Barony

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Barony, a roguelike title that is far more demanding on the CPU than its visual style might suggest. The data shows this pairing is capable of maxing out nearly any display on the market, but the way performance scales across settings reveals a clear strategy for optimizing your experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured results make a strong case for the High preset as the primary recommendation for this hardware. At 4K, High produces an average of 126.5 FPS, which is a 38% improvement over the Ultra preset’s 91.7 FPS. The jump from Ultra to High costs very little in visual fidelity for most roguelike gameplay, where clarity of UI elements and particle effects matter more than subtle shadow quality. The data shows High at 4K still provides a comfortable margin above 120 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate 4K panels.

If you are targeting the absolute highest refresh rates, the Medium preset offers a compelling alternative. At 1440p, Medium delivers 283 FPS, which is 65% higher than Ultra’s 171.1 FPS at the same resolution. The trade-off is modest: Medium typically reduces ambient occlusion and shadow resolution, but the core gameplay readability in Barony remains intact. For competitive play or for users with 240Hz or faster monitors, Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot.

The Ultra preset is only advisable for users with a 4K 120Hz display who prioritize image quality above all else. The 91.7 FPS average at 4K Ultra is playable but leaves no headroom for frame drops. The Low preset is largely unnecessary with this hardware, as even at 4K it achieves 196.3 FPS, but it could be used to push frame rates past 600 FPS at 1080p for esports-style play, where the data shows a 600.2 FPS average.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Barony’s procedural environments. The GPU’s 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores are not heavily taxed by this title’s low-poly aesthetic, but the high clock speeds—2295 MHz base and 2550 MHz boost—ensure that the card can feed frames to the CPU without becoming a bottleneck. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combination reaches 600.2 FPS, which is near the practical limit for most display interfaces.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 88 versus all GPUs indicates it sits in the upper tier of graphics hardware. However, the benchmark results show that Barony does not scale linearly with GPU compute power. The delta between 1080p Low (600.2 FPS) and 4K Low (196.3 FPS) is 67%, which is a larger drop than what you would see in a purely GPU-bound title. This suggests the CPU is playing a significant role in limiting performance at lower resolutions, while the GPU takes over as the primary constraint at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination ranks 127th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 7.5% of all configurations in the database. This is a strong showing, but the ranking is more impressive when you consider the CPU’s position. The Ryzen 7 9700X has a percentile of 89 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36029. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14500HX (0.2% higher score) and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (0.4% lower score). The CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads are well-utilized by Barony’s simulation logic, which likely contributes to the high frame rates.

The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores only 0.2% lower on average, indicating that the RTX 4080 SUPER is not dramatically ahead of its closest competitor in raw compute. Yet in Barony, the combination still achieves 4K Ultra at 91.7 FPS, which is a playable result. The rank of 127 suggests that while there are faster combos, the 9700X and 4080 SUPER are well-balanced for this game, with no single component holding the other back to a significant degree.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the results show a clear hierarchy: Low produces 600.2 FPS, Medium 444.3 FPS, High 379.3 FPS, and Ultra 274 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 54%, which is substantial but not as large as the gap between Medium and High. This indicates that the High preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive relative to visual impact. The 600.2 FPS at Low is likely CPU-limited, as the Ryzen 7 9700X’s 5.50 GHz boost clock and high single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1280) are pushed to their limits.

At 1440p, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers: Low delivers 377.4 FPS, Medium 283 FPS, High 240.1 FPS, and Ultra 171.1 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p averages about 38% across all settings, which is consistent with a GPU that is beginning to feel the resolution increase. The Ultra preset at 1440p (171.1 FPS) still exceeds the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors, making it a viable option for users who want maximum quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 4K, the numbers become more moderate: Low achieves 196.3 FPS, Medium 144.5 FPS, High 126.5 FPS, and Ultra 91.7 FPS. The Ultra setting is the only one that drops below 100 FPS, and it does so by a narrow margin. The 4K Low result of 196.3 FPS is notable—it shows that even at the highest resolution, this combo can push nearly 200 FPS if settings are reduced. This makes the combination versatile for both visual fidelity and competitive frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component clearly. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 600.2 FPS at 1080p to 196.3 FPS at 4K, a 67% reduction. This is a steep decline that would not occur if the GPU were the sole bottleneck—it suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is holding back the GPU, preventing it from reaching its full potential. The Ryzen 7 9700X’s strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4459) is impressive, but Barony’s simulation threads may not scale perfectly across all 16 threads, creating a ceiling around 600 FPS.

At Ultra settings, the drop from 1080p (274 FPS) to 4K (91.7 FPS) is 66%, which is nearly identical to the Low setting’s percentage drop. This indicates that the GPU is consistently the limiting factor at 4K, regardless of settings. The 4K Ultra result of 91.7 FPS aligns with the GPU’s 88th percentile ranking, confirming that the RTX 4080 SUPER is being fully utilized at that resolution. The data suggests that users with 4K displays should focus on GPU-bound settings, while users with 1080p displays will be CPU-limited and can enable higher presets without significant frame rate penalties.

FAQ

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K with this combo?

A: Yes, but barely. The data shows a 91.7 FPS average at 4K Ultra, which is above the 60 FPS threshold but below the 120 FPS target for high-refresh displays. Users with 120Hz 4K monitors should consider the High preset (126.5 FPS) for a more comfortable margin.

Q: Why does the 1080p Low result reach 600.2 FPS?

A: This is likely a CPU limit. The Ryzen 7 9700X’s 5.50 GHz boost clock and high single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1280) allow it to process Barony’s game logic quickly, but the graphics card is not being fully utilized at this resolution. The result is a frame rate that exceeds most display capabilities.

Q: How does this combo compare to the nearest rival GPU?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489). In practical terms, the performance difference is negligible, and the choice between the two should be based on other factors such as driver preferences or feature support.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700X a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in Barony?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the CPU appears to be the limiting factor, as the frame rate hits 600.2 FPS and does not scale as much as expected with resolution increases. At 4K, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck, with the data showing a 66% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p 240Hz monitor?

A: The Medium preset delivers 283 FPS at 1440p, which exceeds the 240Hz refresh rate and provides a substantial frame rate buffer. The High preset (240.1 FPS) is also viable, but the Medium preset offers 18% more headroom for demanding scenes with minimal visual compromise.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: The data does not indicate any VRAM-related limitations at any resolution or setting, as Barony’s procedural graphics are not memory-intensive. The 16 GB GDDR6X capacity is more than sufficient, and the 736.3 GB/s bandwidth ensures smooth texture streaming even at 4K.