The Technomancer

# The Technomancer with Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

This combination of an Intel Core i5-9400 processor and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card delivers surprisingly strong performance in The Technomancer, placing in the top quarter of all tested system configurations. The pairing ranks 387th out of 1,656 total combos tested for this game, which puts it in the 77th percentile — a solid position that reflects the GPU's heavy lifting while the aging CPU keeps pace well enough at most settings. The data reveals an interesting dynamic where the graphics card's massive memory pool and bandwidth compensate for what is now a dated six-core processor, creating a system that handles this 2016 action RPG with authority across most resolution and quality combinations.

How This Combo Ranks

The 387th ranking out of 1,656 tested combinations places this system firmly in the upper quartile of all hardware pairings evaluated for The Technomancer. This position suggests the combination outperforms roughly three-quarters of tested systems, which is noteworthy given the processor's age relative to the GPU. The Intel Core i5-9400 sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs in the database, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX reaches the 85th percentile among all GPUs — the GPU is clearly the dominant component driving this combo's competitive standing.

Benchmark data shows the CPU's average score of 2,305 places it within 0.2% of the Intel Core i3-10305 and 0.2% of the Intel Core i3-1125G4, while trailing the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%. The GPU's average score of 44,019 puts it 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, while also trailing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti by 2%. This combination of a mid-range CPU with a top-tier GPU creates a system that ranks well because the game's demands lean heavily on graphics processing rather than multi-threaded CPU performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX provides the overwhelming majority of this system's gaming capability, featuring 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's clock speeds range from a 1,929 MHz base to a 2,498 MHz boost, with a game clock of 2,365 MHz that represents the sustained frequency during typical workloads. Memory operates at 2,500 MHz with 20 Gbps effective speed, which proves critical for The Technomancer's texture-heavy environments.

The GPU's architecture includes 6,144 shading units, 384 texture mapping units, and 192 raster operation units, producing a pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 959.2 GTexel/s. Raw compute reaches 61.39 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, which explains why the card handles even the most demanding settings in this game without breaking a sweat. The 24 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant for a game released in 2016, as it completely eliminates any possibility of memory capacity becoming a bottleneck — the card has far more memory than this title can possibly utilize. The 85th percentile GPU ranking confirms this card sits well above most contemporary graphics solutions in the database.

FAQ

Q: Why does this combo rank so high despite the CPU being at the 50th percentile?

A: The GPU's dominance — sitting at the 85th percentile — carries the system to a 387th rank out of 1,656 combos. The game appears to scale primarily with graphics performance rather than CPU capabilities, allowing the RX 7900 XTX to compensate for the i5-9400's mid-range standing.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the system achieves 115.5 FPS, which represents the sweet spot between visual quality and smoothness. Lower resolutions yield higher frame rates but with diminishing returns, as the 1080p results show only modest gains.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2,305 sits within 0.2% of both the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, while trailing the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%. This places it in extremely close competition with several newer processors.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at any settings?

A: The data suggests the opposite — at 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 173.6 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 47.3 FPS. The massive frame rate spread indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU can feed frames faster at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the GPU's performance position relative to rivals?

A: The RX 7900 XTX averages 44,019 points, placing it 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M6000, while trailing the AMD Radeon Pro 580 by 0.4% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti by 2%.

Q: Is the 24 GB VRAM necessary for this game?

A: No — The Technomancer, released in 2016, cannot possibly utilize 24 GB of GDDR6 memory. However, this excess capacity means the system will never experience memory-related stuttering or texture pop-in, regardless of resolution or settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Starting at 1920x1080, the system delivers 173.6 FPS on Low settings, which represents the absolute ceiling for this configuration. Medium settings reduce performance to 158.9 FPS, while High settings produce 152.6 FPS. Ultra settings at 1080p yield 138.3 FPS — still exceptionally smooth and only 20% below the Low setting result, indicating the GPU has substantial headroom at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440 reveals a more pronounced scaling curve. Low settings produce 150.3 FPS, Medium delivers 136.3 FPS, and High achieves 115.5 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 93.1 FPS, which represents a 38% reduction from Low. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution (20.8 FPS) is larger than at 1080p (6.3 FPS), suggesting the GPU is beginning to feel the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, performance compresses significantly. Low settings yield 99.2 FPS, Medium drops to 74.1 FPS, and High manages 62.6 FPS. Ultra settings produce 47.3 FPS, which is the only sub-60 result across the entire measured range. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 51.9 FPS, demonstrating how dramatically quality settings impact performance at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides six cores and six threads operating at a 2.90 GHz base clock with a 4.10 GHz boost clock. This Coffee Lake processor features 9 MB of shared L3 cache and uses dual-channel DDR4 memory with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth. The processor's benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7,969 and a single-core score of 1,125, with the R20 tests producing 3,346 and 472 respectively.

The CPU's 50th percentile ranking among all processors in the database reflects its mid-range positioning, yet the game data shows it does not become a limiting factor until the very highest frame rates. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 173.6 FPS, suggesting the processor can feed the GPU with enough frames to exceed typical display refresh rates. The 65W TDP and 14 nm process node indicate this is a modestly powered chip, but the game's CPU demands appear modest given the consistent frame delivery across resolutions.

The processor's nearest rivals — the Core i3-10305 and Core i3-1125G4 — both score within 0.2% of the i5-9400, while the Core i7-8809G leads by 0.6%. These tight margins suggest that processor choice matters little for this game compared to GPU selection, which aligns with the observed performance scaling that correlates more strongly with resolution and settings than with CPU capability.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points toward High settings as the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance for most scenarios. At 1080p, High delivers 152.6 FPS, which is only 12% below Low but provides substantially better image quality. At 1440p, High produces 115.5 FPS — ideal for high-refresh displays — while Ultra drops to 93.1 FPS, which remains playable but sacrifices smoothness for marginal visual gains.

For 4K displays, the situation changes. High settings yield 62.6 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. Medium settings at 4K produce 74.1 FPS, offering a safer buffer while still maintaining decent quality. Low settings at 4K reach 99.2 FPS, which represents the best option for competitive play or for users who prioritize frame rate above all else.

Ultra settings are difficult to recommend universally. At 1080p, Ultra's 138.3 FPS remains excellent, but at 1440p it drops to 93.1 FPS and at 4K it falls to 47.3 FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra in this game rarely justifies the 16-25% performance cost observed across resolutions. Users on 1080p panels can safely enable Ultra, while 1440p users should stick with High, and 4K users should consider Medium or Low for optimal frame pacing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the system's bottleneck characteristics. At High settings, performance drops from 152.6 FPS at 1080p to 115.5 FPS at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and then to 62.6 FPS at 4K (a further 46% reduction). This scaling pattern indicates the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as pixel count increases, with the 1440p to 4K transition being particularly punishing.

The Low settings curve tells a similar story: 173.6 FPS at 1080p falls to 150.3 FPS at 1440p (13% lower) and then to 99.2 FPS at 4K (34% lower than 1440p). The smaller drops at lower resolutions suggest the CPU is capable of sustaining high frame rates, but the GPU's workload scales dramatically with resolution. Medium settings show 158.9 FPS at 1080p, 136.3 FPS at 1440p, and 74.1 FPS at 4K — a 53% reduction from 1440p to 4K.

The Ultra settings curve is the steepest: 138.3 FPS at 1080p drops to 93.1 FPS at 1440p (33% lower) and then to 47.3 FPS at 4K (49% lower than 1440p). This pattern confirms the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, while the CPU maintains sufficient frame delivery at lower resolutions. The data suggests that users targeting 4K should accept Medium settings as the practical ceiling, while 1080p and 1440p users can enjoy High or even Ultra without significant compromise.