Barony

# Barony with AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers remarkably high frame rates in Barony, a roguelike title from 2015. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the system never drops below 79 FPS average, and at 1080p with Low settings it reaches 522 FPS. This pairing ranks 479th out of 2,935 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations. The data reveals a system that is heavily overqualified for this title, with the CPU demonstrating exceptional single-thread performance that becomes the primary driver at lower resolutions.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture with a 4 nm process node, featuring a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core provide substantial on-die storage for game data. The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 4,691 positions it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, which is particularly relevant for Barony—a roguelike where game logic, pathfinding, and procedural generation often rely heavily on single-threaded performance.

The CPU's benchmark results show a strong balance between throughput and latency-sensitive workloads. Its multithread score of 36,470 and integer math score of 120,788 indicate robust parallel processing capabilities, while the floating point math score of 77,955 demonstrates solid arithmetic throughput. The data compression score of 421,988 and encryption score of 21,488 suggest that even auxiliary tasks like save file compression or network state serialization would not bottleneck gameplay.

When examining the nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 9700F's average benchmark score of 69,996 sits remarkably close to the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875, 0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163, 0.2% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515, 0.7% higher). The tight clustering—all within 0.9% of each other—indicates that this CPU delivers performance comparable to much more expensive flagship processors from both AMD and Intel. The Ryzen 7 9700F's 5.50 GHz boost clock is the highest single-core frequency among these rivals, which explains its strong showing in single-threaded workloads.

In Barony's measured FPS data, the CPU's influence becomes apparent when examining the scaling from 4K to 1080p. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 79 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it reaches 239 FPS—a 202% increase. This scaling pattern suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU becomes increasingly important, and the Ryzen 7 9700F's high boost clock and strong single-thread performance prevent it from becoming a limiting factor. The 65 W TDP of this processor, combined with its 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die, indicates an efficient design that maintains high clock speeds without excessive power draw.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process, featuring 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 1980 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 7,168 shading units and 80 ROPs, provide substantial rasterization throughput. The GPU's 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 554.4 GTexel/s texture rate indicate strong fill-rate capabilities for rendering complex scenes.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's PassMark G3D score of 29,995 places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 43,223. Its nearest rivals in benchmark performance are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262, 0.1% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, 0.1% higher), and NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43,301, 0.2% higher). Interestingly, the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 43,667, only 1% higher despite being a significantly more powerful chip in most gaming scenarios—suggesting that the 4070 SUPER's desktop implementation is highly efficient.

In Barony, the GPU's role is evident when comparing the FPS differences between settings at the same resolution. At 4K, the jump from Low (172 FPS) to Medium (128 FPS) represents a 25.6% performance drop, while Medium to High (110 FPS) costs another 14.1%, and High to Ultra (79 FPS) costs an additional 28.2%. These diminishing returns at higher settings indicate that the GPU is handling increased visual complexity, but the absolute frame rates remain far above playable thresholds.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Barony's requirements, as evidenced by the consistent performance across all settings without any indication of memory-related stuttering. The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) and the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample data throughput for texture streaming and scene data. The GPU's dual-slot design and 220 W TDP, with a suggested 550 W PSU, suggest this is a power-hungry component, but its performance in this game indicates that it is rarely the bottleneck—especially at 1080p where the CPU takes over as the primary performance driver.

FAQ

Q: How does this combination perform at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 239 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is more than sufficient for any display refresh rate currently available. This represents a 202% increase over the 4K Ultra performance.

Q: What is the most demanding setting for the GPU in this game?

A: The transition from High to Ultra at 4K costs 31 FPS (from 110 to 79 FPS, a 28.2% drop), making it the most significant single-setting performance penalty. This suggests Ultra enables effects that heavily tax the GPU.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests CPU influence grows at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 522 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it drops to 239 FPS—a 54% reduction. The CPU's single-thread score of 4,691 and 94th percentile ranking indicate it has substantial headroom, but the frame rate ceiling at Low settings is likely CPU-bound.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 479th out of 2,935 tested combos, placing it in the top 16% of all systems tested for Barony. This is despite the fact that the game is from 2015 and may not utilize modern multi-core processors to their full potential.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded across all tested settings?

A: The lowest average FPS is 79 at 4K Ultra, but the only min FPS data available is from Medium settings: 109 FPS at 4K, 208 FPS at 1440p, and 330 FPS at 1080p. These min FPS figures indicate smooth frame pacing with no significant drops.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rival in raw benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 43,223 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262, 0.1% higher) and RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, 0.1% higher). The RTX 4090 Mobile leads by only 1% at 43,667, which is surprising given the 4090's typically much higher performance in gaming.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's display resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, even Ultra settings (239 FPS) provide frame rates far exceeding any consumer display's refresh rate, making Ultra the obvious choice for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The 1080p Medium setting (388 FPS) offers a 62% performance headroom over Ultra, which could be beneficial for competitive play or reducing input latency, but the visual trade-off is unlikely to be worth it given that Ultra already exceeds 240 FPS.

At 1440p, the same logic applies: Ultra at 151 FPS is sufficient for 144 Hz displays, while High at 210 FPS covers 240 Hz monitors. The Medium setting at 245 FPS provides additional headroom for those with 360 Hz displays, but the visual downgrade from High to Medium is noticeable in the 14% performance difference between High and Medium at this resolution. For most users, High at 1440p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance.

At 4K, the situation becomes more nuanced. Ultra at 79 FPS is playable but may not be optimal for high-refresh-rate displays. High at 110 FPS is the sweet spot for 4K gaming, providing smooth performance on 120 Hz displays while maintaining good visual quality. Medium at 128 FPS could serve 144 Hz 4K monitors, but the step down from High to Medium costs 18 FPS (16.4% performance loss) while the visual difference between High and Medium is typically less pronounced than the difference between High and Ultra. For the best experience at 4K, High settings are recommended, as they deliver 110 FPS average with minimal visual compromise compared to Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 479th out of 2,935 tested combos for Barony, placing it in the top 16.3% of all configurations tested. This ranking is notable because the system's raw benchmark scores—69,996 for the CPU and 43,223 for the GPU—position both components in the upper quartile of their respective categories (94th percentile for CPU, 83rd for GPU). The gap between the CPU's higher percentile ranking and the combo's overall rank suggests that Barony may be more GPU-limited than CPU-limited, or that many higher-ranked combos feature even more powerful graphics cards.

The CPU's benchmark positioning is particularly interesting: its average score of 69,996 places it in a dead heat with the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875, 0.2% higher) and Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163, 0.2% lower). This means the Ryzen 7 9700F, despite being a newer 9000-series part, delivers nearly identical multicore performance to Intel's 14th-gen flagship and AMD's high-end mobile chip. The deltaPct values of 0.7% and 0.9% for the Ryzen 9 7950X and Core i7-14700K, respectively, confirm that all four processors are within 1% of each other in average benchmark scores.

For the GPU, the RTX 4070 SUPER's rank among its nearest rivals is similarly tight. The 0.1% to 1% deltaPct range against the Quadro M6000 variants and RTX 4090 Mobile indicates that the 4070 SUPER is competitively positioned, though its 83rd percentile ranking shows there are many faster GPUs available. The fact that this combo still achieves 522 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that Barony is not particularly demanding on modern hardware, and the combo's rank of 479 likely reflects the presence of many systems with higher-end GPUs rather than any deficiency in this configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 522 FPS average, Medium achieves 388 FPS (with min/max of 330/446), High reaches 333 FPS, and Ultra maintains 239 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 54.2% performance reduction, with the most significant drop occurring between Medium and High (55 FPS, 14.2% loss) and High to Ultra (94 FPS, 28.2% loss). The 1080p Medium min FPS of 330 indicates that even in the most demanding scenes, the system never drops below what would be considered extremely smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressively high. Low settings yield 329 FPS, Medium delivers 245 FPS (min/max: 208/282), High produces 210 FPS, and Ultra achieves 151 FPS. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 54.1% reduction, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling percentage. The 1440p Medium min FPS of 208 is still above the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors, ensuring smooth experiences even with V-Sync enabled on 144 Hz or 165 Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the system shows its first signs of being challenged, though performance remains playable. Low settings produce 172 FPS, Medium achieves 128 FPS (min/max: 109/147), High reaches 110 FPS, and Ultra drops to 79 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 54.1% reduction, consistent with the other resolutions. The 4K Medium min FPS of 109 is notable—it suggests that even at 4K, the system maintains frame rates above 100 FPS in the worst-case scenes at Medium settings, which is a strong indicator of consistent performance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across settings reveals important information about the system's bottleneck characteristics. At Low settings, the drop is from 522 FPS to 172 FPS—a 67.0% reduction. At Medium, the drop is from 388 to 128 FPS (67.0% reduction). High settings show a drop from 333 to 110 FPS (67.0% reduction), and Ultra drops from 239 to 79 FPS (67.0% reduction). The consistency of this 67% reduction across all settings is striking—it indicates that the scaling factor is resolution-dependent and not significantly affected by the graphics settings.

This uniform scaling pattern suggests that the system is not CPU-bound at any resolution tested. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences between 1080p and 1440p, as the CPU would be the bottleneck at both resolutions. Instead, the consistent 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K aligns with the pixel count increase: 4K has 4 times the pixels of 1080p, and the performance drop is approximately proportional to the increased rendering load on the GPU.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a smaller performance drop: from 522 to 329 FPS (37.0% reduction) at Low, 388 to 245 (36.9%) at Medium, 333 to 210 (36.9%) at High, and 239 to 151 (36.8%) at Ultra. The 1440p to 4K transition shows a larger drop: from 329 to 172 (47.7%) at Low, 245 to 128 (47.8%) at Medium, 210 to 110 (47.6%) at High, and 151 to 79 (47.7%) at Ultra. This pattern—where the drop from 1440p to 4K is proportionally larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p—is consistent with GPU rendering scaling, as the pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K is 2.25 times, while the increase from 1080p to 1440p is 1.78 times.

The data indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at all resolutions, with the Ryzen 7 9700F providing ample CPU headroom. The remarkably consistent scaling percentages across all four settings levels reinforce this conclusion. The system's ability to maintain 79 FPS at 4K Ultra—a demanding setting for a 2015 roguelike—demonstrates that this combination is overprovisioned for the game's requirements, making it an excellent choice for users who prioritize maximum frame rates at any resolution.