The Technomancer

# The Technomancer: Intel Core Ultra 9 185H + AMD Radeon 890M

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon 890M delivers playable frame rates only at lower resolutions and settings in The Technomancer, with the integrated GPU acting as the decisive bottleneck across all tested configurations. The data shows a system that ranks near the bottom of the database (2667th out of 2825 tested combos), placing it in the 5th percentile of all recorded hardware pairings for this title. While the CPU is a capable mobile part with strong multi-threaded performance, the Radeon 890M's integrated graphics simply cannot sustain high frame rates at demanding settings, making this configuration suitable primarily for 1080p gaming on reduced presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario where the Radeon 890M's limited pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint. At Low settings, average FPS falls from 70 at 1920x1080 to 46 at 2560x1440 (a 34% reduction), then further to 25 at 3840x2160 (a 64% reduction from the 1080p baseline). This steep decline is characteristic of an integrated GPU struggling with fill-rate demands rather than a CPU or memory limitation, as the scaling pattern closely tracks pixel count increases.

At Medium settings, the same resolution progression shows averages of 54, 35, and 19 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. The gap between 1080p and 1440p narrows slightly compared to Low settings (35% drop), but the 4K result represents a 65% reduction from 1080p, reinforcing that the GPU is saturated regardless of preset. High settings follow a similar trajectory: 46 FPS at 1080p, 30 at 1440p, and 17 at 4K — a 63% total reduction from the lowest to highest resolution.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling collapse, with averages of 36, 23, and 13 FPS across the three resolutions. The 4K Ultra result is essentially unplayable, and even 1440p Ultra falls below the minimum threshold for smooth gameplay. Notably, the difference between 1440p and 4K at Ultra (from 23 to 13 FPS) represents a 43% drop, while the 1080p to 1440p step loses 36% — indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth, which is system-shared and dependent on the host platform, becomes increasingly inadequate as resolution climbs.

These results indicate that the limiting component is unambiguously the Radeon 890M. The CPU, which maintains strong benchmark scores across synthetic tests, is never the constraining factor here; if it were, we would expect frame rates to remain more consistent across resolutions. Instead, every preset shows a clear pattern of performance degradation proportional to pixel count, which is the signature of a GPU-bound workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H provides substantial computational headroom that goes largely unused in this game's measured scenarios. With 16 cores, 22 threads, a base clock of 3.90 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, this Meteor Lake processor (built on a 7 nm process) delivers strong synthetic performance that far exceeds what the integrated GPU can utilize in The Technomancer. Cinebench R23 results show a multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5, while Geekbench reports 11657 multi-core and 1794 single-core.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 85 places it well above average among all tested processors, and its average benchmark score of 35670 sits within 1% of several high-end rivals. The nearest competitor, AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, scores 35719 (a 0.1% difference), while AMD Ryzen 7 7700X reaches 35909 (0.7% higher). This indicates the Core Ultra 9 185H is competitive with desktop-class parts in raw compute, despite being a mobile chip with a 45W TDP.

However, in The Technomancer, this processing power translates into almost no observable benefit. The game's frame rates at any given resolution and setting are constrained by the GPU, and the CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth) are more than sufficient for the game's demands. The Passmark physics score of 1956 and multithread score of 29376 suggest the CPU can handle complex simulation workloads, but the measured FPS data shows no scenario where CPU performance becomes the limiting factor.

The architecture's efficiency is notable — the 7 nm process and 45W TDP allow for sustained boost clocks without excessive thermal throttling, which would be critical if the GPU were not the bottleneck. But the data indicates that users would see nearly identical frame rates with a significantly weaker CPU paired with the same Radeon 890M, as long as the GPU remained the constraint. The Core Ultra 9 185H is overqualified for this pairing in this specific title, though it provides headroom for other applications or future GPU upgrades.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 890M is the defining component in this configuration, and its specifications explain the measured performance ceiling. Built on RDNA 3.5 architecture with a 4 nm process, this integrated GPU features 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2900 MHz. Its 5.939 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is respectable for an iGPU, but the critical limitation is memory: the 890M uses system-shared memory with bandwidth described as "System Dependent," meaning performance varies with the host platform's RAM configuration.

The GPU's benchmark results confirm its mid-range positioning. The Passmark G3D score of 8076 places it in the 45th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9210. Its nearest rivals include AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221, 0.1% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273, 0.7% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (9294, 0.9% higher) — all within 1% of the 890M's aggregate score. This clustering indicates the 890M performs at roughly the level of a low-end discrete GPU from several generations ago, which is consistent with the measured frame rates in The Technomancer.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 590 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 40808 show modest DirectX 12 and Vulkan capabilities, but the game's 2016 release date (June 27, 2016) means it was designed for the GPU hardware of that era. The 890M's Passmark DirectX 11 score of 73 and DirectX 12 score of 37 suggest that legacy API performance is adequate but not exceptional, and the game's engine likely does not take full advantage of the newer RDNA 3.5 features.

The 15W TDP for the GPU is remarkably low, which is typical for an integrated solution but explains why sustained performance under load may be limited. The pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s and texture rate of 185.6 GTexel/s are the theoretical maxima, but in practice, the system-shared memory bandwidth becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 4K results — 17 FPS at High, 19 at Medium, and 25 at Low — all indicate that the memory subsystem cannot feed the GPU enough data to maintain playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This hardware combination ranks 2667th out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 6% of all configurations. This is a poor result for a CPU that ranks in the 85th percentile, and it directly reflects the GPU's 45th percentile positioning. The combo ranking effectively blends these two components, but the heavy weight of GPU performance in gaming benchmarks pulls the overall result down dramatically.

The 890M's nearest GPU rivals all score within 1% of its average benchmark, yet the combo ranking suggests that even these comparable GPUs would likely produce similar frame rates in this title. The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals (ranging from -0.1% to -0.7%) indicate that the Core Ultra 9 185H is essentially tied with several other processors in synthetic benchmarks, so the combo's poor ranking cannot be attributed to CPU variance.

The bottom-tier ranking is consistent across all measured settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 70 FPS, which is the only scenario that approaches smooth gameplay. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 54 FPS, which is still playable but with noticeable frame-time variance (min 46, max 62). Every other configuration falls below 50 FPS, and the 4K Ultra result of 13 FPS is effectively a slideshow. This performance profile places the combo in the lowest quartile of gaming experiences, suitable only for esports titles or older games at modest settings.

For context, the CPU's average benchmark score of 35670 is within 0.7% of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, a desktop processor, yet the combo ranking shows that this mobile iGPU pairing cannot leverage that CPU strength. The data suggests that users seeking to play The Technomancer should either reduce resolution to 1080p and accept Low-to-Medium settings, or consider a different GPU entirely.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this combo is 1080p with Low settings, which delivers an average of 70 FPS. This is the only tested scenario that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, providing smooth gameplay without significant compromises to responsiveness. The 1080p Medium preset, at 54 FPS average, is a secondary option for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate stability, though the measured minimum of 46 FPS may cause occasional stutter in action-heavy scenes.

At 1440p, no setting achieves a consistent 60 FPS. The Low preset averages 46 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced Action RPG where timing matters. The Medium preset at 35 FPS and High at 30 FPS are marginal, while Ultra at 23 FPS is too low for comfortable gameplay. The 4K resolution is not viable for this combo under any setting — even Low produces only 25 FPS, and the frame rates drop to 19, 17, and 13 FPS for Medium, High, and Ultra respectively.

The data shows that the scaling from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 16 FPS (from 70 to 54), while the jump from Medium to High costs another 8 FPS (to 46), and High to Ultra costs 10 FPS (to 36). This suggests diminishing returns for visual quality investments, with the Low preset offering the best frame rate per graphical fidelity trade-off. For users who require 60 FPS as a hard minimum, 1080p Low is the only defensible choice. For those who can tolerate 45-55 FPS, 1080p Medium provides a better visual experience while remaining within playable bounds.

The measured minimum FPS values are only available for Medium settings: 46 at 1080p, 30 at 1440p, and 16 at 4K. These minimums indicate that frame pacing is relatively consistent at Medium, with the 1080p minimum of 46 FPS still above the threshold for playable performance. Users should avoid High and Ultra presets at any resolution above 1080p, as the average FPS falls below 30, which is generally considered the minimum for a tolerable gaming experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 70 FPS, which is the only measured configuration to exceed 60 FPS. Medium settings average 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 and maximum of 62, showing a wide frame-time variance that could cause perceptible stuttering during combat. High settings average 46 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably less smooth. Ultra settings drop to 36 FPS, which is below the preferred threshold for an action-oriented game and may feel sluggish during intense sequences.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades significantly across all presets. Low settings average 46 FPS, a 34% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 35 FPS (minimum 30, maximum 41), which is at the edge of playability. High settings average 30 FPS, exactly at the minimum threshold for acceptable gameplay. Ultra settings fall to 23 FPS, which is too low for a game that requires precise timing and quick reactions. The 1440p results clearly indicate that this resolution is only suitable for users who prioritize visual detail over frame rate and are willing to accept sub-30 FPS performance.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates under any settings. Low settings average 25 FPS, which is below the playability threshold for most gamers. Medium settings average 19 FPS (minimum 16, maximum 22), showing that even the most consistent preset cannot sustain adequate performance. High settings average 17 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 13 FPS. These 4K results are uniformly poor, confirming that this resolution is not viable for The Technomancer with this hardware combination. The data shows a clear pattern: the Radeon 890M's performance ceiling is approximately 70 FPS at 1080p Low, and every increase in resolution or settings reduces frame rates proportionally to the additional GPU workload.