Barony

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a decisive performance profile in Barony, consistently producing frame rates that far exceed the demands of standard display refresh rates. The benchmark data indicates that this combination is heavily overqualified for the game's engine, with the most significant bottleneck appearing at the highest settings rather than at lower resolutions. For players seeking the definitive experience without compromise, the Ultra preset at 1080p and 1440p offers the most complete package, balancing visual fidelity with frame rates that remain well above 135 FPS. However, for those prioritizing maximum fluidity, the High preset at 1440p represents the sweet spot, delivering a 189 FPS average that is indistinguishable from the Low preset in terms of competitive advantage while providing a substantially better visual presentation. The data shows that this system is so powerful that users can afford to prioritize visual quality over raw frame rate at all tested resolutions, making the Ultra setting the recommended choice for ownership of a high-refresh-rate monitor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured performance data for this hardware combination in Barony reveals a clear hierarchy where even the most demanding settings produce exceptional results. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 215 FPS, which is not only playable but exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end gaming monitors. The Medium preset at 1080p reaches 349 FPS, while the High preset sits at 299 FPS, and the Low preset peaks at 469 FPS. Given that the difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is only 84 FPS (299 vs. 215), and both are far beyond the 144Hz threshold, the Ultra preset is the logical choice for this resolution, as it provides the maximum visual quality without any perceptible sacrifice in smoothness.

Moving to 2560x1440, the data shows a similar pattern with slightly lower absolute numbers. The Ultra preset here averages 135 FPS, which remains comfortably above 120Hz displays. The High preset at 1440p delivers 189 FPS, and the Medium preset comes in at 220 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 296 FPS. For 1440p users, the recommendation is to use the Ultra preset if their monitor supports 120Hz or 144Hz, as the 135 FPS average is sufficient to keep up with those refresh rates. If the user has a 165Hz or 240Hz panel, the High preset at 189 FPS is the better compromise, offering a 54 FPS increase over Ultra while retaining most of the graphical enhancements.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape shifts. The Ultra preset averages 71 FPS, which is suitable for 60Hz displays but may feel slightly less responsive on higher refresh rate panels. The High preset at 4K achieves 99 FPS, and the Medium preset reaches 115 FPS. The Low preset at 4K jumps to 155 FPS. For 4K, the High preset is the recommended starting point, as it offers a 28 FPS improvement over Ultra while still maintaining a high level of visual fidelity. The Medium preset is the fallback for those who want to ensure they never drop below 100 FPS, as it provides a 16 FPS boost over High. The data suggests that the Ultra preset at 4K is only advisable for users with 60Hz displays who prioritize absolute image quality over frame rate headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The Core i7-12700KF and RTX 4070 combination holds the 883rd position out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 24% of all hardware configurations evaluated. This ranking is notable because the game itself is a roguelike title with relatively modest graphical demands compared to AAA shooters, yet this combo still outperforms the majority of systems in the database. The rank of 883 out of 3717 indicates that while there are 882 other combinations that produce higher frame rates, the vast majority of systems (over 75%) are slower than this setup in this specific game.

The benchmark data shows that this combo's ranking is not limited by the CPU, which sits in the 85th percentile of all processors, nor by the GPU, which is in the 81st percentile of all graphics cards. The relatively lower combo rank compared to the individual component percentiles suggests that Barony is not particularly demanding on either the CPU or GPU, allowing even mid-range parts to achieve high frame rates. However, the 883rd rank still places this combo ahead of a significant majority of systems, and the measured frame rates indicate that the bottleneck is almost entirely on the rendering side at higher settings, rather than on the CPU's ability to feed the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary driver of frame rate scaling in this configuration, particularly as resolution increases. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Barony at all tested resolutions, as the game's texture and geometry data do not appear to strain the 12 GB capacity, even at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, with an effective data rate of 21 Gbps, which contributes to the high bandwidth figure.

The GPU's compute capabilities are robust, with 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The boost clock of 2475 MHz (with a base of 1920 MHz) allows the GPU to maintain high utilization in Barony's workload. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution: at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 254 FPS (469 vs. 215), while at 4K, the difference narrows to 84 FPS (155 vs. 71). This scaling indicates that the GPU is not fully saturated at 1080p, even at Ultra settings, but becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution increases.

The RTX 4070's ray tracing cores (46) and tensor cores (184) are present but have minimal impact on Barony's performance, as the game does not appear to utilize these features heavily based on the measured frame rates. The GPU's FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s provide ample headroom for the game's 2D and 3D elements. The GPU's pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s is particularly relevant at 4K, where the number of pixels rendered increases fourfold compared to 1080p, yet the GPU still manages to achieve 71 FPS at Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the benchmark results show a clear progression of performance across settings. The Low preset averages 469 FPS, which is the highest recorded frame rate in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 349 FPS, with a minimum of 296 FPS and a maximum of 401 FPS. The High preset averages 299 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 215 FPS. The data indicates that even at Ultra settings, the frame rate remains above 200 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any current display technology.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease but remain exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 296 FPS, the Medium preset averages 220 FPS (with a minimum of 187 FPS and a maximum of 253 FPS), the High preset averages 189 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 135 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 187 FPS is notable, as it shows that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate does not drop below the 144Hz threshold. The Ultra preset's 135 FPS average is still above 120Hz, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more moderate but still impressive for a roguelike title. The Low preset averages 155 FPS, the Medium preset averages 115 FPS (with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS), the High preset averages 99 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 71 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 98 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum in the dataset, but it still stays above 60 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on standard 60Hz displays. The Ultra preset's 71 FPS average is the only setting that dips below 100 FPS, but it remains playable for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a 144Hz monitor?

A: For a 144Hz display, the 2560x1440 High preset is the ideal choice, as it delivers an average of 189 FPS with no measured minimum below 144 FPS. Alternatively, the 1920x1080 Ultra preset at 215 FPS or the 3840x2160 Medium preset at 115 FPS are also viable, depending on whether the user prioritizes resolution or visual fidelity.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, the system can handle 4K gaming. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 155 FPS, the Medium preset averages 115 FPS, and the High preset averages 99 FPS. Even the Ultra preset maintains a playable 71 FPS average, making the system capable of 4K at all settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of frame rate?

A: The Ultra preset consistently produces lower frame rates than High across all resolutions. At 1080p, Ultra averages 215 FPS compared to High's 299 FPS, a difference of 84 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra averages 135 FPS versus High's 189 FPS, a 54 FPS difference. At 4K, Ultra averages 71 FPS versus High's 99 FPS, a 28 FPS difference.

Q: Is the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Barony?

A: Yes, the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for Barony at all tested resolutions and settings. The benchmark data shows no signs of VRAM limitation, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings without any unexpected drops that would indicate memory swapping.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 98 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. At 1440p with Medium settings, the minimum is 187 FPS, and at 1080p with Medium settings, the minimum is 296 FPS. These minimums indicate that the system maintains high frame rates even in demanding scenes.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 883rd out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 23.8% of all systems. This ranking is consistent with the CPU's 85th percentile and the GPU's 81st percentile among their respective benchmarks.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF plays a supporting role in Barony, as the game's engine does not appear to be heavily multi-threaded based on the measured performance. The CPU features 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The benchmark data shows that the CPU's single-threaded performance is strong, with a PassMark single-thread score of 3984 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4071. These scores indicate that the CPU can handle the game's main game logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and a PassMark multi-thread score of 34092. However, the frame rate data suggests that Barony does not scale significantly with additional cores, as the frame rates at 1080p Low (469 FPS) and 1440p Low (296 FPS) are likely limited by the GPU's rendering capabilities rather than the CPU's processing power. The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core provide ample caching for the game's data, reducing potential memory latency issues.

The CPU's 3DMark scores show a progression from 1043 in single-threaded tests to 9983 in max-threaded tests, indicating that the processor scales well with increased thread usage. However, in Barony, the most demanding scenarios at 4K Ultra (71 FPS) are likely GPU-bound, as the CPU has significant headroom to spare. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all processors confirms that it is a high-performance part that will not hinder the RTX 4070 in this game. The data reveals that the CPU's role is to ensure that the GPU is fed with data consistently, which it does effectively given the high frame rates observed even at lower resolutions.