Barony

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces extraordinary frame rates in Barony, a roguelike title whose release date of 2015-06-22 suggests it was never designed for hardware of this generation. The measured data shows the combination topping the charts, achieving the rank of 1 out of 3717 tested combos, yet the scaling pattern across resolutions and settings reveals a complex interplay between the CPU’s single-thread might and the GPU’s immense rendering resources.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is remarkably steep, indicating that the system transitions from a CPU-bound state at lower resolutions to a GPU-bound state as pixel count increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 724 FPS on average; at 4K with Low settings, that figure falls to 239 FPS. This represents a 67% reduction in performance when moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, a drop that far exceeds the 4x pixel count increase, suggesting the CPU is holding back the GPU at lower resolutions.

Examining the Medium settings row clarifies the trend further. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 538, with a minimum of 458 and maximum of 619. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 340 FPS, a 37% decrease. At 4K Medium, the average is 178 FPS, which is a 48% drop from the 1440p figure. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is less severe than between 1440p and 4K, implying that the RTX 5090 D’s rendering capabilities become the primary limiting factor only at the highest resolution.

The High settings row shows a similar pattern: 462 FPS at 1080p, 292 FPS at 1440p, and 152 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K here is a 48% reduction, while the gap between 1080p and 1440p is 37%. This consistent scaling suggests that the game’s rendering workload at 4K is substantial enough to saturate even the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The data implies that for competitive play at high refresh rates, 1080p or 1440p is the sweet spot, while 4K is best suited for visual fidelity over raw speed.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1 out of 3717 tested combinations in Barony is a dominant position, placing it ahead of every other CPU-GPU pairing in the database for this game. This top-tier ranking is consistent with the raw performance metrics: the CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus is 92, and the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus is also 92. The combination of two components that each sit in the 92nd percentile of their respective categories yields the best overall result in this specific title.

The nearestRivals data for the CPU shows it is closely matched with other high-end processors. The AMD EPYC 9015 has an avgScore of 57555, which is a deltaPct of -0.1 relative to the Ryzen 9 9900X’s avgBenchmarkScore of 57498. The Intel Core i9-14900 is 1.1% ahead with a score of 58115, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M is 1.4% ahead with 58323. These tiny margins suggest that the CPU is not the differentiator in this combo’s top ranking; rather, the GPU’s performance relative to its peers is what pushes it over the edge.

For the GPU, the nearestRivals are notably different in class. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76904, which is 1.1% below the RTX 5090 D’s 77712, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, placing it 1.6% ahead. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants are 2.1% and 2.4% behind. The fact that the RTX 5090 D’s closest rivals are mobile and datacenter parts, rather than desktop gaming GPUs, underscores its position in the market, and in Barony, this GPU advantage translates directly to the top combo spot.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a formidable piece of silicon, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a game like Barony that was released in 2015. The GPU’s base clock is 2017 MHz, boosting to 2407 MHz, and it features 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs.

In Barony, the GPU’s role becomes clear when examining the benchmark scores. The Passmark G3D score is 44065, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 14326. These synthetic benchmarks indicate strong rasterization performance, but the game’s measured FPS reveals that the GPU is not fully utilized at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 724 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s frame generation limit. The GPU’s compute capabilities, including 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores, are largely idle in a roguelike that does not appear to use ray tracing or DLSS based on the measured settings.

The memory configuration is a key strength. With 32 GB of VRAM and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, there is no risk of memory capacity or bandwidth bottlenecks even at 4K Ultra. The measured 4K Ultra average of 109 FPS shows a significant drop from the 4K Medium 178 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset applies effects that heavily tax the GPU’s shading units and memory subsystem. The GPU’s pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are the resources being consumed as resolution and settings increase.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields 724 FPS average, Medium produces 538 FPS with a 458-619 FPS range, High delivers 462 FPS, and Ultra drops to 331 FPS. The 1080p numbers are exceptionally high, with even Ultra exceeding 300 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 457 FPS, Medium averages 340 FPS with a 289-391 FPS range, High averages 292 FPS, and Ultra averages 209 FPS. The 1440p results show a clearer separation between presets, with Ultra being roughly half the speed of Low. This suggests that at 1440p, the GPU is beginning to feel the load of the higher pixel count, but the system still maintains excellent playability.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 239 FPS, Medium averages 178 FPS with a 151-204 FPS range, High averages 152 FPS, and Ultra averages 109 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-120 FPS measurement in the entire dataset, indicating that the RTX 5090 D is finally being pushed to its limits. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings causes a 48% FPS reduction, which is the largest single drop in the dataset. These numbers paint a picture of a system that is overkill for 1080p gaming but appropriately matched for 4K Ultra.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, built on a 4 nm process node. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 64 MB of L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores show exceptional single-thread performance: Cinebench R23 single-core is 2253, Geekbench single-core is 3010, and 3DMark single-thread is 1286. These scores are critical for Barony, which as a roguelike likely relies heavily on single-threaded game logic.

The multi-threaded scores are equally impressive: Cinebench R23 multicore is 32172, Geekbench multicore is 22174, and Passmark multithread is 54643. However, the game’s frame rates at 1080p Low being capped at 724 FPS suggest that the CPU’s 12 cores are not all being utilized. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12552 versus the max-thread score of 13929 indicates that scaling beyond 16 threads yields diminishing returns, which is typical for older games.

The CPU’s role is most evident in the resolution scaling. At 1080p, the GPU is so powerful that the CPU becomes the bottleneck, limiting FPS to 724 Low and 331 Ultra. As resolution increases, the GPU takes over as the limiting factor, allowing the CPU to operate with more headroom. The Ryzen 9 9900X’s boost clock of 5.60 GHz provides the single-thread speed necessary to drive such high frame rates, and its 12 cores ensure that any background tasks do not interfere with game performance. The CPU’s avgBenchmarkScore of 57498 and percentile rank of 92 confirm it is a top-tier processor, but in Barony, its single-thread performance is what matters most.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 724 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 109 FPS, which is the lowest measured value.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance impact the game?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has a 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253. These scores are crucial for Barony, as the game appears to be single-thread limited at 1080p, where the system achieves 724 FPS at Low settings.

Q: Is the 32 GB VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is far more than Barony requires, even at 4K Ultra. The game’s 2015 release date and the measured FPS suggest that VRAM capacity is not a bottleneck; the bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is the more relevant factor.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of this combo in the database?

A: The combo ranks 1 out of 3717 tested combinations for Barony, making it the top-performing pairing in the database for this specific game.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark score compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an avgBenchmarkScore of 77712. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.6% ahead with a score of 78940, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT is 1.1% behind with 76904.

Q: Which resolution provides the best balance of FPS and visual quality?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the system averages 292 FPS, which is well above 144 Hz refresh rates. At 4K High, the average is 152 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the threshold for high-refresh monitors.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the ideal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, even the Ultra preset delivers 331 FPS average, making it the best choice for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. The Low preset at 1080p hits 724 FPS, which is only useful for extreme competitive scenarios or for users with 360 Hz or higher monitors.

At 1440p, the High preset offers 292 FPS average, which is an excellent balance. The Ultra preset at 209 FPS is also viable for high-refresh 1440p monitors, while Medium at 340 FPS provides additional headroom for those seeking the highest possible frame rates. The Low preset at 457 FPS is excessive for most displays but shows the system’s capability.

For 4K, the High preset at 152 FPS is the recommended choice for a smooth experience on 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 109 FPS is playable but may not fully saturate higher refresh rates. The Medium preset at 178 FPS is a good middle ground, offering a 17% FPS increase over High while likely maintaining similar visual quality. The Low preset at 239 FPS is the best option for 240 Hz 4K monitors, though the visual compromise may not be worth it for most users. The data suggests that the High preset at 4K provides the best overall experience, balancing the 152 FPS average with the highest visual fidelity that still remains above 120 FPS.