The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware at higher resolutions. The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 CPU and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB GPU produces a wide spectrum of performance, ranging from highly playable at 1080p to almost unplayable at 4K Ultra. The data indicates a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card, particularly as resolution and settings increase, making it a suitable pairing for 1080p gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in The Technomancer?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded in the data is 101.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only measured configuration that breaks the 100 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 3050 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary limiting factor. At 1080p, the frame rate drops significantly from 101.3 FPS on Low settings to 49.2 FPS on Ultra settings, a performance swing of over 50% that is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock of the six-core processor appear sufficient to feed the GPU.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between High and Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate drops from 67.7 FPS on High settings to 49.2 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a substantial performance cost of 18.5 FPS for the visual upgrade that the Ultra preset provides.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p gaming in The Technomancer?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 2560x1440, the combo achieves a playable average of 40.7 FPS on High settings. However, enabling Ultra settings at this resolution drops the average to 31.9 FPS, which may feel less smooth in a fast-paced action RPG.

Q: What is the impact of the 4 GB VRAM at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows the system struggles at 3840x2160. The best average frame rate at this resolution is 37.9 FPS on Low settings, and it falls to a slideshow-like 16.6 FPS on Ultra. This indicates that the 4 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit memory interface are insufficient for the demands of 4K textures and geometry in this title.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: In the database for The Technomancer, this specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 1520 out of a total of 1656 tested combos. This places it in the lower percentile, indicating that while it can run the game, many other hardware pairings deliver higher frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

The ideal settings preset depends entirely on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a standard 60 FPS experience, the data shows that 1920x1080 with High settings is the best choice, yielding an average of 67.7 FPS. This provides a significant performance buffer over the 60 FPS target while still offering solid visual quality. Pushing to Ultra at this resolution drops the average to 49.2 FPS, which sacrifices smoothness for marginal visual gains.

For users with 1440p monitors, the balance shifts. The Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 47.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a game that may require precise timing. The High preset at this resolution is also viable at 40.7 FPS, but users must accept a frame rate below 60. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not recommended, as the 31.9 FPS average will likely feel sluggish. At 4K, only the Low preset is usable for a playable experience, with an average of 37.9 FPS, though the visual compromise is substantial. The data suggests that for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset at 1080p is the definitive choice for this hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 67.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 40.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a 40% reduction in performance. The decline continues to 26.1 FPS at 3840x2160, which is a 61% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep degradation is a classic indicator that the GPU, with its 4 GB of VRAM and 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, is the primary bottleneck.

The pattern is consistent across other settings. With Low settings, the frame rate falls from 101.3 FPS at 1080p to 64.8 FPS at 1440p, and then to 37.9 FPS at 4K. The fact that the frame rate nearly halves from 1080p to 4K, regardless of whether settings are Low or High, demonstrates that the rendering resolution is the dominant factor in performance. This behavior points directly to the RTX 3050 being saturated. The 6-core, 6-thread Intel Core i5-9400, which has a 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs, is clearly not the limiting factor here, as its workload does not scale linearly with resolution in the same way the GPU's does.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database places this Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB combination at rank 1520 out of 1656 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the bottom 10% of all tested hardware pairings, a low position that reflects the GPU's performance ceiling in this title. While the CPU holds a mid-pack 50th percentile ranking against all other processors, the overall combo ranking is dragged down by the graphics card.

This low rank is supported by the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the combo achieves a mere 16.6 FPS, which is not a playable experience. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 49.2 FPS average is below the 60 FPS standard many players prefer. The data suggests that while the pairing is functional, it does not provide a high-end experience in this game. The i5-9400's performance is comparable to rivals like the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, which have similar average scores, but the GPU's limitations prevent the system from climbing higher in the rankings. The combination is positioned for entry-level 1080p gaming, not for high-refresh or high-resolution play.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is the decisive component in this system's performance. Its GA107 chip, built on an 8 nm process, operates at a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz. The 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s. These specifications, while adequate for many games at 1080p, prove to be a limiting factor in The Technomancer at higher resolutions and detail levels.

The performance data directly reflects the GPU's memory and bandwidth constraints. The most telling evidence is the 4K performance, where the average frame rate plummets to 16.6 FPS on Ultra settings. This severe drop is characteristic of a GPU exceeding its VRAM capacity and being forced to use slower system memory. Even at 1440p, the High preset's 40.7 FPS average shows the GPU is struggling to maintain a fluid experience. The 7.127 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is sufficient for 1080p, but the memory subsystem is not robust enough to handle the increased data demands of higher resolutions. The GPU's 90 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU indicate a power-efficient design, but efficiency does not translate to high-end performance in this scenario. The data clearly shows that the RTX 3050 is the primary performance limiter, making it the determining factor for the in-game experience.