The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting test case for the modern mobile flagship combo of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon RX 7900M. The measured data reveals a configuration that is exceptionally powerful, capable of delivering high refresh rates at 1080p and solid 1440p performance, while also demonstrating the expected strain at 4K resolution. The benchmark results indicate a system that is well-balanced for its primary target resolutions, with the GPU typically being the limiting factor as resolution scales upward.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K resolution shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At the "High" settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 125 FPS at 1920x1080 to 82 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 45 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 34% performance hit from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. The data clearly shows that the Radeon RX 7900M is working progressively harder as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced at the "Low" settings. Here, the average frame rate falls from 191 FPS at 1080p to 125 FPS at 1440p, a 35% reduction, and then to 69 FPS at 4K, a 45% drop from 1440p. This consistency across presets suggests that the rendering pipeline is heavily reliant on the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth, which are being saturated as resolution increases.

The most telling observation comes from the "Ultra" preset. At 1080p, the system manages 98 FPS, which drops to 64 FPS at 1440p and a playable but demanding 35 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is nearly half the 1080p Ultra score, indicating that the combination of maximum visual fidelity and 4K resolution pushes the GPU to its absolute limit. The data suggests that the CPU is never the primary bottleneck in this game, as the frame rate scales almost entirely with resolution and settings level.

The "Medium" preset shows the most complete data set, with minimum and maximum frame rates recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. This 44 FPS spread indicates some scene-to-scene variance but remains well within the territory of smooth gameplay. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 96 FPS with a range of 82 to 110 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the average falls to 53 FPS with a range of 45 to 61 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Medium to 4K Medium represents a 64% performance reduction, highlighting the heavy toll that 4K resolution takes on this mobile GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a shared 24 MB L3 cache. In the context of The Technomancer, a game released in 2016, this CPU provides substantial headroom. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, where CPU load is typically highest relative to GPU load, the system still achieves 191 FPS at Low settings. This suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor even at lower resolutions and settings.

The CPU's performance is further contextualized by its benchmark scores. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 35670 puts it in close competition with rivals such as the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, which scores 35719 (a slight 0.1% advantage for the rival), and the Intel Core 7 250H at 35728 (0.2% ahead). The data shows this CPU is firmly in the upper echelon of mobile processors.

For a game like The Technomancer, which is not known for being CPU-intensive by modern standards, the 16-core, 22-thread configuration provides significant overhead. The high boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is often more critical for game logic and physics. The PassMark single-thread score of 3697 further confirms this capability. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR5 interface ensures that data can be fed to the GPU without creating a bottleneck, even at high frame rates.

The data indicates that the CPU's role in this specific game is supportive rather than dominant. At 1080p Low, the system produces 191 FPS, and even at 1080p Ultra, it manages 98 FPS. The frame rate scaling from Low to Ultra at all resolutions follows a consistent pattern, suggesting that the GPU is the primary driver of performance changes. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking and its proximity to rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (which has an average score of 35909, just 0.7% higher) demonstrate that it is more than capable of handling this game's requirements without becoming a constraint.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900M is the clear star of this configuration, and the data shows it is the primary determinant of frame rates in The Technomancer. This GPU features the Navi 31 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, with 4608 shading units and 192 ROPs. It has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a substantial 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock is 2090 MHz, and it achieves a pixel rate of 401.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 601.9 GTexel/s.

The GPU's raw compute power is reflected in its benchmark scores. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4201 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 158760. Its average benchmark score of 97487 places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, which is exceptional for a mobile part. The nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro VII at 97131 (0.4% lower), while the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 scores 101872, which is 4.3% higher. This places the RX 7900M in a performance tier that rivals desktop workstation-class GPUs.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role is evident in the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to push frame rates above 190 FPS at Low settings, indicating it is not fully saturated. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 35 FPS, showing that the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM and 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth are being taxed heavily. The 4K High result of 45 FPS and 4K Medium result of 53 FPS further illustrate this point. The GPU's 94th percentile ranking and its performance relative to the Quadro RTX 6000 suggest that it is a top-tier mobile solution.

The data suggests that the GPU's 16 GB memory capacity is sufficient for this game, as there are no indications of VRAM-related stuttering or texture pop-in in the measured results. The consistent frame rate scaling suggests that the GPU's compute units and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at higher resolutions, rather than memory capacity. The GPU's boost clock of 2090 MHz and its 38.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance provide ample raw compute for a game from 2016, even at maximum settings. However, the 4K Ultra result of 35 FPS indicates that the game's Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU's fill rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achieved by this system in The Technomancer?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 191 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the system perform at 1440p with the Medium preset?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system averages 96 FPS, with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The average frame rate drops to 35 FPS at Ultra settings and 45 FPS at High settings, while the CPU's 85th percentile ranking suggests it has ample headroom for this workload.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 191 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 98 FPS. This represents a 49% reduction in average frame rate when switching to Ultra settings.

Q: How does the RX 7900M compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000?

A: The RX 7900M has an average benchmark score of 97487, which is 4.3% lower than the Quadro RTX 6000's score of 101872. However, it outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro VII by 0.4%.

Q: Does the system maintain smooth frame rates at 4K with any settings preset?

A: The system achieves an average of 69 FPS at 4K Low settings, which is smooth. At 4K Medium, it averages 53 FPS, which is generally considered playable but not high-refresh-rate territory.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For players seeking the highest possible frame rates at 1080p, the Low preset delivers an exceptional 191 FPS average, which is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset at 147 FPS offers a better balance of visual quality and performance, with a minimum of 125 FPS ensuring consistent smoothness. The High preset at 125 FPS is also excellent, providing near-ultra visuals without sacrificing the high refresh rate experience.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the best overall experience. It delivers a 96 FPS average with a minimum of 82 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 82 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity, but the Medium preset's headroom above 90 FPS makes it the more comfortable choice for maintaining consistent performance. The Ultra preset at 64 FPS is playable, but the data shows it is approaching the lower limit of what is typically considered smooth for an action RPG.

For 4K gaming, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset at 69 FPS is the only preset that consistently delivers above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for players who value smooth gameplay over visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 53 FPS is acceptable for a slower-paced game, but the minimum of 45 FPS indicates there will be noticeable dips during demanding scenes. The High preset at 45 FPS and the Ultra preset at 35 FPS are not recommended for a game that requires responsive controls, as the frame rates drop below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The data suggests that for 4K, the Low preset is the sweet spot, balancing playable frame rates with some visual compromise.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates is as follows, organized by resolution and settings preset.

At 3840x2160, the system achieves an average of 35 FPS on the Ultra preset. The High preset yields 45 FPS, while the Medium preset provides an average of 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS. The Low preset produces an average of 69 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 64 FPS. The High preset delivers 82 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 96 FPS, with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS. The Low preset achieves an average of 125 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 98 FPS. The High preset delivers a robust 125 FPS. The Medium preset provides an average of 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. The Low preset reaches an average of 191 FPS.

This data shows a clear and consistent progression of performance across the three resolutions. The system's performance is strongest at 1080p, where it can comfortably drive high-refresh-rate monitors even at Ultra settings. The 1440p results are also strong, with the Medium and High presets providing excellent gameplay experiences. The 4K results are the most demanding, with only the Low preset maintaining an average above 60 FPS. The measured data confirms that this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon RX 7900M is a high-performance mobile platform that excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming, while 4K gaming requires significant settings compromises to achieve playable frame rates.