Barony

Barony is a roguelike that scales unusually well with modern hardware, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a fascinating dataset. The measured results show a combo that is firmly capable of delivering smooth gameplay across the board, but the way the scores shift between resolutions and presets reveals a clear division of labor between the processor and the graphics card. This analysis breaks down exactly what the data shows, where the limits are, and which settings get the most out of this specific build.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, but not catastrophic, which tells a clear story about where the bottleneck sits. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo pushes 285.4 FPS, which is an enormous number that suggests the CPU is doing heavy lifting and the GPU is nowhere near its limit. Moving up to 2560x1440 on the same Low preset drops the average to 179.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 37%, and then at 3840x2160 it falls further to 97.1 FPS. That scaling pattern—a near-halving of performance from 1080p to 4K—indicates the GPU begins to take over as the limiting factor as pixel count rises, but even at 4K Low the frame rate remains high enough for any display.

The High preset shows a similar trend but with a more aggressive drop. At 1080p High, the average is 185.6 FPS, which falls to 116 FPS at 1440p and then to 61.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is particularly telling: it barely clears the 60 FPS threshold, which means that at this resolution, the RTX 2060 SUPER is working hard, and the CPU's strong single-core performance is no longer the primary driver. The delta between Low and High at 4K is also large—97.1 FPS versus 61.8 FPS—which confirms that the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth are the key constraints at higher visual fidelity. In contrast, at 1080p, the difference between Low and High is much smaller in relative terms, suggesting the i5-14600KF is keeping pace with the GPU's output.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. In Barony, which is a roguelike that heavily rewards high single-thread performance for game logic and entity updates, the boost clock is likely the most important spec. The benchmark data backs this up: the CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score is 4643, which is excellent, and its multi-core score of 32889 shows it has plenty of headroom for background tasks. The nearestRivals data shows it sits just 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X in average benchmark score, which means this chip is right at the top of its class for gaming workloads.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the 285.4 FPS result is far beyond what most displays can show. That number is a strong signal that the CPU is not the limiting factor even at extreme frame rates, and the processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache likely helps with the rapid data access that roguelike games need for procedural generation. The fact that the 4K Low result is still 97.1 FPS—only about a third lower than the 1080p High result—further suggests that the CPU maintains its composure even when the GPU is under heavy load. The i5-14600KF is not the most expensive chip in its class, but its launch MSRP of $294 and its high percentile rank (93rd among all CPUs) make it a solid foundation for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is an 8 GB GDDR6 card with a 256-bit memory bus and a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is 1650 MHz, and it has 2176 shading units, which are modest numbers by today's standards but still capable for a game like Barony. The GPU's percentile rank is 63rd among all GPUs, and its nearestRivals include the RTX 2070, which scores just 0.5% higher on average. This places the 2060 SUPER as an upper-mid-range card that can handle 1440p well but starts to struggle at 4K with higher presets.

The data shows the GPU's limitations clearly at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 41.2. That is the only measured row below 60 FPS, and it indicates that the 8 GB VRAM and the card's raw compute power are not enough for max settings at that resolution. However, at 1440p High, the card delivers 116 FPS, which is impressive and shows that the GPU is well-matched to the CPU at that resolution. The 4K Medium result of 73 FPS is also respectable, and it suggests that turning down just one or two settings can free up enough GPU headroom to maintain smooth gameplay. The card's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is likely a key factor, as Barony's pixel-heavy effects at 4K can saturate lower-bandwidth cards.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides twelve distinct measurements, spanning three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are uniformly high: Low delivers 285.4 FPS, Medium hits 210.6 FPS, High reaches 185.6 FPS, and Ultra still manages 130.3 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combo is never stressed, and even the most demanding preset leaves massive headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors. The step from Low to Medium costs about 26% performance, while the step from High to Ultra costs about 30%, which is a predictable pattern for a GPU-bound workload.

At 2560x1440, the results remain strong but show more separation. Low delivers 179.9 FPS, Medium hits 132 FPS, High reaches 116 FPS, and Ultra drops to 82.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is now over 54%, which shows the GPU is starting to feel the pressure. At 3840x2160, the trend accelerates: Low delivers 97.1 FPS, Medium hits 73 FPS, High reaches 61.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only one that is unplayable by modern standards, and the 4K High result is borderline, but the 4K Medium and Low results are perfectly smooth. The data confirms that this combo is a 1080p and 1440p champion, with 4K viability only at lower presets.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database of tested combinations, this pairing of the i5-14600KF and RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1243 out of 1702 combos for Barony. That puts it in the lower-middle tier, which might seem surprising given the strong raw numbers, but it reflects the fact that many other systems in the database use newer or higher-end GPUs. The rank is a relative measure against all tested combos, and it shows that while this build is competent, it is not at the top of the heap for this game.

What is more important is how this combo performs relative to its own components. The CPU is in the 93rd percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs. This mismatch means the processor is significantly stronger than the graphics card, which is why the frame rates are so high at 1080p but fall off at 4K. In practical terms, this rank suggests that if you have a high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p monitor, this combo will feel excellent, but if you are chasing 4K Ultra, you would need a more powerful GPU to move up the rankings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the data points to 1440p High as the sweet spot. At 116 FPS, it delivers smooth gameplay with high visual fidelity, and it sits well above the 60 FPS threshold for any display. If you prefer maximum visual quality, 1440p Ultra at 82.3 FPS is still very playable and is the best balance of looks and performance. At 4K, the recommendation is to use Medium settings, which deliver 73 FPS and avoid the sub-60 FPS drop seen at High and Ultra. The 4K Low preset at 97.1 FPS is also viable if you prioritize frame rate over visuals.

At 1080p, the choice is easy: use Ultra settings. The 130.3 FPS result is more than enough for any monitor, and the visual upgrade from High to Ultra is worth the 30% performance hit when you have that much headroom. For competitive play or maximum frame rates, 1080p Low at 285.4 FPS is available, but it is unnecessary for a roguelike where reaction times are less critical. The worst choice per the data is 4K Ultra, which at 41.2 FPS is the only row that fails to maintain a smooth experience, so it should be avoided unless you are willing to accept stutter. Overall, this combo is best used at 1440p with High or Ultra settings, where it delivers a fantastic balance of quality and speed.