Barony

Barony is a roguelike that pushes frame rates to extreme levels with this Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti pairing, and the measured data reveals a system that is heavily front-loaded toward GPU performance at higher resolutions. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: at 1080p the CPU is the limiting factor, while at 4K the GPU takes over. This combo ranks 155th out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the top 9% of all systems measured for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic but predictable. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 576.5 at 1920x1080 to 365.9 at 2560x1440, then to 192.6 at 3840x2160. That represents a 36.5% loss from 1080p to 1440p, and another 47.4% loss from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent across all settings presets, but the magnitude varies. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 261.2 at 1080p to 164.6 at 1440p to 87.5 at 4K — a 37% reduction between the first two steps and a 46.9% reduction between the second and third.

The key insight from this scaling behavior is that the system becomes GPU-bound much earlier than expected. At 1080p Low, the 576.5 FPS average suggests the CPU is holding back the GPU, since a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti with 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth should theoretically push higher numbers in a roguelike with this level of visual complexity. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 315.3 FPS, which is enormous, but the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 105.1 FPS. This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions points directly to GPU saturation.

At 4K, the difference between Low (192.6 FPS) and Ultra (87.5 FPS) is 105.1 FPS, while at 1080p that same settings gap is 315.3 FPS. When the resolution increases, the GPU work per frame skyrockets, and the CPU headroom that existed at 1080p disappears. The data suggests that players targeting 4K should expect frame rates between 87.5 and 192.6 FPS depending on settings, while 1080p users will see between 261.2 and 576.5 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF brings 14 cores and 20 threads with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This is a Raptor Lake architecture part built on Intel's 10 nm process, and its benchmark scores place it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs. The multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 32889 and single-core score of 4643 indicate strong performance for a roguelike, which typically relies more on single-thread speed than multi-thread scaling.

Looking at the nearest rivals, the i5-14600KF scores 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K, 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, and 1.4% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 0.5% higher than this chip. These margins are small, meaning the CPU is not the differentiator in this system — the GPU choice matters far more for Barony.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 576.5 FPS, which is likely near the ceiling of what the CPU can feed the GPU in this game. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 261.2 FPS average is high enough that the CPU still has headroom, but the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (315.3 FPS difference) suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at Ultra settings — the GPU settings are. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help with the procedural generation and entity management that roguelikes require, but the exact impact is not directly measurable from the FPS data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It packs 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2452 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The GPU has 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores.

The GPU benchmark scores show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6604 and a Passmark G3D score of 32974, placing it in the 87th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 with a deltaPct of 0%, meaning they perform identically in aggregate benchmarks. The AMD Radeon RX 7700S scores 0.8% higher, while the NVIDIA RTX A1000 scores 2.5% lower and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 2.5% higher.

The GPU's role in Barony becomes clear when examining the resolution scaling. At 4K Ultra, the system delivers 87.5 FPS, which is still highly playable for a roguelike. The fact that 4K Low hits 192.6 FPS shows the GPU has substantial headroom even at the highest resolution. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as roguelikes typically have modest texture requirements, and the GDDR7 memory bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s ensures no memory bottleneck at any settings level tested.

FAQ

Q: Is this system overkill for Barony?

A: The data shows extreme frame rates across all settings and resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 576.5 FPS, and even at 4K Ultra it maintains 87.5 FPS. For a roguelike, these numbers far exceed what is needed for smooth gameplay, but they leave headroom for future content updates or other demanding titles.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At High settings, 1440p delivers 231.4 FPS, which is more than enough for any display, while 4K High still provides 119.8 FPS for those with 4K monitors.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rival, the i5-14600K?

A: The i5-14600KF scores 0.4% higher than the i5-14600K in average benchmark scores, which is within the margin of error. In practice, the two chips will perform nearly identically in Barony, with the KF lacking integrated graphics but offering the same core configuration.

Q: Does the RTX 5070 Ti outperform the RTX 4080?

A: The benchmark data shows a deltaPct of 0% between the two, meaning they have essentially identical average scores. In Barony, the actual FPS will depend on other system factors, but expect comparable performance from both GPUs.

Q: What settings preset should I avoid?

A: None of the settings presets produce unplayable frame rates, but 4K Ultra at 87.5 FPS is the lowest measured result. If you prefer higher frame rates, dropping to High at 4K yields 119.8 FPS, or Medium at 1440p yields 270.5 FPS.

Q: Is the 125W TDP CPU a concern for this game?

A: The CPU's TDP of 125W is a specification, not a performance metric for Barony. The measured FPS shows the CPU handles the game easily, and the 14 cores with 20 threads provide ample processing power for roguelike logic and entity updates.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows that the Ultra preset is the only one that drops below 100 FPS at any resolution, hitting 87.5 FPS at 4K. For most players, the High preset offers the best experience because it maintains 119.8 FPS at 4K, 231.4 FPS at 1440p, and 369 FPS at 1080p. The jump from Medium to High costs only 19.5 FPS at 4K (from 139.3 to 119.8), which is a reasonable trade for the visual improvements.

At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 427.2 FPS, which is already far beyond any display refresh rate. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p yields 261.2 FPS, still well above 240Hz displays. For 1440p users, Ultra at 164.6 FPS is viable for high-refresh monitors, while High at 231.4 FPS is better suited for 240Hz panels. At 4K, High at 119.8 FPS is the sweet spot, as Ultra drops to 87.5 FPS and Medium only gains 19.5 FPS over High.

The Low preset provides the highest frame rates at every resolution, but the visual quality trade-off is unnecessary given how much headroom exists. Starting from High and adjusting individual settings upward is the most sensible approach, as the data shows the system can handle Ultra at 1440p and below without issue.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 576.5 FPS on Low, 427.2 FPS on Medium, 369 FPS on High, and 261.2 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra costs 315.3 FPS, with the largest single drop being 107.8 FPS from Medium to High.

At 2560x1440, the results are 365.9 FPS on Low, 270.5 FPS on Medium, 231.4 FPS on High, and 164.6 FPS on Ultra. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 201.3 FPS, with the largest drop being 66.8 FPS from Medium to High.

At 3840x2160, the system achieves 192.6 FPS on Low, 139.3 FPS on Medium, 119.8 FPS on High, and 87.5 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 105.1 FPS, with the smallest drop being 19.5 FPS from Medium to High.

The data reveals consistent scaling: each settings tier costs roughly 20-30% of the previous tier's frame rate, regardless of resolution. The most efficient settings change is from High to Ultra at 4K, which costs 32.3 FPS, while the least efficient is from Low to Medium at 1080p, which costs 149.3 FPS. The system is well-balanced, with no single component bottlenecking the experience at any tested configuration.