Barony

Barony, a roguelike built on a voxel engine, behaves differently from typical first-person shooters for resolution scaling. The data for the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER pairing shows a clear progression where frame rates drop as pixel count rises, but the pattern reveals that the CPU has significant headroom at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces a commanding 316.2 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that score to 198.3 FPS, a substantial reduction that indicates the GPU is starting to handle more of the workload. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 102.7 FPS, which is still smooth but shows a steep curve from the 1080p peak.

The scaling pattern across all settings tells a consistent story. At High settings, the averages are 200.8 FPS at 1080p, 126.6 FPS at 1440p, and 69.7 FPS at 4K. That represents a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and another 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. This is a GPU-bound scaling curve; the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the bottleneck here, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The data suggests that for competitive play or high-refresh monitors, staying at 1080p or 1440p is ideal. At 4K, the system is still playable, but the frame rates hover in a range where you will notice the compromise.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear picture of how each preset impacts performance. For the smoothest experience, Low settings at 1080p deliver a staggering 316.2 FPS average, which is more than enough for any high-refresh monitor. However, this preset likely sacrifices visual fidelity in a game where visibility of traps and items matters. Medium settings at 1080p still yield an impressive 236.6 FPS average, offering a better balance. High settings at 1080p produce 200.8 FPS, which remains exceptionally fluid. The sweet spot for this combination appears to be High at 1440p, where the 126.6 FPS average provides both good visual quality and high responsiveness.

At 4K, the choices become more constrained. Ultra settings at 4K drop to a 51 FPS average, which is borderline for a game that requires precise timing. High settings at 4K improve that to 69.7 FPS, a playable level, but not ideal for fast-paced action. Medium at 4K offers 80.8 FPS, which is a better compromise. The data indicates that Ultra settings are not worth the performance penalty on this hardware; the jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 52.9 FPS (from 200.8 to 147.9), and at 1440p it costs 33.8 FPS (from 126.6 to 92.8). Given that Barony is a roguelike where death is permanent, maintaining a high frame rate for reaction time is likely more valuable than maxing out shadows and effects. For most players, High settings at 1440p or Medium at 4K will provide the best experience per the measured data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the workhorse of this pairing, and its specifications explain the performance ceiling at higher resolutions. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for the game’s needs at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the data shows a significant performance drop, suggesting the memory bandwidth or capacity is being stressed. The GPU’s boost clock of 1770 MHz and base clock of 1605 MHz are standard for the Turing architecture, and its 2560 shading units handle the pixel processing load. The pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits that the measured FPS numbers are approaching at 4K Ultra.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A400, which scores 22307 (a 0.5% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700, which scores 21670 (a 2.5% difference). This puts the RTX 2070 SUPER in a competitive mid-range position. However, in Barony, the GPU’s role is clearly dominant at 4K. The data shows that from 1080p High to 4K High, the frame rate drops from 200.8 to 69.7 FPS, a 65% reduction. This is a classic GPU-bound scenario. The GPU is also the reason why Low settings at 4K can still hit 102.7 FPS, as it reduces the shading workload enough to keep the frame rate respectable.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Barony?

A: The data shows that 1440p with High settings delivers a 126.6 FPS average, which balances visual quality and performance. At 1080p, High settings reach 200.8 FPS, but the higher resolution offers a better image without sacrificing playability.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K High, the average FPS is 69.7, and at 4K Medium it is 80.8. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 51 FPS, which is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 200.8 at 1080p to 69.7 at 4K, a reduction of 131.1 FPS. This indicates a heavy GPU load at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 316.2 FPS, showing the CPU can feed the GPU well. The frame rate drops significantly at 4K, pointing to the RTX 2070 SUPER as the bottleneck.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: Low settings at 1440p produce a 198.3 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 92.8 FPS. This is a difference of 105.5 FPS, showing a large performance cost for maxed-out visual features.

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

A: The combo ranks 1037 out of 1702 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1037 out of 1702 tested combinations places this system in the 61st percentile of all tested setups for Barony. This is a moderate ranking, not a top-tier result, but it is not a weak one either. The rank reflects the balance between the Ryzen 5 9600X and the RTX 2070 SUPER. The CPU is a modern part, with a 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, but the GPU is an older model, sitting in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The combination of a strong CPU and a mid-range GPU means the system is not going to top the charts in a game that is heavily GPU-bound at high resolutions.

The data shows that the system’s performance is capped by the GPU, especially at 4K. The rank of 1037 is a holistic measure that includes all settings and resolutions. Given that the GPU’s nearest rivals include the RTX 4060 Mobile (which scores 22729, a 2.3% difference) and the GTX TITAN Z (which scores 22006, a 0.9% difference), the RTX 2070 SUPER is holding its own against newer and older hardware. This suggests that the rank is likely dragged down by the 4K Ultra results, which are below 60 FPS. For a roguelike, this rank is acceptable, but users seeking higher standing in the database would need a more powerful GPU.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a modern 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz are high, and its 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game data access. In the benchmark data, the CPU shows strong single-thread performance, scoring 3603 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1253 in 3DMark single-thread. This is crucial for Barony, which, like many roguelikes, may have simulation and logic that is not fully multi-threaded. The multi-thread scores are also solid, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25525, indicating the CPU can handle background tasks while gaming.

However, in this specific game, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 316.2 FPS, which is likely near the engine’s or the GPU’s limit. The CPU is not the bottleneck at these frame rates. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7585 and the max-thread score of 7590 show consistent scaling across threads. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13490F (with a 0.3% difference) and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (with a -0.4% difference), perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks. This confirms that the Ryzen 5 9600X is a capable gaming CPU, but it is not the component that determines the final FPS in Barony at higher resolutions. The GPU is the gatekeeper, and the CPU provides ample headroom to ensure it is fully utilized.