The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that clearly separates CPU and GPU responsibilities. This analysis examines the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600, using measured frame rate data to understand where each component's limits lie and how the combination performs across resolutions and settings. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but which can deliver smooth gameplay at 1080p with the right settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread desktop processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, drawing a 65 W TDP. The chip features 20 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs tested.

The processor's nearest rivals in the database, based on average benchmark score, are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and the Intel Core i9-12900T. The Core Ultra 5 225's average benchmark score of 36938 is essentially identical to the Ryzen 5 5600F's 36945, with a deltaPct of 0. It trails the Ryzen 5 5500X3D by 0.2% and the Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 by 0.4%, while leading the Core i9-12900T by 0.5%. These are all within a margin of 0.5%, indicating that the CPU is competitively positioned in general compute tasks.

For The Technomancer, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 130 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate measured across any configuration in this dataset. This suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution and settings level; it can push frame rates well beyond 120 FPS when the GPU has less work to do. However, the data also shows that the game's engine is not heavily multi-threaded, as the 10-core/10-thread configuration does not lead to disproportionately high frame rates compared to other resolutions. The boost clock of 4.90 GHz likely plays a more significant role in this title than the core count, as single-thread performance is often critical for older game engines.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 1626 MHz, a game clock of 2044 MHz, and a boost clock of 2491 MHz. The GPU is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. It features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, with a pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s. The card's FP32 performance is 8.928 TFLOPS.

In the database, the RX 6600 sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19036. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro K6000, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile, the NVIDIA Tesla K20m, and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation. The RX 6600's score is essentially tied with the Quadro K6000 (19030, deltaPct 0), slightly behind the RTX 4050 Mobile (19049, deltaPct -0.1%) and the Tesla K20m (19089, deltaPct -0.3%), and marginally ahead of the RTX 2000 Ada Generation (18954, deltaPct 0.4%). These are all within a 0.7% band, showing that the RX 6600 is a mid-pack performer in aggregate GPU benchmarks.

In The Technomancer, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor in frame rate scaling. At 1080p with Low settings, the GPU delivers 130 FPS, but as the resolution increases, the frame rate drops sharply. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game, as none of the measured configurations show signs of texture thrashing or memory-related stutters. The boost clock of 2491 MHz is the key driver of performance; the data shows that the card is able to maintain high utilization across all settings, with the frame rate dropping proportionally to the increase in pixel count and graphical fidelity. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 224 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p but become limiting at 4K, where the card cannot maintain playable frame rates at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rate data shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. Moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS at High settings drops from 85 to 56, a reduction of 34%. From 1440p to 4K at High settings, the average FPS drops from 56 to 31, a further reduction of 45%. Combined, the total drop from 1080p High (85 FPS) to 4K High (31 FPS) is a 64% reduction in frame rate.

This scaling behavior is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU's workload (draw calls, physics, game logic) does not change with resolution. Instead, the frame rate drops almost linearly with the pixel count, indicating that the RX 6600's fill rate and shading capacity are the bottlenecks. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 130 FPS, but at 4K Low it falls to 47 FPS, a 64% drop. Even at the lowest settings, the GPU cannot overcome the 4K pixel count, confirming that the RX 6600 is not a 4K-capable card for this title.

The data also reveals that the CPU has sufficient headroom at all resolutions. At 1080p Low, the CPU is able to drive 130 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. At 1440p Low, the frame rate is 85 FPS, and at 4K Low it is 47 FPS. These numbers show that the CPU is not preventing the GPU from reaching its limits; rather, the GPU's performance ceiling is what determines the final frame rate. The scaling pattern — where the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is similar across all settings (approximately 64% for Low, 63% for High based on the 85 to 31 drop, and 64% for Medium based on 100 to 36) — strongly suggests a consistent GPU-bound workload.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2193 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 22% of all configurations. This low ranking is primarily driven by the GPU's performance, as the CPU is not a significant differentiator in this title. The rank reflects the average frame rate across all measured settings and resolutions, which is heavily weighted by the poor 4K performance.

Within the context of the database, this combo sits below the median, indicating that most other tested configurations deliver higher average frame rates. The rank of 2193 suggests that the RX 6600 is not well-suited for this game's demands, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs does not compensate for the GPU's 63rd percentile ranking, as the game is clearly GPU-bound. The combo's position in the rankings is more indicative of the GPU's limitations than any CPU constraint; the data shows that the CPU would be capable of supporting much higher frame rates if paired with a more powerful GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 130, which is the highest measured value in the dataset. Medium settings produce an average of 100 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 85 and 115 FPS respectively. High settings yield an average of 85 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to an average of 67 FPS. All of these are playable frame rates, with even Ultra maintaining above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease notably. Low settings produce an average of 85 FPS. Medium settings average 65 FPS, with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 75 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 56 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 44 FPS. The Medium preset provides a comfortable experience above 60 FPS on average, while High is borderline and Ultra is below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low settings yield an average of 47 FPS. Medium settings average 36 FPS, with a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 41 FPS. High settings drop to 31 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 24 FPS. None of these configurations achieve 60 FPS, and even the Low setting is below 50 FPS, indicating that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in this game.

The data shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions: the gap between Low and Ultra settings is approximately 2x. At 1080p, the difference is from 130 FPS (Low) to 67 FPS (Ultra), a 48% reduction. At 1440p, the range is from 85 FPS (Low) to 44 FPS (Ultra), a 48% reduction. At 4K, the range is from 47 FPS (Low) to 24 FPS (Ultra), a 49% reduction. This consistency indicates that the game's settings scale uniformly in GPU workload, with each step up in quality costing roughly the same percentage of performance.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 85 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness, staying well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 67 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity, as it remains above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 100 FPS is the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, offering a significant frame rate boost over High with only a moderate reduction in graphical quality. The Low preset at 130 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rate is the sole priority.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 65 FPS is the optimal choice, as it is the only setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS while providing reasonable visual quality. The High preset at 56 FPS is playable but will experience occasional dips below 60 FPS, and the Low preset at 85 FPS is a solid alternative for players who prefer higher frame rates over visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 44 FPS should be avoided, as it falls below the smoothness threshold.

At 4K, there is no playable setting for this combo. The Low preset at 47 FPS is the only configuration that approaches playability, but it still falls short of 60 FPS and requires sacrificing all visual quality. The Medium preset at 36 FPS and High at 31 FPS are not recommended for a playable experience, and Ultra at 24 FPS is essentially a slideshow. For 4K gaming, a more powerful GPU is required.

Overall, the best experience for this combination is at 1080p with the High preset, which delivers 85 FPS and a strong visual presentation. For players with 1440p monitors, the Medium preset at 65 FPS is the recommended starting point. The data clearly shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gameplay, with 1440p being a compromise and 4K being out of reach. The CPU has ample headroom to support higher frame rates, but the GPU's performance ceiling defines the experience, making the RX 6600 the component to upgrade for better results in The Technomancer.