Barony

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, rarely stresses modern hardware, but the measured data for the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combo reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. The 1080p results are exceptionally high, with the Low preset hitting 360.4 FPS and even the demanding Ultra preset reaching 167.2 FPS. At 1440p, the frame rates remain robust, with the Low preset at 229.6 FPS and the High preset at 147.3 FPS. The leap to 4K introduces the most significant drop, where the Ultra preset falls to 51.6 FPS and the High preset settles at 77 FPS, indicating that the GPU begins to take a more dominant role at this extreme resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The performance curve from 1080p to 4K shows a predictable pattern of diminishing returns as pixel count increases, but the magnitude of the drop is telling. Moving from 1080p High (228 FPS) to 1440p High (147.3 FPS) represents a 35% reduction in frame rate, which is a substantial hit but still leaves plenty of headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. The transition from 1440p High to 4K High (77 FPS) is even steeper, a 48% decline, highlighting that the RX 6750 XT’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed by the 3840x2160 resolution.

The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the frame rates are high enough that the Core i5-14600K’s capabilities are the limiting factor, as the differences between Low and Ultra presets at these resolutions are relatively modest. For instance, at 1080p, the spread from Low (360.4 FPS) to Ultra (167.2 FPS) is a 2.2x difference, which is primarily a GPU workload increase. However, at 4K, the spread from Low (120.8 FPS) to Ultra (51.6 FPS) is also 2.3x, but the absolute numbers are much lower, indicating that the GPU is now the primary bottleneck. The 4K Low preset, at 120.8 FPS, shows that even with reduced settings, the pixel throughput demands are significant, and this is where the RX 6750 XT’s 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs are pushed to their limits.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark results are formidable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and a single-core score of 4642, placing it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs. In Barony, which is not a heavily threaded title, the single-core performance is likely what drives the high frame rates at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low preset hitting 360.4 FPS suggests that the CPU is able to feed the GPU with frames faster than the GPU can render them at that resolution.

The CPU’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample low-latency access for game logic, which is crucial for a roguelike that may involve complex procedural generation and entity management. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core i5-14600K sits within 1% of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and the Intel Core i5-14600KF, with deltaPct values of 0.2% and -0.4% respectively. This tight grouping means that in CPU-bound scenarios, the choice between these processors would yield nearly identical results. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is not the bottleneck, as even the Ultra preset at 167.2 FPS is far above what would be considered a playable threshold for most users.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and Navi 22 chip, is the clear driver of performance differences when settings are scaled. With a base clock of 2150 MHz and a boost clock of 2600 MHz, it delivers 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is substantial for a card in the 79th percentile of all GPUs. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 4K gaming but shows strain at the Ultra preset. The 4K Ultra result of 51.6 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS measurement in the entire dataset, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component at this resolution and setting combination.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show it is closely matched with the AMD Radeon RX 5600M (0.2% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (-0.3% delta), and AMD Radeon 880M (-0.9% delta). However, these comparisons are based on average benchmark scores, not in-game performance. In Barony, the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced at 1440p and 4K, where the difference between Low and Ultra presets at 4K is 69.2 FPS (from 120.8 to 51.6). The 4K Medium preset (85.6 FPS) offers a good balance, but the jump to High (77 FPS) shows diminishing returns for the increased visual fidelity. The GPU’s 40 ray accelerators and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate are not heavily utilized in a roguelike, but the raw fill rate and texture throughput are what matter for consistent frame delivery.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frames per second, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 228 FPS is an excellent choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (270.3 FPS) with only a 15% performance penalty, and it is still far above the 144 Hz refresh rate common in gaming monitors. The Ultra preset at 167.2 FPS is also viable for high-refresh-rate panels, but the jump from High to Ultra yields a 27% frame rate drop, which may not be worth the marginal visual gains in a game like Barony where the art style is not particularly demanding.

At 1440p, the High preset at 147.3 FPS is the sweet spot, offering smooth gameplay on 144 Hz monitors without the 30% penalty seen when moving to Ultra (103.6 FPS). The Medium preset at 169.6 FPS is also a strong option if players prioritize frame rate over visual detail. For 4K, the Low preset at 120.8 FPS is the only setting that ensures a consistently smooth experience, while the Medium preset at 85.6 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz displays. The High preset at 77 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 51.6 FPS should be avoided for competitive play. The data clearly indicates that for 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, and players should either lower settings or accept a sub-60 FPS experience at Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination ranks 836th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 51st percentile of all system configurations. This mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the high absolute frame rates, but it reflects that the tested combos include many higher-end GPUs and CPUs that can push even higher numbers. The rank is more a measure of relative performance against all possible pairings, and the data shows that this combo is capable of excellent results, particularly at 1080p and 1440p.

The combo’s ranking is likely dragged down by the GPU’s performance at 4K, where it falls behind more powerful GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, which has a 1.3% higher average benchmark score. However, for a game like Barony, which is not graphically intensive, the combination of the i5-14600K’s strong single-core performance and the RX 6750 XT’s ample memory bandwidth provides a well-rounded experience. The rank of 836 out of 1702 suggests that while this combo is not at the top of the charts, it is far from the bottom, and the measured FPS data shows it is more than adequate for smooth gameplay across all tested configurations, with the only caveat being 4K Ultra settings.