The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination. The benchmark data shows this pairing is a mid-pack performer, ranking 925th out of 1656 tested combos, indicating it handles the game well at high refresh rates on 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in The Technomancer?

A: The combination ranks 925th out of 1656 tested combos. This places it in the middle of the performance spectrum, indicating a solid but not top-tier experience for this specific title.

Q: How many cores and threads does the Intel Core i5-9400 have, and what are its clock speeds?

A: The CPU has 6 cores and 6 threads. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz, with a boost clock of up to 4.10 GHz.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT?

A: The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming based on the measured data?

A: For 2560x1440, the High preset provides an average of 75.3 FPS, which is a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset drops to 58.2 FPS, while the Low preset reaches 111.2 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU's performance in this game align with its overall benchmark percentile?

A: The GPU's overall percentile is 77, meaning it scores higher than 77% of all GPUs in general benchmarks. In this specific game, the combo's rank of 925 out of 1656 suggests the game is demanding enough to prevent the GPU from achieving a top-tier standing.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305's score of 2300.

How This Combo Ranks

The data clearly indicates that the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination is a competent, mid-range performer for The Technomancer. With a rank of 925 out of 1656 combos, it sits just above the 44th percentile of tested systems. This is not a top-tier pairing for the game, but it is far from a weak one. The performance is sufficient for smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, but the system will not dominate at higher resolutions.

This rank is a direct result of the balance between the CPU and GPU. The RX 6700 XT is a powerful card, evidenced by its 77th percentile ranking among all GPUs. However, in The Technomancer, the system's performance is not in the top quarter of all combos. This suggests that the game's engine is leveraging the hardware in a way that prevents the GPU from fully expressing its potential, likely due to CPU limitations at lower resolutions or the sheer demand of the game at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the primary driver of visual fidelity in this configuration. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory is a significant asset, especially for a game from 2016 that can be texture-heavy. The 384.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth ensures that data can be fed to the GPU cores efficiently, which is crucial for maintaining frame rates at higher resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds are also important. With a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz, the card is running at a high frequency. The "game" clock of 2424 MHz is the typical sustained speed during gaming workloads. This high clock speed helps the GPU maintain its performance edge. The data shows that in this game, the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as even on Low settings the average FPS is only 59.8, which is just at the edge of smoothness. This is despite the GPU's raw power, indicating that the game's engine is very demanding at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of what settings to use for the best experience. For 1080p, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 110 FPS. This provides a significant performance headroom over the 60 FPS target and is a vast improvement over the 90.8 FPS seen on Ultra, while offering better visuals than the 133.6 FPS on Medium.

At 2560x1440, the High preset again proves to be the optimal choice. The 75.3 FPS average is comfortably above 60 FPS, offering a smooth and responsive experience. While Ultra is playable at 58.2 FPS, the drop below 60 FPS might be noticeable to some users. The Medium preset at 87.4 FPS offers more headroom but sacrifices visual quality. For a balanced experience, High is the clear winner.

For 4K, the situation is more challenging. The High preset only manages 38.5 FPS, which is not smooth. The Low preset is required to achieve a near-playable 59.8 FPS. Therefore, for 4K, users should stick to Low settings to maintain a consistent frame rate, or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to use higher quality presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a comprehensive look at the system's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the system is clearly CPU-bound at lower settings, with the Low preset yielding an average of 169.1 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 133.6 FPS, while High is at 110 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, still produces a very playable 90.8 FPS. All presets at this resolution are above 90 FPS, making the game extremely smooth.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility. The Low preset produces 111.2 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium drops to 87.4 FPS, and High is at 75.3 FPS. The Ultra preset is the first to dip below the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 58.2 FPS. This resolution is still very playable with High settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Ultra preset averages a demanding 32.8 FPS. High improves to 38.5 FPS, and Medium to 45.6 FPS. Only the Low preset achieves a near-60 FPS experience at 59.8 FPS. This resolution requires significant compromises in visual quality to maintain performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads, a configuration that was standard for gaming in its generation. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz are adequate for the task. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 place it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, showing that it is an average performer by modern standards.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role becomes apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 169.1 FPS, which is significantly higher than the 59.8 FPS at 4K. This large delta suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases. The CPU's 6-thread limit may also be a factor in a game from this era, but the high frame rates at 1080p indicate it is not a severe limitation for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the system's bottleneck. At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 90.8 at 1080p to 58.2 at 1440p, a 36% reduction. The drop from 1440p to 4K is even more severe, falling to 32.8 FPS, another 44% reduction. This pattern indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The data shows that the GPU is being pushed to its limits at 4K, as the frame rates are consistently low across all settings. Even on Low, the 4K result of 59.8 FPS is lower than the 1080p Ultra result of 90.8 FPS. This confirms that the GPU's raw processing power and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints at 4K. The CPU, while not a top-tier part, is not the primary bottleneck; it can produce high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU cannot maintain those frame rates when the pixel count is quadrupled.