Barony

Barony is a 2015 roguelike that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware, yet the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination reveals a surprisingly demanding title at high frame rates. This pairing ranks 21st out of 1702 tested combos in the game, placing it in the top 1.2% of all configurations. The data shows a system capable of triple-digit frame rates even at 4K Ultra, but the scaling pattern between resolutions and settings exposes where the performance ceiling actually sits.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if I want the highest frame rate?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with Low settings produces an average of 630.2 FPS, which is the highest measured result. Even at 4K Ultra, the average remains at 104 FPS, so the system is playable at every resolution tested.

Q: How much of a performance gap exists between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, the gap is 314.5 FPS (630.2 down to 315.7). At 1440p, the gap narrows to 232.9 FPS (432.2 down to 199.3). At 4K, the gap shrinks further to 120.9 FPS (224.9 down to 104).

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the bottleneck, or is the Ryzen 7 5700X holding things back?

A: The resolution scaling indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the CPU is likely the constraint since the GPU can render frames faster than the processor can feed it, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU workload dominates.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700X compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700X scores 26214 on average, which is within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U and AMD Ryzen 5 7600X. It edges out the Intel Core i9-11900KF by 0.1% and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500GT by 0.2%.

Q: What is the GPU's synthetic benchmark standing relative to other cards?

A: The RTX 5090 sits at the 94th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 84306. Its closest rival is the RTX 5090 D, which is just 0.1% behind, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 trails by 1.3%.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The measured 4K Ultra average of 104 FPS is well above 60 FPS, and the 4K High average of 145.4 FPS provides even more headroom.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is a Zen 3 part built on TSMC's 7 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz can boost up to 4.60 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic tests, the CPU scores 22620 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3193 in single-core, which places it at the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. The data shows this processor is well-matched for high-refresh gaming.

The benchmark results indicate the CPU's role changes depending on resolution. At 1080p Low, the average of 630.2 FPS suggests the processor is keeping up with the GPU's output, but the frame rate ceiling is likely set by the CPU's single-thread performance. The 3DMark single-thread score of 921 and Passmark single-thread score of 3385 reveal modest single-core strength compared to the GPU's raw power. At 4K Ultra, the CPU has more time per frame to issue draw calls, so the processor load is less critical.

The 16 threads become relevant in Barony's procedural generation and entity management. The Passmark multithread score of 26612 and the 3DMark max-thread score of 6850 indicate the CPU can handle heavy multi-threaded workloads, which matters for maintaining stable frame times in a roguelike with complex simulation. The CPU's percentile ranking of 83 means it outperforms most desktop processors, but it is not the top-tier option for extreme frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. It runs at a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost of 2407 MHz, and the memory operates at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The GPU's passmark G3D score of 39650 puts it at the 94th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 84306 is the highest in its immediate rival group.

The GPU's role in Barony is to push frame rates to extreme levels. At 1080p Low, the GPU produces 630.2 FPS, which is likely beyond what the CPU can feed, indicating the GPU is not the limiting factor at that resolution. However, the data shows the GPU dominates at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra result of 104 FPS demonstrates the GPU's ability to handle the increased pixel count, even though Barony is not a visually complex title. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than the game needs, but the memory bandwidth helps maintain consistent frame delivery.

The RTX 5090's nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D, scores 84241 on average, a difference of just 0.1%. This shows the card is at the top of the performance stack, with the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 trailing by 1.3%. The GPU's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are substantial, but Barony's simple geometry means these resources are underutilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four settings levels, providing a complete picture of performance.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high. Low settings produce an average of 630.2 FPS, Medium drops to 510.1 FPS, High reaches 440.2 FPS, and Ultra settles at 315.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 49.9% reduction in frame rate, which is significant but expected given the settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the averages are still high but show a clear step down. Low yields 432.2 FPS, Medium hits 324.3 FPS, High reaches 275 FPS, and Ultra falls to 199.3 FPS. From Low to Ultra, the frame rate drops by 53.9%, which is a slightly larger percentage decrease than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU workload grows more demanding at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results indicate a more pronounced GPU limitation. Low produces 224.9 FPS, Medium reaches 169.7 FPS, High achieves 145.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 104 FPS. The 53.8% reduction from Low to Ultra mirrors the 1440p pattern, confirming that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases.

The data shows consistent performance scaling across settings at each resolution, with no anomalies or sudden drops. The frame rates are all well above playable thresholds, even at the most demanding combination of 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals how the system's limiting component shifts. At 1080p Low, the average of 630.2 FPS drops to 432.2 FPS at 1440p Low, a 31.4% decrease. Moving to 4K Low, the average falls to 224.9 FPS, another 47.9% drop from 1440p. This pattern indicates that the GPU is increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is similar. 1080p Ultra averages 315.7 FPS, which drops 36.9% to 199.3 FPS at 1440p Ultra. At 4K Ultra, the average is 104 FPS, a 47.8% reduction from 1440p. The percentage drops are consistent between Low and Ultra, suggesting the settings level does not change the fundamental resolution scaling behavior.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor since the GPU can render frames faster than the processor can submit them. The 630.2 FPS result at 1080p Low is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output. At 4K, the GPU workload increases enough to become the bottleneck, as evidenced by the larger percentage drops between resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 104 FPS shows the GPU can still handle the load, but the scaling pattern reveals it is the component under the most stress at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the data shows that Ultra settings at 315.7 FPS are the best choice if you want maximum visual quality without sacrificing performance. The frame rate is still far above any display refresh rate, so there is no reason to lower settings. Medium at 510.1 FPS is an option for extreme competitive play, but the visual trade-off is not justified given the already high Ultra frame rate.

At 1440p, Ultra at 199.3 FPS is still excellent. The 275 FPS High setting offers slightly better performance, but the difference is unlikely to be noticeable on most monitors. The data suggests that Ultra is the preferred setting here, as the frame rate remains well above 144 Hz.

At 4K, the decision becomes more nuanced. Ultra at 104 FPS is playable and suitable for most displays, but High at 145.4 FPS provides a 39.8% performance increase with minimal visual difference. The data indicates that High is the optimal setting for 4K, offering the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity. Medium at 169.7 FPS is an alternative for those prioritizing frame rate, but High delivers the best overall experience per the measured rows.

The 4K Ultra result of 104 FPS is still above 60 FPS, so it is not a poor experience, but the 145.4 FPS High result makes that setting the practical recommendation. Across all resolutions, the system never drops below 100 FPS at any tested setting, making this combination extremely capable for Barony.