Barony

Barony, a roguelike released in 2015, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. The measured data shows this pairing delivers exceptionally high frame rates, with the combo ranking in the 76th percentile (883rd out of 3717 tested combinations) for this title. The analysis below breaks down how this system scales across resolutions and settings, providing a detailed look at where the performance ceiling lies.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the pattern reveals a system that remains highly capable at every resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 469 FPS, which drops to 296 FPS at 1440p and further to 155 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

The scaling behavior differs notably across settings presets. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 299 FPS at 1080p to 189 FPS at 1440p (a 37% reduction), then to 99 FPS at 4K (a 48% reduction from 1440p). The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 349 FPS at 1080p, 220 FPS at 1440p, and 115 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, sees 215 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K.

What this data suggests is that at 1080p, the system is likely bottlenecked by the CPU or game engine logic rather than the GPU. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p only costs 254 FPS (from 469 to 215), but the relative drop from 1440p to 4K is much steeper across all settings. At 4K, the RTX 4070’s rendering load becomes the dominant factor, with the 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory being fully utilized. The fact that 4K Low (155 FPS) still exceeds 1080p Ultra (215 FPS) by a wide margin indicates that the GPU has significant headroom at lower resolutions, but the pixel throughput demands at 4K bring it closer to its limits.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling. At Low settings, this represents a 48% performance drop (from 296 to 155 FPS), while at Ultra settings the drop is 47% (from 135 to 71 FPS). This consistency suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K regardless of quality preset, whereas at 1080p the differences between presets are less pronounced because the CPU can keep up with the lower pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a rank of 883 out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 24% of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the strong overall performance of this pairing, though it is not at the very top tier for this specific game.

The CPU component of this combo performs well relative to its peers. The Ryzen 5 7500F has an average benchmark score of 24964, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11850H (24935, 0.1% higher), AMD Ryzen 5 8400F (25005, 0.2% higher), Intel Core i7-13620H (24911, 0.2% higher), and Intel Core 5 210H (24872, 0.4% higher). The 7500F is essentially tied with these alternatives, showing that its 6 cores and 12 threads are well-matched for this workload.

The GPU side shows similar competitive positioning. The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, 0.1% higher), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, 0.4% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, 1.3% lower), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37157, 1.3% higher). The 4070 sits comfortably within a small performance band, with no single rival more than 1.3% away.

The combo’s rank of 883 suggests that while both components are individually strong, other pairings in the database achieve higher frame rates in Barony. This could be due to the game’s roguelike nature, which may favor certain CPU architectures or higher single-thread performance in specific scenarios. The Ryzen 5 7500F’s single-thread score of 974 in 3DMark and 3841 in Passmark indicates solid performance, but the game’s engine may benefit from even faster per-core speeds.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 469, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration that breaks the 400 FPS barrier in the tested data.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its closest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4070 scores 37648 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, which is 1.3% higher.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500F better than the Intel Core i7-13620H for this game?

A: The benchmark data shows the Ryzen 5 7500F has an average score of 24964, while the Intel Core i7-13620H scores 24911. The 7500F is 0.2% higher, but this difference is negligible in practical terms.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest average FPS is 71, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is the only configuration that drops below 100 FPS in the dataset.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 4070 have, and does it matter for Barony?

A: The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus. Given that the game runs at 71 FPS minimum at 4K Ultra, the memory configuration appears sufficient for this title.

Q: What is the combo’s percentile ranking among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 883rd out of 3717 tested combinations, which places it in the top 23.8% of all systems in the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 469 FPS, which is the peak for the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 349 FPS with a minimum of 296 and maximum of 401 FPS. High settings drop to 299 FPS, while Ultra settings still maintain a robust 215 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 254 FPS, showing that the GPU has substantial headroom at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains high but shows more scaling pressure. Low settings average 296 FPS, Medium averages 220 FPS with a range of 187 to 253 FPS, High averages 189 FPS, and Ultra averages 135 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 161 FPS, which is a smaller absolute gap than at 1080p but represents a larger percentage reduction (45% versus 54%).

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates. Low settings average 155 FPS, Medium averages 115 FPS with a range of 98 to 132 FPS, High averages 99 FPS, and Ultra averages 71 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K at each setting shows a consistent drop of approximately 47-48%, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 98, which suggests that even the lowest dips remain above 60 FPS for this configuration.

The data reveals that this combo is capable of driving high refresh rate displays at 1080p and 1440p, with even the most demanding Ultra preset at 1440p producing 135 FPS. At 4K, the system remains viable for 60+ FPS gaming on all settings except Ultra, where it drops to 71 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 plays a critical role in determining the frame rates at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient capacity and throughput for Barony’s textures and geometry, even at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz help maintain consistent performance across the measured scenarios.

The GPU’s benchmark scores indicate strong overall capability: a Passmark G3D score of 26927 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854. Its 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs contribute to a pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s. These specifications explain why the GPU can handle 4K rendering at 71 FPS minimum in the most demanding preset.

The RTX 4070’s 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648, places it in a competitive position. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37628 (0.1% lower), while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507 (0.4% lower). The RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135 (1.3% higher), showing that the desktop 4070 is only slightly behind a higher-tier mobile part.

The GPU’s role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU can feed frames quickly enough that the GPU is not fully saturated, as evidenced by the 469 FPS at Low settings. At 4K, however, the GPU’s rendering pipeline becomes the limiting factor, with the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth and 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance determining the ceiling. The 200 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a power-efficient part that can sustain high clocks under load.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, even the Ultra preset at 215 FPS is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, so users can max out settings without concern. The High preset at 299 FPS offers a 39% performance boost over Ultra, which may be preferable for extremely high refresh rate panels (240Hz or higher).

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 220 FPS with a minimum of 187 FPS provides a balanced experience for high refresh rate gaming. The High preset at 189 FPS is also excellent, while Ultra at 135 FPS still delivers a smooth experience. For users with 144Hz monitors, the Ultra preset at 135 FPS is nearly ideal, falling just short of the refresh ceiling but remaining above 120 FPS.

For 4K gaming, the Low preset at 155 FPS is the only option that comfortably exceeds 144 FPS. The Medium preset at 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 FPS is the best choice for 60-120Hz displays, offering significantly better visual quality than Low while maintaining a minimum above 90 FPS. The High preset at 99 FPS is also viable for 60Hz displays, but the Ultra preset at 71 FPS is best reserved for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate.

The data suggests that the sweet spot for this combo is 1440p with High or Medium settings, where the system delivers between 189 and 220 FPS with strong minimums. At 4K, Medium settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the minimum FPS of 98 ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F provides the computational foundation for this combo, with 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz deliver strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for roguelike games that may have complex game logic. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core help reduce memory latency, which can benefit games with unpredictable access patterns.

The CPU’s benchmark scores show solid multithreaded capability: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22799 and a single-core score of 3218. Its 3DMark scores range from 974 (single-thread) to 6379 (max threads), with the 8-thread score of 5372 indicating good scaling. The Passmark multithread score of 26825 and single-thread score of 3841 further confirm its capability.

In the context of Barony, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 469 FPS, which suggests that the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at this resolution. The 7500F’s 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24964, places it slightly above its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i7-11850H (24935, 0.1% lower), AMD Ryzen 5 8400F (25005, 0.2% higher), and Intel Core i7-13620H (24911, 0.2% lower).

The CPU’s dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient memory throughput for the game’s data requirements. The 65 W TDP and 5 nm process node indicate efficient operation, allowing the CPU to maintain high boost clocks without thermal throttling. The 7500F’s socket AM5 platform and PCIe Gen 5 support (24 lanes) ensure compatibility with the RTX 4070’s PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, though the GPU does not fully utilize the CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 capability.

At higher resolutions, the CPU’s influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The consistent 47-48% performance drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings suggests that the CPU is not limiting performance at 4K, as the GPU’s rendering workload dominates. This indicates that the Ryzen 5 7500F provides sufficient headroom for the RTX 4070 to operate at its full potential, even at lower resolutions where CPU-bound scenarios might occur.