Barony

# Barony with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a fascinating performance profile in Barony, a roguelike title that scales dramatically across resolutions and settings. This combination ranks 2153rd out of 3717 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet the measured frame rates tell a story of a system that can handle the game comfortably at most configurations. The data reveals a clear pattern: at 1080p and 1440p, this pairing produces triple-digit frame rates across all settings, while 4K pushes the hardware to its limits, particularly at Ultra quality where the average dips below 50 FPS. The interaction between a high-end 12-core CPU and a mid-range Turing GPU creates an interesting bottleneck dynamic that shifts depending on resolution and settings, making this a compelling case study in balanced versus unbalanced system configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced resolution scaling curve that reveals a GPU-bound system at higher pixel counts. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 316 FPS average, which drops to 199 FPS at 1440p Low (a 37% reduction) and further to 104 FPS at 4K Low (a 67% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that even at Low settings, the RTX 2070 SUPER becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases, with the Ryzen 9 9900X's substantial multi-threaded capabilities unable to compensate for the GPU's rendering workload.

The scaling pattern becomes more dramatic at higher quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 202 FPS at 1080p to 127 FPS at 1440p (37% drop) and then to 67 FPS at 4K (another 47% drop from 1440p). This nearly linear scaling with pixel count suggests the game is highly sensitive to resolution, with the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus becoming increasingly stressed as the render target expands. The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling: 145 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and just 48 FPS at 4K (47% further drop), indicating that the combination of Ultra settings and 4K resolution pushes the RTX 2070 SUPER beyond its comfortable operating range.

What makes this data particularly interesting is the consistency of the percentage drops between resolution steps across all settings. Whether at Low or Ultra, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 37% of performance, and moving from 1440p to 4K costs another 47%. This uniformity suggests that resolution scaling in Barony is primarily a pixel-throughput limitation rather than a settings-dependent effect, reinforcing the interpretation that the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 200 FPS at most settings, hinting that the Ryzen 9 9900X's single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1286) and multi-thread capabilities (3dmark_max_threads score of 13929) are sufficient to feed the GPU at lower pixel counts.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, based on the TU104 chip with Turing architecture, plays a pivotal role in these benchmark results. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which appears adequate for most scenarios in Barony but becomes a potential constraint at 4K Ultra. The GPU's clock speeds are 1605 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications place the card at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (deltaPct -1%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct -1.2%), Intel Arc B570 (deltaPct -1.3%), and Intel Arc A750 (deltaPct -1.5%).

The GPU's compute capabilities include 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s provide a solid foundation for a game like Barony, which appears to favor raw rasterization throughput. The measured FPS data suggests that the GPU's 8 GB memory capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all settings, but at 4K Ultra, the combination of higher resolution and more demanding effects may be approaching the memory bandwidth limit, as evidenced by the 48 FPS average and the fact that only the Medium preset at 4K reports a minimum FPS (66 FPS) among the 4K measurements.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's position relative to its rivals is notable: it sits within 1.5% of four other GPUs in average benchmark scores, indicating a tight competitive cluster. In Barony specifically, the GPU's performance at 1080p High (202 FPS) shows headroom, but at 4K Ultra, the system clearly becomes GPU-limited. The GPU's 12 nm process node and 13,600 million transistors contribute to its 215 W TDP, which is a consideration for sustained performance in demanding scenarios, though the measured data doesn't indicate thermal throttling issues.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2153rd out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 42nd percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking might seem modest given the CPU's capabilities, but it reflects the GPU's position as the limiting factor in this pairing. The Ryzen 9 9900X alone ranks in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 57498, while the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile among GPUs. The disparity between these percentile rankings explains why the combo doesn't rank higher: the GPU holds back the overall system performance in a game that scales heavily with resolution.

Compared to other potential pairings, the CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9015 (deltaPct -0.1%), AMD EPYC 7313 (deltaPct 0.2%), Intel Core i9-14900 (deltaPct -1.1%), and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (deltaPct -1.4%). These margins are remarkably tight, suggesting that the Ryzen 9 9900X's raw processing power is competitive with a wide range of enterprise and desktop processors. However, in Barony's context, the GPU's nearest rivals (Quadro M4000M, RTX 3070 Mobile, Arc B570, Arc A750) all have average scores within 1.5% of the RTX 2070 SUPER, indicating that this GPU performs near the median of its competitive set.

The combo rank of 2153 out of 3717 suggests that many other configurations achieve better performance in Barony, likely those pairing the RTX 2070 SUPER with a less powerful CPU or pairing a more capable GPU with a similar processor. This ranking implies that for Barony specifically, the RTX 2070 SUPER is the bottleneck, and upgrading the GPU would yield more significant performance gains than upgrading the already-powerful CPU. The data supports this interpretation: at 1080p, the system achieves over 300 FPS at Low settings, which far exceeds what most displays can show, indicating that the CPU has ample headroom.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 235 FPS average with a minimum of 200 FPS and maximum of 270 FPS, providing a smooth experience well above typical refresh rate thresholds. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 148 FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS and maximum of 171 FPS, still maintaining excellent playability. Even at 4K Medium, the system manages 78 FPS average with a minimum of 66 FPS and maximum of 89 FPS, which is playable for most users.

The High preset is also viable, particularly at 1080p (202 FPS average) and 1440p (127 FPS average), but at 4K it drops to 67 FPS, which may be borderline for users with high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, pushes the system to its limits: 145 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p, and only 48 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, making it a less desirable choice unless visual fidelity takes precedence over frame rate.

The Low preset provides the highest frame rates (316 FPS at 1080p, 199 FPS at 1440p, 104 FPS at 4K) but sacrifices visual quality significantly. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, Low at 1080p or 1440p could be justified, but for most users, Medium offers the best compromise. The measured data suggests that Medium at 1440p (148 FPS average) provides an excellent experience that balances visual quality with performance headroom, while Medium at 4K (78 FPS) is the recommended choice for 4K displays, as it maintains playable frame rates without requiring the visual compromises of Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 316 FPS, Medium reaches 235 FPS (minimum 200, maximum 270), High achieves 202 FPS, and Ultra drops to 145 FPS. These results indicate that at 1080p, even the most demanding preset maintains frame rates well above 100 FPS, making this resolution the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming with this hardware combination.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings average 199 FPS, Medium averages 148 FPS (minimum 126, maximum 171), High averages 127 FPS, and Ultra averages 91 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings at approximately 37%, reflecting the increased pixel workload. The 1440p Medium result of 148 FPS is particularly noteworthy, as it provides a high-refresh-rate experience with a minimum above 120 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low settings average 104 FPS, Medium averages 78 FPS (minimum 66, maximum 89), High averages 67 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS. The 4K results show a more pronounced decline from 1440p, with approximately 47% reduction in performance across all settings. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below the 50 FPS threshold, indicating that this setting is too demanding for the RTX 2070 SUPER at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Barony?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with all settings maintaining averages above 90 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p achieves 148 FPS average with a minimum of 126 FPS, providing a smooth high-refresh-rate experience.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K, the combo achieves 104 FPS at Low, 78 FPS at Medium, 67 FPS at High, and 48 FPS at Ultra settings. Medium settings at 4K are playable, but Ultra settings fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (deltaPct -1%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct -1.2%), Intel Arc B570 (deltaPct -1.3%), and Intel Arc A750 (deltaPct -1.5%). These margins indicate the RTX 2070 SUPER performs competitively within its GPU class.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X holding back the RTX 2070 SUPER in Barony?

A: The data suggests the opposite: at 1080p, frame rates exceed 300 FPS at Low settings, indicating the CPU has ample headroom. The GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K where performance drops significantly.

Q: What settings should I use for a 1080p high-refresh-rate monitor?

A: At 1080p, all settings provide averages above 145 FPS. For maximum frame rates, Low settings achieve 316 FPS, while Medium offers 235 FPS with a minimum of 200 FPS, making it suitable for 240Hz displays.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 2153rd out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the lower-middle tier. The ranking reflects the GPU's 65th percentile position among all GPUs, despite the CPU's 92nd percentile ranking.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X plays a supporting role in this pairing, providing substantial processing power that prevents CPU bottlenecks in most scenarios. With 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge codename), this CPU offers impressive multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and Geekbench multicore score of 22174. The CPU's base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz contribute to strong single-thread performance, reflected in its 3dmark_single_thread score of 1286 and Cinebench R15 single-core score of 353.

The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core help with game workloads that benefit from large caches, though Barony's roguelike nature may not heavily stress this aspect. The Ryzen 9 9900X's 120 W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC make it an efficient processor, with 16,630 million transistors spread across a dual-die design (2x 70.6 mm²). Its memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration provides 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for gaming workloads.

In Barony specifically, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the scaling from 1080p to higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 316 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame rate ceiling for this game. The fact that the combo achieves such high frame rates at 1080p indicates that the Ryzen 9 9900X's single-thread performance is more than adequate for Barony's requirements. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9015 (deltaPct -0.1%), AMD EPYC 7313 (deltaPct 0.2%), Intel Core i9-14900 (deltaPct -1.1%), and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (deltaPct -1.4%), all of which perform within 1.4% of the Ryzen 9 9900X in average benchmark scores.

The CPU's 3dmark scores show strong scaling from 2 threads (2519) to 16 threads (12552) and max threads (13929), indicating good multi-threading efficiency. However, in Barony, the game's performance appears to be primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, making the CPU's extensive multi-threading capabilities less critical than its strong single-thread performance. The Passmark single-thread score of 4672 and Passmark physics score of 3381 further confirm the CPU's ability to handle game logic and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck, even at the highest frame rates measured.