Barony

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Barony, a roguelike that clearly favors high refresh rates. The data shows this pairing is capable of pushing well past 100 frames per second at nearly every setting, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured results, the role of each component, and how this combo ranks among the 1,702 tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in Barony?

A: The combination ranks 775th out of 1,702 tested combos, placing it in the upper half of all configurations. This suggests a balanced setup that handles the game well but is not at the absolute top tier.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 36,029, placing it 0.2% above the Intel Core i5-14500HX and 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845. It trails the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by 0.4% and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H by 0.8%.

Q: What is the best performance setting for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields 59.1 FPS, while High settings achieve 80.8 FPS. For a smooth experience at 4K, the data suggests High settings are the optimal choice, as they provide a significant jump over Ultra while maintaining high fidelity.

Q: Can this combo handle 1080p gaming with high refresh rates?

A: Yes, decisively. At 1920x1080, the measured FPS ranges from 180.2 on Ultra to 390.1 on Low. Even the most demanding preset clears 144Hz, making this an excellent pairing for high-refresh monitors.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3070 sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, indicating it outperforms the majority of graphics cards in the database. Its average benchmark score is 28,238.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor in this game?

A: Given that the CPU ranks in the 89th percentile and the GPU in the 72nd, the GPU is likely the primary bottleneck. The wide FPS swings between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution further support that graphics load is the main variable.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position at 775 out of 1,702 configurations places it in the 45th percentile of all tested pairings. This is a solid result for a mid-range to high-end system. The ranking suggests that in Barony, this setup outperforms more than half of the tested hardware combinations. The gap to the top is significant, but the absolute performance numbers indicate that this rank is not a reflection of poor playability.

In practical terms, the rank reflects a system that can comfortably handle the game’s demands. The data shows that the bottleneck is rarely the CPU, which ranks in the 89th percentile of all processors. The RTX 3070, while in the 72nd percentile, still delivers frame rates that dominate the game’s requirements. The ranking is a blend of these two factors, with the GPU’s lower relative standing pulling the overall rank down from what the CPU alone might suggest. This is a classic example of a balanced build where the graphics card is the more critical component for this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is built on the Zen 5 architecture and features 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. These high clock speeds are critical for a roguelike like Barony, which often has logic and entity updates that are sensitive to single-thread performance. The CPU's strong single-core capabilities, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,280 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3,353, ensure that game logic is processed quickly.

The processor’s multi-threading capabilities are also robust. With a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 31,588, it can handle background tasks and any multi-threaded game systems without issue. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache provides a large pool of fast memory for frequently accessed data. In the context of Barony, the CPU’s 89th percentile ranking suggests it is more than sufficient for the task. The measured FPS data shows minimal frame rate differences between Low and High settings at 1080p (390.1 vs 249.9), a gap that is more attributable to GPU load than CPU limitations.

The 65W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC indicate high efficiency, allowing for sustained boost clocks without excessive thermal throttling. The 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die are dense, enabling the performance on display. While the CPU is not the star of the show in this game, it provides a rock-solid foundation that prevents any processor-induced stutters or frame drops. Its average benchmark score of 36,029 places it in close competition with the Intel Core i5-14500HX, which is only 0.2% behind.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the combo is exceptionally fast. The Ultra preset achieves 180.2 FPS, while High settings reach 249.9 FPS. Dropping to Medium yields 286.9 FPS, and Low settings produce a staggering 390.1 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is almost always GPU-limited, as the CPU is easily able to feed frames at this rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very high. The Ultra preset drops to 111.7 FPS, which is still smooth. High settings deliver 157.5 FPS, Medium reaches 179.9 FPS, and Low hits 243.2 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a roughly 35-40% reduction in frame rates, which is consistent with an increase in pixel count. This resolution is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a great balance between visual fidelity and high refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to feel the pressure. The Ultra preset averages 59.1 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. High settings are more comfortable at 80.8 FPS, and Medium provides a solid 93.2 FPS. Low settings still produce a high 126.6 FPS. The data shows a clear trend: for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, players should use High or Medium settings. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is roughly a 2.1x performance hit, highlighting the GPU’s workload.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the workhorse of this pairing. 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 Barony at all tested settings. The GPU’s boost clock is 1725 MHz, and it leverages the Ampere architecture on an 8 nm Samsung process. With 5,888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units, it has the raw compute power to handle the game’s graphics.

The GPU’s performance is reflected in its benchmark scores. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,162 and a Passmark G3D score of 22,214. These scores place it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. In Barony, the GPU is the primary driver of the FPS differences between settings. The 390.1 FPS at 1080p Low versus 180.2 FPS at 1080p Ultra shows a 2.2x performance range, which is a direct result of the GPU’s rendering load. At 4K Ultra, the 59.1 FPS result shows the limits of the 8 GB frame buffer and the GPU’s compute capacity.

The RTX 3070’s 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, but the game’s demands at 4K Ultra push it to its limits. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, which scores 0.9% lower on average, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which scores 1% lower. This places the RTX 3070 in a competitive position, though it is clearly a generation behind the latest cards. The 8 GB of VRAM is adequate, but the data suggests that at 4K, the memory bandwidth and capacity become a constraint, preventing the higher settings from achieving the same fluidity seen at lower resolutions.