Barony

# AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER in Barony

This combo ranks 650th out of 3,717 tested combinations for Barony, placing it in the top 17.5% of all systems evaluated. The pairing of AMD's 12-core Zen 5 flagship with NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace mid-range card produces frame rates that range from playable at 4K Ultra to exceptionally high at 1080p Low, though the data reveals some interesting bottlenecks depending on resolution and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The 650th position out of 3,717 combos represents a strong showing for this pairing in Barony, a roguelike title that doesn't typically stress high-end hardware as heavily as modern AAA shooters. The rank suggests this system sits comfortably above the median performer, though it's not near the top of the leaderboard either. The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU's 83rd percentile among all graphics cards both contribute to this solid overall position.

Breaking down the component contributions, the Ryzen 9 9900X shows exceptional synthetic performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32,172 and single-core score of 2,253 indicate strong threaded and single-threaded capabilities. The Geekbench multicore score of 22,174 and single-core score of 3,010 reinforce this picture. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 29,995 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4,627 demonstrate capable DirectX 12 performance, which aligns with Barony's requirements.

What's particularly telling is how this combo compares to the CPU's nearest rivals. The Ryzen 9 9900X's average benchmark score of 57,498 sits within 1.4% of the Intel Core i9-14900 (58,115, delta -1.1%) and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58,323, delta -1.4%). It's essentially tied with the AMD EPYC 9015 (57,555, delta -0.1%) and slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313 (57,399, delta 0.2%). This means the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class, and the combo's rank is largely determined by how well this CPU-GPU pairing handles Barony's specific workload profile.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 SUPER brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective), while the GPU core boosts to 2475 MHz from a 1980 MHz base. These specifications position the card as a capable 1440p performer, and Barony's frame rates confirm this assessment.

At 1440p High settings, the combo produces 210 FPS average, which is well beyond what most displays can show. Even at 4K High, the system maintains 110 FPS average, indicating the GPU has substantial headroom for this game. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Barony's visual demands, and the 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 compute performance provides ample shader processing power.

The GPU's benchmark scores show it performs consistently with its class. The Passmark G3D score of 29,995 places it just below the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262, delta -0.1%), the RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, delta -0.1%), and the Quadro M6000 (43,301, delta -0.2%). The RTX 4090 Mobile scores 43,667, putting it 1% ahead. This tight grouping suggests the 4070 SUPER is delivering exactly the performance expected for its tier.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals interesting scaling patterns across resolutions. At High settings, the system produces 333 FPS at 1080p, 210 FPS at 1440p, and 110 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36.9% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 47.6% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total decrease from 1080p to 4K is 67%, which is substantial but not surprising for a game that becomes more GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

Low settings show even more dramatic scaling: 522 FPS at 1080p, 329 FPS at 1440p, and 172 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 37%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 47.7%. Interestingly, the percentage drops are nearly identical to High settings, suggesting the scaling behavior is consistent regardless of quality preset.

Medium settings provide the only complete data with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 388 FPS with a range of 330-446. At 1440p Medium, the average is 245 FPS with a range of 208-282. At 4K Medium, the average is 128 FPS with a range of 109-147. The consistency of the FPS ranges relative to averages suggests stable frame pacing across all resolutions.

Ultra settings show the largest relative drops: 239 FPS at 1080p, 151 FPS at 1440p, and 79 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 36.8%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 47.7%. The 4K Ultra result of 79 FPS is still playable, but it's the only setting-resolution combination that dips below the 100 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, the system maintains 79 FPS at 4K Ultra, 110 FPS at 4K High, 128 FPS at 4K Medium, and 172 FPS at 4K Low. All of these exceed the standard 60 FPS playability threshold.

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

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X's average benchmark score of 57,498 is within 1.4% of the Intel Core i9-14900 and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M. It scores essentially identically to the AMD EPYC 9015 and slightly higher than the AMD EPYC 7313.

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this system?

A: The data suggests 1440p is the sweet spot, with High settings producing 210 FPS and even Ultra maintaining 151 FPS. This provides excellent visual quality while leaving significant performance headroom.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the drop is 67% (333 to 110 FPS). At Low settings, the drop is 67% (522 to 172 FPS). At Medium settings, the drop is 67% (388 to 128 FPS). At Ultra settings, the drop is 67% (239 to 79 FPS).

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 522 FPS, which approaches the practical limits of most display technology. The CPU's strong single-thread performance of 2,253 in Cinebench R23 and 3,010 in Geekbench suggests it can feed the GPU effectively at these high frame rates.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 330 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 208 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 109 FPS. These minimums are all well above playable thresholds.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data clearly shows that High settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p High, the system produces 333 FPS, which is more than enough for any display. At 1440p High, 210 FPS offers excellent smoothness with minimal visual compromise. Even at 4K High, 110 FPS is well above the 60 FPS standard.

Ultra settings, while visually superior, come with a significant performance cost. The drop from High to Ultra at 1080p is 28.2% (333 to 239 FPS), at 1440p it's 28.1% (210 to 151 FPS), and at 4K it's 28.2% (110 to 79 FPS). These consistent percentage drops suggest Ultra settings impose a uniform additional load regardless of resolution.

Medium settings offer a middle ground, but the performance gains over High are modest. At 1080p, Medium produces 388 FPS versus 333 FPS for High, a 16.5% improvement. At 1440p, the gain is 16.7% (245 vs 210 FPS). At 4K, Medium provides 128 FPS versus 110 FPS for High, a 16.4% improvement. Given that High already produces frame rates far beyond display refresh rates, the visual quality trade-off for Medium is rarely worth it.

Low settings provide the highest frame rates (522 FPS at 1080p, 329 FPS at 1440p, 172 FPS at 4K) but at a significant visual quality cost. These settings are only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rates matter more than visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X features 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, running at a base clock of 4.40 GHz and boosting to 5.60 GHz. The 64 MB L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core provide substantial on-die storage for game data. The CPU's 120W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC contribute to efficient operation.

In Barony, the CPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolutions decrease. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 522 FPS, which requires rapid draw call processing and physics calculations. The CPU's single-thread performance of 2,253 in Cinebench R23 and 3,010 in Geekbench indicates strong per-core capabilities that prevent bottlenecks at these extreme frame rates.

The multicore performance, demonstrated by the Cinebench R23 score of 32,172 and Passmark multithread score of 54,643, suggests the CPU can handle Barony's background simulation tasks while maintaining high frame rates. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12,552 and max-thread score of 13,929 show consistent scaling across thread counts.

The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all processors reflects its position in the broader market. Its nearest rivals in average score include the AMD EPYC 9015 (57,555, delta -0.1%), AMD EPYC 7313 (57,399, delta 0.2%), Intel Core i9-14900 (58,115, delta -1.1%), and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58,323, delta -1.4%). This tight grouping indicates the Ryzen 9 9900X is performing exactly at the level expected for its specifications.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces exceptional frame rates across all settings. Low settings yield 522 FPS average, Medium produces 388 FPS with a range of 330-446, High delivers 333 FPS, and Ultra maintains 239 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent performance degradation, with each higher setting reducing frame rates by roughly 20-25%.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected resolution penalty. Low settings produce 329 FPS, Medium averages 245 FPS with a range of 208-282, High delivers 210 FPS, and Ultra maintains 151 FPS. The percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p are consistent across settings, ranging from 36.8% to 37.2%.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates. Low settings produce 172 FPS, Medium averages 128 FPS with a range of 109-147, High delivers 110 FPS, and Ultra maintains 79 FPS. The drops from 1440p to 4K range from 47.6% to 47.7%, showing remarkable consistency in scaling behavior.

The Medium settings provide the only complete FPS range data. At 1080p, the range spans 330-446 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 208-282 FPS. At 4K, the range narrows to 109-147 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests the system becomes more consistently GPU-bound, reducing frame time variance.

The overall pattern shows that this combo delivers exceptional performance in Barony, with even the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) maintaining 79 FPS. The system's capability at 1080p and 1440p reaches levels where display refresh rates become the limiting factor rather than the hardware itself.