The Technomancer

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance rank of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti combo in The Technomancer?

A: The combo ranks 978th out of 2825 tested combinations in this game. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 65% of the combinations in the database for this title.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 84003 in average benchmark score, putting it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090). It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3% (85072) and sits 1.2% above the AMD EPYC 9135 (82980). The CPU holds the 96th percentile among all processors.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to its closest competitors?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 29945, placing it 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (29928) and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (29783). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6700 by 1.6% (30433) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 by 0.5% (30095). The GPU sits at the 75th percentile among all graphics cards.

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread counts, and what is its boost clock?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. It has a 36 MB shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core, with 192 KB of L1 cache per core.

Q: What memory configuration does the GPU use?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed.

Q: Which graphics API versions are supported by this GPU?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This broad API coverage ensures compatibility with The Technomancer's rendering requirements across different settings configurations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti serves as the primary rendering engine for this combo, and its specifications directly influence the measured frame rates. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1575 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, built on the GA104 chip using Ampere architecture. Its 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s, which is substantial for a 2016 title like The Technomancer, though the game's engine may not fully utilize this bandwidth at lower resolutions.

The GPU's 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines drive the pixel and texture throughput. The pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s indicate the card's capacity to handle complex scenes at high settings. The 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores are present but are unlikely to be heavily exercised by this title, given its release predates widespread ray tracing adoption.

At 4K resolution, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The measured data shows a drop from 47 FPS at High settings to 37 FPS at Ultra settings, representing a 21% performance penalty for the highest preset. This pattern confirms that the RTX 3070 Ti's 8 GB frame buffer and compute throughput are strained by the pixel count at 3840x2160. The FP32 throughput of 21.75 TFLOPS provides the raw compute necessary for the game's particle effects and lighting calculations, but the 290 W TDP suggests the card is operating near its thermal and power limits under sustained 4K load.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures full feature compatibility with modern rendering paths, though The Technomancer's engine may primarily use DirectX 11 features. The 1x 12-pin power connector and 600 W suggested PSU rating indicate the card's power requirements are significant, but the measured performance data shows the card delivers consistent frame rates across all tested settings without evidence of thermal throttling in the recorded averages.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings preset for each resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 132 FPS average, which provides a smooth experience on standard 60 Hz displays while leaving headroom for high refresh rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 103 FPS still exceeds 100 FPS and would be the choice for users prioritizing visual fidelity, but the 29 FPS difference between High and Ultra represents a 22% frame rate reduction for incremental visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 86 FPS, which is playable on most displays but may not saturate high refresh rate panels. The Medium preset at 101 FPS offers a better balance, providing 15 FPS more than High while maintaining acceptable visual quality. The Low preset at 131 FPS is the only option that fully utilizes 120 Hz+ monitors at this resolution, but the visual compromise may not be worth the performance gain for most users.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. The High preset at 47 FPS hovers near the edge of playability, while the Medium preset at 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS provides the most consistent experience above 50 FPS. The Ultra preset at 37 FPS dips below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for acceptable gameplay. The Low preset at 72 FPS is the only 4K option that provides comfortable frame rates, but it sacrifices significant visual quality.

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 1440p emerges as the sweet spot. It delivers 101 FPS average with a minimum of 86 FPS, ensuring no significant frame drops during combat sequences. At 1080p, the High preset is recommended for most users, as it provides 132 FPS with sufficient visual quality. For 4K users, the Medium preset at 55 FPS is the best compromise between visual fidelity and playability, though those prioritizing frame rate should consider the Low preset at 72 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear scaling pattern across settings. The Low preset achieves 201 FPS average, which represents the maximum performance ceiling for this combo at 1080p. The Medium preset delivers 154 FPS with a minimum of 131 FPS and a maximum of 178 FPS, indicating consistent frame delivery with a 47 FPS spread between Low and Medium. The High preset produces 132 FPS average, while the Ultra preset reaches 103 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 98 FPS total reduction, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium at 47 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales as expected with increased pixel count. Low settings yield 131 FPS, Medium produces 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS, High delivers 86 FPS, and Ultra drops to 67 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 35% reduction at Low settings (201 to 131 FPS), a 34% reduction at Medium (154 to 101 FPS), a 35% reduction at High (132 to 86 FPS), and a 35% reduction at Ultra (103 to 67 FPS). This consistent scaling pattern suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck across all settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates compress significantly. Low settings produce 72 FPS, Medium achieves 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS, High reaches 47 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. The resolution scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe: Low drops 45% (131 to 72 FPS), Medium drops 46% (101 to 55 FPS), High drops 45% (86 to 47 FPS), and Ultra drops 45% (67 to 37 FPS). This uniform reduction across settings indicates that the 4K pixel count overwhelms the GPU's rendering capacity regardless of quality preset.

The Medium preset rows are the only ones with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the 131 FPS minimum and 178 FPS maximum create a 47 FPS range, suggesting some scene-dependent variability. At 1440p Medium, the 86 FPS minimum and 116 FPS maximum produce a 30 FPS range, indicating tighter frame delivery. At 4K Medium, the 47 FPS minimum and 64 FPS maximum result in a 17 FPS range, showing that at higher resolutions, the GPU is consistently saturated and frame times become more uniform.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 978 out of 2825 tested combinations places it in the 65th percentile of all systems tested in The Technomancer. This positioning indicates that while the system is not among the top performers, it provides solid performance for the majority of gaming scenarios. The rank reflects the combined capabilities of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, with the GPU's 75th percentile standing among all graphics cards being the more influential factor for this game's frame rates.

The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks provides context for its contribution to the combo's rank. With a 96th percentile among all CPUs, the processor is a top-tier component that does not bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios. The nearest rival comparisons show the CPU is competitive with other high-end processors, sitting just 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% above the AMD EPYC 4584PX. However, the GPU's 75th percentile ranking is more modest, and this is reflected in the combo's overall position.

The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals show that the RTX 3070 Ti is closely matched with several competitors. It is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5070 Mobile, 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti, but 0.5% behind the RX 6800 and 1.6% behind the RX 6700. These small percentage differences suggest that the GPU's performance tier is tightly contested, and the combo's rank could shift slightly with different GPU pairings.

The 2825 tested combinations include a wide range of hardware, from entry-level to enthusiast systems. Ranking 978th means the combo outperforms 1847 other configurations, placing it in the upper third of all tested systems. The 4K performance data, which shows playable frame rates at Medium settings, supports this positioning, as many lower-ranked combos would struggle to maintain 30+ FPS at 4K in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its specifications indicate it is more than capable of feeding the RTX 3070 Ti in The Technomancer. With 24 cores and 24 threads, the processor offers substantial multi-threaded throughput, though this title from 2016 may not fully utilize all cores. The base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.80 GHz provide high single-thread performance, which is critical for game logic and physics calculations.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This large cache allocation helps reduce memory latency for frequently accessed game data. The processor supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, providing ample memory bandwidth for game assets and streaming data.

Synthetic benchmarks reveal the CPU's capabilities. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 demonstrate strong performance in both threaded and single-threaded workloads. The PassMark multi-thread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 corroborate these results. The data compression score of 698346 and encryption score of 52563 indicate the CPU handles data-intensive tasks efficiently.

In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain frame pacing and handle game logic while the GPU renders scenes. The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows consistent percentage drops across all settings, which suggests the CPU is not introducing bottlenecks at higher resolutions. If the CPU were limiting performance, the frame rate drops from 1440p to 4K would be less severe than the drops from 1080p to 1440p, as the GPU would become the sole bottleneck. The data shows nearly identical percentage drops between each resolution step, indicating the CPU maintains sufficient headroom even at 1080p High settings where the GPU is less stressed.

The CPU's 17,800 million transistors on a 3 nm process from TSMC, with a die size of 243 mm², represent a modern high-end design. The 125 W TDP is modest for a 24-core processor, and the motherboard socket Intel Socket 1851 with PCIe Gen 5 support (20 lanes from CPU) provides modern connectivity. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU is present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU installed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent scaling pattern across resolutions, which provides insight into the system's bottleneck characteristics. From 1080p to 1440p, the frame rate drops by approximately 35% across all settings: Low from 201 to 131 FPS, Medium from 154 to 101 FPS, High from 132 to 86 FPS, and Ultra from 103 to 67 FPS. This uniform reduction indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor even at 1080p, as a CPU-bound system would show larger percentage drops when moving to higher resolutions where the GPU workload increases.

From 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops by approximately 45% across all settings: Low from 131 to 72 FPS, Medium from 101 to 55 FPS, High from 86 to 47 FPS, and Ultra from 67 to 37 FPS. This more severe reduction at 4K is expected, as the pixel count quadruples from 1440p to 4K, and the GPU must process significantly more fragments. The fact that the percentage drop is consistent across settings (45-46%) suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are evenly taxed regardless of quality preset.

The cumulative scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a 64% reduction at Low settings (201 to 72 FPS), 64% at Medium (154 to 55 FPS), 64% at High (132 to 47 FPS), and 64% at Ultra (103 to 37 FPS). This remarkable consistency across all settings indicates a purely GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's performance headroom is sufficient to maintain frame delivery even at the lowest resolution and settings.

The GPU's 608.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB frame buffer play a crucial role in this scaling behavior. At 4K, the larger texture and geometry data requirements may approach the 8 GB capacity, though the consistent scaling suggests the GPU is compute-bound rather than memory-capacity-bound. The 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is the likely limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the game's shader complexity scales with pixel count.

The data indicates that users seeking higher frame rates should prioritize resolution reduction over settings reduction. Dropping from 4K High (47 FPS) to 1440p High (86 FPS) provides an 83% frame rate increase, while reducing settings from Ultra to Low at 4K (37 to 72 FPS) provides a 95% increase. However, the combination of resolution and settings scaling shows that 1080p Ultra (103 FPS) offers better performance than 4K Low (72 FPS), suggesting that users should lower resolution before sacrificing visual quality for this combo in The Technomancer.