The Technomancer

The Technomancer is a 2016 Action RPG that still presents a meaningful challenge to modern hardware, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050, providing practical guidance based strictly on benchmark data.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings preset depends entirely on your target resolution and preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate. The data reveals a clear hierarchy across the four available presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra.

At 1920x1080, the combo performs admirably across the board. The Low preset delivers an average of 124 FPS, making it the only configuration in the entire dataset to break the 120 FPS barrier. For competitive or high-refresh-rate play, this is the clear winner. However, the Medium preset offers a more balanced experience with an average of 95 FPS and a minimum of 81 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay while providing better visual quality than Low. The High preset maintains a solid 81 FPS average, which is still perfectly playable on a standard 60Hz display. The Ultra preset, while visually demanding, still manages a respectable 64 FPS average, making it viable for those who prioritize image quality over maximum frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. The Low preset remains the only option that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 81 FPS. The Medium preset drops to a 62 FPS average with a minimum of 53 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. The High preset averages 53 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience at this resolution, Low is the recommended choice. If you have a variable refresh rate monitor, Medium could be acceptable, but be prepared for occasional dips below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more demanding. No preset achieves a 60 FPS average. The Low preset tops out at 45 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium averages 34 FPS, High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra drops to 23 FPS. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combination requires significant compromises. If you must play at 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option for a semi-fluid experience, and even then, you will be sacrificing substantial visual detail.

The overall recommendation is clear: for the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1080p is the sweet spot. It offers a 95 FPS average with a minimum of 81 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience. For 1440p, you will need to step down to Low to maintain a high frame rate. For 4K, the experience is marginal at best, and you should lower expectations to the Low preset.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Technomancer at a stable 60 FPS at 1080p with high settings?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with the High preset, the system achieves an average of 81 FPS. While the minimum FPS is not listed, the average is well above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating a capable experience.

Q: What is the highest settings preset that can maintain a 60 FPS average at 1440p?

A: The Low preset is the only one at 2560x1440 that delivers an average above 60 FPS, with a score of 81 FPS. The Medium preset falls short with a 62 FPS average and a minimum of 53 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware configuration?

A: The data indicates it is not ideal. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 45 on the Low preset. All other presets (Medium, High, Ultra) average below 34 FPS, which is not a smooth experience for most players.

Q: How much of a performance drop is there from the High to Ultra preset?

A: The drop is significant. At 1080p, the average FPS falls from 81 on High to 64 on Ultra, a decrease of 17 FPS. At 1440p, it falls from 53 to 42, an 11 FPS drop. At 4K, it falls from 29 to 23, a 6 FPS drop.

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

A: The difference is substantial. The Low preset averages 124 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 64 FPS. This represents a 60 FPS gap, highlighting the significant cost of the Ultra preset's visual enhancements.

Q: Does the Medium preset at 1080p provide a higher minimum frame rate than the High preset at 1440p?

A: Yes. The Medium preset at 1080p has a reported minimum of 81 FPS. The High preset at 1440p has an average of 53 FPS, and while its minimum is not listed, its average is significantly lower than the 1080p Medium minimum.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It features 24 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores are substantial, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5. It ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong overall performance.

In the context of this game, the CPU's role appears to be one of a capable partner that is not the primary bottleneck, especially at lower resolutions. At 1080p, where the GPU is less burdened, the high single-core performance (evidenced by the 1810.5 Cinebench R23 single-core score) helps ensure that frame rates can reach up to 124 FPS on the Low preset. The strong multi-core capabilities, shown by the 17984.5 Cinebench R23 multi-core score, likely prevent any frame pacing issues or stutters in a game from this era.

However, the data suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU's performance is relatively constant regardless of resolution, but the game's frame rate plummets from 124 FPS at 1080p Low to 45 FPS at 4K Low. This indicates that the CPU is providing the frames, but the GPU cannot keep up with the increased pixel count. The CPU is not a weak link in this pairing; its performance is more than sufficient to feed the RTX 5050.

Benchmark comparisons show the Core Ultra 9 185H is closely matched with its nearest rivals. It is 0.1% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, 0.2% slower than the Intel Core 7 250H, 0.4% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, and 0.7% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X. These are negligible differences in real-world gaming, reinforcing that the CPU's performance is not a differentiating factor in this game's results.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 2247 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the bottom 20% of all tested systems, which is a surprising result given the individual components' specifications.

This ranking suggests that the RTX 5050, while a modern GPU, is not a high-performance part in the context of this database. Its average benchmark score is 21035, and it sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (0.6% faster), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (1% faster), the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (1.6% faster), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (1.6% slower). The fact that this modern GPU is closely matched with much older parts like the HD 8970M speaks to its entry-level positioning.

The low combo ranking is primarily driven by the GPU's performance, as the CPU is a top-15% performer. The game is clearly GPU-bound, especially at higher resolutions. The data shows that even at 1080p, the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU could likely push more frames if the GPU allowed it. The 2247th rank out of 2825 serves as a warning that this is not a high-end gaming system. It is a mid-range or entry-level performer, and its capabilities in this game are modest. This is not a criticism of the CPU, but rather a reflection of the GPU's performance class.

Resolution Scaling

The data clearly shows how the system's performance scales with resolution. Moving from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K results in significant frame rate drops across all settings, confirming that the GPU is the primary performance limiter.

At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 124 at 1080p to 81 at 1440p, a 43 FPS reduction (a 34.7% decrease). Further scaling to 4K reduces the average to 45 FPS, a further 36 FPS drop from the 1440p result (a 44.4% decrease). The performance loss from 1080p to 4K is 79 FPS, meaning the 4K performance is only about 36% of the 1080p performance.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend. The average FPS is 95 at 1080p, 62 at 1440p, and 34 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 28 FPS. The High preset averages 81 FPS at 1080p, 53 at 1440p, and 29 at 4K. The Ultra preset averages 64 FPS at 1080p, 42 at 1440p, and 23 at 4K.

This scaling pattern is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution, but the GPU's workload increases dramatically. The consistent and substantial frame rate drops as resolution increases prove that the RTX 5050 is the bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions. Instead, they scale down proportionally with the pixel count, which is exactly what is observed here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section provides the complete measured frame rate data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 124 FPS.
• Medium: Average 95 FPS, with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS.
• High: Average 81 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 64 FPS.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 81 FPS.
• Medium: Average 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS.
• High: Average 53 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 42 FPS.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 45 FPS.
• Medium: Average 34 FPS, with a minimum of 29 FPS and a maximum of 39 FPS.
• High: Average 29 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 23 FPS.

The data shows a consistent and predictable performance curve. The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, but the averages provide a clear picture. The system is capable of excellent performance at 1080p, good performance at 1440p on lower settings, and only marginal performance at 4K. The RTX 5050's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s, are likely contributing factors to the 4K performance limitations. For players targeting high refresh rates, 1080p is the only resolution where this is truly achievable. For those with a 1440p monitor, the Low preset is the most reliable path to smooth gameplay.