The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, places unusual demands on modern hardware. When paired with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050, the benchmark data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, yet demonstrates the CPU's substantial headroom. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets provide a clear picture of where this combo excels and where it falls short of delivering a fluid 4K experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 98 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces this to 64 FPS, a 35% decrease, and at 4K the average falls to 35 FPS, a further 45% drop from the 1440p result. This scaling pattern confirms that the rendering load is scaling directly with pixel count, and the RTX 5050 is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

The data shows a clear progression across all settings. With Medium quality, frame rates drop from 115 FPS at 1080p to 75 FPS at 1440p and then to 41 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K remains substantial, with the 4K Medium result being roughly 45% slower than the 1440p Medium score. This indicates that even at lower quality presets, the 4K resolution presents a formidable challenge for the GPU, which has to process four times the pixels of 1080p.

At 1080p, the scaling suggests the CPU and GPU are better balanced. The jump from 98 FPS at High to 150 FPS at Low shows that reducing graphical load yields significant gains, implying the GPU is still the bottleneck, but the CPU is capable of feeding it enough data to reach high frame rates. However, the 4K results tell a different story: the difference between High (35 FPS) and Low (54 FPS) is a substantial 54% improvement, proving that the GPU's pixel throughput is the dominant constraint and that no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the sheer volume of work required at 2160p.

The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, highlights the severity of the scaling. At 1080p, the combo manages 77 FPS, which is playable, but at 1440p it drops to 50 FPS, and at 4K it plummets to 28 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K Ultra is not a viable target for this combination, as the average frame rate falls below what is generally considered a minimum for smooth gameplay. The scaling between 1080p and 4K for all presets shows a consistent reduction of roughly 60-70%, underscoring that the RTX 5050's 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB of VRAM are saturated by the demands of 4K rendering.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. Its benchmark scores are formidable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303. In synthetic tests, it sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. This positions it as a top-tier processor for any workload, including gaming.

However, in the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role appears to be secondary. The measured frame rates show that at any given resolution, the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings is significant, which is a hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p, the CPU's strength is evident in the ability to push the RTX 5050 to 150 FPS on Low settings, indicating that the processor is not a bottleneck at this resolution. The data suggests that the 24 cores and high boost clock provide ample processing power for the game's logic and physics, even at high frame rates.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, reflected in its Passmark multithread score of 60860, are likely overkill for this title, which was released in 2016 and may not utilize all 24 threads effectively. The single-core performance, however, is crucial for gaming, and the 5.80 GHz boost clock ensures that the primary game thread is handled efficiently. When comparing to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX in average benchmark scores, but these are synthetic comparisons and do not directly translate to in-game performance gains for this specific title.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this configuration. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is almost entirely dependent on the GPU's rendering capabilities. For instance, at High settings, the 1080p score of 98 FPS is more than double the 4K score of 35 FPS, a pattern that would persist regardless of CPU choice, as the GPU is clearly struggling with the pixel fill rate. The processor's high Cinebench scores and 96th percentile ranking suggest it will not impede performance in this game, but its full potential is unrealized when paired with the RTX 5050 at resolutions above 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the clear bottleneck in this combo for The Technomancer. Built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process, it features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. Its compute capabilities include an FP32 throughput of 13.17 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s. The GPU sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035, placing it in the mid-range tier.

The benchmark results in The Technomancer directly reflect the GPU's limitations. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 28, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to process the high pixel count and complex shaders at an acceptable rate. The 8 GB VRAM is also a concern at 4K, as the High and Medium presets might exceed this capacity, leading to texture swapping and reduced performance. The measured 4K Medium FPS of 41, with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 48, shows significant frame time variance, which can be attributed to memory pressure.

The RTX 5050's performance is closer to that of the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, which has a deltaPct of -0.6%, and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which is 1.6% slower. This places it in a performance tier that is adequate for 1080p gaming but struggles with 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, the GPU delivers 150 FPS on Low and 98 FPS on High, which are good results. The 1440p High score of 64 FPS is playable, but the 4K results show that the GPU is out of its depth, with even the Low preset only achieving 54 FPS.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2317 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz, are relatively high, but the 128-bit memory bus and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of 4K gaming in a title like The Technomancer. The frame rates at 4K across all settings show a linear progression, from 28 FPS at Ultra to 54 FPS at Low, which suggests that the GPU's shading units and texture units are fully saturated, and the memory bandwidth is the final limiting factor. The data makes it clear that this GPU is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings reductions to achieve playable frame rates.

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 the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1721 out of 2825 total combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems. The rank is a composite measure that takes into account the performance of both the CPU and GPU, but in this game, the GPU's performance is the dominant factor in determining the overall rank.

The CPU's high percentile ranking (96th) does not translate to a high combo rank because the game is not CPU-intensive. The combo's rank of 1721 suggests that there are many other configurations with more balanced or more powerful GPUs that achieve better performance in this title. The data implies that a system with a less powerful CPU but a more powerful GPU would likely rank higher, as the game's performance is more sensitive to graphics processing power.

The underperformance is highlighted by the fact that the CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, have similar average benchmark scores, but the GPU's performance is only in the 66th percentile. This creates a mismatch where the CPU is underutilized. The rank of 1721 out of 2825 indicates that this combo is not optimized for The Technomancer, and users might expect average performance relative to other tested systems. The frame rate data supports this, as the 4K results are below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and the 1440p results are merely acceptable.

The combo's ranking also reflects the age of the game. Since The Technomancer was released in 2016, it may not leverage newer GPU features or multi-core CPUs efficiently. The RTX 5050's modern architecture and features are not fully utilized, and the game's engine likely relies more on raw pixel throughput than on advanced rendering techniques. This explains why the GPU, despite its decent synthetic scores, fails to achieve high frame rates at 4K, and why the combo's overall rank is not higher.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution. For a 1080p display, the High preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 98 FPS with no minimum FPS data to indicate drops. This provides a smooth and visually satisfying experience. The Ultra preset at 1080p achieves 77 FPS, which is also playable, but the 21 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not be worth the marginal visual improvement for most users, especially since the High preset is already above the 60 FPS threshold.

For 1440p gaming, the Medium preset is recommended. It produces an average of 75 FPS, with a minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 87 FPS, ensuring that frame rates remain above 60 FPS for most of the gameplay. The High preset at 1440p averages 64 FPS, which is acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes, as the minimum FPS is not recorded. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 50 FPS, which may lead to noticeable stuttering in action-heavy moments, so it is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience.

At 4K, the data shows that no preset is fully satisfactory. The Low preset averages 54 FPS, which is playable but requires significant visual compromises. The Medium preset averages 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay and may result in a less responsive experience. The High and Ultra presets at 4K, with averages of 35 FPS and 28 FPS respectively, are not recommended for playable frame rates. Therefore, for 4K, users should use the Low preset if they prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, but the 54 FPS average suggests that even this is a compromise.

The data indicates that the best experience is achieved at 1080p with the High preset, which balances visual quality and performance. For users with 1440p monitors, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, as it maintains an average FPS above 75. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions above 1080p, as the performance penalty is too severe. In summary, the recommended settings are High at 1080p, Medium at 1440p, and Low at 4K, with the understanding that 4K performance is suboptimal for this configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system in The Technomancer?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with High settings provides the best balance, achieving an average of 98 FPS. For 2560x1440, Medium settings are recommended, with an average of 75 FPS. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only manage an average of 54 FPS, indicating that 4K is not ideal for this combo.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in The Technomancer?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a high-end processor with a 96th percentile ranking, but the game is not CPU-intensive. The frame rates scale heavily with resolution, indicating a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's strength is shown by the high FPS at 1080p Low (150 FPS), but it does not prevent the FPS drop at 4K, which is caused by the GPU.

Q: Is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 sufficient for 4K gaming?

A: Based on the measured data, no. The 4K Ultra preset averages 28 FPS, and the 4K Low preset averages 54 FPS. These results indicate that the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are insufficient for smooth 4K performance in this title.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 98. At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average FPS is 64. This represents a 34 FPS drop, or approximately 35%, when moving to the higher resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This configuration ranks 1721 out of 2825 combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the lower-middle tier, primarily due to the GPU's mid-range performance (66th percentile) in contrast to the CPU's high-end performance (96th percentile).

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset in this game?

A: The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1920x1080, where it achieves an average of 77 FPS. At 2560x1440, it drops to 50 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 28 FPS. For resolutions above 1080p, the Ultra preset does not provide playable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following are the exact measured average FPS values for each resolution and settings preset, as recorded in the benchmark data.

1920x1080:

• Low: 150 FPS
• Medium: 115 FPS (min 98, max 132)
• High: 98 FPS
• Ultra: 77 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 98 FPS
• Medium: 75 FPS (min 64, max 87)
• High: 64 FPS
• Ultra: 50 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 54 FPS
• Medium: 41 FPS (min 35, max 48)
• High: 35 FPS
• Ultra: 28 FPS

This data confirms the GPU-bound nature of the system. The 1080p results are the most playable, while the 4K results are consistently below 60 FPS for all presets. The Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of frame rate and visual quality, with an average of 75 FPS. The performance scaling is consistent, with each resolution increase causing a significant drop in FPS across all settings, highlighting the RTX 5050's limitations as the primary constraint.