The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales heavily with resolution on the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and AMD Radeon 8060S combination. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy where 1080p delivers fluid performance, but 4K pushes the GPU to its limits. This analysis breaks down those results, contextualizes the hardware's standing, and provides actionable settings guidance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across quality presets, indicating that the AMD Radeon 8060S is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 157 at 1920x1080 to 102 at 2560x1440, a 35% reduction, and then further down to 56 at 3840x2160, which is a 45% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering load on the pixel pipeline increases dramatically.

The scaling is similar at High settings, where the average FPS goes from 103 at 1080p to 67 at 1440p, and then to 37 at 4K. The most demanding preset, Ultra, shows the most severe scaling: it starts at 80 FPS at 1080p, drops to 52 FPS at 1440p, and collapses to just 29 FPS at 4K. The relative performance loss from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 64%, which is a larger percentage drop than at Lower settings. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately more expensive at higher resolutions, likely taxing the GPU's shader and memory resources.

The data reveals that the 1080p to 1440p transition is manageable, with a 35-36% performance hit depending on the preset. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K is more punishing, with performance dropping by an additional 45-52%. This nonlinear scaling points to the Radeon 8060S’s memory bandwidth and raw compute power being saturated at 4K. The fact that the CPU is less of a bottleneck at higher resolutions is evident because the frame rates are not plateauing; they are consistently falling as pixel count increases. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, 1080p is clearly the target, with 1440p being viable for High and Medium presets, but 4K will only be playable at Low settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Technomancer?

A: The data shows it is possible, but only at the lowest settings. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 56. Moving to Medium drops that to 43 FPS, High to 37 FPS, and Ultra to 29 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS target, 4K is not achievable on this hardware, as even the lowest preset falls short.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 60 FPS experience?

A: According to the measured results, 1080p is the only resolution that consistently hits above 60 FPS across all settings. At 1920x1080, even the Ultra preset averages 80 FPS. At 2560x1440, you can achieve 60+ FPS only with Medium (79 FPS) and Low (102 FPS) presets, while High (67 FPS) is also above 60 FPS, but Ultra (52 FPS) falls below the mark.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: The performance cost of Ultra over High is significant. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 103 on High to 80 on Ultra, a 22% decrease. At 1440p, it drops from 67 to 52, a 22% decrease. At 4K, the drop is from 37 to 29, a 22% decrease. The relative cost is consistent, but the absolute impact becomes more critical as the starting frame rate is lower.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The measured FPS data indicates the AMD Radeon 8060S is the limiting component, especially at higher resolutions. The consistent frame rate decline from 1080p to 4K across all presets shows that the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel workload. The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, with its high benchmark scores, is not showing signs of causing a frame cap.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium settings?

A: The jump from Low to Medium is relatively modest. At 1080p, the average FPS goes from 157 to 120, a 24% decrease. At 1440p, it goes from 102 to 79, a 23% decrease. At 4K, it goes from 56 to 43, a 23% decrease. The visual upgrade from Low to Medium is generally substantial, making it a worthwhile trade for most users.

Q: How does the 1080p Medium result compare to the 4K Low result?

A: The 1080p Medium setting averages 120 FPS, while 4K Low averages 56 FPS. This shows that the resolution jump has a much larger impact on performance than the settings change. You can expect a 114% performance increase by playing at 1080p Medium instead of 4K Low, but you will lose the sharpness of the higher resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8060S is an integrated GPU based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, featuring 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. Its performance characteristics are directly reflected in the measured frame rates. With a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz, the GPU's dynamic range allows it to scale its performance based on thermal and power headroom. The high boost clock is crucial for maintaining performance in less demanding scenes, but under sustained load, the average FPS figures suggest the clock is not enough to overcome the pixel fill rate demands of 4K.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's LPDDR5X memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This architecture makes its bandwidth "System Dependent," which is a critical factor for a game like The Technomancer. The data shows a sharp performance cliff at 4K, which is typical of integrated graphics struggling with memory bandwidth. The 153.6 GB/s memory bandwidth of the platform is a shared resource, and the GPU's access to it is a likely bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality settings. This is in contrast to its rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which has dedicated memory, but the 8060S holds its own in synthetic benchmarks.

Despite being an integrated part, the Radeon 8060S's benchmark results place it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 55757. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.1% faster) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (0.6% slower), which is remarkable for an IGP. This suggests that while its memory architecture is a limitation, its raw compute power is substantial. The 14.85 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 185.6 GPixel/s are high figures, but the practical results show that the memory system is the limiting factor. The 40 ray tracing cores are present, but their impact on a 2016 title is likely minimal, as the game's rendering pipeline is not designed for modern RT effects.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average frames per second for the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and AMD Radeon 8060S combination in The Technomancer.

At 1920x1080, the results are uniformly playable. The Low preset delivers an average of 157 FPS, providing a very high refresh rate experience. The Medium preset averages 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS, indicating a stable frame time. The High preset averages 103 FPS, which is still excellent for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset averages 80 FPS, which is a solid result for maximum visual quality at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance begins to show strain. The Low preset averages 102 FPS, which is still very fluid. The Medium preset averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS, placing it in a good spot for high refresh rate monitors. The High preset averages 67 FPS, which is right at the edge of a 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset averages 52 FPS, which will be noticeable to users expecting a locked 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Low preset averages 56 FPS, which is marginally playable but not ideal. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS, indicating a less stable experience. The High preset averages 37 FPS, which is a significant compromise. The Ultra preset averages 29 FPS, which is not recommended for a playable experience.

The data shows a clear trend: the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 77 FPS (157 vs 80). At 1440p, it is 50 FPS (102 vs 52). At 4K, it is 27 FPS (56 vs 29). This indicates the GPU is so overwhelmed at 4K that the quality preset has less of an absolute impact on the final frame rate, though the relative percentage drop remains consistent.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Technomancer, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and AMD Radeon 8060S is ranked 1632 out of 2825 total combinations. This places it in the 42nd percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms 42% of the configurations in this specific game. This rank is a direct reflection of the measured FPS data, which shows the combo is capable of strong 1080p performance but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The CPU, Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, has an average benchmark score of 44466, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, which scores 44573, a marginal 0.2% difference. The Intel Core i9-13950HX is 0.3% slower, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 is 0.4% slower. This indicates that the CPU is a high-performance part that should not bottleneck most games, including The Technomancer. The CPU’s 16 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock provide ample processing power.

The GPU, AMD Radeon 8060S, has an average benchmark score of 55757, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which scores 55698, a 0.1% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is 0.6% slower, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.7% slower. While the GPU ranks highly in synthetic benchmarks, its in-game rank is dragged down by its memory architecture. The combo’s overall rank of 1632 suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU alone would likely rank much higher if paired with a more powerful discrete GPU. The performance in this game is therefore dictated by the Radeon 8060S's ability to feed its high compute throughput.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend entirely on the user's target resolution and refresh rate. For users with a 1080p display, the Ultra preset is the clear choice. An average of 80 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold and offers the best visual fidelity without significant compromise. The High preset is also a strong option, providing 103 FPS for those with high refresh rate monitors, but the visual uplift from Ultra is generally worth the 23 FPS cost.

For 1440p users, the High preset is the best balance of visual quality and performance, averaging 67 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, but users sensitive to frame drops may prefer the Medium preset, which averages 79 FPS and provides a more consistent experience with a minimum of 67 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 52 FPS, should be avoided for action-heavy sequences, as it will not provide a smooth experience. The Low preset is only recommended for competitive play, as it sacrifices too much visual detail for a 102 FPS average.

For 4K users, the options are limited. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 56 FPS. This will require significant visual compromises, but it is the only way to get close to a 60 FPS target. The Medium preset, at 43 FPS, is a more cinematic experience but will feel sluggish. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended, as they fall into the 29-37 FPS range, which is below the threshold for a comfortable gaming experience. In this scenario, users should prioritize resolution over settings, or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better overall experience.