The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, places measurable demands on the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 580 pairing. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four presets show a combination that is clearly GPU-bound at high settings but still capable of smooth performance at 1080p. The CPU’s six cores and six threads with a 2.90 GHz base clock, boosting to 4.10 GHz, keep the pipeline fed in this title, yet the GPU’s 185 W TDP and 8 GB GDDR5 memory dictate the frame ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The most linear scaling appears at the highest preset. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on Ultra yields 39 average FPS down to 25 – a 36% reduction. Going from 1440p to 3840x2160 Ultra drops to 14 average FPS, another 39% loss. This pattern is consistent across all presets: the transition from 1080p to 1440p loses roughly one-third of the average FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K nearly halves it. For example, at High settings, 1080p shows 50 FPS, 1440p drops to 33, and 4K falls to 18. Low settings follow the same shape but with less crushing low end: 76 → 50 → 27.

The 1440p to 4K step is particularly punishing because pixel count quadruples from 2.1 million to 8.3 million. The Radeon’s pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s begin to cap the frame output once the rasterization load exceeds the GPU’s parallel throughput. At 2160p even Low settings, which require fewer shader passes, can only average 27 FPS, indicating a hard geometry and raster boundary. Conversely, 1080p to 1440p scaling is stable enough to preserve the relative preset gaps: the difference between Medium and High remains roughly the same slide. By contrast, 4K resolution compresses all presets into a narrow average span of 18 to 27 GB/s, proving that the RX 580 can’t brute-force this title above 27 FPS at that resolution under any preset.

The data conclusively shows the GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions except maybe 1080p Low. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 76, so the CPU places a floor—the i5-9400’s 9 MB shared L3 cache and 6-thread layout afford enough headroom to push to that level. Yet even there, a 1080p Ultra drop to 39 FPS suggests that the shading unit count, 2304 units, stalls as draw calls multiply. The scaling curve is monotonic; every resolution step halves the headroom but not the linearity.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its benchmark and measured FPS both place it on par with mobile test-bench rivals: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores a 0.1% higher average benchmark (12940 vs 12928), and the GTX 1660 SUPER is 0.4% above. These small deltaPct values mean the RX 580 is a solid mid-range card that trades punches with the last-generation but isn’t equipped for 4K. The GPU’s 8 GB GDDR5 memory at 2000 MHz yields 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is more than enough for The Technomancer’s textures and shadow maps, even at 4K. VRAM never becomes a hard limit because the 8 GB pool at 256-bit 4.5 GB/s exceeds the game’s resource. The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 texture units, and 32 ROPs. At 4K Ultra, the combination of texture and pixel fills saturates the 193.0 GTexel/s texture rate and 42.88 GPixel/s pixel rate. That clock ceiling means 14 average FPS at 4K Ultra—the frame dipped to 14, with no recorded maximum, signifying that the GPU hasn’t²,² pushing on the frontend.

The GPU’s 1257 MHz base and 1340 MHz boost clock is below the ad card that can sustain maximum performance without a power seeding—observation suggests that the 6.175 TFLOPS FP32 is not enough for 4K. The card is the limb of this combination at all resolutions above 1080p. At 1080p Low, the GPU resource is underutilized, so the i5-9400 can supply up to 76 frames. But even at 1080p Medium, the 58 FPS is only 7 FPS above its performance. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s 0.4% average delta indicates the game would see a marginal 18-å improve with that card, but the delta is too small to justify a change. The RX 580 is capable of 1080p high and medium, but it’s 2.2% of the way to 1440p and dies at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What average FPS does this combo deliver at 1920x1080 on High?

A: At 1080p High, the measured average is 50 FPS. This is close to a smooth 60 Hz experience, but it is not harsh—the minimum and maximum aren’t recorded for this row, so a 50 average could include dips.

Q: What is the highest frame rate in the measured data?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 74, with no frame ceiling stat. That’s the maximum average of the entire set; 1440p Low gives 50, 4K Low gives 27.

Q: Which resolution and preset delivers 33 FPS?

A: Two rows show 33 FPS: 2560x1440 at High settings, and 1 Kanges. At 1440p High, the average is 33; the same value appears at 4K Low? No, 1440p Medium is 38. So we can say: The 1440p High preset averages 33 FPS, which is 33 fps. Only one setting yields 33 on the list—2560x1440 High.

Q: Does the CPU or the GPU limit performance at 1080p Low?

A: The 76 FPS at 1080p Low exceeds the GPU’s capability when filtered through other presets. With Low, since the GPU is 53th percentile, it’s the CPU’s six threads that permit those frame rates; the GPU’s average benchmark (12928) is the same as if it were undefiled.

Q: What is the per-frame range at 1080p Medium?

A: The row records an average of 58 FPS with an 18-point spread: minimum 50 FPS and maximum = 69 FPS (67 from the panel). That is the only setting with min/max spans; 1440p Medium spans 32 to 44, 4K spans 18 to 24.

Q: What is the GPU in this combo ranked relative to its peers?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark is 12928, with a percentile of 53% among all. A nearest rivals include the GTX 1660 SUPER at 12986 and RTX 3050 Ti Mobile at 12940, showing it’s within 0.5% of those cards.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the twelve measured FPS rows, the best experience for this combo is 1920x1080 with the Medium preset. At 58 average FPS, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 67, this provides a near-lock 60 FPS experience with a headroom margin. The High preset at same resolution is only 50 average FPS, epcloses the gap to 60 but lacks the spread. Ultra at 1080p is 39 FPS, barely a stutter-free 30 FPS plateau. 1440p is not Vita for mainstream: Low gives only 50, Medium 38, High 33, and Ultra 25, all notably below the 60+ range, but if you have a monitor that can sync to 40 or 50 Hz, 1440p Low is usable.

At 4K, none of the presets achieve playable speeds—Low at 4K is 27 average, Medium 21, High 18, Ultra 14. Given the frame-times, best isn’t 4K. For the overall experience, 1080p Medium obtains the best combination of visual metrics and fluidity: the minimum FPS of 50 means occasional drops to 50 during heavy combat, but frame pacing stays within the bound we see in the max 67. The next best is 1080p Low at 76 FPS, which is eye-safe but sacrifices a lot of visual spread. Comparing 1080p Medium to 1440p High, the 33 FPS at 1440p is unplayable for a fighting/action RPG. Thus, set the game to 1920x1080, Medium preset, and the game will feel ‘optimal.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of 3696 tested combos for The Technomancer, this Intel i5-9400 + RX 580 lands at position 3373. That means there are 323 lower combos (3696-3373 = 323). It ranks in the lowest 11.5% of all combos measured for this game. This is expected given the GPU’s mid-range scarcity at 4K. The rank reflects the extreme resolution scaling described above: while it’s in the top half of GPUs (3rd percentile of all GPUs) and the CPU is 47th percentile, the very low FPS at 4K (14–28fps) drags the combo down. In contrast, the terser 1080p numbers (50–76fps) are fine, but the game’s intended at 4K didn’t work. Rival combos, like CPU pairing with i7-10710U (0.3% higher CPU) out the dog. This ranking suggests that playing with a 1080p monitor and maybe lowering the res would outperform an alternative with a 4K monitor. The 3373 percentile is just a rank, not a win: for action RPGs at 1080p, this combo is adequate; at 4K it’s far down.

Measured FPS Breakdown

• 1920×1080 (1080p):

| Preset | Avg | Min | Max |

|--------|-----|----|----|

| Low | 76 | – | – |

| Medium | 58 | 50 | 67 |

| High | 50 | – | – |

| Ultra | 39 | – | – |

• 2560×1440 (1440p):

| Preset | Avg | Min | Max |

|--------|-----|-----|-----|

| Low | 50 | – | – |

| Medium | 38 | 32 | 44 |

| High | 33 | – | – |

| Ultra | 25 | – | – |

• 3840×2160 (4K):

| Preset | Avg | Min | Max |

|--------|-----|-----|-----|

| Low | 27 | – | – |

| Medium | 21 | 18 | 24 |

| High | 18 | – | – |

| Ultra | 14 | – | – |

The maximum absolute frame is 76 (1080p Low), and the minimum is 14 (4K Ultra). The spread is narrowest at 1080p Medium, with a 17-point difference between min and max. The table reveal a clear delta: 1080p Medium is the only row that six average fps above 60, while 1440p Low average is exactly 50, and 4K averages lower than 30 across the board.

⁠CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides six physical cores, with six threads, a base clock of 2.90 GHz, and 4.10 GHz boost. It has one 9 MB shared L3 cache, each core other has 256 KB L2. This chip falls in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, with a average benchmark score of 2254. Its closest rival is the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 at 0.2% faster, and the i7-10710U plus 0.4% slower. In this game, the CPU is never the bottleneck above 1080p Low. At 1080p Low, the 76 f FPS is limited by the CPU’s capacity, because the GPU load at Low is light enough that it can overshoot. Switch to 1080p Medium, and the GPU falls to 58 FPS, so it’s no longer CPU.), Meanwhile at 4K Ultra with 11 FPS, the CPU is nearly into it. For a game that uses six-threads like Technomancer, the i5-8400’s 6-thread design fits but the 2.90 boost isn’t high enough to push beyond 76 in Low case. The CPU’s 9 MB L3 for load and boost 4.1 GHz allowed the GPU to free-run, but the frame ceiling at 1080p Low shows that a 4-core with a higher turbo (e.g., i3-10305 with 4.5 GHz) would bring an extra >10% FPS in that scenario. The screen telemetry at 1080p Low shows the GPU didn’t get a max because the CPU was the upper cap. At all other presets and resolutions, the GPU is the limiter. Hence, the i5-8400 is a fine match for RX 580 at 1080p, but shows that it can supply fifty frames in burst conditions.

The i5-9400’s $12.00 is not the issue; its old Mesh-map, but the 6 MB perform as needed. The CPU’s Geekbench score (9141 multi) indicates it handles this title’s thread load, but the won't be a unique 4K. The CPU has no L4 3D V-cache, so DirectX 12 the path is via SMP. Still, the boost clock of 4.10 GHz is enough to keep pace with 58 FPS at 1080p Medium—the sequential power vs max performance is halved. If paired with a higher-bound GPU like a RTX 10GO, the i5-9400 could escalate, but in this measured world, it’s a balanced bottle.