The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting test case for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT. The measured data reveals a configuration that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher visual fidelity. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results to understand the performance characteristics and limitations of this specific hardware combination.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for The Technomancer shows a clear performance hierarchy across the four settings presets tested. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 97 FPS, which is a substantial 21 FPS improvement over the 76 FPS average of the Ultra preset. This makes High the sweet spot for 1080p gaming, offering a significant frame rate boost with only a modest reduction in visual quality compared to the top tier.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Medium preset emerges as the most balanced choice. It produces an average of 74 FPS, which is 11 FPS higher than the High preset's 63 FPS at the same resolution. The Medium preset at 1440p also provides a smoother experience than the Ultra preset, which drops to 50 FPS. The data indicates that Medium at 1440p maintains a playable frame rate while still offering improved visual fidelity over Low settings.

For 4K resolution (3840x2160), the situation is more constrained. The Low preset is the only setting that achieves a frame rate above 50 FPS, with an average of 53 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K falls to 41 FPS, which is borderline playable but shows notable dips to 35 FPS minimum. Given the substantial performance drop, the Low preset at 4K is the most viable option for maintaining smooth gameplay, as the High preset at 35 FPS and Ultra preset at 27 FPS fall below acceptable thresholds for most action-oriented titles.

The overall recommendation across all resolutions is to prioritize the Medium preset for the best balance of visual quality and performance, except at 4K where Low is necessary. The data shows that the gap between Medium and High is consistently smaller than the gap between High and Ultra, suggesting diminishing returns for the highest settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip manufactured on a 7 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2055 MHz with a boost clock of 2635 MHz, and a game clock of 2410 MHz. These specifications position the card with a pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s.

The GPU's memory configuration and clock speeds directly influence the measured results in The Technomancer. The 8 GB frame buffer appears sufficient for the tested settings, as the performance scaling from 1080p to 1440p is relatively linear. However, the significant drop at 4K suggests that the GPU's compute capabilities, rather than memory capacity, become the limiting factor. The card's FP32 performance of 10.79 TFLOPS is the primary constraint when rendering at higher resolutions.

The RX 6650 XT achieves a percentile rank of 65 against all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 19765. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla K40m with a score of 19885 and the AMD FirePro W7000 at 19905, with deltaPct values of -0.6% and -0.7% respectively. This places the RX 6650 XT in a competitive position, though the data from The Technomancer shows it is better suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming rather than 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1823 out of 2825 tested combinations in The Technomancer. This places the combo in the 35th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it performs adequately, a significant portion of other configurations deliver higher frame rates in this specific game.

This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the RX 6650 XT's 65th percentile score among all GPUs does not translate to an equally strong showing in this game. The CPU's performance, however, is more robust. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 achieves an 89th percentile rank among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46062. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 with a deltaPct of 0.1% and the Intel Core i9-13900HX with a deltaPct of -0.1%, showing the CPU is well-matched with top-tier processors.

The discrepancy between the CPU's strong percentile ranking and the combo's lower position in-game suggests that The Technomancer is heavily GPU-bound. The data implies that users with this CPU could achieve better frame rates by pairing it with a more powerful GPU, as the processor has headroom that the RX 6650 XT cannot fully utilize in this title.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the most consistent performance, with the High preset averaging 97 FPS. The 2560x1440 resolution is also viable with the Medium preset at 74 FPS, but 3840x2160 only reaches playable levels with the Low preset at 53 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and 0.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 4364P. It is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Based on the measured results, the 8 GB frame buffer does not appear to be a limiting factor at any tested resolution or setting. The performance drops at 4K are more consistent with compute limitations rather than memory capacity issues.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 74 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 50 FPS. This represents a 24 FPS difference, or approximately 48% higher performance with Medium settings.

Q: Does the combo rank well among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1823 out of 2825 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier. This is below what the CPU's individual 89th percentile ranking would suggest, indicating the GPU is the bottleneck.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 19765, which is 0.6% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla K40m's 19885 and 0.7% lower than the AMD FirePro W7000's 19905. It is 0.7% higher than the AMD FirePro D300's 19637.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important characteristics about this hardware combination. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 97 FPS at 1920x1080 to 63 FPS at 2560x1440, a 35% reduction, and then to 35 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 44% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck as resolution increases.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At the Low preset, performance drops from 148 FPS at 1080p to 97 FPS at 1440p (34% reduction) and then to 53 FPS at 4K (45% reduction). The Medium preset shows similar trends: 114 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset demonstrates the most dramatic scaling, falling from 76 FPS at 1080p to 50 FPS at 1440p and finally to 27 FPS at 4K.

The consistent percentage-based drops across all settings suggest that the limiting factor is purely the GPU's rendering capability. The CPU's performance does not appear to influence these results, as the frame rates scale predictably with the number of pixels being rendered. This resolution scaling analysis confirms that the Core Ultra 5 235 provides sufficient processing power, but the RX 6650 XT cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K regardless of the quality settings chosen.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It is built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with data. The processor's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085, ensures that game logic and draw calls are processed efficiently. The multi-core capabilities, shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769, provide ample headroom for background tasks and any additional processing the game may require.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all processors suggests it is more than capable for this game. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, has a nearly identical average score with a deltaPct of 0.1%. This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 235 is not a limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios. The performance differences between settings and resolutions are entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU maintains consistent performance across all tests.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates provides a detailed picture of this combo's capabilities in The Technomancer.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 148 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 114 FPS and shows a minimum of 97 FPS with a maximum of 131 FPS. The High preset averages 97 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 76 FPS. This resolution offers the most comfortable gaming experience, with all presets maintaining frame rates above 75 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 97 FPS, representing a 51 FPS drop from the same settings at 1080p. The Medium preset maintains a respectable 74 FPS with a range of 63 to 85 FPS. The High preset averages 63 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 50 FPS. This resolution is playable with Medium or High settings, but Ultra requires compromises in frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only option that exceeds 50 FPS, averaging 53 FPS. The Medium preset averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. The High preset drops to 35 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 27 FPS. The data shows that 4K gaming with this combo is limited to Low or Medium settings, and even then, frame rates may dip below ideal levels during intense scenes.

The measured data reveals that the sweet spot for this configuration is 1080p with High settings, offering 97 FPS average. At 1440p, Medium settings provide the best balance at 74 FPS. For 4K, only the Low preset achieves a frame rate above 53 FPS, making it the only viable choice for smooth gameplay at that resolution.