Barony

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, presents an interesting case for modern hardware. With the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, the measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly capable, often hitting frame rates that far exceed display refresh rates. The benchmark results indicate that this combination is not struggling to render the game, but rather, the data suggests the experience is defined by how the settings and resolution interact with the underlying hardware limits.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combination in Barony points to a clear hierarchy in performance across the four presets tested. At 1080p, the average frame rates are exceptionally high at every setting, from a measured 385 FPS on Low to 176 FPS on Ultra. The data suggests that even the most demanding preset leaves significant performance headroom. Given this, the Ultra preset at 1080p, with its average of 176 FPS, is the only logical choice for a high-refresh-rate monitor, as it provides the best visual quality without any meaningful performance compromise.

Moving to 1440p, the pattern remains consistent. The Ultra preset still delivers an average of 111 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard and remains highly playable. The High preset at this resolution, with an average of 155 FPS, is also an excellent candidate for 144Hz displays. The data suggests that the system is still heavily GPU-bound at this resolution, but the performance is so robust that the choice between High and Ultra is a matter of visual preference rather than necessity.

At 4K, the situation becomes more nuanced. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 58 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay on many displays. While playable, it is the only preset where the system shows any sign of strain. The High preset at 4K, averaging 81 FPS, presents a better experience for consistent smoothness. The data suggests that for a 4K display, the High preset is the optimal balance, as it maintains a comfortable frame rate while offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium and Low. The Medium preset's average of 95 FPS is also viable, but High offers a better visual return for the marginal FPS cost. Therefore, the best overall experience per the measured rows is the High preset at 4K, the Ultra preset at 1440p, and the Ultra preset at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this CPU and GPU combo in Barony?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded in the measured data is 385 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the combo's performance at 4K Ultra compare to its performance at 1080p Ultra?

A: The data shows a significant drop. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 176, while at 4K Ultra, it falls to 58. This represents a substantial reduction in frame rate as the resolution increases.

Q: Is the minimum frame rate data provided for all settings?

A: No, minimum FPS data is only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution. For example, at 2560x1440 Medium, the min FPS is 154, while at 3840x2160 Medium, it is 80.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1596 out of 3717 tested combinations, placing it in the upper portion of the database for this specific title.

Q: Does the game support modern graphics APIs according to the GPU's specifications?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which are all modern APIs that a game from 2015 may or may not fully utilize.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 3070 have for rendering the game?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At the Low settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 385 FPS at 1920x1080 to 243 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 127 FPS at 3840x2160. This is a significant decline, but the absolute numbers remain high, indicating that even at 4K, the system is far from being a bottleneck at low graphical fidelity.

The scaling for the Ultra preset is even more pronounced. The average FPS falls from 176 at 1080p to 111 at 1440p, and then to 58 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, suggesting that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count. This pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario at higher settings. The fact that the frame rates at 4K Ultra dip below 60 FPS implies that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070's processing power is the limiting component when pushing this many pixels with maximum settings.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops are consistent with the increased workload on the GPU. At 1080p, particularly on Low settings, the extremely high frame rates of 385 FPS indicate a potential CPU limit, but as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the definitive factor in performance. The game's 2015 release date and roguelike genre likely mean it is not heavily multithreaded, but the data shows that the 7500X3D's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at playable frame rates across all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Barony, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 holds a rank of 1596 out of 3717 total combos. This places it in the 43rd percentile, meaning it performs better than 43% of all tested systems in this game. This ranking is surprisingly modest given the absolute frame rates measured, which are exceptionally high. This suggests that many other combinations, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve even higher frame rates in this title, pushing the rank down despite this system's excellent playability.

The rank implies that while the experience is undeniably smooth, it is not at the very top of the performance ladder. The data suggests that the RTX 3070, while a capable card as evidenced by its benchmark scores, is the limiting factor in this pairing's overall ranking. The CPU, with its high single-threaded performance, is likely not holding the system back, allowing the GPU to reach its full potential. However, in a game where frame rates can soar into the hundreds, other systems with higher-end GPUs will naturally score higher. This rank is a relative measure, and the absolute FPS numbers indicate a very strong performance level for the vast majority of users.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM5. Its performance characteristics are defined by a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, along with a large 96 MB of shared L3 cache. In the Passmark benchmark suite, this CPU scores 3494 in single-thread tests and 25047 in multithreaded tests, showing strong capability in both areas. Its average benchmark score of 44573 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, and it is closely matched with rivals like the Intel Core i5-14600, which has a deltaPct of -0.7.

In Barony, a game from 2015, the CPU's role is likely to ensure that the game logic, AI, and physics calculations are handled without becoming a bottleneck. The extremely high frame rates at 1080p Low, where the average is 385 FPS, suggest that the CPU is capable of processing frames much faster than the GPU can render them at that setting. The data indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor, as the FPS scales almost entirely with GPU workload when resolution is increased. The 7500X3D's robust single-thread performance is particularly beneficial for older games that may not utilize many cores, ensuring that the primary game thread is processed quickly to feed the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Here is the detailed breakdown of the measured average frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 in Barony:

• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Low: Average FPS is 385.
• Medium: Average FPS is 287, with a minimum of 244 and a maximum of 330.
• High: Average FPS is 246.
• Ultra: Average FPS is 176.
• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Low: Average FPS is 243.
• Medium: Average FPS is 181, with a minimum of 154 and a maximum of 208.
• High: Average FPS is 155.
• Ultra: Average FPS is 111.
• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Low: Average FPS is 127.
• Medium: Average FPS is 95, with a minimum of 80 and a maximum of 109.
• High: Average FPS is 81.
• Ultra: Average FPS is 58.

These numbers show a consistent and significant drop in performance as settings and resolution increase. The most demanding configuration, 4K Ultra, is the only one that falls below the 60 FPS mark, averaging 58 FPS. The data shows that the system is exceptionally powerful for this title, with all other configurations providing well over 60 FPS, and most providing over 100 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, based on the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, is the driving force behind the rendering in this combination. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. Its memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU's clocks are a base of 1500 MHz and a boost of 1725 MHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 22214 in Passmark G3D and 112821 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which has a deltaPct of 0.7, indicating a slightly higher average score.

The GPU's role in Barony is directly tied to the resolution and settings. The data clearly shows that as the pixel count and graphical complexity increase, the frame rate decreases, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound workload. The 8 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for a game of this era, even at 4K, as the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is more than adequate. The performance drop from 1080p Ultra (176 FPS) to 4K Ultra (58 FPS) highlights the GPU's limits at the highest resolution. The data suggests that the RTX 3070 is a strong performer for this game, capable of delivering high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with ease, and only beginning to show its limits at the most demanding 4K settings.