The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware, particularly at higher resolutions. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the Intel Arc B390, based on benchmark data. The data reveals a system where the graphics processor is the primary bottleneck, with CPU performance playing a minimal role in the final frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS 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 52 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 19 FPS at 4K. This represents a significant 63% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 79 at 1080p to 52 at 1440p, and finally to 28 at 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar trend, with averages of 61, 40, and 22 FPS at the respective resolutions. Even the Ultra preset, which starts at a relatively low 40 FPS at 1080p, drops to 26 FPS at 1440p and 15 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior is a strong indicator that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting component. The frame rate drop is roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 3.40 GHz base clock, is likely not being saturated at any resolution, as the workload's demands on the processor do not increase with resolution. The data suggests that the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities are exhausted as the pixel count rises, causing the observed performance collapse. The transition from 1080p to 1440p yields an average performance penalty of about 35% across presets, while the jump from 1440p to 4K incurs an additional penalty of roughly 45%, further underscoring the GPU's struggle with higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the playable resolution for this hardware combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the average FPS consistently exceeds 40 across all settings presets. At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 26 to 52, which may be acceptable only at Low settings. The 3840x2160 resolution results in average FPS between 15 and 28, which is not smooth for an action game.

Q: How does the GPU's performance rank relative to other components?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has a percentile rank of 9 when compared to all GPUs, placing it in the bottom 10% of the performance distribution. Its average benchmark score is 1482, which is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. This indicates very low absolute graphics performance.

Q: Which settings preset provides the highest average frame rate at 1080p?

A: The Low settings preset provides the highest average frame rate at 1920x1080, achieving 79 FPS. This is followed by Medium at 61 FPS, High at 52 FPS, and Ultra at 40 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, scores 46030, making the Intel chip 0.1% faster. The Intel Core i9-13900HX scores 46098, which is 0.1% faster than the Ultra 5 235. This shows the CPU is performing in a tightly contested mid-range bracket.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the low frame rates at 4K?

A: The data points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign of a GPU limitation. The CPU's benchmark scores are relatively strong, and its performance does not typically degrade with resolution, so it is not the limiting factor in this scenario.

Q: What is the best frame rate achievable at 1440p?

A: The highest average frame rate at 2560x1440 is 52 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset. All other presets at this resolution produce average frame rates below 40 FPS.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and manufactured on a 3 nm process. Its performance characteristics are the primary determinant of the gaming experience in The Technomancer. The GPU has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. These specifications contribute to its measured FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it uses a portion of the system's main memory (DDR5) rather than dedicated VRAM. This results in a memory bandwidth that is "System Dependent," which can be a limiting factor in memory-intensive scenes. The data shows that this configuration is not well-suited for high-resolution gaming in The Technomancer. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average FPS is just 15, and even at 1080p with Low settings, it only reaches 79 FPS.

The GPU's low percentile rank of 9 confirms its position at the lower end of the performance spectrum. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce GT 710, are also entry-level parts from previous generations. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 is the only GPU benchmark provided, and it aligns with this low-end positioning. The combination of shared memory and a relatively low pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s explains the dramatic performance drops when resolution increases, as the GPU must process a much larger number of pixels with limited resources.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a complete matrix of average FPS for three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the performance is the most varied. The Low preset yields an average of 79 FPS, which is the highest in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS. The High preset averages 52 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. This resolution is the only one where the game is generally playable across all presets.

At 2560x1440, performance takes a noticeable hit. The Low preset averages 52 FPS, which is the same as the High preset at 1080p. The Medium preset averages 40 FPS, with a range of 34 to 46 FPS. The High preset averages 34 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 26 FPS. Only the Low preset provides a frame rate that could be considered smooth for this action game.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. The Low preset averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset averages 22 FPS, with a minimum of 19 FPS and a maximum of 25 FPS. The High preset averages 19 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 15 FPS. All results at this resolution are below the threshold for a comfortable gaming experience. The data shows that the step from Low to Medium at 4K incurs a 6 FPS penalty, while the step from Medium to High incurs a 3 FPS penalty, and High to Ultra another 4 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. The data shows a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate at every resolution.

For 1920x1080, the High preset offers a balanced experience with an average of 52 FPS. This is a significant improvement over the Medium preset's 61 FPS, which is also smooth, and the Ultra preset's 40 FPS, which is on the lower edge of playability. The Low preset at 79 FPS is the highest performing but sacrifices visual fidelity. The data suggests that High at 1080p is the best combination of playability and visual quality.

For 2560x1440, the options are more constrained. The Low preset is the only one that achieves an average FPS above 50, with a score of 52. The Medium preset at 40 FPS is playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced combat. The High and Ultra presets, at 34 and 26 FPS respectively, are likely to feel sluggish. Therefore, the Low preset is the recommended choice at this resolution if a smooth frame rate is a priority.

For 3840x2160, no preset achieves an average FPS above 30. The Low preset's 28 FPS is the highest, but it still falls short of a standard playability target. The data indicates that this GPU is not suitable for 4K gaming in The Technomancer, even at the lowest settings. Users should not consider this resolution with this hardware.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It operates at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU has a substantial 24 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

The CPU's benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded performance. It scores 14769 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6202 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. Its Passmark multithread score is 37816, and its single-thread score is 4516. These scores place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with a performance level that is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and the Intel Core i9-13900HX.

However, these strong CPU capabilities do not translate into high frame rates in The Technomancer. The game's frame rates at all resolutions and settings are consistently low, and the pattern of resolution scaling points directly to a GPU bottleneck. The CPU is not the limiting factor here; it has ample headroom to feed the GPU with data. The data shows that the CPU's role is to provide a stable platform, but its performance is not the reason for the observed FPS figures. The bottleneck is firmly in the graphics subsystem.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2500 out of 2825 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places the system in the bottom 12% of all configurations tested, which is consistent with the GPU's low performance percentile.

This ranking is a direct result of the GPU's limitations. While the CPU is a high-performing component, the GPU's low pixel rate and shared memory architecture severely hamper the system's gaming performance. The data shows that the CPU's performance is not the issue, as it ranks near the top of its class. Instead, the GPU's inability to handle the game's rendering workload at higher resolutions is what drags the combo's overall rank down. The system is effectively a powerful CPU paired with a very weak GPU, and the in-game performance reflects the weakest link. The measured FPS data confirms this, with the system struggling to maintain playable frame rates at 1440p and 4K, and only being comfortable at 1080p with lower settings.