The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, places distinct demands on a system. The combination of an Intel Core i9-14900K processor with an AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card produces a dataset that reveals a clear performance profile. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality settings indicate that the graphics card is the primary determinant of performance, with the processor providing ample headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a significant drop in average frame rate as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 85 FPS at 1920x1080 to 56 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 29 FPS. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at High settings, the average frame rate drops further from 56 FPS to 31 FPS, a 25 FPS reduction. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the workload per pixel increases substantially at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the same trend is visible. The average frame rate is 130 FPS at 1920x1080, which is very high and suggests the GPU is not heavily taxed at this resolution. At 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 85 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it falls to 47 FPS. The proportional decrease from 1080p to 1440p is about 35%, and from 1440p to 4K is about 45%. This non-linear scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the fill rate and memory bandwidth become more critical as the pixel count grows.

Medium settings show a similar pattern. The average frame rate at 1920x1080 is 100 FPS, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average is 65 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 36 FPS, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS. The recorded minimum and maximum values at Medium settings show that the frame time consistency also degrades as resolution increases, with a wider spread between minimum and maximum at 4K.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates at every resolution. The average is 67 FPS at 1920x1080, dropping to 44 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 24 FPS at 3840x2160. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is below the standard 30 FPS threshold for playable performance, indicating that this combination cannot handle the highest settings at that resolution. The scaling from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra shows a 64% reduction in average frame rate, which is the largest relative drop across all settings, confirming that the GPU is overwhelmed by the combined load of high settings and high resolution.

The data indicates that the limiting component is the AMD Radeon RX 6600. The Intel Core i9-14900K, with its high multi-core and single-core benchmark scores, is not the bottleneck. The resolution scaling follows a pattern where the GPU's 8 GB of memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are the constraints, as higher resolutions require more memory capacity and bandwidth to maintain performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and uses the Navi 23 chip. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The base clock is 1626 MHz, with a game clock of 2044 MHz and a boost clock of 2491 MHz. The GPU also features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units.

In this game, the GPU's role is shown by the frame rates at different settings. The recorded data shows that the RX 6600 delivers an average of 130 FPS at 1920x1080 Low, which is a strong result for an entry-level graphics card. However, at 3840x2160 Ultra, the average drops to 24 FPS. This 106 FPS difference between the lowest and highest demand scenarios highlights the GPU's limitations under heavy load.

The GPU's memory configuration is a key factor. With 8 GB of VRAM, the card is likely to be fully utilized at 4K resolutions, especially with higher texture quality settings. The measured frame rates at 4K Medium (36 FPS average) and 4K High (31 FPS average) suggest that the memory bandwidth and capacity are insufficient to maintain higher frame rates. The 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is a modest figure for 4K gaming, and the data reflects this.

The GPU's benchmark scores also provide context. The Passmark G3D score is 15096, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1492. These scores place the RX 6600 in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 with a score of 19030 and a delta of 0 percent, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile with a score of 19049 and a delta of -0.1 percent. This means the RX 6600 performs essentially on par with those cards in synthetic benchmarks, but in The Technomancer, the actual measured frame rates are what matter.

The GPU's TDP is 132 W, and the suggested PSU is 300 W. The card uses a single 8-pin power connector. These specifications are consistent with the performance profile, as the card does not consume excessive power but also does not have the headroom for high-end 4K performance. The data shows that the RX 6600 is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being playable only at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 is ranked 2872 out of 3696 tested combinations in The Technomancer. This places the combo in the lower portion of the database, at approximately the 22nd percentile of all combos. This ranking is primarily driven by the GPU's performance, as the CPU is a high-end model with a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

The combo rank indicates that many other pairings deliver higher frame rates in this game. The i9-14900K is capable of far more, but the RX 6600 holds the system back. The data shows that the combo's performance is consistent with what would be expected from a mid-range GPU paired with a top-tier CPU. The rank of 2872 out of 3696 suggests that the GPU is the weak link, and the overall result is limited by the graphics card's capabilities.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 79097, which places it in the 95th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF with a score of 79371 and a delta of -0.3 percent, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus with a score of 79574 and a delta of -0.6 percent. This shows that the i9-14900K is a top-tier processor, but in this combo, its performance is not fully utilized due to the GPU's limitations.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 19036, placing it in the 63rd percentile. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 with a score of 19030 and a delta of 0 percent, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile with a score of 19049 and a delta of -0.1 percent. The RX 6600 is an average performer in synthetic tests, and the measured frame rates in The Technomancer reflect this.

The combo's low rank compared to the CPU's high percentile is a clear indication of a GPU bottleneck. In the database, this combo is not near the top, and the data shows that the performance is limited by the graphics card. The rank of 2872 out of 3696 means that only about 824 combos perform worse, while 2871 perform better. This is a useful metric for understanding the relative performance of this specific pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides frame rates for four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160). The measurements are as follows.

At 1920x1080, the Low setting produces an average of 130 FPS. The Medium setting averages 100 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. The High setting averages 85 FPS. The Ultra setting averages 67 FPS. The difference between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p is 63 FPS, showing that settings have a major impact on performance. The minimum and maximum values for Medium indicate that frame times are relatively stable at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low setting averages 85 FPS. The Medium setting averages 65 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. The High setting averages 56 FPS. The Ultra setting averages 44 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction in average frame rates across all settings. At Medium, the average drops from 100 FPS to 65 FPS, a 35% reduction. At Ultra, the average drops from 67 FPS to 44 FPS, a 34% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the Low setting averages 47 FPS. The Medium setting averages 36 FPS, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS. The High setting averages 31 FPS. The Ultra setting averages 24 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced. At Medium, the average drops from 65 FPS to 36 FPS, a 45% reduction. At Ultra, the average drops from 44 FPS to 24 FPS, a 45% reduction. The 4K results are the lowest in the dataset, with only the Low setting reaching a playable average of 47 FPS.

The minimum and maximum values are only recorded for the Medium setting at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the range is 85 to 115 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 56 to 75 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 31 to 41 FPS. The narrowing of the range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is more consistently taxed, with less headroom for frame time variation.

The data shows that the combo is capable of high frame rates at 1080p, with all settings averaging above 60 FPS. At 1440p, the Low and Medium settings are above 60 FPS, but High and Ultra are below. At 4K, only the Low setting averages above 30 FPS, and the Ultra setting averages 24 FPS, which is not smooth. These measurements provide a clear picture of the combo's capabilities across the tested scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, and its L3 cache is 36 MB shared. The processor also includes UHD Graphics 770 integrated graphics, but the discrete RX 6600 is used for rendering.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is minimal due to the game's age and the GPU's limitations. The CPU's benchmark scores show its high performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 39399.5, and the single-core score is 2262.5. The Geekbench multi-core score is 21697, and the single-core score is 2655. These scores indicate that the CPU has far more processing power than the game requires.

The measured frame rates do not show any CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the average of 130 FPS is likely near the upper limit of what the game's engine can produce, but the CPU is not the constraint. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score is 4697, and its multi-thread score is 58674. These are strong numbers, and the CPU's percentile ranking of 95 among all CPUs confirms its high position.

The CPU's core and thread configuration is more than sufficient for The Technomancer. The game, released in 2016, likely uses fewer than 8 threads, so the i9-14900K's 24 cores and 32 threads are largely idle. The CPU's L2 cache is 2 MB per core, and the L1 cache is 80 KB per core. This cache configuration is ample for the game's demands.

The data indicates that the CPU has no negative impact on the measured frame rates. The frame rates are consistent with what the RX 6600 can deliver, and there is no evidence of CPU bottlenecking. The CPU's high boost clock of 6.00 GHz ensures that even single-threaded tasks are handled quickly, but the game's performance is determined by the GPU.

The CPU's TDP is 125 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700. It has a PCIe Gen 5 interface with 16 lanes. These specifications are well above the requirements of the game, and the CPU's role in this combo is to provide a stable platform for the GPU, with no performance limitations observed in the data.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate is 67 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 3840x2160 with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 36 FPS, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS.

Q: What is the rank of this CPU and GPU combination in The Technomancer?

A: The combo is ranked 2872 out of 3696 tested combinations in the database.

Q: What is the boost clock of the Intel Core i9-14900K?

A: The boost clock of the Intel Core i9-14900K is 6.00 GHz.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the AMD Radeon RX 6600?

A: The memory bandwidth of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 is 224.0 GB/s, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: At which setting and resolution does the combo achieve its highest average frame rate?

A: The highest average frame rate is 130 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GPU is in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score?

A: The Cinebench R23 multi-core score for the Intel Core i9-14900K is 39399.5.