Barony

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 produces a combination that ranks 1611th out of 1702 tested configurations in Barony. This places it in the bottom 5% of all recorded combos, indicating a significant performance deficit that will be noticeable in gameplay. The data shows this pairing is heavily constrained, and the following analysis breaks down exactly where the bottleneck lies and what users can expect from the measured frames.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1611 out of 1702 is a poor result, placing the system in the 94.6th percentile from the bottom. This ranking reflects the GPU's age and limited capabilities rather than the CPU's strength. The Core i7-13700K sits in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282. Its nearest rivals show how close the top-tier processors are: the Core i7-13700KF scores 47334 (0.1% higher), the AMD EPYC 4364P scores 47131 (0.3% lower), and the Core i9-12900F scores 47081 (0.4% lower). This confirms the CPU is performing at the expected high level.

The graphics card, however, tells a different story. The RX 570 ranks in the 74th percentile against all GPUs, but its average benchmark score of 30158 places it just ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109, 0.2% lower) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097, 0.2% lower). The RX 570's 2048 shading units and 128 texture mapping units are substantial, but the 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus becomes the limiting factor. The overall combo ranking is dragged down entirely by the GPU, which cannot feed the CPU's processing power in a game like Barony.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 operates with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, built on the Polaris 20 chip using a 14 nm process. It has 32 ROPs and a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s, along with a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 5.095 TFLOPS is adequate for older titles, but the memory subsystem is the critical weakness. With 4 GB of GDDR5 memory running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) and a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, the card has enough throughput for 1080p but struggles as resolution increases.

In Barony, the GPU's role is to handle the roguelike's rendering, which includes procedural level generation and dynamic lighting. The 4 GB VRAM capacity becomes a hard limit at higher settings. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 20.1, which strongly suggests the GPU is running out of memory and resorting to slower memory paging. The card's 150 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest, but the performance ceiling is clear: the RX 570 was designed for 1080p gaming, and the measured results confirm this is where it operates best.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a consistent and steep decline, pointing to the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 139.3 at 1080p to 44.5 at 4K, a reduction of 68%. At High settings, the drop is from 88.3 to 28.2, a 68% decrease as well. At Ultra settings, the fall is from 65.0 to 20.1, a 69% reduction. This consistent percentage drop across all settings indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated, and the CPU's vast headroom is irrelevant.

The scaling is nearly linear with the pixel count increase. Moving from 1080p to 1440p (a 1.78x pixel increase) yields FPS reductions of roughly 35-38% across settings. Moving from 1440p to 4K (a 2.25x pixel increase) yields further reductions of about 50-52%. This pattern confirms that the limiting component is the GPU's raw rendering capability, not the CPU. The Core i7-13700K, with its 16 cores and 24 threads capable of a 5.40 GHz boost clock, has no trouble feeding the RX 570 at any resolution. The data shows the CPU is never the constraint; the GPU's 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and 4 GB memory pool are the decisive factors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the RX 570 delivers playable results. Low settings produce an average of 139.3 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. Medium settings drop to 101.9 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings yield 88.3 FPS, maintaining good playability. Ultra settings fall to 65.0 FPS, which is acceptable but shows the card approaching its limit. The 1080p results indicate that the GPU can handle the game's demands when the resolution is matched to its capabilities.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops become more pronounced. Low settings average 86.6 FPS, which remains playable. Medium settings average 67.0 FPS, still above 60 FPS. High settings drop to 58.8 FPS, slightly below the common 60 FPS target. Ultra settings fall to 40.3 FPS, which is noticeably less smooth. The 1440p results show that the RX 570 can manage the game at lower settings but begins to struggle as quality increases.

At 3840x2160, the card is clearly overmatched. Low settings average 44.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium settings drop to 36.3 FPS. High settings fall to 28.2 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 20.1 FPS. None of these 4K results reach the 60 FPS target, and even the Low setting is below 50 FPS. The data shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo, regardless of settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal experience depends on the user's resolution target. At 1920x1080, the High preset (88.3 FPS) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while retaining most graphical features. The Ultra preset (65.0 FPS) is also acceptable, but the 23 FPS drop from High to Ultra is not justified by the modest visual gains in a roguelike title. For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, the Medium preset (101.9 FPS) is a strong choice.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset (67.0 FPS) is the recommended starting point, as it maintains a playable frame rate while offering acceptable visuals. The High preset (58.8 FPS) is borderline, and users sensitive to frame pacing may find it insufficient. The Low preset (86.6 FPS) is the safe choice for competitive or fast-paced play, though it sacrifices visual fidelity. Ultra (40.3 FPS) is not recommended due to the significant performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the data does not support any preset for a smooth experience. The Low preset (44.5 FPS) is the only option above 40 FPS, but it is still below the 60 FPS threshold. Users with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p, where the Medium preset (67.0 FPS) provides a far better experience. The Ultra preset at 4K (20.1 FPS) is effectively unplayable and should be avoided entirely.

In summary, the data indicates that the Intel Core i7-13700K + AMD Radeon RX 570 combination is best suited for 1080p gaming with High settings. The CPU's substantial processing power is wasted in this pairing, as the GPU's 4 GB memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot scale to higher resolutions. Users should target 1080p or 1440p with medium-to-high settings for the best playability.