The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware, particularly when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics. The measured frame rates reveal a configuration that is heavily constrained by the GPU, especially at higher resolutions. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with adjusted settings, as the performance envelope narrows significantly as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interprets the GPU’s role, and provides practical recommendations based solely on the provided benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary limiting factor. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 79 FPS at 1920x1080 to 52 FPS at 2560x1440, a 34% reduction, and then further to 28 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 65% drop from the 1080p baseline. This pattern is not linear; the penalty for moving from 1440p to 4K is proportionally larger than from 1080p to 1440p, indicating that the rendering load at 4K overwhelms the Arc B390’s capabilities.

Looking at High settings, the trend is similar but with lower absolute numbers. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 52, which drops to 34 at 2560x1440 (a 35% decrease) and then to 19 at 3840x2160 (a 63% decrease from 1080p). The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings sees a 44% performance loss, confirming that the GPU is running out of pixel throughput and shading power. The CPU, a 10-core Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, is unlikely to be the bottleneck here, as the frame rate deltas are directly proportional to the increase in pixel count, a classic sign of GPU limitation.

For Medium settings, the measured averages are 61 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, and from 1440p to 4K is 45%. With min FPS recorded at 19 for 4K Medium, the experience would be stuttery and borderline unplayable. Ultra settings are the most punishing, with averages of 40 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and just 15 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is a 63% drop from the 1080p Ultra figure, demonstrating that the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical fidelity is beyond what this hardware can handle.

The data strongly suggests that the scaling behavior is purely GPU-bound. The CPU’s performance, as indicated by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891, is more than adequate for a game from 2016, but the integrated Arc B390’s 1536 shading units and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in this title. Users targeting 1440p should expect playable but not smooth performance at Low settings, while 4K is only viable for screenshot purposes or very low frame rate tolerance.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its memory is designated as "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system’s DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This configuration has profound implications for gaming performance. The lack of dedicated VRAM means the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, and the "System Shared" memory size is not specified, but the performance figures suggest it is insufficient for high-resolution textures.

In the context of The Technomancer, the GPU’s role is the dominant factor. The benchmark results for the Arc B390 show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are extremely old, low-end parts like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (with an average score of 1463 and a deltaPct of 1.3) and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, deltaPct 2.7). This indicates that the Arc B390’s raw graphics performance is comparable to entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, which is consistent with the low FPS figures observed at higher resolutions.

The clock speeds are relevant, as the boost clock of 2500 MHz allows the GPU to reach a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. However, these theoretical numbers do not translate into playable 4K performance. The FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS is a measure of the GPU’s raw compute capability, but in a rasterization-heavy title like The Technomancer, the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are more critical. With a memory bus of "System Shared" and bandwidth that is "System Dependent," the actual memory throughput is likely a severe bottleneck, explaining why even at Low settings, the 4K average FPS is only 28.

The GPU’s 24 ROPs are also a limiting factor. At 4K, the GPU must fill over 8 million pixels per frame, and 24 ROPs can only output 60.00 GPixel/s. This means that at 4K, the theoretical maximum frame rate is capped near 60 FPS, but in practice, other bottlenecks reduce this to below 30 FPS. The measured results show that the GPU is the clear limiting component, as the CPU’s performance is not the issue. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225’s Passmark single-thread score of 4412 and multithread score of 30459 are robust, but they cannot compensate for the GPU’s inability to process the geometry and shading at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and acceptable frame rate. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, only 1080p with Low settings achieves this, with an average of 79 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 61 FPS, which is still playable but with occasional dips to 52 FPS, as indicated by the min FPS. For users who prefer visual quality over raw frame rate, 1080p High offers an average of 52 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced Action RPG, but the 1080p Ultra setting at 40 FPS average is the highest visual fidelity that remains technically playable.

At 2560x1440, the options are more limited. Low settings provide an average of 52 FPS, which is smooth enough for most players. Medium settings at 1440p yield 40 FPS average with min FPS of 34, which is playable but not ideal for fast action sequences. High settings at 1440p drop to 34 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 26 FPS, making them less desirable. The data suggests that 1440p users should stick to Low or Medium settings to maintain a playable frame rate.

For 4K resolution, the measured results are uniformly poor. Low settings average 28 FPS, Medium averages 22 FPS (with min FPS of 19), High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. None of these are recommended for actual gameplay, as they all fall below the 30 FPS threshold that is generally considered the minimum for a playable experience. The best 4K result, Low at 28 FPS, is still sub-30 and would feel sluggish. Therefore, the recommendation is to avoid 4K entirely with this hardware.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is 1080p with Medium settings. This provides an average of 61 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target, while offering better visual fidelity than Low settings. The min FPS of 52 is acceptable, and the max FPS of 70 shows there is headroom. For users with a 1440p monitor, Low settings at 52 FPS average is the recommended path, as it balances frame rate and resolution. Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where the 40 FPS average is playable but not ideal, and should be avoided at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings deliver an average of 79 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo. Medium settings average 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70. High settings average 52 FPS, while Ultra settings average 40 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a linear degradation, with each step up in settings costing roughly 10-12 FPS on average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. Low settings average 52 FPS, which is exactly the same as 1080p High, indicating that the resolution increase negates the benefit of lower settings. Medium settings at 1440p average 40 FPS, with a min of 34 and max of 46. High settings average 34 FPS, and Ultra settings average 26 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 26 FPS, which is a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p, but the percentage loss is similar.

At 3840x2160, the performance is marginal. Low settings average 28 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 25 FPS. Medium settings average 22 FPS, with a min of 19 and max of 25. High settings average 19 FPS, and Ultra settings average 15 FPS. The differences between settings at 4K are smaller in absolute terms (e.g., Low to Medium is 6 FPS), but the relative impact is large due to the low baseline. The min FPS of 19 at 4K Medium highlights the instability of the experience.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Low settings are always the fastest, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra. However, the magnitude of the penalty for higher settings increases with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 39 FPS. At 1440p, it is 26 FPS. At 4K, it is 13 FPS. This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so saturated that the additional workload from higher settings has a smaller absolute impact, but the resulting frame rates are all unplayable. The data also shows that the min FPS values are only provided for Medium settings, with 52 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K, indicating that Medium is the only setting where frame time variance was recorded.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2500 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. This rank reflects the GPU’s severe performance limitations, as the CPU itself is not the bottleneck. The combo’s position is consistent with the GPU’s individual percentile of 9, which means it outperforms only 9% of all GPUs tested on this site. The CPU’s percentile of 85 is much higher, but the overall combo rank is dragged down by the integrated graphics.

The nearest rivals for the GPU are all ancient NVIDIA parts, including the GeForce GT 520MX (deltaPct 1.3), GeForce 800M (deltaPct 1.5), GeForce GT 625 OEM (deltaPct 2.5), and GeForce GT 710 (deltaPct 2.7). These deltaPct values indicate that the Arc B390 is only 1-3% faster than those decade-old GPUs in synthetic benchmarks, which explains why the in-game performance is so poor. The combo rank of 2500 suggests that there are 325 other tested combinations that perform even worse, likely involving even older or more integrated hardware.

It is important to note that this rank is specific to The Technomancer. The game’s engine and rendering demands may not be optimized for Intel’s integrated graphics architecture, as the Arc B390 uses a mobile-oriented Xe3-LPG design. The combo rank could be different in other titles, but for this game, the data clearly shows that the Arc B390 is a major limiting factor. Users with this combo should not expect to run The Technomancer at high settings or high resolutions, as the measured FPS and the combo’s low rank confirm that this is a low-end gaming configuration.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct 0), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (deltaPct -0.4), and Intel Core i9-12900T (deltaPct -0.5). These deltaPct values are all within 0.5% of the Core Ultra 5 225’s average benchmark score of 36938, indicating that the CPU’s performance is solid and competitive. This further isolates the GPU as the root cause of the low combo rank. If a user were to pair this CPU with a discrete GPU, the combo rank would likely improve substantially, but with the Arc B390, the results are what they are.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this hardware in The Technomancer?

A: According to the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 79 FPS. For better visuals, 1080p Medium at 61 FPS average is recommended, as it stays near 60 FPS while offering improved quality. At 1440p, Low settings (52 FPS average) is the only playable option, while 4K results are all below 30 FPS and not recommended.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, 1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). This indicates the Arc B390 is only marginally faster than these early-2010s entry-level parts.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the data does not support that conclusion. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score is 25891 and its Passmark multithread score is 30459, with a percentile of 85. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct 0) and Intel Core i9-12900T (deltaPct -0.5), are within 0.5% in average benchmark scores. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is directly tied to resolution, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What are the exact FPS numbers at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 15. No min or max FPS values are provided for this configuration. This is the lowest result across all settings and resolutions, representing a 63% drop from the 1080p Ultra average of 40 FPS.

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

A: This combo ranks 2500 out of 2825 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11.5% of all configurations. This low rank is primarily due to the GPU’s performance, as the CPU’s individual percentile is 85, but the combo’s overall rank is dragged down by the Arc B390’s 9th percentile GPU ranking.

Q: Does the Arc B390’s memory configuration affect its performance in this game?

A: Yes, the GPU’s memory is listed as "System Shared" with a bus width of "System Shared" and bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means it uses the system’s DDR5 memory, and the effective bandwidth is not fixed. In a memory-intensive game like The Technomancer, this shared memory setup is likely a significant contributor to the low FPS, as the GPU cannot access dedicated VRAM with higher bandwidth.