Barony

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, is not typically a graphical showcase, but the benchmark data for the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 combo reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor. The measured results show a system that can handle the game at lower resolutions and settings, but quickly buckles under the weight of 4K and maximum graphical presets. The data indicates a pairing where the CPU has significant headroom, but the GPU's capabilities define the overall experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is the clearest indicator of where the bottleneck lies in this system. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 87 FPS at 1920x1080 to 55.7 FPS at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 29.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This is a stark decline of 31.3 FPS when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and another 26 FPS when stepping up to 4K. This steep, continuous drop is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario; the rendering load is increasing faster than the RX 570 can process it.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. At Medium, the frame rate goes from 102.3 FPS at 1080p to 67.4 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 36.6 FPS at 4K. The Low preset tells a similar story, with 136 FPS at 1080p dropping to 84.9 FPS at 1440p and 48 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the scaling factor is almost linear with the pixel count, which is the hallmark of a system where the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary limiting factors. The Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is not the constraint here; it is the Polaris 20 GPU that dictates these results.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. For a smooth 1080p experience, the High preset is the clear choice, delivering an average of 87 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset’s 136 FPS without the performance risk of the Ultra preset, which dips to 61 FPS. The Medium preset is also viable at 102.3 FPS, but High offers a better balance of visual fidelity and performance.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more demanding. The High preset produces 55.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Dropping to Medium yields 67.4 FPS, a more comfortable margin. The Low preset pushes this further to 84.9 FPS for those who prioritize frame rate above all else. The Ultra preset at 37.8 FPS is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests that this combo is not suitable for high-fidelity play. The High preset at 29.7 FPS is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and the Ultra preset is effectively unplayable at 18.9 FPS. Even the Low preset at 48 FPS is barely acceptable. The recommendation here is to stick to 1080p or 1440p for a playable experience, as the GPU simply does not have the power to maintain high frame rates at 3840x2160.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark data places this specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 at rank 1653 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This is a very low position, placing it in the bottom 3% of all configurations tested for this game. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's limited performance; the CPU is more than capable, but the graphics card holds the entire system back.

This low rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability. The Intel Core i7-12700K sits in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35684. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 and the Intel Core i7-13700T, with negligible performance differences. The CPU is a high-end part, but its performance is irrelevant when paired with a GPU that ranks in the 74th percentile overall. The disparity between the CPU's potential and the GPU's output is the defining characteristic of this combo’s poor standing in this specific game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a complete breakdown of the measured average frame rates for this configuration in Barony.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 136 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 102.3 FPS, while the High preset is close behind at 87 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, drops significantly to 61 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance takes a noticeable hit. The Low preset is the only option that remains above 80 FPS, with an average of 84.9 FPS. The Medium preset falls to 67.4 FPS, and High drops further to 55.7 FPS. The Ultra preset is the weakest, with an average of just 37.8 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the RX 570 is clearly overburdened. The Low preset is the only one to break the 40 FPS mark, averaging 48 FPS. The Medium preset manages 36.6 FPS, the High preset falls to 29.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset is critically low at 18.9 FPS. The data shows a consistent and predictable degradation in performance as both resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570’s role in this benchmark is the definitive limiting factor. Its specifications, including a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, are simply not sufficient for the demands of Barony at higher settings. The GPU is based on the Polaris 20 chip, manufactured on a 14 nm process, and features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is a key constraint, as the game's assets at 4K resolution likely exceed the available VRAM, leading to the dramatic frame rate drops observed.

The GPU’s compute capabilities, rated at 5.095 TFLOPS for FP32, and its pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s, are not enough to keep up with the demands of the game at high resolutions. The data shows that even at the Low preset, the frame rate at 4K is less than half of what it is at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU's raw processing power is the bottleneck, not the CPU. While the i7-12700K has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz and a large 25 MB L3 cache, it is left waiting for the GPU to finish its work. The results clearly show that the RX 570, with its 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs, is the component that determines the performance ceiling for this pairing.