The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting stress test for a modern high-end CPU paired with a mid-range GPU. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and Intel Arc B580 combination produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on resolution and preset, revealing a system that is heavily influenced by graphics load. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy across the four tested presets, with the playability of the game hinging entirely on the user's choice of resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This high core count and impressive boost capability position it as a top-tier desktop processor, and its benchmark scores confirm this. In Cinebench R23, it achieves a multicore score of 51,731 and a single-core score of 7,303. This level of performance places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs tested, indicating it is among the fastest processors available.

The benchmark data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this game, particularly at higher resolutions. The fact that the Ultra 9 290K has a PassMark single-thread score of 4,823 and a multithread score of 60,860 indicates it has immense processing headroom. For a game from 2016, the computational demands are likely well within the capabilities of this processor, even at lower settings where frame rates are highest. The processor's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, has an average benchmark score of 83,807, which is only 0.2% lower than the 290K's 84,003, showing that this is a marginal upgrade in overall compute power.

The relationship between the CPU and this game's results is most evident when looking at the 1080p Low preset, where the system achieves its highest average frame rate of 138 FPS. This suggests that even when the game is not graphically intensive, the CPU is more than capable of feeding frames to the GPU. The CPU's performance is so robust that it is unlikely to constrain the system in any of the tested scenarios, leaving the GPU as the determining factor for frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combo in The Technomancer?

A: The highest average frame rate is 138 FPS, which is achieved at the 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does this combo perform at 2560x1440 resolution with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo delivers an average frame rate of 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus significantly faster than its closest rival in general benchmarks?

A: The data shows the Core Ultra 9 290K has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83,807. This is a very small performance difference.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking of the Intel Arc B580 among all GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B580 is in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, based on its average benchmark score of 23,021.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo fall below 30 FPS?

A: The combo falls below 30 FPS only at the 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset, where it produces an average frame rate of 25 FPS.

Q: What is the average frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate drops from 138 FPS on Low settings to 70 FPS on Ultra settings, a difference of 68 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and Intel Arc B580 is ranked 2124 out of 2825 total combos. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which is a curious result given the strong individual benchmark scores of both components. The CPU is in the 96th percentile, and the GPU is in the 68th percentile, yet their combined performance in this title is not proportionally high.

This ranking suggests that while the CPU is exceptionally powerful, the GPU's performance is the limiting factor in this specific game. The Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23,021 is surprisingly close to its nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which has a score of 22,895 (a 0.6% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, with a score of 23,061 (-0.2% difference). This indicates that the Arc B580's raw compute performance is comparable to older, established GPUs. The low combo rank implies that for a 2016 title like The Technomancer, the system's overall performance is not dictated by the top-tier CPU, but rather by the mid-range GPU's ability to render frames.

The data indicates that a system with a less powerful CPU but a more powerful GPU might achieve a higher rank in this game. The high rank of the CPU alone does not guarantee a high rank for the combo, because the game's performance is likely GPU-bound. This is a key insight: the measured FPS is the result of the entire system working together, and the weakest link in the chain defines the outcome.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how the system scales across different resolutions and quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo is highly capable, delivering an average of 138 FPS on Low, 106 FPS on Medium, 90 FPS on High, and 70 FPS on Ultra settings. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum FPS of 90 and a maximum of 121, showing a stable performance window. These numbers indicate that for 1080p gaming, the system offers a wide range of options, from high-refresh-rate competitive play on Low to a solid 70 FPS experience on Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. The average FPS on Low is 90, on Medium it is 69, on High it is 59, and on Ultra it is 46. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS. This resolution represents a sweet spot for the system, as the 59 FPS average on High is playable, but the 46 FPS on Ultra begins to feel less fluid.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the performance is considerably more demanding. The average FPS is 49 on Low, 38 on Medium, 32 on High, and 25 on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. The data shows that 4K gaming is only feasible on the Low preset, and even then, the 49 FPS average is not ideal for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at this resolution is not playable, with an average of 25 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 138 FPS. At 4K Low, it drops to 49 FPS. This is a 64.5% reduction in frame rate. This massive drop indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck; if the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would be more consistent across resolutions.

The trend is consistent across all settings. For example, on High settings, the frame rate drops from 90 FPS at 1080p to 59 FPS at 1440p and 32 FPS at 4K. The scaling suggests that the Intel Arc B580's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s, is being saturated by the increased pixel count. The GPU's compute power, rated at 13.67 TFLOPS FP32, is simply not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

This data implies that for The Technomancer, the system is heavily GPU-bound at all resolutions except perhaps the very lowest. The powerful CPU has little impact on the frame rate once the resolution increases. The performance cliff between 1440p and 4K is particularly steep, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing capabilities are the hard limits for this game. Users looking for a consistent 60 FPS experience will need to stick to 1080p or 1440p with adjusted settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo balances visual fidelity with a playable frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 70 FPS, which is a good target for most players. The High preset at 1080p achieves 90 FPS, which is also excellent and could be preferred by those with high refresh rate monitors. The data shows that 1080p is the resolution where the system has the most headroom.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice. The 59 FPS average is on the edge of the 60 FPS target, but it is a more visually pleasing experience than the Medium preset's 69 FPS. The Ultra preset at 46 FPS is less desirable due to the noticeable drop in smoothness. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 1440p, the Medium preset is the safest option, with a 69 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets offer a truly smooth experience. The Low preset, with an average of 49 FPS, is the most playable, but it requires a significant reduction in visual quality. The Medium preset at 38 FPS and the High preset at 32 FPS are too choppy for a game like an Action RPG, where precise timing is important. The Ultra preset at 25 FPS is not recommended. For 4K, the data suggests that the user must accept a lower fidelity setting to get a playable frame rate, and even then, it will be below 60 FPS.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, codenamed Battlemage. It operates with a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz and is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. The GPU has 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs. Its performance in the benchmark suite places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23,021.

The GPU's role in this game is critical, as it is the primary determinant of performance. The measured FPS data shows a clear correlation between graphical load and frame rate, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. The Arc B580's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, indicating that its raw performance is in a similar class to these older cards. The PassMark G3D score of 15,748 further supports this positioning.

However, the GPU's performance in The Technomancer is not its strongest showing. The data shows that it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and 4K with higher settings. This could be due to the game's engine and how it utilizes the GPU's architecture, or it could be a driver-level issue. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,068 is a modern benchmark, and it does not necessarily translate to the same performance in a game from 2016. The GPU's 190 W TDP and 12 GB VRAM are sufficient for this game, but the frame rates at 4K suggest that the processing power is the limiting factor, not the memory capacity. The system's performance in this title is entirely dependent on the Arc B580's ability to render frames, and the data shows it is a mid-range card that is best suited for 1080p and lighter 1440p workloads.