Barony

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is an exceptionally powerful combination for Barony, delivering frame rates that far exceed the requirements of this roguelike title. The data shows a system capable of dominating even at 4K Ultra settings, though the performance scaling across resolutions reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck from the CPU at lower resolutions to the GPU at higher ones.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 322.6 FPS. This is substantially higher than the 231.4 FPS recorded at the same resolution with Ultra settings, indicating that the High preset provides a significant performance headroom.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K's score of 49166. It also trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5%, as that chip scores 49595.

Q: Is the GPU's performance more comparable to a desktop or mobile card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 38358. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile with a deltaPct of 0, showing near-identical average scores, despite the mobile nature of that competitor.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 316.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 149.1 FPS. This represents a drop of over 50% in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: How does this specific CPU+GPU combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 387th out of 1702 tested combos for Barony. This places it in the top 23% of all tested systems, indicating a high-performance pairing.

Q: What is the GPU's memory capacity and bus width?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. This is a substantial memory pool for a roguelike game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the primary driver of graphical performance in this configuration, and its specifications are more than sufficient for Barony. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1387 MHz and a boost clock of 2394 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2025 MHz. This processing power is backed by 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. Such a high bandwidth is critical for feeding the 5376 shading units at high resolutions, preventing texture streaming bottlenecks in this procedurally generated dungeon crawler.

The benchmark data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at the highest settings and resolutions. For example, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 74.2 FPS, a significant reduction from the 103.5 FPS at 4K High. This steep decline with increased graphical load indicates that the RX 7900 XT's compute resources are being fully utilized at these settings. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, alongside its average benchmark score of 38358, confirms its position as a high-end part that can handle the game's demands, but it does have limits at the absolute maximum settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and raw performance for this specific hardware combination. At 4K, the High preset delivers a playable 103.5 FPS, which is a 39.5% improvement over the Ultra preset's 74.2 FPS. This difference is significant, and for a fast-paced roguelike, maintaining a higher frame rate for smooth gameplay is often preferable to the marginal visual gains from Ultra.

At lower resolutions, the choice becomes even clearer. At 1440p, the High preset achieves 204.2 FPS, while at 1080p it reaches 322.6 FPS. These numbers are so far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors that the visual quality differences between High and Ultra are the only deciding factor. The data suggests that the Medium preset is a strong alternative if High is still too demanding, as it delivers 124.8 FPS at 4K and 238.2 FPS at 1440p, but for the vast majority of users, High will provide the optimal experience without leaving performance on the table.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates reveal a predictable pattern of performance scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system is incredibly fast. The Low preset produces a staggering 508.2 FPS, which drops to 375.1 FPS on Medium and 322.6 FPS on High. The Ultra preset still manages an impressive 231.4 FPS, showing that even the most demanding settings are easily handled at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but show a clear reduction. The Low preset records 316.3 FPS, Medium hits 238.2 FPS, and High achieves 204.2 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 149.1 FPS. At 3840x2160, the impact of the higher resolution is more pronounced. The Low preset still delivers a smooth 164.8 FPS, but Medium drops to 124.8 FPS. High falls to 103.5 FPS, and Ultra is the only setting that approaches a potential limitation, with an average of 74.2 FPS. The data shows a clear trend: the performance cost of each settings tier increases with resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination holds a rank of 387 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This performance level places it in the top quarter of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for this pairing. The ranking reflects the high average FPS achieved across most settings and resolutions, particularly the ability to maintain frame rates above 200 FPS at 1440p.

This high rank is corroborated by the individual component benchmarks. The CPU's average benchmark score of 49367 places it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, and it sits within 1.4% of its nearest rivals. The GPU's average score of 38358 places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU ensures that neither component is a significant bottleneck in most scenarios, leading to the strong overall rank.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF plays a crucial role in enabling the extremely high frame rates seen at lower resolutions. With 14 cores and 20 threads, this processor has the parallel processing capability to handle the game's logic, procedural generation, and AI alongside the rendering tasks. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz provide the high single-thread performance that is often critical for game simulation.

The benchmark results show the CPU is a powerhouse, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889 and a single-core score of 4643. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the frame rate difference between Medium (375.1 FPS) and Low (508.2 FPS) is massive, suggesting the GPU is waiting on the CPU to issue draw calls. At 4K, the bottleneck shifts. The frame rate difference between High (103.5 FPS) and Low (164.8 FPS) is less dramatic but still substantial, indicating the GPU is now the limiting component. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking and its 0.4% lead over the i5-14600K demonstrate its capability to feed the GPU effectively.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrate the system's bottleneck shifting from the CPU to the GPU. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 322.6 at 1080p to 204.2 at 1440p, a 36.7% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops further to 103.5, a 49.3% reduction. This increasing rate of decline with higher resolutions is a classic sign of a growing GPU limitation.

At Ultra settings, the trend is similar but more acute. The frame rate falls from 231.4 at 1080p to 149.1 at 1440p, and then to 74.2 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured data point below 100 FPS, indicating that this is the most demanding scenario for the hardware. The data suggests that while the CPU is powerful enough to drive very high frame rates at lower resolutions, the GPU's rendering load at 4K becomes the dominant factor. The 800.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 20 GB VRAM are sufficient, but the compute power of the GPU is taxed to its limits at the highest settings.