Barony

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional performance in Barony, a 2015 roguelike title. Benchmark data shows this combination achieves remarkably high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, positioning it as a top-tier configuration for this game. The measured results indicate that the system is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while at 1080p, the CPU's capabilities become more relevant, though both components are powerful enough to provide a fluid experience in nearly any scenario.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Barony?*

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 663 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo still delivers an average of 100 FPS, which is well above the standard 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the performance at 1440p High compare to 4K High?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 267, while at 3840x2160 High, it drops to 140 FPS. This represents a significant 47.6% decrease in frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: Are there any settings where the frame rate drops below 100 FPS?

A: No, the lowest average frame rate recorded across all tested configurations is 100 FPS at 4K Ultra. All other settings and resolutions produce average frame rates above 100 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate is 663 FPS on Low settings and 303 FPS on Ultra settings. This shows a 54.3% reduction in average FPS when moving from Low to Ultra.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Barony?*

A: The combo ranks 131 out of 3717 tested combinations, placing it in the top 3.5% of all configurations tested for this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear performance hierarchy across the four tested presets. At every resolution, the Low preset delivers the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the most demanding. For players prioritizing maximum refresh rate and responsiveness, particularly on high-refresh-rate monitors, the Low preset provides an overwhelming performance advantage. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 663 FPS, which is more than double the 303 FPS seen at Ultra settings. This gap narrows at higher resolutions, but Low remains the fastest option.

However, the data also shows that even the most demanding preset, Ultra, produces frame rates that are more than sufficient for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 191, and at 4K Ultra, it is 100 FPS. Given that Barony is a roguelike with a visual style that may not benefit dramatically from the highest settings, the Medium preset appears to offer the best balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 493 FPS with a minimum of 419 FPS, ensuring no perceptible stutter. At 1440p Medium, the average is 311 FPS with a minimum of 264 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the average is 163 FPS with a minimum of 138 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one for which minimum frame rate data is consistently provided, and those minimums are all well above 60 FPS.

For users with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, the High preset is also a viable choice, as it averages 423 FPS at 1080p and 267 FPS at 1440p. Even at 4K, the High preset's 140 FPS average exceeds the refresh rate of most standard displays. Ultimately, the choice depends on the user's display capabilities and preference for visual fidelity. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot, offering a massive performance buffer while still providing a substantial upgrade over Low. Ultra, while visually superior, sacrifices a significant amount of performance, and its 100 FPS average at 4K may be a limiting factor for those with very high refresh rate displays.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29300 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 19267. Single-thread performance is also robust, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2016.5 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4238. These scores place the CPU in the 91st percentile among all tested CPUs, indicating it is a high-end processor.

In the context of Barony, which is a roguelike game, the CPU's role is significant for game logic, procedural generation, and entity management. The game's release in 2015 suggests that it may not be heavily optimized for many-core processors, but the Ryzen 9 7900X's high single-thread performance is crucial for such titles. The 3DMark scores show a progression from 1093 in single-thread to 12536 in max-threads, indicating excellent scaling across cores. However, for a game like Barony, the single-thread performance is often the bottleneck in CPU-bound scenarios.

The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is relatively light, the system reaches 663 FPS. This high frame rate is indicative of the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain such a high output. The fact that the frame rate drops significantly when moving to higher resolutions (e.g., 663 FPS at 1080p Low to 219 FPS at 4K Low) suggests that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. The CPU's performance, while strong, is not the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the frame rates are still well above 100 FPS. The Ryzen 9 7900X's 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth also contribute to its ability to handle game data efficiently, further supporting high frame rates in CPU-intensive moments.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 131 out of 3717 tested combos for Barony. This places it in the top 3.5% of all configurations, which is an exceptional result. The high rank is expected given the caliber of both components, but the specific placement in the rankings reflects the game's engine and how well it utilizes the hardware. The CPU's percentile rank of 91 among all CPUs and the GPU's percentile rank of 88 among all GPUs indicate that both are top-tier components, and their combination results in a system that excels in this title.

The data shows that the combo is more than capable of handling Barony at any resolution and setting combination. The 4K Ultra score of 100 FPS is a strong indicator that this combo is not just for 1080p or 1440p gaming but can also deliver a smooth 4K experience. The rank of 131 suggests that there are 130 other combinations that perform better, which is a small fraction of the total. These higher-ranking combos likely feature even more specialized or newer hardware, but the margin of difference is not reflected in the available data. For practical purposes, this combo provides an excellent gaming experience in Barony, with performance that far exceeds the typical requirements of the game. The high rank, combined with the consistent frame rates across all settings, makes this a top-tier choice for players who want maximum performance in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a flagship graphics card based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, featuring 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2520 MHz, and it has a massive 16384 shading units. The GPU's benchmark scores are equally impressive, with a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 271631. These figures place the GPU in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, confirming its status as a high-end part.

In Barony, the GPU's role is to render the game's visuals, and its performance is directly tied to the resolution and settings used. The measured FPS data shows a clear correlation between resolution and frame rate, with the GPU's workload increasing as resolution scales. At 1080p, the GPU is often not the limiting factor, as the CPU can keep up with the lower rendering demands. However, at 4K, the GPU's workload increases significantly, and the frame rates drop accordingly. For example, at 1080p High, the average FPS is 423, but at 4K High, it drops to 140. This 66.9% decrease in performance highlights the GPU's role as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Barony, even at 4K with Ultra settings, as the game's textures and assets are unlikely to exceed this amount. The high memory bandwidth ensures that data can be fed to the GPU cores quickly, which is essential for maintaining high frame rates. The GPU's compute performance, as evidenced by its Passmark GPU Compute score of 26613, also suggests that it can handle any advanced rendering techniques the game might use. Overall, the data shows that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU's performance becomes more relevant. The RTX 4090's raw power allows the system to achieve playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra, which reflects its capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 663 FPS on Low, 493 FPS on Medium, 423 FPS on High, and 303 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting also shows a minimum FPS of 419 and a maximum of 567, indicating a stable frame time. At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 418 FPS on Low, 311 FPS on Medium, 267 FPS on High, and 191 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting at this resolution has a minimum of 264 FPS and a maximum of 358 FPS. Finally, at 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 219 FPS on Low, 163 FPS on Medium, 140 FPS on High, and 100 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting at 4K has a minimum of 138 FPS and a maximum of 187 FPS.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the frame rate decreases, and as settings increase, the frame rate also decreases. The differences between settings are uniform across resolutions. For instance, moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p results in a 54.3% reduction in average FPS, while at 4K, the same change results in a 54.3% reduction as well. This suggests that the performance scaling is consistent regardless of resolution. The minimum FPS data for the Medium settings shows that even at 4K, the system does not drop below 138 FPS, which is a very high minimum frame rate. This indicates that the system maintains a smooth experience without significant frame time spikes.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Medium settings is relatively small compared to the gap between High and Ultra. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is 170 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is 120 FPS. This suggests that the performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is more significant than moving from Low to Medium. For players seeking the highest frame rates, the Low preset is the best choice, but the Medium preset offers a good balance between visuals and performance, with all minimum FPS values well above 60.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 663 at 1080p to 219 at 4K, a reduction of 66.9%. At Medium settings, the drop is from 493 to 163, a reduction of 66.9%. At High settings, the drop is from 423 to 140, a reduction of 66.9%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 303 to 100, a reduction of 67.0%. This consistent percentage reduction across all settings suggests that the scaling is resolution-dependent and not significantly affected by the graphics preset.

The consistent reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 1440p is also notable. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 663 to 418, a 36.9% reduction. At Medium, it drops from 493 to 311, a 36.9% reduction. This pattern continues for High and Ultra settings. The transition from 1440p to 4K shows a similar percentage drop, with Low going from 418 to 219, a 47.6% reduction. This indicates that the GPU's rendering workload scales with the number of pixels, and the RTX 4090's performance is more strained as resolution increases.

The data strongly suggests that at 1080p, the system is not entirely GPU-bound, as the frame rates are extremely high, and the CPU's performance may play a more significant role. However, as resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and it becomes the dominant bottleneck. The fact that the frame rate drops by roughly two-thirds from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU's performance is the limiting factor at 4K. The CPU, while powerful, is capable of maintaining high frame rates at 1080p, as evidenced by the 663 FPS result, but it is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions. This analysis confirms that for the RTX 4090, 4K gaming is the most demanding scenario, and the measured performance shows that it is still capable of delivering a high frame rate experience, even at Ultra settings.