Barony

The Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination lands at rank 1596 out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 57th percentile of all pairings. This is a solidly mid-to-upper tier result for a game that favors high frame rates, and the data indicates the pairing is well-balanced for this title, with the CPU providing enough headroom to keep the GPU working hard at most settings. The measured FPS numbers show this is a combo that can handle high-refresh monitors at 1080p and 1440p, though 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1596 out of 3717 places it in the upper half of all tested configurations, but not in the top tier. This is a practical result for a mainstream gaming setup. The rank reflects the balance between the i5-14600K’s strong multi-core performance and the RTX 3070’s capable but not class-leading rasterization power. In Barony, which is a roguelike with procedurally generated environments, the combination of CPU and GPU determines both the frame pacing and the raw output. The data shows the combo performs best relative to its peers at lower resolutions and settings, where the CPU’s strength can push frame rates higher. At 4K Ultra, the rank would likely fall, as the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

The percentile placement is consistent with the GPU’s overall benchmark standing. The RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 17208 puts it in the same league as the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which scores 17083 (0.7% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 at 17037 (1% slower). The CPU’s percentile is much higher at 90, with an average benchmark score of 48618. This asymmetry suggests that in many games, the RTX 3070 will be the limiting factor, and Barony is no exception at higher settings. However, the CPU’s headroom means that the GPU’s performance is fully realized, without the frame dips that a weaker processor might cause.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and it has 24 MB of shared L3 cache. This is a high-performance desktop chip, and its benchmark results confirm it is a top-tier CPU for gaming workloads. For instance, it scores 24491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2064 in single-core, and it sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. In Barony, the CPU’s role is to handle the game’s logic, procedural generation, and AI, which are typically single-threaded but can benefit from additional cores for background tasks.

The data suggests that the i5-14600K is more than sufficient for Barony, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 385 FPS average, which is a clear indicator that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution. The single-core performance, reflected in the 2064 Cinebench R23 score, is crucial for the game’s main thread, and the high boost clock of 5.30 GHz helps maintain consistent frame times. The CPU’s 125 W TDP is a moderate power draw for the performance it delivers, and its support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory gives builders flexibility, though memory bandwidth is not specified in the data.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-14600K holds its own. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H has an average score of 48698, which is 0.2% higher, while the AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470, 0.3% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX and 245 score 48287 and 48995, respectively, with deltas of 0.7% and -0.8%. These differences are negligible in gaming, meaning the i5-14600K’s performance in Barony is representative of the best available CPUs. The CPU’s 20 threads are overkill for most games, but they ensure that any background processes or streaming workloads do not impact frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is a 30-series Ampere GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and it features 5888 shading units and 46 RT cores. The GPU is rated at 220 W TDP and requires a 550 W power supply. In the broader GPU landscape, the RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile, with an average benchmark score of 17208. This places it just above the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083, 0.7% slower) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037, 1% slower), but below the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468, 1.5% faster).

In Barony, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly important as resolution and settings scale up. At 1080p and 1440p, the RTX 3070 delivers very high frame rates, but at 4K, the 8 GB of VRAM and the GPU’s compute power become limiting factors. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is substantial for a card of this class, and it helps maintain performance in texture-heavy scenes, which are common in roguelikes with dense environments. The 1725 MHz boost clock is typical for the 3070, and the card’s 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is adequate for the game’s graphics load.

The data shows that the RTX 3070 is the bottleneck at 4K Ultra, where the combo drops to 58 FPS average. This is a significant drop from the 111 FPS at 1440p Ultra, suggesting that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and processing power are stretched. At lower settings, the GPU has more headroom, and the CPU can push frame rates higher. The GPU’s end-of-life production status is worth noting, as it means that driver optimizations may slow, but in Barony, the current performance is well-documented and stable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how the combo performs across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high. With Low settings, the average FPS is 385, which is near the limit of what most monitors can display. At Medium settings, the average drops to 287 FPS, with a minimum of 244 and a maximum of 330. High settings yield 246 FPS average, and Ultra settings still manage 176 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combo is never CPU-bound, and the GPU is the primary driver of performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear scaling pattern. Low settings average 243 FPS, Medium averages 181 FPS (min 154, max 208), High averages 155 FPS, and Ultra averages 111 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is approximately 54%, which is a typical scaling curve for a GPU with 8 GB of VRAM. At 1440p, the combo is still capable of high-refresh gaming, with 155 FPS at High settings being a strong result for a 1440p monitor.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more moderate. Low settings average 127 FPS, Medium averages 95 FPS (min 80, max 109), High averages 81 FPS, and Ultra drops to 58 FPS. The 4K results show that the GPU is the clear bottleneck at this resolution, especially at Ultra settings where the frame rate dips below 60 FPS. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 80, which is still playable, but the Ultra setting’s 58 FPS average is on the edge of smoothness for many players.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 385 FPS, which is a CPU-driven result, as the GPU has minimal load. At 1440p Low, the FPS drops to 243, a 37% reduction, and at 4K Low, it drops to 127, a further 48% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline from 1440p to 4K is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth and shader throughput. In contrast, the drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is less severe, indicating that the CPU is still contributing to the frame rate.

Looking at High settings, the scaling is more uniform: 246 FPS at 1080p, 155 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop), and 81 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). This pattern suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions above 1080p. At Ultra settings, the scaling is similar: 176 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 58 FPS at 4K (48% drop). The consistent percentage drops across settings indicate that the GPU’s performance scales predictably with resolution, and the CPU’s influence is minimal beyond 1080p.

The data points to the RTX 3070 as the bottleneck at 4K. The 8 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for Barony’s textures, but the GPU’s compute power is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra. For players targeting 4K, the data suggests using Medium or High settings to stay above 60 FPS. For 1440p, the combo is well-suited for high refresh rates, and for 1080p, it is overkill, providing frame rates that exceed most monitor refresh rates.

FAQ

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

A: The data suggests 2560x1440 is the sweet spot, with High settings achieving 155 FPS and Ultra achieving 111 FPS. At 1080p, frame rates exceed 240 FPS at Low and Medium settings, which is only useful for the highest refresh rate monitors. At 4K, the combo drops below 60 FPS at Ultra, so 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The CPU is not a bottleneck at any measured resolution, as the Intel Core i5-14600K’s high single-core performance (2064 in Cinebench R23) and 5.30 GHz boost clock keep up with the GPU. The GPU, an RTX 3070, becomes the limiting factor at 1440p and above, with the most significant constraint at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 58.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its closest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3070’s average benchmark score is 17208. It is 0.7% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083), 1% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037), and 1.5% slower than the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468). These differences are minor, indicating that the RTX 3070 performs in line with its direct competitors.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K Low, the combo averages 127 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it averages 95 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 81 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 58 FPS. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K, players should stick to High settings or lower.

Q: What is the CPU’s performance percentile compared to all CPUs?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. This places it in the top 10% of all processors, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and AMD EPYC 4345P, are within 0.3% of its score, showing it is a top-tier gaming CPU.

Q: How much does the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 246 at 1080p to 155 at 1440p, a 37% reduction, and then to 81 at 4K, a 48% reduction from 1440p. This consistent scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary factor limiting performance as resolution increases.