Barony

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable experience in Barony across most settings, but the data reveals a distinct performance ceiling. Benchmark results show that this combination achieves its best balance of fluidity and visual fidelity at Medium settings, particularly at 1440p and 1080p resolutions. At 4K, the frame rates dip into a range that may be acceptable for a roguelike but lack the headroom for demanding scenarios. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance data to clarify where this combo excels and where it struggles.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for settings optimization. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 235 FPS, which is exceptionally high and far beyond the refresh rate of most displays. However, the Medium preset still delivers a robust 175 FPS average, with a minimum of 149 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in dense scenes. The Ultra preset drops to 108 FPS average, which remains fluid but sacrifices significant performance for marginal visual gains. The High preset sits at 150 FPS, making Medium the superior choice due to its higher average and better minimum frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. Low produces 149 FPS, which is excellent, but Medium again offers a strong 110 FPS average with a minimum of 94 FPS. High trails at 95 FPS, while Ultra falls to 68 FPS. For a roguelike where reaction time matters, the Medium preset at 1440p provides the best experience, maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while offering better visual detail than Low.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. Medium is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum values, showing an average of 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. This is borderline playable, but the Low preset achieves 78 FPS average, which is safer for maintaining consistent performance. High averages 50 FPS, and Ultra drops to 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The recommendation is to use Low at 4K for a stable experience, or Medium if the player accepts occasional dips below 50 FPS.

The data suggests that the optimal experience is Medium settings at 1080p or 1440p, where the combination of high average FPS and acceptable minimums provides the best balance. For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, Low at 1440p offers 149 FPS, which is also highly responsive.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores indicate substantial headroom for gaming workloads. In Cinebench R23, it scores 30745 in multi-core and 2116 in single-core, while Geekbench shows 19429 multi-core and 2529 single-core. These numbers place the CPU in the 89th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 with an average score of 46971 (a delta of -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 at 47022 (-0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX at 46654 (+0.5%). This means the i7-13700K is essentially performance-equivalent to these processors, with differences of less than 1% in either direction. In Barony, a roguelike that is not typically considered a heavily threaded title, the CPU’s single-core performance is likely the more relevant factor. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and Cinebench R15 single-core score of 303 suggest strong per-core capability.

Given that the GTX 1070 is the limiting component in most scenarios, the CPU’s role is to ensure that frame times remain consistent without bottlenecking the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 235 FPS, which indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high rates. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, and the CPU’s influence diminishes. The processor’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample bandwidth for game logic and asset streaming, which is sufficient for a roguelike’s procedural generation and simulation tasks.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is a Pascal-architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. Its base clock is 1506 MHz with a boost clock of 1683 MHz, and it features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The GPU’s compute capabilities include 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s. These specifications place the GTX 1070 in the 47th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9780.

The GPU’s nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5000 (avg score 9803, delta -0.2%), NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (9832, -0.5%), NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9724, +0.6%), and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (9716, +0.7%). All of these are within 1% of the GTX 1070’s average score, indicating that the GPU is positioned in a tightly contested performance tier. In Barony, the GPU’s VRAM capacity of 8 GB is likely sufficient for the game’s textures and effects, even at 4K, as the frame rates suggest memory bandwidth is not the primary bottleneck.

The measured FPS data shows a clear scaling trend with settings. At 1080p, the GPU delivers 235 FPS on Low, 175 FPS on Medium, 150 FPS on High, and 108 FPS on Ultra. This indicates that the GPU is capable of handling the game’s demands at lower resolutions, but the gap between Low and Ultra is substantial—a 127 FPS difference at 1080p. At 4K, the GPU struggles more noticeably, with Low at 78 FPS and Ultra at 36 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit memory bus are adequate for the game, but the raw compute power of the GTX 1070 limits high-settings performance at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 3063 out of 3717 combos in Barony. This places it in the lower 18% of all tested systems, which is a reflection of the GPU’s age and performance tier relative to modern hardware. The CPU is exceptionally strong, ranking in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, but the GPU’s 47th percentile ranking drags the overall combo down.

The rank indicates that while the CPU is capable of supporting much higher frame rates, the GTX 1070 is the limiting factor. For a game like Barony, which is a lightweight roguelike, the combo still achieves playable frame rates at most settings, but it cannot compete with systems featuring more powerful GPUs. The delta between the CPU and GPU performance is significant, suggesting that the system is unbalanced for this workload—the CPU has headroom to spare while the GPU is fully utilized.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Barony?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with an average of 235 FPS on Low and 175 FPS on Medium. At 2560x1440, Medium still delivers 110 FPS, while 3840x2160 drops to 58 FPS on Medium. For consistent performance, 1080p or 1440p are recommended.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest competitors?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 9780. Its nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5000 (9803, -0.2% delta), NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (9832, -0.5%), NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9724, +0.6%), and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (9716, +0.7%). All are within 1% of each other.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K a bottleneck for the GTX 1070?

A: No, the CPU is far more powerful than the GPU. The i7-13700K ranks in the 89th percentile of all CPUs with an average score of 46881, while the GTX 1070 ranks in the 47th percentile. The GPU is the limiting component in this pairing.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra yields an average of 108 FPS. At 2560x1440, it drops to 68 FPS. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the combo have enough VRAM for 4K gaming?

A: The GTX 1070 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. The 4K Medium preset averages 58 FPS, indicating the VRAM is sufficient, but the GPU’s compute power limits higher settings.

*Q: How does the combo rank overall in Barony?*

A: The combo ranks 3063 out of 3717 tested combinations. This places it in the lower portion of the rankings due to the GPU’s age, despite the CPU’s strong performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured data shows a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce an average of 235 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. Medium settings yield 175 FPS average, with a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 201 FPS. High settings average 150 FPS, and Ultra settings average 108 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 127 FPS, indicating that the GPU is heavily impacted by visual quality settings.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 149 FPS, which is a 36.6% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 110 FPS, with a minimum of 94 FPS and a maximum of 127 FPS. High settings average 95 FPS, and Ultra settings average 68 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 81 FPS. Notably, the Medium preset’s minimum of 94 FPS is still above 60 FPS, making it a viable choice for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 78 FPS, which is a 66.8% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 58 FPS, with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. High settings average 50 FPS, and Ultra settings average 36 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 42 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values at this resolution, showing that frame times are less stable.

The data reveals that the GTX 1070 can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming well at Medium or High settings, but 4K requires Low settings for a comfortable experience. The minimum frame rates at 1440p Medium (94 FPS) and 1080p Medium (149 FPS) suggest that the combo can maintain smooth performance in most scenarios, with the 4K Medium minimum of 49 FPS being the only concerning outlier.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 235 at 1080p to 149 at 1440p (a 36.6% decrease) and then to 78 at 4K (a 47.7% decrease from 1440p). At Medium settings, the averages are 175 at 1080p, 110 at 1440p (a 37.1% decrease), and 58 at 4K (a 47.3% decrease). High settings show a similar pattern: 150 at 1080p, 95 at 1440p (a 36.7% decrease), and 50 at 4K (a 47.4% decrease). Ultra settings drop from 108 at 1080p to 68 at 1440p (a 37.0% decrease) and then to 36 at 4K (a 47.1% decrease).

The consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate that the scaling is primarily resolution-driven, not settings-driven. This suggests that the GPU is the limiting component, as the frame rate declines proportionally to the increase in pixel count. The GTX 1070’s 8 GB VRAM and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the memory demands of higher resolutions, but the raw compute power (6.463 TFLOPS) is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The scaling behavior also highlights that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. The i7-13700K’s strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R15 single-core score of 303) ensures that it can keep up with the GPU’s frame generation, even at 1080p Low where the combo achieves 235 FPS. As the resolution increases, the GPU becomes more saturated, and the CPU’s role diminishes further. The data shows that the combo is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, with frame rates dropping below 60 FPS at all settings except Low.