Barony

Barony is a roguelike that scales heavily with raw hardware, and the Intel Core i5-14600K plus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination sits near the top of the tested hierarchy. The data places this pairing at rank 77 out of 3717 tested combos, placing it in the 98th percentile of all configurations measured. This is not a subtle result; the benchmark rows show triple-digit frame rates at every resolution tested, from 102 FPS at 4K Ultra to 679 FPS at 1080p Low. For a game built around procedural dungeon crawling, this hardware removes any conceivable performance ceiling, making the limiting factor entirely the player’s reaction time rather than the engine’s output. The scores indicate a configuration that is overkill for Barony’s requirements, but the headroom means consistent, tear-free output even in chaotic rooms with dense particle effects.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 77 out of 3717 tested combinations is a strong showing, but the context matters more than the raw number. This places the pairing in the top 2.1% of all recorded configurations, which is expected given the components involved. The RTX 5090 alone holds a 92nd percentile position among all GPUs in the database, while the i5-14600K sits at the 90th percentile among CPUs. When combined, the two components do not introduce any bottleneck that would drag the system down; instead, the data suggests they complement each other well for Barony’s workload.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals clarifies the processor’s role. The i5-14600K posts an average benchmark score of 48,618, which is within 0.8% of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48,995) and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (48,287). Against the AMD EPYC 4345P (48,470), the Intel chip is 0.3% faster, and it trails the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48,698) by only 0.2%. These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming; the CPU is not the constraining factor in any of the measured FPS rows. The GPU, meanwhile, shows a similar pattern. The RTX 5090’s average benchmark score of 79,842 is 0.3% ahead of the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605) and 0.6% ahead of the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396), while sitting 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940). The only rival that beats it is the Radeon Pro Vega 64X (80,959), by 1.4%. These are marginal differences, but they confirm that the RTX 5090 is performing at the expected level for its class.

The practical takeaway from the rank is that this combo will not struggle with Barony under any settings. The lowest average FPS recorded is 102 at 4K Ultra, which is still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. The highest is 679 at 1080p Low, which is beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. The rank reflects a system that is over-provisioned for the game, but that is not a criticism—it means the user can enable every visual option and still have headroom for background tasks or streaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its memory configuration is the first thing to note. It comes with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. For Barony, a game that does not demand large textures or complex geometry, this amount of VRAM is far beyond what is necessary. The data does not show any VRAM-related stutters or frame dips, even at 4K Ultra, which suggests the memory pool is never close to being saturated. The GPU’s clock speeds—2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost—are high enough to ensure that the rendering pipeline is never starved for compute throughput.

The GPU’s benchmark results reinforce its capability. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 18,355, and its Passmark G3D score is 39,650. These are strong numbers, but the more relevant data for Barony is the measured FPS at each resolution. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 167, with a minimum of 142 and a maximum of 191. Those min/max figures show that the GPU sustains high frame rates without major drops, which is critical in a roguelike where sudden enemy spawns or environmental effects can cause hitches on lesser hardware. The 4K Low result of 224 FPS and 4K High result of 143 FPS bracket the performance envelope, showing that even at the most demanding preset, the GPU maintains triple-digit output.

The RTX 5090’s architecture, Blackwell 2.0 on a 5 nm process, is built for high-throughput rendering. With 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, the raw compute capacity is immense. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s mean that fill-rate limits are unlikely to be hit in Barony, which uses relatively simple 3D environments. The GPU’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is overkill for this game, but it ensures that framerates remain stable even when the engine pushes many objects on screen simultaneously. The data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences between settings presets; the CPU only needs to keep up with feeding the renderer.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows playable frame rates at all tested resolutions, but 2560x1440 offers the best balance. At 1440p High, the average FPS is 273, which is smooth on high-refresh monitors, while 4K Ultra drops to 102 FPS. For maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing speed, 1440p High or 4K Medium (167 FPS) are the strongest choices.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The measured 4K Ultra average is 102 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard for playable. However, it is the lowest result in the dataset, so users with 144 Hz 4K displays will not hit the maximum refresh rate at this preset. Dropping to 4K Medium raises the average to 167 FPS.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra?

A: At 1080p, Low averages 679 FPS versus 311 FPS on Ultra, making Low roughly 118% faster. At 1440p, the gap narrows slightly: 428 FPS on Low versus 196 FPS on Ultra, a 118% improvement. At 4K, Low hits 224 FPS while Ultra manages 102 FPS, which is a 120% increase.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The benchmark data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The i5-14600K’s nearest rival scores are all within 0.8% of each other, and the measured FPS scales consistently with GPU load. At 1080p Low, the 679 FPS result suggests the CPU can feed the GPU even at extreme frame rates.

Q: Is the 32 GB VRAM necessary for Barony?

A: No, but it does not hurt. The game is not VRAM-intensive, and the data shows no performance degradation at any settings. The 32 GB pool is future-proofing; for Barony specifically, the GPU’s compute power matters more than the memory size.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p Medium?

A: The measured average is 505 FPS, with a minimum of 429 FPS and a maximum of 580 FPS. This is consistent with the other results, showing that the combo delivers exceptionally high frame rates at 1080p regardless of the preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 679 FPS, Medium averages 505 FPS with a minimum of 429 and a maximum of 580, High averages 433 FPS, and Ultra averages 311 FPS. These numbers show a clear progression where each step up in settings costs roughly 30-40% of the previous frame rate. The minimum FPS on Medium (429) is still higher than the average on High (433), indicating that even in the most demanding moments, the system does not drop below what most monitors can display.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 428 FPS, Medium averages 319 FPS with a minimum of 271 and a maximum of 366, High averages 273 FPS, and Ultra averages 196 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is about 25%, and the delta between Medium and High is about 14%. The step from High to Ultra is larger at 28%, reflecting the heavier shading and post-processing load at the highest preset. The minimum FPS on Medium (271) is still above the 240 Hz refresh rate of high-end gaming monitors, so this resolution is ideal for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU’s limits. Low averages 224 FPS, Medium averages 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 and a maximum of 191, High averages 143 FPS, and Ultra averages 102 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 25% drop, from Medium to High is a 15% drop, and from High to Ultra is a 29% drop. The 4K Ultra result of 102 FPS is the only number in the dataset that falls below the 144 FPS threshold, but it remains comfortably above 60 FPS. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (142) is just one frame shy of 144, meaning users with 144 Hz 4K displays should stick to Medium for a locked experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. For Barony, a game that is not heavily multithreaded, the single-thread performance is what matters most. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064 and Geekbench single-core score of 2491 are strong indicators of its ability to handle the game’s game logic and physics calculations. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is producing 679 FPS, the CPU is able to keep pace without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy—80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 24 MB shared L3—is sufficient for Barony’s working set. The game’s procedural generation means that no two runs are identical, but the core data structures are small enough to fit in the L3 cache, reducing memory latency. The dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 means that the system memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor, although the data does not specify which memory type was used in testing.

The percentile ranking of 90 vs all CPUs confirms that the i5-14600K is a high-end part, but its nearest rivals show that it is not the absolute fastest. The delta values against the Xeon Gold 5318H (-0.2%), EPYC 4345P (+0.3%), Core Ultra 5 245HX (+0.7%), and Core Ultra 5 245 (-0.8%) are all within 1.5%, meaning the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo. The measured FPS differences between resolutions are driven by the GPU, not the CPU. However, the CPU’s 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility mean it requires a capable cooler, but that is a system design consideration rather than a performance one.

Settings Recommendations

For users who prioritize maximum frame rates, the 1080p Low preset delivers 679 FPS, which is beyond the refresh rate of any consumer monitor. This setting is useful for competitive play or for users with 360 Hz displays, but it sacrifices visual quality. The 1080p Medium preset at 505 FPS is a better balance for most users, as it retains some visual detail while still providing absurdly high frame rates. The minimum FPS of 429 on Medium is still above 240 Hz, so there is no risk of visible stutter.

At 1440p, the High preset at 273 FPS is the recommended choice for users with 240 Hz monitors. It offers a significant improvement in visual quality over Medium (319 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 196 FPS is also viable for 144 Hz displays, but the 28% drop from High means that users should only choose it if they prioritize image quality over frame rate. The Medium preset at 319 FPS is the best option for users with 360 Hz monitors, as it provides a high average with a minimum of 271 FPS.

For 4K users, the Medium preset at 167 FPS is the sweet spot. It provides a minimum of 142 FPS, which is just below the 144 Hz threshold, but the average is high enough that most users will not notice the occasional dip. The High preset at 143 FPS is nearly identical to the Medium minimum, making it a viable alternative for users with 120 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 102 FPS is the only setting that drops below 120 FPS, so it is only recommended for users with 60 Hz displays or those who prioritize visual fidelity above all else. The Low preset at 224 FPS is overkill for 4K and should be avoided unless the user has a 240 Hz 4K monitor, which is rare. Overall, the data suggests that Medium settings at 4K, High settings at 1440p, and Medium settings at 1080p provide the best experience per the measured rows.