Barony

# Barony with AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers exceptional performance in Barony, a roguelike title where the measured frame rates exceed the refresh capabilities of virtually all standard displays. The combination ranks 193rd out of 2,935 tested configurations, placing it in the top 6.6% of all tested combos. Across three resolutions and four quality presets, the data shows average frame rates ranging from 94 FPS at 4K Ultra to 622 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this system is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions while becoming increasingly CPU-sensitive at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior reveals a system with substantial headroom at every tested setting. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 397 FPS to 250 FPS, a decline of 37%. Continuing to 4K High, the average falls further to 131 FPS, representing a 67% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU that becomes progressively more loaded as pixel count increases, though the absolute performance remains exceptionally high throughout.

At Low settings, the resolution scaling is more dramatic in percentage terms. The 1080p Low result of 622 FPS drops to 392 FPS at 1440p—a 37% reduction—and then to 205 FPS at 4K, a 67% decline from 1080p. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the scaling factor is primarily resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, which is typical for a title where draw calls and geometry remain constant while pixel shading scales with resolution.

The Medium preset shows the same pattern with measured minimum and maximum frame rates providing additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average of 462 FPS spans from 393 to 532 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 292 FPS with a range of 248 to 336 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 152 FPS with a range of 130 to 175 FPS. The consistent ~37% and ~67% drops from 1080p to 1440p and 1080p to 4K, respectively, indicate that the limiting component shifts smoothly with resolution, with the GPU becoming the primary constraint at 4K while the CPU retains more influence at 1080p.

Ultra settings exhibit the steepest absolute declines. The 1080p Ultra average of 284 FPS drops to 180 FPS at 1440p—a 37% reduction—and then to 94 FPS at 4K, a 67% decline. The fact that even 4K Ultra maintains nearly 100 FPS average suggests that this combination is not struggling to render the scene, but rather that the Ultra preset introduces expensive effects that scale multiplicatively with resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions where its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth come into play. The GPU's 10,752 shading units operating at a boost clock of 2,617 MHz provide the raw compute throughput needed to sustain the high frame rates observed in Barony's measured results. The 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 879.3 GTexel/s texture rate are more than adequate for this roguelike title, which does not appear to be heavily texture-bound based on the scaling patterns.

The GPU's memory configuration—16 GB on a 256-bit bus with GDDR7 technology—provides substantial headroom for Barony's asset streaming and procedural generation systems. The fact that 4K High achieves 131 FPS while 4K Ultra drops to 94 FPS suggests that the Ultra preset likely introduces memory-intensive effects such as higher-resolution shadows or post-processing that tax the GPU's compute resources rather than its memory capacity. The measured data shows no evidence of memory-related stuttering or capacity limitations, as the minimum frame rates scale proportionally with averages.

In the GPU benchmark landscape, the RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56,083 places it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 8060S with a score of 55,757 (0.6% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB at 55,698 (0.7% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X at 54,828 (2.3% lower). The only rival scoring higher is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE at 57,367, which is 2.2% above the RTX 5080. These margins indicate that the RTX 5080 sits in a tightly contested performance band, though Barony's results suggest it performs well above this benchmark-implied position in actual gameplay.

The GPU's architectural features—Blackwell 2.0 on a 5 nm TSMC process with 45,600 million transistors—contribute to its efficiency in this title. The 112 ROPs and 336 TMUs provide balanced rasterization throughput, while the 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores offer headroom for any ray-traced or AI-enhanced features that Barony might employ in future updates. The measured frame rates, however, indicate that the game's current rendering path does not heavily utilize these specialized units.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F provides the processing foundation for this combination, with 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture in Granite Ridge. The CPU's base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz deliver strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for Barony's roguelike simulation logic, procedural generation, and game-state management. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core help maintain low-latency access to frequently used data structures.

The CPU's benchmark results show a PassMark multi-thread score of 36,470 and a single-thread score of 4,691, with the average benchmark score of 69,996 placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX with a score of 69,875 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-14700KF at 70,163 (0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69,515 (0.7% lower), and the Intel Core i7-14700K at 69,355 (0.9% lower). These extremely tight margins—all within 1%—indicate that the 9700F is competitively positioned against some of the strongest desktop and mobile processors available.

At 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work relative to the CPU, the 622 FPS average suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the RTX 5080 at exceptionally high rates. The 67% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings—from 622 to 205 FPS—indicates that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases, while the CPU's role diminishes. This is the expected behavior for a well-balanced system where neither component is severely mismatched for the target workload.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die indicate excellent power efficiency, though the measured frame rates suggest that Barony does not push the CPU to its thermal limits. The DDR5 memory support with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient memory throughput for the game's data streaming requirements. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes ensures that the GPU has ample bandwidth for texture and geometry data transfer.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 193 out of 2,935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 6.6% of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the system's ability to maintain high frame rates across all resolution and settings combinations, with even the most demanding scenario—4K Ultra—producing an average of 94 FPS.

The ranking is particularly impressive given the competitive field. With 2,935 tested combinations, being in the top 200 indicates that this pairing outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, including those with higher-end CPUs or GPUs that might be less well-matched. The balance between the 9700F's strong single-threaded performance and the RTX 5080's massive rasterization throughput creates a system that excels in a CPU-light, GPU-heavy title like Barony.

The percentile positioning of both components supports this ranking. The CPU's 94th percentile standing and the GPU's 87th percentile standing combine to produce a system that ranks higher than either component's individual percentile would suggest, indicating that the pairing is particularly synergistic for this game. The tight performance margins between the CPU and its rivals—all within 1%—mean that small variations in game-specific optimization could shift the ranking, but the current data shows this combination performing admirably.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings across different resolution targets. At 1080p, all settings produce frame rates well above 240 FPS, with even Ultra achieving 284 FPS. The jump from High (397 FPS) to Ultra (284 FPS) represents a 28% performance cost for the visual improvements, which may be worthwhile for users with high-refresh-rate displays. The Low preset's 622 FPS is far beyond what any current display can show, so the additional performance from reducing settings is largely wasted.

At 1440p, the recommendations shift based on refresh rate priorities. High settings at 250 FPS and Medium at 292 FPS both exceed 240 Hz refresh capabilities, while Ultra at 180 FPS still comfortably exceeds 165 Hz. The measured minimums for Medium (248 FPS at 1440p) indicate that even the minimum frame rate stays above 240 FPS, making Medium an excellent choice for competitive play. For users prioritizing visual quality, Ultra at 180 FPS remains highly playable.

At 4K, the settings choice becomes more consequential. Ultra at 94 FPS is playable but approaches the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable on high-refresh displays. High at 131 FPS provides a substantial improvement with a 39% performance gain over Ultra, while Medium at 152 FPS offers an additional 16% improvement. The Medium preset's measured minimum of 130 FPS ensures consistent frame delivery, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming where smoothness is prioritized. Low at 205 FPS is unnecessary for most 4K displays but demonstrates the system's headroom.

The data suggests that High settings offer the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions, with the 4K High result of 131 FPS representing a sweet spot that maintains high frame rates while presumably retaining most of the visual enhancements from Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 622 FPS, while Medium achieves 462 FPS with a minimum of 393 and maximum of 532 FPS. High settings yield 397 FPS, and Ultra maintains 284 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 54% reduction in frame rate, reflecting the increasing GPU workload from additional visual effects.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected resolution penalty. Low settings average 392 FPS, Medium averages 292 FPS with a range of 248 to 336 FPS, High averages 250 FPS, and Ultra averages 180 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent at approximately 37% reduction across all settings, confirming that the resolution scaling is uniform regardless of quality preset.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low averages 205 FPS, Medium averages 152 FPS with a range of 130 to 175 FPS, High averages 131 FPS, and Ultra averages 94 FPS. The 4K results show a 54% reduction from Ultra to Low, similar to the 1080p scaling, indicating that the settings impact is consistent across resolutions. The minimum frame rates at 4K Medium (130 FPS) demonstrate that the system maintains smooth performance even in demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 131 FPS at 4K High and 152 FPS at 4K Medium, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset maintaining 94 FPS average.

Q: What is the best settings preset for competitive play?

A: At 1080p, Medium provides 462 FPS average with a minimum of 393 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery above any display's refresh rate. At 1440p, Medium achieves 292 FPS with a 248 FPS minimum.

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

A: The combination ranks 193rd out of 2,935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 6.6% of all tested configurations.

Q: Which component limits performance at 4K Ultra?

A: The GPU is the limiting component at 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the 67% frame rate reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69,996, which is 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-14700KF, 0.7% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and 0.9% above the Intel Core i7-14700K.

Q: Does the system maintain consistent frame rates at 1440p Medium?

A: Yes, the measured minimum of 248 FPS and maximum of 336 FPS around the 292 FPS average indicates consistent frame delivery without significant stuttering or frame pacing issues.