The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical presets. Data for the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile shows a configuration capable of high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain smooth performance at 4K. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the processor's strong single-thread performance prevents it from becoming a limiting factor at lower settings.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data indicates that the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for this combo. The measured average of 105 FPS at this setting is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, providing a significant margin for demanding scenes. While the Ultra preset at the same resolution yields a respectable 82 FPS, the 23 FPS drop from High suggests that the extra graphical features have a tangible performance cost that may not justify the visual improvement in a fast-paced action RPG. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1440p delivers 160 FPS, but this sacrifices the game's visual atmosphere.

At 1080p, the High preset achieves an average of 160 FPS, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate displays. This setting provides a substantial 35 FPS advantage over the Ultra preset (125 FPS), while still maintaining a much higher visual quality than the Low preset, which produces 245 FPS. The data suggests that High is the optimal ceiling for this resolution, as the diminishing returns from Ultra are not worth the performance hit. The Medium preset at 1080p, with an average of 188 FPS and a minimum of 160 FPS, also ensures a consistently smooth experience, but the higher visual fidelity of the High preset is preferable for most users.

For 4K gaming, the situation is more constrained. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of only 45 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. The High preset at this resolution achieves a playable 58 FPS, but it remains vulnerable to dips in complex scenes. The Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 67 FPS and a minimum of 57 FPS, is the most reliable option for maintaining a consistent experience. This setting offers a 9 FPS improvement over High and a 22 FPS improvement over Ultra, making it the recommended choice for 4K displays where frame pacing is critical.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, with its 16 cores and 16 threads, is a mobile processor that shows strong performance in synthetic benchmarks. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18,911 and single-core score of 2,200.5 indicate a capable processor for gaming workloads. In the context of The Technomancer, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that at 1080p, the system achieves 245 FPS on Low settings, which is a strong indicator that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions where GPU load is lighter.

The processor's base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz provide a wide frequency range, allowing it to ramp up for single-threaded tasks and sustain multi-threaded loads. Its PassMark single-thread score of 4,280 places it well within the top tier of processors, ensuring that the game's main thread has ample headroom. The L3 cache of 18 MB shared is adequate for the game's data requirements, and the LPDDR5X memory support with 153.6 GB/s bandwidth prevents memory starvation that could limit frame rates.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the CPU's average benchmark score of 44,466 places it just 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13950HX. This tight grouping suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the performance difference between these processors is negligible. The fact that the system can deliver 160 FPS at 1440p on High settings, which is a significant load, indicates that the CPU is not the limiting component in most gaming scenarios for this title. The processor's 88th percentile ranking against all CPUs further confirms its high-end positioning.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is a substantial graphics processor with 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This high memory bandwidth is crucial for high-resolution textures and effects. The GPU's 10,496 shading units and 112 ROPs allow it to handle complex pixel and geometry workloads. The base clock of 990 MHz and boost clock of 1515 MHz, while not exceptionally high, contribute to the card's overall throughput. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 30,034 and its 84th percentile ranking against all GPUs show that it is a high-performance part.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at higher resolutions. The data shows a significant frame rate drop when moving from 1440p to 4K at any given setting. For instance, at High settings, the average FPS drops from 105 at 1440p to 58 at 4K, a 45% reduction. This indicates that the game is heavily GPU-bound at 4K. The GPU's 24 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2016, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor. Instead, the raw shading and rasterization power of the chip is what determines performance.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, which is 0.5% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, which is 0.8% slower. This proximity suggests that the RTX 5090 Mobile performs in a similar class to desktop parts from the previous generation. The GPU's DirectX 12 benchmark scores, such as 269 in PassMark's DirectX 11 test, are lower than expected for a modern card, but this is likely due to the test's age and driver overhead. In the context of The Technomancer, the GPU's performance is the primary driver of the frame rate differences observed across the settings and resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile ranks 779th out of 3,696 tested combos for The Technomancer. This places it in the top 21% of all configurations, indicating that it is a high-performing setup. The rank reflects the overall capability of the system to run this specific game, which is influenced by both the CPU and GPU. Given that the game is more demanding on the GPU, the RTX 5090 Mobile's performance is the primary contributor to this ranking.

The combo's position in the rankings shows that while it is not the absolute fastest configuration available, it is well above the median. The data indicates that this pairing can deliver high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, with the ability to hit 60 FPS at 4K on medium settings. The rank of 779 suggests that many other combos, likely with more powerful desktop-class GPUs, can outperform it, but for a mobile platform, this is a strong showing. The performance is consistent with what one would expect from a top-tier mobile CPU paired with a flagship mobile GPU.

The fact that the CPU and GPU individually rank in the 88th and 84th percentiles, respectively, but the combo ranks in the 79th percentile (779/3696) highlights that the game's performance is not purely a sum of its parts. The interaction between the two components, particularly how the CPU feeds the GPU, is crucial. The data suggests that this pairing is well-balanced, with neither component being a significant bottleneck at the tested settings, except for the GPU at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates the GPU-bound nature of The Technomancer for this hardware. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 160 FPS at 1080p to 105 FPS at 1440p, a 34% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the frame rate falls further to 58 FPS, another 45% reduction. This steep decline in performance as resolution increases is a classic indicator that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU, with its strong single-thread performance, is able to maintain frame delivery at lower resolutions, but the GPU's rendering workload becomes the bottleneck as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the system achieves 245 FPS at 1080p, drops to 160 FPS at 1440p (a 35% decrease), and then to 88 FPS at 4K (a 45% decrease). This consistent percentage drop at each resolution step confirms that the performance is scaling proportionally with the pixel count, which is a characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU is not causing a plateau at any resolution, as the frame rates continue to scale downward with increasing resolution.

The data also shows that the gap between settings narrows at 4K compared to 1080p. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 120 FPS (245 vs 125). At 4K, this difference shrinks to 43 FPS (88 vs 45). This compression of frame rates at higher resolutions further supports the conclusion that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. At 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to allow the GPU to run at its maximum potential, but at 4K, the GPU's raw performance limits the frame rate regardless of the CPU's capability.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting for a 1440p monitor?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 105 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset is 23 FPS slower, while Low is 55 FPS faster but reduces visual fidelity.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, it can provide a playable experience at 4K. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS, making it the recommended setting for consistent smoothness. High is playable at 58 FPS, but Ultra dips to an average of 45 FPS.

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

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops by 45% when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, which indicates GPU-bound performance. The CPU is sufficient to prevent bottlenecks at lower resolutions.

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

A: This combination of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile ranks 779th out of 3,696 tested combos for The Technomancer, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate possible with this setup?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 245 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. For a more visually appealing experience, the High preset at 1080p delivers 160 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 Mobile have enough VRAM for this game?

A: Yes, the GPU has 24 GB of GDDR7 memory. The Technomancer, being a 2016 title, does not require that much memory, so VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios.