preset delivering a smooth experience. The Ultra preset drops the average to 87 FPS, which is still excellent for a demanding setting. The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 111 and a maximum of 151, indicating a stable frame pacing.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down accordingly. The Low preset yields an average of 111 FPS, which is still very high. The Medium preset averages 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 and a maximum of 98. The High preset delivers a solid 73 FPS on average. The Ultra preset is where we see a more significant drop, with an average of 57 FPS. This is still playable, but it shows that the Ultra preset at 1440p is starting to push the RX 6700 XT to its limits.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck. The Low preset averages 61 FPS, which is just above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset drops to an average of 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 54. This indicates that while the game is playable, there will be noticeable frame dips in demanding scenes. The High preset averages 40 FPS, which is borderline for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of 31 FPS, which would be considered too low for fast-paced action.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 84 FPS. At 1440p, this gap is 54 FPS. At 4K, the gap narrows to 30 FPS. This is because at lower resolutions, the CPU can feed frames to the GPU faster, but at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload is so high that the CPU is no longer the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1464 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the 52nd percentile of all systems tested, meaning it performs better than just over half of the combinations in the database. This is a strong result, especially considering that the GPU is a previous-generation mid-range card while the CPU is a current-generation high-end part.

The rank of 1464 suggests that while this combo is far from the top, it is also far from the bottom. It represents a system that can play The Technomancer well at 1080p and 1440p, with only 4K Ultra being a challenging scenario. The high ranking of the CPU, which is in the 91st percentile, helps to ensure that the system does not suffer from CPU-related stutters or frame drops, even when the GPU is working hard.

The GPU's rank in the 72nd percentile is also respectable. The fact that the overall combo rank is lower than the individual component ranks indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. The data shows that the CPU has more than enough headroom to drive a more powerful GPU, meaning that if the graphics card were upgraded, the overall system performance in this game would likely improve significantly. The combo's rank reflects the balance of the system, as it avoids the severe bottlenecking that can occur with mismatched components.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo in The Technomancer depends on the user's resolution and preference for visual quality.

For 1920x1080 displays, the Ultra preset is the best choice. The average FPS of 87 is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and there are no reported minimum FPS figures that would indicate severe stuttering. This allows the user to experience the game with all visual features enabled without sacrificing playability.

For 2560x1440 displays, the High preset offers the best balance. It delivers an average of 73 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. While the Ultra preset is also playable at 57 FPS, the High preset provides a more consistent experience with a higher average frame rate, which is better for action-oriented gameplay. The Medium preset is also a viable option, offering 86 FPS on average, but the visual fidelity reduction may not be worth the extra 13 FPS over High.

For 3840x2160 displays, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point. It provides an average of 47 FPS, which is playable, but the minimum FPS of 40 indicates that there will be drops below the 60 FPS mark. The Low preset is a safer choice for a more stable experience, with an average of 61 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are not recommended for 4K, as their average FPS of 40 and 31, respectively, fall below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience.

Ultimately, the choice comes down to whether the user prioritizes visual fidelity or frame rate. The data shows that this combo is capable of a high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p, a solid 60+ FPS experience at 1440p on High, and a playable, albeit not perfect, experience at 4K on Medium or Low settings.