Barony

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a combo rank of 73 out of 2,935 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the top 2.5% of all systems evaluated. This is a dominant position, indicating that the pairing of this Zen 5 desktop processor with the Blackwell flagship GPU is exceptionally well-suited for the demands of this roguelike title. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings presets confirm that this configuration is not merely adequate but is instead operating at the extreme high end of performance, leaving very little headroom for improvement without moving to more specialized hardware configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The sheer volume of tested combinations—2,935—contextualizes the rank of 73 as a top-tier result. This places the combo in the 97th percentile of all systems tested in Barony, a game that is generally not considered to be a heavyweight in terms of graphical demands. The data shows that the combination of the Ryzen 7 9700F and RTX 5090 is capable of saturating even the highest refresh rate displays at nearly every setting level. The rank reflects a system that can decisively overcome any potential bottleneck, whether it be from CPU logic or GPU rendering, ensuring that the game's procedural generation and physics calculations do not stutter or hitch, even when the frame rate is already very high.

This top-100 ranking is particularly telling because it separates this combo from the mass of systems that might achieve playable, but not exceptional, frame rates. The nearest rival combos for the individual components are not directly comparable here, but the CPU's standing among all processors (94th percentile) and the GPU's standing among all graphics cards (92nd percentile) are both individually high. When combined in this specific game, their performance synergy pushes the total package to a rank that is even higher than either component's individual percentile, suggesting that Barony's engine benefits from both the high single-thread performance of the 9700F and the massive raw throughput of the 5090. This is not a case of one component holding the other back; it is a case of both operating in their optimal zones.

The gap between this combo and lower-ranked systems is likely substantial, given the frame rates on display. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system produces 679 FPS, a figure that would be unobtainable for systems with less capable CPUs, as the game engine's simulation speed becomes the limiting factor at such high output. The combination's rank of 73 therefore signals to database users that this is a reference-tier configuration for Barony, one that will not require any compromises on visual fidelity to achieve a competitive or immersive experience. It is a data point that suggests this hardware pairing will remain relevant for this game for many years, as even future updates that add more complex systems are unlikely to strain this level of headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration, and its specifications from the pack paint a clear picture of its capabilities. It is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB202 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GPU is equipped with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This prodigious memory subsystem is crucial for high-resolution textures and complex shader workloads, though in a game like Barony, it is more likely to ensure that there are no hitches when loading new tiles or generating complex dungeon layouts. The 92,200 million transistors and 750 mm² die size indicate a chip of immense complexity, further underscoring its top-tier status.

Clock speeds are listed at a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz, with the memory operating at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units, allow the card to achieve a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 104.8 TFLOPS. In the context of Barony's measured FPS, these specifications translate to a GPU that is rarely the bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the card produces 102 FPS, a very playable frame rate for a game that is often viewed from a first-person perspective where smoothness is key. The fact that the card can nearly double this output to 196 FPS at 1440p Ultra shows that the GPU's compute and memory resources scale almost linearly with resolution demands.

The GPU's benchmark scores in the pack further validate its position. Its Passmark G3D score is 39,650, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 376,728. These synthetic benchmarks, while not game-specific, confirm the hardware's general-purpose compute and graphics prowess. The RTX 5090's nearest rivals in the database include the Tesla P100 variants and the Radeon RX 6850M XT, but the RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 79,842 is higher than all of them, with a delta of at least +0.6% over the closest competitor. In Barony, the GPU's role is to ensure that the frame rate remains consistently high, and the data shows it succeeds, with the lowest measured result (102 FPS at 4K Ultra) still being well above the threshold for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Barony with this hardware for the highest frame rates?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 679 FPS. This is the highest measured frame rate in the dataset, indicating that 1080p is where the combo can push the absolute maximum output, limited primarily by CPU simulation speed rather than GPU rendering.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The measured results show a significant gap. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 428 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 196 FPS. This represents a drop of 232 FPS (or roughly 54%) when moving from the lowest to the highest visual quality settings, demonstrating the substantial cost of the Ultra preset's enhanced effects.

Q: Can this system maintain a stable frame rate at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the benchmark results indicate it is capable. At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the system averages 167 FPS with a minimum frame rate of 142 FPS, showing that it can maintain a high and relatively stable performance level even at 4K. Even at the most demanding Ultra preset, it still averages 102 FPS, which is playable.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the sole reason for the high frame rates, or does the CPU matter?

A: Both components contribute. While the RTX 5090's massive compute resources (104.8 TFLOPS) handle the graphical load, the Ryzen 7 9700F's high single-thread score of 4,691 in Passmark is critical for the game's simulation logic. The fact that the 1080p Low preset reaches 679 FPS indicates a CPU-bound scenario where the processor's speed is the limiting factor.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 73rd out of 2,935 tested combinations. This places it in the top 2.5% of all tested systems, which is an exceptional result and indicates that the pairing is among the most powerful configurations for this game in the entire database.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the entire dataset, and at what settings?

A: The minimum FPS data is only recorded for the Medium settings preset at each resolution. The lowest of these is 142 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution. For all other presets, no minimum FPS data was provided in the measurements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers extraordinary results, starting with 679 FPS on Low and descending to 505 FPS on Medium, 433 FPS on High, and 311 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution has a recorded minimum of 429 FPS and a maximum of 580 FPS, showing a variance of about 151 FPS, which is typical for a game with dynamic scenes. These numbers are so high that they are likely beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, making the GPU's raw power somewhat superfluous at this resolution; the CPU is the primary driver of these extreme frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains incredibly high. The Low preset achieves 428 FPS, Medium drops to 319 FPS with a minimum of 271 FPS and a maximum of 366 FPS, High produces 273 FPS, and Ultra still manages a very smooth 196 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction in frame rates of roughly 37% to 45% across presets, which is a smaller drop than one might expect, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom to handle the increased pixel count. The 1440p Medium preset's minimum of 271 FPS is still higher than the 4K Ultra average, highlighting the enormous performance envelope of this hardware.

At 3840x2160, the system finally begins to show some signs of load, but the results are still impressive. The Low preset averages 224 FPS, Medium averages 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 191 FPS, High averages 143 FPS, and Ultra averages 102 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a clear cost for visual fidelity, with the Ultra preset delivering less than half the frame rate of the Low preset. However, even the lowest result of 102 FPS is well within the territory of high-refresh-rate gaming, meaning users can enjoy the game's maximum visual detail without sacrificing smoothness. The data consistently shows that this combo obliterates the 60 FPS standard at all tested settings and resolutions, making it a top-tier choice for Barony.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this configuration depend entirely on the user's display capabilities and performance goals. For users with a 3840x2160 (4K) display, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation. The 102 FPS average is sufficiently high to provide a fluid experience, and the visual enhancements at this level will be most noticeable on a high-resolution screen. The data shows that dropping to High only yields a 41 FPS increase to 143 FPS, which is a marginal gain in perceived smoothness compared to the visual quality lost by lowering the preset. Therefore, for 4K users, the Ultra preset offers the best balance of fidelity and performance, as it remains well above the 100 FPS threshold.

For users with a 2560x1440 (1440p) display, the High preset is the sweet spot. It delivers 273 FPS, which is an exceptional frame rate that will utilize the full refresh rate of even the most advanced gaming monitors. The jump to Ultra drops the frame rate to 196 FPS, which is still excellent, but the difference between High and Ultra is often subtle in terms of visual impact for a game like Barony. The Low and Medium presets at this resolution (428 and 319 FPS respectively) offer frame rates that are likely beyond the capability of any display to show, making them less useful. The High preset balances the GPU's workload with the CPU's output, ensuring a consistently high frame rate without unnecessary rendering overhead.

At 1920x1080, the recommendation is to use the Ultra preset, as it provides 311 FPS. This is because the system is heavily CPU-bound at this resolution; the GPU is not being fully utilized. Choosing a lower preset like High (433 FPS) or Low (679 FPS) will increase the frame rate, but these numbers are so far beyond the refresh rate of standard 1080p monitors (typically 144Hz to 360Hz) that the extra frames will not be visible. The Ultra preset ensures the best visual quality while still delivering a frame rate that is more than double the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. In all cases, the Medium preset data, which includes minimum frame rate figures, shows that even the lowest dips (142 FPS at 4K) are comfortably above playable thresholds, confirming that any settings choice will yield a stable experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F plays a critical role in ensuring the extremely high frame rates observed in the data, particularly at lower resolutions. It is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) and built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU has an L3 cache of 32 MB (shared), which is beneficial for gaming workloads. Its Passmark single-thread score is 4,691, and its multithread score is 36,470. These scores indicate that the CPU has exceptional per-core performance, which is the most important factor for games like Barony that rely heavily on a single main simulation thread.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence is most apparent at the 1920x1080 Low preset, where the system hits 679 FPS. At such a high frame rate, the GPU's rendering time is minimal, and the bottleneck shifts to the CPU's ability to process game logic and issue draw calls. The Ryzen 7 9700F's high boost clock and efficient Zen 5 cores allow it to sustain this massive throughput. Its average benchmark score is 69,996, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and the Intel Core i7-14700KF, but the 9700F is within 0.7% of these scores, showing it is a top-tier performer in its own right.

The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for Barony, which likely does not scale perfectly across many threads. However, the robust multithread score of 36,470 ensures that background processes and the game's various systems do not cause stutters. The 65W TDP is a notable feature, suggesting high efficiency, but the performance data shows that this efficiency does not come at the cost of speed. The combination of a 5.50 GHz boost clock and 32 MB of L3 cache is ideal for the type of rapid, single-threaded calculations that roguelike games generate, ensuring that the RTX 5090 is constantly fed with data and never waits on the processor. This makes the Ryzen 7 9700F an ideal partner for the RTX 5090 in this title, as it provides the necessary foundation for the GPU to reach its full potential.