The Technomancer

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 1,223rd out of 3,696 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the top third of all systems. That percentile positioning reflects a pairing where the GPU’s raw horsepower is consistently held back by the CPU’s six-core, six-thread architecture, a dynamic that becomes more apparent as resolution scales down. The ranking is respectable, but the data suggests this combo is nowhere near the ceiling of what the RTX 3080 could achieve with a stronger processor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1,223 out of 3,696 places it at roughly the 67th percentile of all recorded combinations for The Technomancer. That is a solid mid-to-upper tier result, but it is not a class-leading one. The RTX 3080 sits at the 68th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the i5-9400 lands at only the 47th percentile among all CPUs. The gap between those two percentile figures is telling: the GPU is capable of far more, but the processor holds the system back from climbing into the top quartile.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2,254 sits within a razor-thin margin of the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2,259, delta -0.2%), the Intel Core i7-10710U (2,248, delta 0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2,246, delta 0.4%). The i5-9400 also trails the Intel Core i3-10305 (2,264, delta -0.4%) by just 10 points. These deltas are all under one percent, meaning the CPU is effectively a statistical tie with its immediate competitors. In real-world gaming terms, that means the processor is not a differentiator; the frame rates will depend almost entirely on the GPU and game settings.

What the rank does not show is the headroom the GPU has left on the table. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 174 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 41 FPS. That spread is far larger than what the GPU alone would produce if it were paired with a top-tier CPU. The rank is a function of the entire system, and the CPU’s 47th percentile standing drags the combo down from what the RTX 3080’s 68th percentile would suggest.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus yields a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for The Technomancer’s textures and geometry at any resolution. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective, and the card’s base clock is 1440 MHz with a boost clock of 1710 MHz. Those clocks are not particularly high by modern standards, but the architecture compensates with 8704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units.

The GPU’s benchmark position is strong. Its average benchmark score of 23,172 places it at the 68th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of its score — the NVIDIA P106-100 (23,249, delta -0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (23,250, delta -0.3%), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23,273, delta -0.4%), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (23,276, delta -0.4%). The RTX 3080’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4,407 and PassMark G3D score of 25,086 confirm it as a high-end part, but the measured FPS data in The Technomancer shows that the CPU is not letting it stretch its legs.

The evidence is in the resolution scaling. At 4K High, the combo averages 52 FPS; at 1440p High, it hits 96 FPS; at 1080p High, it reaches 146 FPS. That is a classic GPU-bound curve at higher resolutions, but the gap between 1440p and 1080p — 96 to 146 FPS — is larger than expected for a card of this caliber. When the CPU becomes the bottleneck at lower resolutions, the GPU’s extra headroom goes unused. The RTX 3080’s 10 GB VRAM never becomes a limiting factor in this game; the 320-bit bus and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are far beyond what a 2016 Action RPG requires.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 158 FPS average with a minimum of 135 FPS and a maximum of 182 FPS. That is a 44 FPS jump over the Ultra preset’s 114 FPS average, and it is only 16 FPS slower than High (146 FPS). The Medium preset’s minimum of 135 FPS ensures the frame rate never dips below the refresh rate of most 1080p monitors, making it the safest choice for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again stands out. It averages 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS. The High preset at 1440p hits 96 FPS, which is also playable, but the Medium preset’s minimum of 95 FPS is a safer bet for maintaining a locked frame rate. Ultra at 1440p drops to 75 FPS, which is still acceptable but begins to show the CPU’s influence. The 4K Medium preset averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS, which is borderline for a smooth experience on a 60 Hz display.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot at every resolution. It offers a substantial improvement over Low (174 FPS at 1080p, 146 FPS at 1440p, 80 FPS at 4K) while avoiding the steep performance penalty of Ultra (114 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p, 41 FPS at 4K). The gap between Medium and High is small — 12 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 9 FPS at 4K — so users who prefer visual detail can step up to High without a major sacrifice. Ultra should be avoided at 4K, as the 41 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 3080 in The Technomancer?

A: Yes, the data indicates a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 174 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 41 FPS. The CPU’s 47th percentile standing versus the GPU’s 68th percentile suggests the processor limits the GPU’s potential, especially at 1080p where the frame rate is highest.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1440p Medium provides the best balance, with an average of 112 FPS and a minimum of 95 FPS. This resolution leverages the RTX 3080’s 760.3 GB/s bandwidth while keeping the CPU load manageable, avoiding the severe frame rate drops seen at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3080’s average benchmark score of 23,172 is within 0.4% of the NVIDIA P106-100 (23,249), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (23,250), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23,273), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (23,276). The differences are statistically negligible, but the RTX 3080’s 68th percentile ranking places it above most GPUs in the database.

Q: Does the i5-9400’s six-core, six-thread configuration matter for this game?

A: The CPU has 6 cores and 6 threads with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its average benchmark score of 2,254 places it at the 47th percentile, and its nearest rivals are within 0.4% of its score. For The Technomancer, the six threads are sufficient, but the CPU’s overall performance ceiling limits the combo’s rank.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1080p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 135 FPS, with an average of 158 FPS and a maximum of 182 FPS. This is the highest minimum frame rate recorded for any preset at any resolution, making it the most consistent experience.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 3080 have, and is it sufficient?

A: The RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The measured FPS data shows no VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops, indicating that 10 GB is more than adequate for The Technomancer at all tested settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound to GPU-bound as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 174 FPS, dropping to 146 FPS at 1440p Low (a 16% decrease) and 80 FPS at 4K Low (a 45% decrease from 1080p). The pattern is similar at High settings: 146 FPS at 1080p, 96 FPS at 1440p (a 34% decrease), and 52 FPS at 4K (a 64% decrease from 1080p). At Ultra, the drop is even steeper: 114 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p (a 34% decrease), and 41 FPS at 4K (a 64% decrease from 1080p).

These percentages show that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at 4K, where the RTX 3080’s 10 GB VRAM and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are fully utilized. The 4K Ultra result of 41 FPS is a 64% drop from 1080p Ultra, which is a larger relative loss than the GPU’s raw compute advantage would suggest. That points to the CPU’s six threads becoming a limiting factor even at 4K, as the game’s AI and physics calculations scale with resolution alongside the GPU’s rendering load.

The 1080p to 1440p scaling is more moderate, with losses of 16-34% depending on the preset. At 1080p Low, the 174 FPS result is likely capped by the CPU’s 6-core, 6-thread configuration; the GPU is not the bottleneck. The 1440p Medium result of 112 FPS (a 29% drop from 1080p Medium’s 158 FPS) represents the sweet spot where the GPU begins to take over from the CPU. The 4K results, with averages between 41 and 80 FPS, show a system that is GPU-bound but still constrained enough by the processor to prevent the RTX 3080 from reaching its full potential.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel’s 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU’s cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 9 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, which is modest compared to the RTX 3080’s 760.3 GB/s.

The CPU’s benchmark scores are unremarkable. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6,629 and single-core score of 935 place it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs. The Geekbench multi-core score of 5,141 and single-core score of 1,389 confirm its mid-range positioning. Its nearest rivals in the database are all within 0.4% of its average score of 2,254, making it a statistical dead heat with the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, Intel Core i7-10710U, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, and Intel Core i3-10305.

In The Technomancer, the CPU’s six threads are the minimum required for decent performance, but they are not enough to fully feed the RTX 3080. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 174 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for this game. The GPU’s 68th percentile standing is much higher than the CPU’s 47th percentile, and the gap between the two components’ capabilities is the reason the combo ranks 1,223rd rather than higher. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.10 GHz helps in single-threaded tasks, but The Technomancer’s engine appears to scale with multi-core performance, where the i5-9400’s six threads are simply outmatched by the RTX 3080’s raw compute power. The system is balanced enough for 1440p Medium, but it is not a pairing that maximizes the GPU’s potential.