Barony

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers exceptional performance in Barony, a 2015 roguelike that proves surprisingly demanding at high resolutions. The data shows this pairing ranks 316th out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the top 20% of all systems. With frame rates ranging from 77.7 FPS at 4K Ultra to 525.2 FPS at 1080p Low, this combo demonstrates substantial headroom across all settings. The measured results reveal a system that can handle Barony's procedural environments with ease, though the scaling patterns between resolutions and settings tell a nuanced story about where the bottleneck lies.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 316th out of 1702 total combinations tested, placing it in the top 18.6% of all systems. This indicates strong overall performance, though the ranking suggests other configurations achieve higher frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where CPU limits become more apparent.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achieved with this setup?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 525.2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Ultra settings still deliver 240 FPS, while 4K Ultra drops to 77.7 FPS. These figures show the system scales from competitive esports-level speeds to playable 4K performance.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 36029, sitting between the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H at 36165 (-0.4% delta) and the Intel Core i5-14500HX at 35940 (+0.2% delta). The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 trails at 35802 (+0.6% delta), while the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H leads at 36328 (-0.8% delta).

Q: What GPU benchmark scores does the RTX 4070 SUPER achieve?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 42576, with a Passmark G3D score of 29995 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, scores 42653 (-0.2% delta), while the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE reaches 42723 (-0.3% delta).

Q: How does frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 331.7 at 1080p to 210.8 at 1440p, then further to 112.3 at 4K. This represents a 66.1% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as resolution increases.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance in Barony?

A: The data suggests CPU limitation at low resolutions: at 1080p Low, the system hits 525.2 FPS, which likely approaches the CPU's single-thread ceiling given its 3DMark single-thread score of 1280. At 4K, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth become more critical, with Ultra settings dropping to 77.7 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This Granite Ridge chip, built on TSMC's 4 nm process with 8,315 million transistors, delivers strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31588 and a single-core score of 4459. In Barony, a roguelike that generates complex dungeon layouts and tracks numerous entities, this CPU's capabilities shine at lower resolutions.

The 32 MB shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core help maintain high frame rates when the GPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 525.2 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum throughput for this game. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9824 and max-thread score of 9771 show consistent scaling across core counts, suggesting Barony can utilize the available threads effectively. However, the single-thread score of 1280 in 3DMark and 4654 in Passmark indicate that individual core performance matters for this game's logic-heavy nature.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects its position relative to the broader market, but in Barony specifically, the measured results show it can push frame rates beyond what most displays can show at 1080p. The 65W TDP and 4 nm process allow sustained boost clocks without thermal throttling, which helps maintain consistent performance during extended dungeon runs. Compared to its nearest rivals, this CPU performs within 0.8% of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H and within 0.4% of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, making it competitive with the best mobile and desktop options available.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, provides substantial graphics horsepower for Barony. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, this GPU handles the game's texture-heavy environments and particle effects. The 7168 shading units and 224 texture mapping units, paired with 80 ROPs, enable the GPU to process Barony's blocky but detailed voxel-style graphics efficiently.

The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance translate into strong rasterization capabilities. In Barony, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K resolutions, where Ultra settings drop to 77.7 FPS. This is a significant reduction from the 240 FPS at 1080p Ultra, showing how resolution scaling impacts GPU load. The 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores provide future-proofing for games that use ray tracing, though Barony's 2015 release predates widespread RT adoption.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it outperforms most cards, but its nearest rivals show how tight the competition is: the NVIDIA RTX A6000 trails by 0.2%, while the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE leads by 0.3%. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627 and Passmark G3D score of 29995 confirm its high-end positioning. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 210.8 FPS, suggesting the GPU has ample headroom for most gaming scenarios, but 4K Ultra pushes it toward its limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 316 out of 1702 total combinations places it in the 81.4th percentile of all tested systems for Barony. This positioning indicates that while this is a high-performing setup, there are 315 combinations that achieve better frame rates, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs with higher single-thread performance. The ranking suggests that for a game like Barony, which can be CPU-bound at low resolutions, the Ryzen 7 9700X's single-thread performance may not be the absolute top tier.

The data reveals that this combo's strength lies in its balance rather than raw dominance. With the CPU ranking in the 89th percentile and GPU in the 84th percentile, the combined system performs slightly below what the individual component rankings might suggest. This could indicate that Barony's engine has optimization quirks that prevent the hardware from reaching its full potential, or that the game benefits more from either extreme CPU or GPU performance rather than balanced configurations.

At 1080p, the combo delivers frame rates from 240 FPS at Ultra to 525.2 FPS at Low, which are excellent for a roguelike where quick reactions matter. The 1440p results remain strong at 148.9 FPS Ultra and 327.4 FPS Low. Only at 4K does the system show any weakness, with Ultra dropping to 77.7 FPS. This pattern suggests that for most players using 1080p or 1440p displays, this combo provides more than sufficient performance, while 4K gaming requires settings adjustments to maintain smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

Frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a consistent pattern of GPU-bound performance at higher settings. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 525.2 at 1080p to 327.4 at 1440p (a 37.7% reduction), then to 173.4 at 4K (a 47.0% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline indicates the GPU's rendering load scales significantly with pixel count, even at minimal graphical settings.

At Ultra settings, the scaling shows a similar but more pronounced trend: 240 FPS at 1080p, 148.9 FPS at 1440p (37.9% drop), and 77.7 FPS at 4K (47.8% drop from 1440p). The consistent percentage reductions across settings suggest that resolution scaling is primarily GPU-limited, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom at all resolutions. The 12 GB VRAM capacity appears adequate for Barony's needs, as even at 4K Ultra, the GPU maintains playable frame rates without signs of memory constraints.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases: at 1080p, the difference is 285.2 FPS (525.2 vs 240), while at 4K it narrows to 95.7 FPS (173.4 vs 77.7). This narrowing indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor regardless of settings, whereas at lower resolutions, CPU performance allows the settings to have a larger impact on frame rates. For players seeking the highest frame rates, 1080p with lower settings maximizes the CPU's potential, while 4K gaming requires accepting lower frame rates or reducing settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest performance across all settings. Low settings achieve 525.2 FPS, Medium reaches 389.6 FPS, High hits 331.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 240 FPS. These figures show that even at maximum settings, the system maintains frame rates well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors, making this resolution ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected decline. Low settings produce 327.4 FPS, Medium reaches 245.3 FPS, High achieves 210.8 FPS, and Ultra yields 148.9 FPS. The 1440p results indicate this resolution is the sweet spot for balancing visual quality and performance, with even Ultra settings maintaining playable frame rates above 144 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system's limits become apparent. Low settings achieve 173.4 FPS, Medium reaches 126.1 FPS, High produces 112.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 77.7 FPS. The 4K results show that while the combo can handle this resolution, players seeking 60+ FPS at Ultra settings will need to consider reducing settings to High or Medium, which provide 112.3 and 126.1 FPS respectively. The data shows a clear progression where each resolution increase requires a corresponding settings reduction to maintain target frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

For players using 1080p displays, Ultra settings provide the best experience with 240 FPS, well above the 144 Hz standard and even sufficient for 240 Hz monitors. The high frame rates at this resolution mean there is no practical reason to lower settings, as the visual quality improvements from Ultra settings come without meaningful performance penalties.

At 1440p, Ultra settings achieve 148.9 FPS, which is excellent for most gaming scenarios. However, players with 240 Hz displays may prefer High settings at 210.8 FPS, sacrificing some visual fidelity for a 41.5% frame rate increase. Medium settings at 245.3 FPS offer an alternative for those prioritizing maximum smoothness while maintaining reasonable visual quality.

For 4K gaming, the recommendation depends on the display's refresh rate. Ultra settings at 77.7 FPS are suitable for 60 Hz displays and provide the best visual experience. Players with 120 Hz or higher refresh 4K displays should use High settings at 112.3 FPS or Medium at 126.1 FPS to achieve smoother gameplay. Low settings at 173.4 FPS are available for competitive play but sacrifice significant visual quality. The data suggests that for most 4K users, High settings offer the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance, providing a 44.7% improvement over Ultra while maintaining the game's aesthetic integrity.