The Technomancer

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination lands at rank 1179 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. This pairing sits just above the 58th percentile of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing for a system built around a 2020 GPU and a 2025 CPU. The data suggests this combo is well-balanced for a 2016 Action RPG, though the specific bottleneck shifts dramatically depending on resolution and settings, as the measured FPS rows reveal.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1179 out of 2825 tested combinations indicates that roughly 58% of all tested systems perform better, while 42% perform worse. This is a respectable position, but it is heavily influenced by the GPU's age rather than the CPU's strength. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D alone holds a percentile of 91 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 91% of processors in the database. In contrast, the RTX 3070 holds a percentile of 61 against all GPUs. The gap between these two percentiles is telling: the CPU is a top-tier part, while the GPU is merely above average, which explains why the overall combo rank does not approach the CPU's elite percentile.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D posts an average benchmark score of 54762, which is only 0.6% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (score 55093) and 1.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (score 54053). It also leads the Intel Xeon 6505P by 2% and the Intel Core i7-14700F by 2.1%. These are narrow margins, indicating that the 9900X3D's advantage in synthetic multi-threaded tests is not overwhelming. However, the CPU's 3DMark scores show a clear scaling pattern: 2512 in the 2-thread test, 4885 in 4-thread, 9002 in 8-thread, and 13795 in max-thread, which suggests excellent multi-core scaling that should benefit games that use more than a few cores.

For the GPU, the RTX 3070's average benchmark score is 17208, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (score 17083) and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (score 17037). It also sits 1.1% above the AMD Radeon HD 7970M and 1.5% below the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (score 17468). These rival deltas are all within 1.5%, indicating that the RTX 3070 is in a tightly contested performance band. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 22214 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162 provide additional context, but the game-specific FPS data is more relevant for this analysis.

FAQ

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X3D overkill for The Technomancer when paired with an RTX 3070?

A: The data suggests yes, especially at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 191 FPS, which is far beyond any display's refresh rate, and the CPU's single-thread score of 4646 in PassMark indicates it can handle even the most demanding frame calculations. The CPU's 91st percentile versus the GPU's 61st percentile shows a clear imbalance in raw capability.

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p High at 82 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness. At 4K High, the average drops to 45 FPS, which is playable but marginal for fast-paced action, while 1080p Ultra at 98 FPS is also viable but does not leverage the CPU's potential as effectively.

Q: How does the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The 8 GB frame buffer is likely a limiting factor at 3840x2160. The measured FPS drops from 69 at Low to 35 at Ultra, which is a 49% reduction. This steep decline suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is both compute-bound and potentially VRAM-limited, causing the average to fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's 128 MB L3 cache provide a measurable benefit in this game?

A: The cache helps in CPU-bound scenarios, which are most evident at 1080p Low where the combo hits 191 FPS. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739 indicate strong per-core performance, which is crucial for older games that may not scale well across 12 cores.

Q: Should I prioritize upgrading the GPU or keep the current CPU for this game?

A: The bottleneck analysis points to the GPU. At 4K Ultra, the combo only manages 35 FPS, and at 1080p Low it reaches 191 FPS, showing that the CPU can push far more frames than the GPU can render at high settings. Upgrading the GPU would yield larger gains in this title than replacing the CPU.

Q: Is this combo considered high-end for a game released in 2016?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The combo ranks 1179 out of 2825, which is above average but not top-tier. The RTX 3070's 61st percentile and the fact that it is marked as end-of-life in production status mean it is not the strongest GPU available, even though it delivers 98 FPS at 1080p Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units. The GPU has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, which are not heavily utilized in a 2016 title like The Technomancer but are present for modern workloads. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock is listed as 1750 MHz, with an effective data rate of 14 Gbps, and the GPU's base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz.

In the context of this game's measured results, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is just 35, while at 4K Low it jumps to 69 FPS. This 34 FPS difference between settings at the same resolution highlights how much the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are taxed by higher detail levels. The RTX 3070's PassMark G3D score of 22214 places it in the 61st percentile, which aligns with its mid-pack performance in this game. The GPU's nearest rival, the Radeon RX 7600 XT, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (17083 vs 17208), yet in this specific title, the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM and 448 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to maintain playable frame rates at 1440p, but not at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is theoretically strong, but the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (35 FPS) suggests that memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity are more significant constraints than raw compute. The pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s are adequate for 1440p, but at 4K, the fill rate requirements double, which explains the steep drop from 82 FPS at 1440p High to 45 FPS at 4K High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a complete matrix of resolutions and settings, all with average FPS values, and some with min/max ranges. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 191 FPS on Low, 147 FPS on Medium (with min 125 and max 169), 125 FPS on High, and 98 FPS on Ultra. The 1080p results show a clear scaling pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 20-30 FPS. The Medium preset's min FPS of 125 indicates that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 120 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 125 on Low, 96 on Medium (min 82, max 110), 82 on High, and 64 on Ultra. The 1440p Medium preset shows a min FPS of 82, which is still above the 60 FPS standard, but the Ultra preset's 64 FPS average leaves little headroom for frame time spikes. At 3840x2160, the results become more demanding: 69 FPS on Low, 53 FPS on Medium (min 45, max 61), 45 FPS on High, and 35 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Medium preset is the only one that breaks 60 FPS on average, but its min FPS of 45 indicates significant dips.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings, the scaling is consistent. For High settings, the average FPS goes from 125 at 1080p, to 82 at 1440p, to 45 at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. The Low preset shows a similar pattern: 191 at 1080p, 125 at 1440p, and 69 at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with 98 at 1080p, 64 at 1440p, and 35 at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals critical information about the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 191 FPS, and at 4K Low it achieves 69 FPS, which is a 64% reduction. This massive drop indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the CPU's performance (with a 91st percentile ranking) is not the constraint. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads, running at base 4.40 GHz and boost 5.50 GHz, are more than capable of handling the game's physics and AI at any resolution, but the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448 GB/s bandwidth cannot keep up with the pixel count at 4K.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep. At High settings, the FPS drops from 82 to 45, a 45% decrease, which is close to the theoretical pixel count increase of 2.25x (from 3.7 million to 8.3 million pixels). This suggests that the GPU is almost perfectly compute-bound at these resolutions, with no other system component interfering. Conversely, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings shows a 35% drop (from 191 to 125 FPS), which is less than the pixel count increase, indicating that the CPU is starting to provide some headroom that the GPU cannot fully utilize.

The data implies that at 1080p, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is not the limiting factor, as the GPU's maximum output is around 191 FPS on Low. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 35 FPS average on Ultra. For users who want to play at 4K, the RTX 3070 is insufficient for Ultra settings, but it can handle Low settings at 69 FPS, which is playable but visually compromised.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution priority. At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 98 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. The High preset at 125 FPS is also excellent for users with 144 Hz monitors, but the Ultra preset offers a more complete experience without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1440p, the High preset at 82 FPS is the sweet spot. It delivers a high level of detail while keeping the average FPS above 80, which is suitable for most displays. The Medium preset at 96 FPS is viable for competitive play, but the High preset's visual improvements are worth the 14 FPS cost. The Ultra preset at 64 FPS is playable, but the min FPS is not recorded, so there is a risk of stutter in dense scenes.

At 4K, the Medium preset at 53 FPS is the only realistic option for a smooth experience, but its min FPS of 45 is concerning. The Low preset at 69 FPS is the safest bet for 4K, as it ensures a consistent frame rate above 60 FPS, albeit with reduced visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 35 FPS is not recommended for action gameplay, as the low frame rate would impact responsiveness.

In summary, for the best overall experience, 1080p Ultra at 98 FPS is recommended. For users with 1440p monitors, 1440p High at 82 FPS offers the best balance. For 4K, the Low preset at 69 FPS is the only preset that guarantees a smooth experience, while Medium at 53 FPS is acceptable with some frame dips.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 9000 series, based on the Zen 5 architecture and Granite Ridge codename. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. The CPU has a 128 MB L3 cache, which is split into 80 KB L1 and 1 MB L2 per core. It supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The processor is manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC, with 16,630 million transistors across a die size of 2x 70.6 mm².

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 191 FPS, which is likely close to the engine's maximum frame rate or the CPU's rendering limit. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4646 and its 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 indicate strong per-core performance, which is crucial for a game that may not scale perfectly across 12 cores. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739 further confirms this, as older games often rely on one or two threads for the main game logic.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also relevant. With a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 22884, the 9900X3D can handle any background tasks or game streaming without impacting performance. However, the measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra (35 FPS), the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as the CPU's performance is nowhere near its limit. The 3DMark max-thread score of 13795 indicates that the CPU can push far more frames than the GPU can render at high resolutions.

The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and its nearest rivals (all within 2.1% of its average score) suggest that it is a top-tier part, but not the absolute fastest. For this game, the CPU's 128 MB L3 cache does not provide a measurable advantage in the FPS data, as the GPU is the limiting factor at all settings above 1080p Low. The CPU's role is to ensure a stable frame rate floor, which it does admirably, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p and the lack of any recorded min FPS drops below 45 at 4K Medium.