The Technomancer

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a playable but not exceptional experience in The Technomancer, securing the 1620th position out of 2825 tested combos. This places the pairing in the lower-middle tier of the database, indicating that while the hardware is far from obsolete, it struggles to deliver a consistently smooth high-fidelity experience at higher resolutions. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary limiting factor, a conclusion supported by the performance scaling across resolution and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the RTX 2070 SUPER lands at a rank of 1620 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This percentile placement, roughly in the 43rd percentile of all tested pairings, suggests a configuration that is firmly mid-pack. It is not a top-tier performer, nor is it a low-end outlier; rather, it represents a balanced pairing where the CPU's substantial capabilities are not fully utilized due to the GPU's limitations.

The CPU itself is a high-end part, ranking in the 91st percentile against all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 54762. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks show a tight grouping: it trails the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF by a negligible 0.6%, while leading the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K by 1.3%, the Intel Xeon 6505P by 2%, and the Intel Core i7-14700F by 2.1%. This data confirms the 9900X3D is a top-tier processor, but its performance headroom is not the bottleneck in this gaming configuration.

Conversely, the RTX 2070 SUPER is a mid-range GPU, sitting in the 65th percentile against all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 20282 places it just ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M by 1%, but behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile by 1.2%, the Intel Arc B570 by 1.3%, and the Intel Arc A750 by 1.5%. This grouping shows the GPU is competitive with older mid-range and newer entry-level parts, but it is not in the same class as modern high-end cards. The combination's rank therefore reflects a ceiling imposed by the GPU, preventing the powerful CPU from pushing the system higher in the rankings. The benchmark results indicate the system will deliver an average experience relative to all other tested hardware, with the CPU's potential left largely untapped.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of what settings are viable for this hardware combination. At 1080p, the system offers flexibility, but the Ultra preset is the only one that fails to hit a consistently smooth frame rate. The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low at 157 FPS, High at 103 FPS, Medium at 120 FPS, and Ultra at 80 FPS.

For the smoothest experience at 1080p, High settings are the recommended choice. The jump from High to Ultra costs 23 FPS (a 22.3% drop) for what is typically a marginal visual improvement in a game of this era. High settings maintain an average well above 100 FPS, ensuring fluid gameplay. While Low offers a higher frame rate, the visual trade-off is significant. Medium, at 120 FPS, is also an excellent option, but High provides a better balance of visual fidelity and performance with only a 14.2% reduction in FPS compared to Medium.

At 1440p, the choice narrows. The High preset delivers an average of 67 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Ultra at 1440p drops to 53 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth experience. Medium is the recommended preset for 1440p, delivering an average of 79 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining a playable visual quality. Low at 1440p offers 102 FPS, but the visual compromise is steep. The data suggests that to maintain a high refresh rate experience at 1440p, the user must be willing to accept Medium settings.

At 4K, the system is clearly overburdened. Even the Low preset only reaches an average of 56 FPS, and High drops to 37 FPS. Low is the only reasonable setting at 4K, and even then, the experience is not consistently smooth. The Ultra preset at 29 FPS is effectively unplayable. The conclusion is that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combination if a consistent 60 FPS is desired. The system is best suited for 1080p High or 1440p Medium play.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario, where performance degrades sharply as resolution increases. This is the expected behavior when the graphics card, not the CPU, is the limiting factor. The CPU's high core count and clock speeds are largely irrelevant at higher resolutions because the GPU is saturated with pixel work.

From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 103 to 67, a 34.9% decrease. This is a significant penalty for a 77% increase in pixel count, indicating the GPU is already near its limits. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings is even more dramatic, with FPS falling from 67 to 37, a 44.8% decrease. This steep decline at higher resolutions is the hallmark of a GPU bottleneck.

At Low settings, the same trend is visible. 1080p Low yields 157 FPS, 1440p Low drops to 102 FPS (a 35.0% decrease), and 4K Low falls to 56 FPS (a 45.1% decrease from 1440p). The consistent pattern of ~35% and ~45% drops across settings confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER's rendering throughput is the primary constraint. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, is not the limiting factor in this game; it has ample headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions.

The data suggests that the CPU is capable of delivering much higher frame rates than the GPU can produce. For instance, if the GPU were not the bottleneck, the 1080p Low score of 157 FPS would likely be higher. The fact that the performance scales predictably with pixel count and not with CPU workload is definitive proof that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the component holding back the system in The Technomancer.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a granular look at the system's performance across all tested configurations. The following is a resolution-by-resolution breakdown of the average FPS figures.

1920x1080:

• Low: 157 FPS average.
• Medium: 120 FPS average, with minimum and maximum of 102 and 139 FPS respectively.
• High: 103 FPS average.
• Ultra: 80 FPS average.

At 1080p, the system is capable of high frame rates. The difference between Low and Ultra is 77 FPS, a substantial range that shows the GPU is being stressed as settings increase. The Medium preset's minimum of 102 FPS shows that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above the 100 FPS threshold.

2560x1440:

• Low: 102 FPS average.
• Medium: 79 FPS average, with minimum and maximum of 67 and 91 FPS respectively.
• High: 67 FPS average.
• Ultra: 53 FPS average.

At 1440p, the frame rates drop into a more moderate range. The Medium preset's minimum of 67 FPS is still above the 60 FPS target, but the High preset's average at 67 FPS means it will dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. Ultra at 53 FPS is noticeably less fluid.

3840x2160:

• Low: 56 FPS average.
• Medium: 43 FPS average, with minimum and maximum of 37 and 50 FPS respectively.
• High: 37 FPS average.
• Ultra: 29 FPS average.

At 4K, the system is clearly out of its depth. Even the Low preset barely maintains an average above 50 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 37 FPS highlights significant frame drops, making gameplay feel stuttery. The Ultra preset at 29 FPS is not a playable configuration.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo capable of running The Technomancer at 60 FPS at 1080p?*

A: Yes, comfortably. The benchmark data shows average FPS of 103 at High settings and 120 at Medium settings, both well above the 60 FPS target. Even the Ultra preset at 80 FPS exceeds this threshold.

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

A: The Medium preset is the recommended choice at 2560x1440, delivering an average of 79 FPS. The High preset at 67 FPS is also playable, but the Medium setting provides a larger safety margin above 60 FPS.

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

A: Not at a consistently smooth frame rate. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 56 on the Low preset. High and Ultra settings yield 37 and 29 FPS respectively, which are not acceptable for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck for this game?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The FPS drops by roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 45% from 1440p to 4K, which is classic GPU-bound behavior. The CPU's performance is not a constraint based on these scaling patterns.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X3D compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU's average score of 54762 is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, which is 0.6% faster. It is 1.3% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and 2.1% faster than the Intel Core i7-14700F.

Q: What is the FPS range for the Medium preset at 1080p?

A: The average FPS is 120, with a minimum of 102 and a maximum of 139. This indicates a reasonably stable frame rate with only a 18 FPS variation between the worst and best-case scenes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a high-end desktop processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (codenamed Granite Ridge). It features 12 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded and single-threaded horsepower. Its synthetic benchmark scores are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs.

However, in The Technomancer, the CPU's role is secondary. The game is not heavily threaded, and the measured FPS data shows that performance is dictated by the GPU. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's 128 MB of L3 cache and high clock speeds provide ample headroom for the game's logic and physics, but this headroom is never fully exercised because the RTX 2070 SUPER cannot render frames fast enough to demand more from the CPU.

The evidence for this is the predictable FPS scaling with resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS across all resolutions, as the CPU's workload would be constant. Instead, the FPS drops significantly as resolution increases, proving that the GPU has become the limiting factor. The CPU's performance in this context is sufficient to avoid being a bottleneck, but its power is effectively wasted in this particular pairing. The system's overall rank of 1620 out of 2825 combos is a direct result of the GPU's mid-range standing (65th percentile) rather than the CPU's high-end standing (91st percentile). The benchmark results conclude that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is not the component that defines the gaming experience in The Technomancer; the RTX 2070 SUPER is.