Barony

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Barony, a 2015 roguelike that is far from graphically demanding by modern standards. The measured performance across all tested resolutions and settings reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher quality presets but transitions to a more balanced state at lower resolutions, where the CPU’s capabilities become more relevant. With average frame rates ranging from 76 FPS at 4K Ultra to 501 FPS at 1080p Low, the data suggests this combination is potent enough to handle the game with massive headroom, making the limiting factor highly dependent on the user’s display refresh rate and chosen graphical fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic, revealing a clear shift in system bottleneck. At High settings, performance scales from 320 FPS at 1920x1080 down to 202 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 105 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 34% reduction in FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K, and a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K. Such a steep decline indicates that the GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel throughput demands of 4K significantly outweigh the computational needs of the game’s simple geometry.

The scaling pattern at Low settings is even more pronounced, with frame rates soaring to 501 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 316 FPS at 1440p, and settling at 165 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p here is 185 FPS, which is a larger absolute difference than at High settings, suggesting that at Low quality, the CPU is struggling to feed the GPU enough frames at lower resolutions. However, the 4K Low result of 165 FPS versus the 4K High result of 105 FPS shows that even at 4K, the GPU workload is still significant enough to create a 60 FPS gap between quality presets.

Interestingly, the data implies that the RTX 5070 is not fully utilized at 1080p, as the frame rates exceed 300 FPS on most presets, which is far beyond the refresh rate of typical monitors. At 4K, the system finds a more balanced state where the GPU is properly stressed, but the Core i7-12700K still manages to keep up, as evidenced by the playable 76 FPS at Ultra settings. The scaling suggests that for users targeting 4K, the GPU dominates the performance equation, while at 1080p, the CPU’s single-threaded and multi-threaded capabilities are the deciding factor for achieving maximum frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves a rank of 782 out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 21% of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects a high-performance pairing, but it is not at the very top tier, which is occupied by more recent or higher-end hardware. The percentile placement suggests that while this combo delivers outstanding raw frame rates, there are many other configurations that can match or exceed its performance in this specific title, likely due to the game’s low system requirements.

Looking at the CPU’s individual standing, the Core i7-12700K sits at the 84th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600T, which scores 35305 (a delta of -0.1%), and the Intel Core i7-12700KF, which scores 35365 (a delta of -0.2%). These sub-1% differences indicate that the i7-12700K is statistically tied with its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks, meaning that the CPU is not a differentiator in this rank. The bottleneck lies elsewhere, likely in the GPU’s performance relative to other graphics cards.

For the GPU, the RTX 5070 holds the 82nd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40377. Its nearest rivals are professional workstation cards, such as the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40318, delta 0.1%) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40063, delta 0.8%). This is unusual, as the RTX 5070 is a consumer gaming card, but its score places it in the same performance bracket as these Pro cards. The combo rank of 782 suggests that despite the high individual component scores, the pairing’s performance in Barony is good but not exceptional, as the game’s engine may not scale perfectly with the hardware’s strengths.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Medium preset appears to offer the most balanced experience across all resolutions, providing a significant boost over High and Ultra while maintaining smooth gameplay. At 4K, Medium delivers 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS, which is a 17% improvement over High (105 FPS) and a 62% improvement over Ultra (76 FPS). This makes Medium the optimal choice for 4K users who want high fidelity without sacrificing frame rate stability, as the minimum FPS of 104 ensures a consistent experience.

At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves 235 FPS, with a minimum of 200 FPS and a maximum of 270 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate display. This is a 16% increase over High (202 FPS) and a 62% increase over Ultra (145 FPS). For 1080p, Medium hits 372 FPS, with a minimum of 317 FPS, which is likely beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, making the choice between Medium and High less critical from a playability standpoint, but Medium still offers a 16% improvement over High (320 FPS).

The Ultra preset is the only option that dips below 100 FPS, and only at 4K (76 FPS), which may be acceptable for some users but risks noticeable stuttering in a fast-paced roguelike. Low settings, conversely, provide the highest frame rates but come with a visual quality trade-off that seems unnecessary given the hardware’s capability. Therefore, the data strongly suggests that Medium is the sweet spot, offering the best combination of visual fidelity and performance headroom, particularly for those with high-refresh-rate monitors or 4K displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 501 FPS on Low, 372 FPS on Medium, 320 FPS on High, and 229 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 317 FPS and a maximum of 428 FPS, showing a 111 FPS variance. These numbers indicate that even at the highest quality settings, the system never drops below 229 FPS, which is far above the 144Hz refresh rate common in gaming monitors. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 54% reduction in FPS, from 501 to 229, demonstrating that the GPU’s render workload is still a factor even at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 316 FPS on Low, 235 FPS on Medium, 202 FPS on High, and 145 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset’s minimum is 200 FPS and maximum is 270 FPS. The 1440p results show a 54% drop from Low to Ultra (316 to 145 FPS), mirroring the 1080p scaling. However, the absolute numbers are lower, indicating that the increased pixel count is putting more strain on the GPU, with the CPU maintaining a sufficient frame supply to keep the averages high.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 165 FPS on Low, 123 FPS on Medium, 105 FPS on High, and 76 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS. The 4K results reveal a 54% reduction from Low to Ultra (165 to 76 FPS), consistent with the other resolutions. The 76 FPS at 4K Ultra is the only measured result below the 100 FPS threshold, suggesting that this setting is the most demanding configuration tested, but it remains playable. The data shows a clear pattern: each resolution step down from 4K to 1440p to 1080p yields roughly a 50-60% increase in average FPS across all settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain over 200 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, all settings including Ultra (229 FPS) exceed 200 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low (316 FPS), Medium (235 FPS), and High (202 FPS) presets all stay above 200 FPS, while Ultra drops to 145 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra setting averages 76 FPS, which is 153 FPS lower than the 1080p Ultra average of 229 FPS. This represents a 67% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same quality preset.

Q: Is the Core i7-12700K a bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: With a measured 501 FPS at 1080p Low, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the GPU’s render work is minimal at these settings. The CPU’s 84th percentile ranking and 9979 max-thread 3DMark score suggest it has high throughput, but the game’s single-threaded nature may cap performance.

Q: What is the frame time variance like on the Medium preset?

A: At 4K Medium, the minimum FPS is 104 and the maximum is 141, giving a variance of 37 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 200 to 270 FPS (70 FPS variance), and at 1080p Medium, the range is 317 to 428 FPS (111 FPS variance).

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 782 out of 3717 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21% of all systems. The CPU is at the 84th percentile and the GPU is at the 82nd percentile, but the combined rank is lower, indicating the pairing is good but not optimal for this specific game.

Q: Does the GPU’s VRAM capacity affect 4K performance?

A: The RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory with a 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. Given the game’s 2015 release date and roguelike genre, it is unlikely to exceed this capacity at 4K, but the measured 76 FPS at 4K Ultra shows the GPU’s compute limits are the primary constraint.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and a single-core score of 1850.5, placing it at the 84th percentile against all CPUs. In Barony, a roguelike that likely relies on a single primary game thread for logic, the CPU’s single-threaded performance is crucial, but the data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 501 FPS, which is likely near the game engine’s limit.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps with data locality in procedural generation and game state management common in roguelikes. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9276 and max-thread score of 9979 indicate that multi-threaded workloads are handled well, but the game may not utilize all 20 threads effectively. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13600T, show a delta of -0.1% in average score, meaning the i7-12700K is statistically identical in raw compute, suggesting that any performance differences in-game are not due to CPU compute power.

The fact that frame rates at 1080p Low (501 FPS) are nearly double those at 4K Low (165 FPS) suggests that the CPU is capable of generating frames much faster than the GPU can render at high resolutions. However, the 54% drop from 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra (501 to 229 FPS) indicates that even at 1080p, the GPU’s pixel fill rate becomes a limiting factor at higher presets. The CPU’s role is therefore to maintain a high frame supply, which it does effectively, but the GPU is the ultimate bottleneck in most scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 features 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. Its memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This configuration gives the GPU a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s, which are critical for rendering the game’s 2D sprites and effects. The GPU’s 82nd percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 40377 place it above most consumer cards, but its nearest rivals are professional AMD Radeon Pro models, indicating its performance niche.

In Barony, the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the average FPS drops to 76, which is a 67% reduction from 1080p Ultra (229 FPS). The increase in pixel count from 1080p to 4K quadruples the number of pixels the GPU must process, and while the RTX 5070’s 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate is high, the game’s effects at Ultra quality push it to its limits. The 12 GB VRAM is likely sufficient, as the game’s textures are not demanding, but the bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s helps maintain frame rates during scene transitions.

The GPU’s FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS is more than enough for the game’s shader complexity, but the measured results show that the RTX 5070 is not fully utilized at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the GPU renders 501 FPS, which is beyond the refresh rate of most displays, indicating that the CPU is the bottleneck at this setting. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent 54% reduction in FPS, suggesting that the GPU’s workload scales linearly with the quality preset, and the RTX 5070’s architecture handles these increases efficiently. The GPU’s 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are not likely used by Barony, but the standard rasterization performance is what drives the high frame rates.