The Technomancer

The Technomancer presents a significant challenge for the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H paired with the AMD Radeon 880M, with measured data placing this combination at rank 2761 out of 2825 tested combos. The benchmark results indicate a system that is fundamentally constrained by its integrated graphics, where even the most favorable settings yield playable frame rates only at 1080p, and the experience degrades rapidly as resolution increases.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread processor based on the Panther Lake architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and boosts up to 5.10 GHz, which provides substantial single-thread headroom for game logic and physics calculations. The CPU's L3 cache is 18 MB shared, while each core has 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 cache, ensuring that frequently accessed game data remains close to the execution cores.

In terms of raw processing power, the Core Ultra X9 388H sits in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44466. Its nearest rival in the data is the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, which scores 44573, placing the Intel part just 0.2% behind. Conversely, it is 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13950HX (score 44342) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (score 44309). The Core Ultra X9 388H also edges out the Intel Core i5-13600 by 0.5%, as that chip scores 44240.

For The Technomancer, an Action RPG from 2016, the CPU's capabilities are more than sufficient to handle the game's computational demands. The single-core performance, reflected in a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2200.5, is particularly relevant for games of this era, which often rely heavily on one or two threads for main game logic. The multi-core score of 18911 in Cinebench R23 further confirms that the processor will not be a bottleneck in this title.

The data shows that even with this robust CPU, the measured frame rates are low, indicating that the game's performance is not limited by the processor but by the graphics subsystem. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS reaches 66, which is the highest measured value for this combo. When the resolution is held at 1080p but settings are raised to Medium, the average drops to 51 FPS, and at High it falls to 44 FPS. These numbers suggest that the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough to produce these frames, and the scaling pattern aligns with a GPU-bound scenario rather than a CPU-bound one.

The processor's memory bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s, using LPDDR5X memory over a dual-channel bus, is shared with the integrated GPU. This shared memory architecture is a critical factor, as the Radeon 880M relies on system memory for its frame buffer, which directly impacts performance in a graphics-intensive game like The Technomancer.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides a clear picture of how different settings presets affect performance, and the verdict is that only the Low preset at 1080p delivers a consistently smooth experience. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 66, which is comfortably above the threshold for acceptable gameplay in an Action RPG. Moving to Medium at the same resolution yields 51 FPS, which is still playable but with a noticeable reduction in smoothness. High settings at 1080p drop the average to 44 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS, both of which are borderline for a game that requires responsive controls.

The data indicates that the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance for the majority of players. It provides a 51 FPS average with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS, showing that the frame time variance is limited. The jump from Low to Medium costs 15 FPS on average, but the visual improvement in an Action RPG is likely worth the trade-off for users who prioritize image quality over maximum frame rates.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset delivers 43 FPS, which is playable but with less headroom for demanding scenes. Medium at 1440p averages 33 FPS, with a minimum of 28 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter during combat. High at 1440p yields 28 FPS, and Ultra drops to 22 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for a smooth experience. The data suggests that 1440p is only viable with the Low preset, and even then, users should expect occasional dips.

At 4K, the measured results are poor across all presets. Low at 3840x2160 averages 24 FPS, Medium averages 18 FPS (with a minimum of 16 and maximum of 21), High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. None of these are playable for a game that requires real-time decision-making. The recommendation is unequivocal: for the best experience, use the Medium preset at 1080p, as it provides the highest quality setting that maintains an average above 50 FPS, with the Low preset as a fallback for users who prioritize frame rate stability.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling pattern is stark and reveals that the AMD Radeon 880M is the definitive performance limiter in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 66. Moving to 1440p at the same settings reduces the average to 43 FPS, a drop of 34.8%. At 4K Low, the average FPS falls to 24, which is a further 44.2% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 63.6% reduction from the 1080p baseline.

This scaling behavior is characteristic of a GPU that is severely bandwidth and compute limited. The Radeon 880M has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation units, with a boost clock of 2900 MHz. Its FP32 performance is rated at 4.454 TFLOPS, which is modest for modern games. The pixel rate is 46.40 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 139.2 GTexel/s, both of which are insufficient to drive high resolutions in a game like The Technomancer.

The data shows that the drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant but less severe than the drop from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is hitting a hard memory bandwidth wall at higher resolutions. The memory is System Shared, meaning the GPU uses the same LPDDR5X memory as the CPU, and the bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent." At 4K, the frame buffer requirements exceed what the shared memory can provide, leading to the observed average of 24 FPS at Low settings.

The CPU's performance in this scenario is irrelevant to the scaling, as the Core Ultra X9 388H is clearly capable of feeding the GPU at all resolutions. The benchmark results indicate that if the GPU were stronger, the frame rates would scale more gracefully with resolution, but as it stands, the 880M is the bottleneck, and the data confirms this through the consistent decline in FPS as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and AMD Radeon 880M combination ranks 2761 out of 2825 tested combos in The Technomancer, placing it in the bottom 2.3% of all configurations. This rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's performance class, as the integrated Radeon 880M is not designed for high-end gaming workloads. The combo's position is far below what the CPU alone would suggest, reinforcing that the processor's strength is wasted in this pairing.

The GPU's percentile ranking is 43rd among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8436. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX (score 8427, delta 0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (score 8458, delta -0.3%), the AMD Radeon HD 8870M (score 8462, delta -0.3%), and the AMD Radeon R9 M375X (score 8325, delta 1.3%). These rivals are all older discrete mobile GPUs, and the 880M performs within 1.3% of them, indicating that it is comparable to a low-end discrete GPU from several years ago.

In the context of The Technomancer, this rank means that users with this combo will experience performance that is significantly worse than the vast majority of tested systems. The data shows that the combo is only slightly better than the absolute worst configurations, and for a game released in 2016, this is a disappointing result. The rank of 2761 out of 2825 is a clear signal that this hardware is not suited for this game at anything above the lowest settings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon 880M is an integrated GPU based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz, which allows it to reach a peak FP32 performance of 4.454 TFLOPS. The GPU features 12 ray tracing cores, though this is of limited relevance to The Technomancer, which was released before ray tracing became a standard feature. The GPU's memory is System Shared, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM, and the bandwidth is "System Dependent," which in this case is shared with the CPU's LPDDR5X memory.

The GPU's transistor count is 34,000 million, and the die size is 233 mm², with a pixel rate of 46.40 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 139.2 GTexel/s. These specifications are modest, and the benchmark results confirm this. In Passmark, the GPU scores 7615 in G3D and 3719 in compute, with a DirectX 11 score of 73 and a DirectX 12 score of 32. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 535, which is low, and the Geekbench OpenCL score is 31285 with a Vulkan score of 40006.

For The Technomancer, the GPU's role is the primary determinant of the measured frame rates. The data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 34, which is below the playable threshold for many users. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 22 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it is 12 FPS. The GPU's lack of dedicated VRAM is a critical issue, as the System Shared memory is also used by the CPU, creating contention that further limits performance.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals is telling. It is 0.1% ahead of the GTX 675MX, 0.3% behind the MX330, 0.3% behind the HD 8870M, and 1.3% ahead of the R9 M375X. These are all older discrete GPUs, and the 880M's performance is comparable to them, but none of these are capable of running The Technomancer at high settings in 2016, let alone at modern resolutions. The GPU's 43rd percentile ranking among all GPUs underscores that it is a low-end part, and the measured FPS data for this game is consistent with that classification.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides a 51 FPS average, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS. This is the highest quality preset that maintains an average above 50 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p delivers 66 FPS for users who prefer higher frame rates.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H compare to its nearest rival in CPU performance?

A: The Core Ultra X9 388H has an average benchmark score of 44466, which is 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D (score 44573), 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13950HX (score 44342), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (score 44309), and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13600 (score 44240).

Q: Is this combo playable at 1440p?

A: The measured data indicates that 2560x1440 with Low settings yields a 43 FPS average, which is playable but with limited headroom. Medium at 1440p drops to 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 FPS, which may cause stutter. High and Ultra at 1440p average 28 and 22 FPS, respectively, which are not recommended.

Q: What does the combo's rank of 2761 out of 2825 mean?

A: This rank places the combo in the bottom 2.3% of all tested configurations for The Technomancer. It indicates that the hardware is significantly underpowered for this game, primarily due to the integrated GPU's limitations.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon 880M's performance compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Radeon 880M has an average benchmark score of 8436. It is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX (score 8427), 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (score 8458), 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon HD 8870M (score 8462), and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M375X (score 8325).

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly from 1080p to 4K?

A: The frame rate drops by 63.6% from 1080p Low (66 FPS) to 4K Low (24 FPS). This is because the GPU has System Shared memory with no dedicated VRAM, and the bandwidth becomes a severe bottleneck at higher resolutions. The GPU's compute power (4.454 TFLOPS) is insufficient for the pixel workload at 4K.