Barony

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 pairing in Barony presents a study in asymmetric capability. The CPU is a modern 12-core, 24-thread Zen 5 part, while the GPU is a Turing-era card now marked end-of-life. The measured frame rates show a system that can deliver high refresh rates at 1080p but begins to buckle under the pressure of 4K Ultra settings, revealing a clear bottleneck hierarchy.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end desktop processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, which is substantial for a chip with 12 cores and 24 threads. The processor also includes 64 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory, which are critical for maintaining high instruction throughput. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip posts strong results: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253, alongside a Geekbench multicore score of 22174.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game's performance. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 261 FPS, and at High settings it still manages 167 FPS. These numbers are far beyond what a 60 Hz or even 144 Hz display can use, indicating that the processor is feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them at lower resolutions. The CPU's percentile ranking of 92 versus all CPUs reinforces its position near the top of the performance stack. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900, has an average score of 58115, which is only 1.1% higher than the 9900X's average benchmark score of 57498. This tight margin confirms that the Ryzen 9 is not the source of any frame rate ceiling observed in Barony.

The 3DMark results further illustrate the CPU's threading advantage. The chip scores 13929 in the max-threads test, but only 2519 in the 2-thread test. This indicates that while the processor has immense multithreaded capability, Barony is not utilizing all of it. The game's engine appears to be more dependent on the GPU, as evidenced by the frame rates scaling directly with resolution changes rather than with CPU load. The Passmark physics score of 3381 and the data compression score of 683579 are strong, but these are general compute tasks that do not translate to a proportional advantage in this title. The processor's role here is to ensure that it never holds back the GPU, and the data supports that it succeeds.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the clear performance anchor in this configuration. It is a Turing-architecture card with a boost clock of 1680 MHz and a memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This is the primary constraint at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's percentile ranking is 58 versus all GPUs, placing it in the mid-range of the performance spectrum. Its average benchmark score is 15290, which is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, which scores 15199 (a 0.6% delta).

The GPU's role in Barony becomes apparent when examining the measured frame times. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 39 FPS, which is a steep decline from the 4K Low score of 86 FPS. This is a 54.7% performance loss from Low to Ultra, directly attributable to the GPU's inability to handle the increased shading and texture loads. The 6 GB VRAM is a likely culprit, as Ultra settings at 4K often exceed that capacity, forcing the card to swap data in and out of system memory. The GPU's Passmark DirectX 12 score of 53 is notably low, indicating poor performance in modern API workloads, which aligns with the significant frame rate drops at high settings.

The RTX 2060's compute scores also tell a story. The Passmark G3D score is 14111, but the GPU compute score is only 5488. This suggests that the card is better at rasterization than compute shaders, which might explain why Barony performs adequately at 1080p but degrades rapidly as resolution increases. The card's 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is modest by modern standards, and the data shows that it is the bottleneck in this pairing. The Ryzen 9 9900X can easily outpace the GPU, so every frame rate limit observed in the measured data is a GPU limit.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. From 1080p to 4K at High settings, the average FPS drops from 167 to 55, a 67% reduction. This is a massive scaling loss that is typical of a GPU hitting its memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate limits. At Low settings, the drop is from 261 FPS to 86 FPS, a 67% reduction as well. The consistency of this scaling percentage across all settings strongly indicates that the CPU is not a factor; the GPU is the sole arbiter of performance.

Looking at the Medium settings, the data provides more granularity. At 1080p Medium, the average is 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 and maximum of 224. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 123 FPS (min 104, max 141). At 4K Medium, the average is 64 FPS (min 55, max 74). The delta between 1080p and 1440p is a 37% loss, while the delta between 1440p and 4K is a 48% loss. This non-linear scaling is a hallmark of a GPU that is exhausting its memory bandwidth. The 192-bit bus and 6 GB capacity are simply not enough to feed the pixel shaders at 4K resolution.

The 1080p numbers suggest that the RTX 2060 is still capable at this resolution. The Ultra setting at 1080p yields 120 FPS, which is playable, but the 1440p Ultra score of 76 FPS is borderline for high-refresh monitors. The 4K Ultra score of 39 FPS is a clear sign that this resolution is only viable at lower presets. The data shows that the limiting component is unambiguously the GPU, as the CPU's performance headroom is never approached. The frame rate drops are entirely attributable to the GPU's fill rate and memory constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing ranks 2937 out of 3717 combos. This places it in the bottom 21% of all tested systems, which is a poor showing for a CPU that ranks in the top 8% of all processors. The combo rank is heavily weighted by the GPU's performance, and the RTX 2060's percentile rank of 58 drags the overall result down. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-tier GPU creates an imbalance that the benchmark data reflects.

The rank of 2937 indicates that this system is outclassed by the majority of tested configurations. This is not surprising given the GPU's age and memory size. The combo's performance is competitive with systems using the RTX 2060's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon 680M, which has an average score of 15270. However, these are all GPU-limited scores, meaning the CPU's contribution is negligible. The data shows that the Ryzen 9 9900X is operating at a fraction of its potential in this pairing.

The rank also suggests that for Barony, the specific combination of CPU and GPU does not yield any synergistic benefits. The game is not CPU-intensive, so the 9900X's high single-thread score of 2253 in Cinebench R23 does not translate into higher frame rates. The combo is effectively a mid-range GPU system with a high-end CPU that is largely idle. This ranking serves as a warning that pairing a high-end CPU with an older GPU can result in a system that underperforms relative to its component cost.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The average of 194 FPS (min 165, max 224) is high enough for any 144 Hz monitor, and it is a 62% improvement over the Ultra preset's 120 FPS. The High preset at 167 FPS is also viable, but Medium provides more headroom for demanding scenes.

For 1440p, the High preset is the sweet spot. The average of 105 FPS is smooth, and the Low preset's 165 FPS is excessive for most displays. The Medium preset at 123 FPS is also playable, but the High preset offers better visual fidelity without a significant performance penalty. The Ultra preset at 76 FPS is borderline; it is playable but may dip below 60 FPS in heavy scenes.

For 4K, the Low preset is the only playable option. The average of 86 FPS is acceptable, but the Medium preset at 64 FPS is risky, with a minimum of 55 FPS. The High preset at 55 FPS and Ultra at 39 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience. The data clearly shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this GPU at high settings. The best overall experience is 1080p Medium or 1440p High, depending on the monitor's native resolution. These settings avoid the VRAM limitations and provide frame rates that are well within the GPU's comfort zone.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X holding back the RTX 2060 in Barony?

A: No. The benchmark data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 261 FPS, and the CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 indicates it has far more capability than the game requires. The frame rate limits are entirely GPU-driven.

Q: Can this system run Barony at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 86 FPS. At Medium, the average drops to 64 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS. The Ultra preset is not playable, averaging just 39 FPS. The GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1080p is the strongest resolution, with the Medium preset averaging 194 FPS. 1440p is also viable, with High averaging 105 FPS. For a high-refresh experience, 1080p Medium offers the best balance of visual quality and speed.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 2937 out of 3717 combos, placing it in the bottom 21%. This is due to the GPU's mid-range performance (58th percentile) rather than the CPU, which ranks in the 92nd percentile.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 similar in performance to its nearest rivals?

A: Yes. The data shows it is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon 680M, with a delta of 0.1% in average benchmark score. It is also within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 7600, confirming its mid-range positioning.

Q: Should I use Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: While it is playable at 120 FPS, the Medium preset provides a 62% higher frame rate (194 FPS) with only a moderate visual compromise. Given the GPU's age, the Medium preset is the safer choice to maintain consistent performance.