The Technomancer

# The Technomancer with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT lands at rank 1262 out of 2825 tested combinations in The Technomancer, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. This pairing combines a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a 12 GB RDNA 2.0 graphics card, and the measured frame rates reveal a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions while showing surprising headroom at 1080p. The combo's overall standing suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier performer — sitting in the 96th percentile among all processors — the GPU's 71st percentile ranking tempers the final result, making this a configuration where the graphics card is the limiting factor in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 1262 of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, this pairing sits just below the median of the database, which is notable given the strength of the individual components. The CPU alone commands a 96th percentile position among all processors, while the GPU holds a 71st percentile standing among all graphics cards. This discrepancy immediately signals that the Radeon RX 6750 XT is the bottleneck in this configuration — the processor is capable of far more than the GPU can feed it in this title.

The combo's rank becomes more interpretable when examining the measured FPS data. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 179 FPS average, which is in the upper range of what the database records for this game. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 33 FPS, placing it in territory where playability becomes questionable. The rank of 1262 reflects this spread — the system can deliver excellent performance at lower resolutions and settings, but it cannot maintain high frame rates at the most demanding configurations. Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing performs like a mid-pack solution for The Technomancer, despite the CPU's elite status. The data indicates that users seeking higher rankings would need a more powerful GPU to complement the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus's capabilities.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its clock speeds are substantial for a RDNA 2.0 part: a base clock of 2150 MHz, a game clock of 2495 MHz, and a boost clock of 2600 MHz. The memory operates at 2250 MHz, translating to 18 Gbps effective. These specifications position the card as a solid mid-range option, and its benchmark scores confirm this — it achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2548 and a Passmark G3D score of 20700, with a percentile ranking of 71 among all GPUs.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution scales. At 1080p, the card's 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs are sufficient to push frame rates well above 100 FPS at most settings. However, at 4K, the same hardware struggles — the 33 FPS Ultra result and 42 FPS High result indicate that the card's raw throughput is insufficient for the pixel count. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not the limiting factor here, as even the lowest settings at 4K produce 64 FPS, suggesting memory bandwidth and compute throughput are the constraints rather than capacity. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (0.5% faster), AMD FirePro W7100 (0.6% faster), and AMD FirePro D700 (0.7% faster), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is 1.1% ahead — all indicating that this card sits in a tightly contested performance band.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 117 FPS at 1080p to 77 FPS at 1440p, then to 42 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The Low settings tell a similar story: 179 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K — a 35% and 45% drop respectively. Medium settings show 138 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K, with the 4K result including a minimum of 42 FPS and maximum of 57 FPS.

These scaling patterns indicate that the GPU is the limiting component across all resolutions. The consistent ~35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~45% drop from 1440p to 4K aligns with the increasing pixel count — 1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 2.25x the pixels of 1440p. The fact that frame rates do not scale inversely with pixel count (which would predict 65 FPS at 1440p and 29 FPS at 4K from the 117 FPS 1080p result) suggests that other bottlenecks, such as CPU overhead or memory bandwidth, are partially mitigating the load. The Ultra settings show the most dramatic degradation: 92 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K, confirming that the GPU's compute resources are exhausted at higher resolutions and settings.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in The Technomancer?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT ranks 1262 out of 2825 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database.

Q: What is the best performance this system can achieve in The Technomancer?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 179 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, it achieves 117 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it drops to 64 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this pairing?

A: Data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 71st percentile. The FPS scaling patterns across resolutions also show the GPU struggling as pixel count increases.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 6750 XT has an average benchmark score of 26011, with the AMD Radeon R9 M395X 0.5% faster, AMD FirePro W7100 0.6% faster, AMD FirePro D700 0.7% faster, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile 1.1% faster.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity and memory configuration?

A: The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. Memory clock is 2250 MHz, operating at 18 Gbps effective.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 33 (Ultra) to 64 (Low). The Medium setting yields 49 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS, while High produces 42 FPS — all below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all settings deliver playable results: Low produces 179 FPS, Medium 138 FPS, High 117 FPS, and Ultra 92 FPS. For users with 144Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, Low settings at 1080p are the only configuration that consistently exceeds 144 FPS. However, for a balance of visual quality and performance, Medium at 1080p (138 FPS) offers the best compromise — it maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS while providing better visual fidelity than Low.

At 1440p, the picture changes. Low delivers 117 FPS, Medium 90 FPS, High 77 FPS, and Ultra 60 FPS. The Medium setting here is the sweet spot, providing 90 FPS average with a minimum of 76 FPS — this is the highest settings level that reliably stays above 75 FPS. For users prioritizing smoothness, High at 77 FPS is acceptable, but Ultra at exactly 60 FPS average leaves no headroom for demanding scenes. At 4K, no setting achieves 60 FPS. Low yields 64 FPS, Medium 49 FPS, High 42 FPS, and Ultra 33 FPS. For 4K playability, Low is the only viable option, albeit with significantly reduced visual quality. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the best overall experience for this combo, balancing frame rate and visual fidelity without dropping below 76 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3. Memory support is DDR5 via a dual-channel interface, providing 115.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The processor also includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units, though this is irrelevant when paired with a discrete GPU.

Benchmark results show the CPU's strength: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 51731, single-core 7303, and Passmark multithread scores 60860. The processor ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% faster), AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% faster), and AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% faster), while the AMD EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% slower. In The Technomancer, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. Given the game's 2016 release date and the CPU's modern architecture, the processor is unlikely to be a bottleneck even at 1080p — the FPS scaling patterns across resolutions confirm this, as frame rates drop consistently with pixel count rather than showing CPU-limited plateaus. The 24 cores may be underutilized in this title, but the high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core 7303) ensures that even poorly threaded game code runs efficiently.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents all measured FPS values for this combo in The Technomancer, organized by resolution and settings:

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 179 FPS, which is the maximum measured for this combo. Medium settings yield 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS and maximum of 158 FPS. High settings reach 117 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 92 FPS. All 1080p configurations maintain frame rates above 90 FPS, making this resolution the most flexible for settings selection.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales down proportionally. Low settings deliver 117 FPS average, Medium produces 90 FPS with a range of 76 to 103 FPS, High achieves 77 FPS, and Ultra falls to 60 FPS. The Medium setting at 1440p is notable for maintaining a minimum of 76 FPS, which is higher than the average of some other settings at this resolution. The 1440p Ultra result of exactly 60 FPS is the only configuration at this resolution that hits the 60 FPS threshold without exceeding it.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become evident. Low settings yield 64 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration above 60 FPS. Medium settings produce 49 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS and maximum of 57 FPS. High settings drop to 42 FPS, and Ultra falls to 33 FPS. The 4K results show a clear pattern: each settings tier above Low reduces the average frame rate by roughly 7-9 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute resources are heavily taxed at this resolution regardless of quality level. The measured data includes minimum and maximum values only for Medium settings at each resolution, which show the most variance — at 1080p the range is 117-158 FPS, at 1440p it is 76-103 FPS, and at 4K it is 42-57 FPS. This variance suggests that Medium settings produce the most inconsistent frame pacing, likely due to dynamic scene complexity affecting the GPU's workload.