The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting case for the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination. The measured data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the GPU emerging as the primary bottleneck at higher demands. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics across the three tested resolutions and four quality presets, offering a detailed look at how this specific hardware pairing handles the title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 153 FPS at 1080p to 100 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 55 FPS at 4K. This represents a substantial 64% reduction in average FPS from the lowest to the highest resolution tested. Similarly, the Ultra preset shows a drop from 119 FPS at 1080p to 78 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 43 FPS at 4K.

The scaling pattern indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the limiting component at higher resolutions. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings results in a 34.6% performance loss, while moving from 1440p to 4K incurs a 45% loss. This steeper decline at 4K is a classic sign of GPU-bound rendering, where the pixel throughput demand overwhelms the graphics processor’s capabilities. The frame rate drops are not linear, suggesting that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute units are saturated at the higher pixel counts.

Comparing the Low preset across resolutions reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p, the system achieves 233 FPS, which drops to 152 FPS at 1440p and 83 FPS at 4K. Even at the lowest settings, the 4K resolution presents a significant challenge, yielding less than half the frame rate of the 1080p result. This data suggests that while the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, the RX 9070 XT’s raw rendering power becomes the deciding factor as pixel count increases.

The Medium preset provides the only complete data set with min and max frame rates. At 1080p, the average is 179 FPS with a minimum of 152 FPS and a maximum of 205 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 117 FPS with a range of 99 to 134 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows an average of 64 FPS, with the frame rate fluctuating between 55 and 74 FPS. This variance at 4K indicates that the GPU is working near its limit, producing less stable frame pacing compared to the lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 features 10 cores and 10 threads, operating at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This processor, based on the Arrow Lake architecture, shows strong single-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4412. These metrics suggest that the CPU is well-suited for handling the game’s logic and draw calls without becoming a bottleneck.

In the context of The Technomancer’s benchmark results, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 233 FPS, which is a high frame rate that could potentially stress CPU performance. However, the data shows that even at this level, the processor keeps up, as the frame rate is not artificially capped or limited by CPU throughput. The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891, provide ample headroom for the game’s background tasks and physics calculations.

The core configuration of 10 cores and 10 threads indicates a design focused on efficiency and single-thread performance rather than heavy multi-threading. This is reflected in the Passmark multi-thread score of 30459, which is respectable but not exceptional. For a game like The Technomancer, which is primarily GPU-bound at higher settings, this CPU configuration is adequate. The data suggests that the processor does not limit performance in any of the measured scenarios, as the frame rates consistently scale with resolution and settings changes.

The CPU’s memory support for DDR5 with a dual-channel bus and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient data throughput for the game. Combined with the 20 MB of shared L3 cache, the processor can efficiently manage game assets and instructions. The nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, show similar average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0% and -0.2% respectively, indicating that the Core Ultra 5 225 is competitively positioned for this workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 117 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with minimum and maximum frame rates of 99 and 134 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combination achieves an average of 43 FPS. This is the lowest measured performance across all tested configurations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor even at 1080p. At Low settings, the system reaches 233 FPS, which is a high frame rate, but the scaling with resolution indicates the graphics card’s capabilities determine overall performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 1440p produces an average of 100 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces 78 FPS. This represents a 22% performance decrease for the higher quality preset.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: At 4K, the system achieves 55 FPS on High settings and 64 FPS on Medium settings. These are playable averages, although the Medium preset shows frame rate dips to 55 FPS, indicating some instability.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance relate to the game results?

A: The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and Passmark single-thread score of 4412 indicate strong per-core performance. This allows the processor to handle game logic efficiently, ensuring it does not bottleneck the GPU in the measured scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 233 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 179 FPS, while the High preset achieves 153 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding at this resolution, producing an average of 119 FPS. The Medium preset shows a frame rate range of 152 to 205 FPS, indicating solid performance stability.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 152 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 1080p result but still very high. The Medium preset averages 117 FPS with a range of 99 to 134 FPS. The High preset achieves 100 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 78 FPS. The performance hierarchy remains consistent, with each higher quality setting reducing the frame rate by a predictable margin.

At 3840x2160, the system’s limits become apparent. The Low preset produces 83 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 60 FPS. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 55 and 74 FPS. The High preset drops to 55 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 43 FPS. This resolution clearly stresses the GPU, as even the Low preset cannot maintain the high frame rates seen at lower resolutions.

The data reveals that the step from Medium to High settings incurs a performance penalty of approximately 14% at 1080p (from 179 to 153 FPS) and 15% at 1440p (from 117 to 100 FPS). At 4K, the penalty is also around 14% (from 64 to 55 FPS). The transition from High to Ultra is more costly, with drops of 22% at 1080p (153 to 119 FPS), 22% at 1440p (100 to 78 FPS), and 22% at 4K (55 to 43 FPS). This suggests that the Ultra preset requires significantly more GPU resources than High.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the dominant component in this system’s gaming performance. With a boost clock of 2970 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz, the GPU provides substantial raw compute power. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for handling high-resolution textures and detailed scenes in The Technomancer.

The GPU’s architecture, RDNA 4.0, includes 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs. The pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s indicate the card’s ability to process the graphical effects present in the game. The FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS positions the GPU as a high-end part, though the benchmark results show that 4K Ultra settings still push it to its limits.

The GPU’s performance in synthetic benchmarks provides context for its in-game results. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 and Passmark G3D score of 26795 indicate strong overall graphics capability. However, the percentile ranking of 55 against all GPUs suggests that while this is a capable card, it is not at the absolute top of the performance hierarchy. The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, such as the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, show similar average scores with deltas of 0.1% and 0.2%, though these are likely not representative of real-world gaming performance.

In The Technomancer, the GPU’s role is clearly defined by the resolution scaling. At 1080p, the card has ample headroom, as evidenced by the 233 FPS result at Low settings. As resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows exponentially, leading to the frame rate drops observed in the data. The 4K results, particularly the 43 FPS at Ultra, show that the GPU is fully saturated at this resolution and preset combination.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired performance. For 1920x1080, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates, with even the Ultra preset achieving 119 FPS. Players seeking the highest visual quality without sacrificing smoothness can use the Ultra preset, while those prioritizing maximum frame rates can opt for the Medium preset at 179 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the High preset offers a balanced experience with 100 FPS average. The Ultra preset at 78 FPS is still playable and provides the best visual fidelity. For players with 144Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at 117 FPS would be the recommended choice, as it provides a smoother experience while maintaining good visual quality.

The 3840x2160 resolution presents a challenge. The High preset achieves 55 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 64 FPS provides a better balance, with the minimum frame rate of 55 FPS still being playable. The Low preset at 83 FPS offers the most stable 4K experience, though it sacrifices visual quality. Given the data, the Medium preset is the recommended choice for 4K, as it provides a playable average frame rate with reasonable visual fidelity.

For the best overall experience, the High preset at 1440p offers a compelling combination of quality and performance. The 100 FPS average provides smooth gameplay, and the visual quality is significantly better than the Low preset. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also a strong option, delivering 119 FPS with the highest visual settings available in the game.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination ranks 627 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places the system in the top 22.2% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is a high-performing setup for this game. The ranking reflects the system’s ability to handle the game at high resolutions and settings, as demonstrated by the measured frame rates.

The ranking is particularly impressive given the GPU’s percentile rank of 55 against all GPUs in synthetic benchmarks. This suggests that the combination performs better in The Technomancer than the GPU’s overall benchmark position would indicate. The CPU’s strong performance, with a percentile rank of 85 against all CPUs, likely contributes to this favorable ranking by ensuring no CPU bottleneck in the game.

The combo’s position in the ranking is supported by the 4K performance data. Achieving 55 FPS at 4K High settings and 64 FPS at 4K Medium settings puts this system ahead of many configurations that might struggle at this resolution. The 1080p results, with 233 FPS at Low settings, demonstrate the system’s capability to drive high refresh rate displays at lower resolutions.

In comparison to other potential combos, this pairing shows a good balance between CPU and GPU capabilities. The data suggests that the system is well-matched for The Technomancer, with neither component severely limiting the other in most scenarios. The ranking of 627 out of 2825 confirms that this is a strong choice for players looking to play this game at high resolutions with good frame rates.