Barony

Intel Core i7-13700K with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 in Barony delivers a benchmark set dominated by extreme frame rates, with the data showing the combo ranking 883rd out of 3717 tested configurations. The most striking characteristic is the massive headroom at lower resolutions, where the CPU becomes the limiting factor, while at 4K Ultra the GPU takes over and brings performance down to a still-playable 71 FPS. The following analysis breaks down resolution scaling, comparative ranking, and component-specific roles using only the measured figures.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic resolution curve, with the most dramatic drop occurring between 1080p and 1440p, and a more moderate decline moving to 4K. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 469 FPS at 1920x1080 to 296 FPS at 2560x1440 — a reduction of 173 FPS — and then to 155 FPS at 3840x2160, which is a further 141 FPS decline. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 37%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is about 48%, indicating that pixel count scaling is not linear and that the GPU workload increases disproportionately at higher resolutions.

At Medium settings, the pattern holds: 349 FPS at 1080p, 220 FPS at 1440p, and 115 FPS at 4K. The absolute deltas are 129 FPS and 105 FPS respectively. High settings show 299 FPS at 1080p, 189 FPS at 1440p, and 99 FPS at 4K, with deltas of 110 and 90 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, yields 215 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K — the smallest absolute deltas (80 and 64 FPS) but the lowest overall performance.

The scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p, the frame rates are so high (all above 215 FPS even at Ultra) that the CPU is likely the primary bottleneck, as the GPU has ample capacity to render frames quickly. The fact that Low settings at 1080p hit 469 FPS, which is over double the 4K Ultra result, suggests that the RTX 4070 is heavily underutilized at lower resolutions. As resolution increases to 1440p and then 4K, the GPU workload grows, and the frame rate drops become more pronounced relative to the pixel count increase, signifying a shift toward GPU limitation. At 4K Ultra, the 71 FPS result confirms the GPU is the dominant constraint, as the CPU’s high multi-threaded performance cannot compensate for the pixel fill rate demand. The data shows that the transition point where the GPU becomes the clear limiter occurs between 1440p and 4K, particularly at higher settings presets.

How This Combo Ranks

In Barony, this combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 holds a combo rank of 883 out of 3717 tested combinations. This places the configuration in the top 24% of all tested systems, which is a strong position given the game’s relatively low graphical demands. The rank indicates that while the hardware is capable, there are many faster combos — likely featuring higher-tier GPUs or CPUs — that achieve higher average frame rates, particularly at 1080p where CPU headroom matters more.

The CPU’s standalone percentile is 89, meaning it outperforms 89% of all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 46881. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (avg score 46971, delta -0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022, -0.3%), AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654, +0.5%), and Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46653, +0.5%). This places the i7-13700K in a tightly contested group where performance differences are within 0.5%, meaning the CPU is not the differentiating factor for the combo’s overall rank in Barony.

The GPU’s percentile is 81, with an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rivals are NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, +0.1%), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, +0.4%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, -1.3%), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37157, +1.3%). The RTX 4070 sits in a similar competitive band, with deltas under 1.5%, indicating that the GPU’s raw compute is comparable to several other mid-range to high-end options. The combo’s rank of 883, therefore, is more a function of the game’s engine scaling with both components rather than any single part being exceptional. Given the high frame rates measured, the rank might be lower (i.e., better) than expected if the game’s physics or AI logic were more CPU-intensive, but Barony’s roguelike nature likely limits the benefit of extreme hardware, resulting in this mid-tier placement.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 469, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates the CPU and GPU combination can push frame rates to extremely high levels when graphical load is minimal.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 71. This is the lowest measured frame rate across all configurations, showing that the RTX 4070 is the limiting factor at this resolution and preset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p. At Low settings, the FPS reaches 469, which is over double the 4K Ultra result, implying the GPU has spare capacity and the CPU’s single-thread performance governs the frame rate ceiling.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the range is 296 to 401 FPS (average 349), at 1440p it is 187 to 253 (average 220), and at 4K it is 98 to 132 (average 115). These ranges suggest consistent performance with no severe stutters.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 883rd out of 3717 tested combinations. This places it in the top 24% of all systems, indicating competitive but not top-tier performance in this specific game.

Q: Which settings preset provides the largest performance jump from Low to Ultra?

A: The performance delta varies by resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (469 FPS) and Ultra (215 FPS) is 254 FPS, while at 4K the difference between Low (155 FPS) and Ultra (71 FPS) is 84 FPS. The absolute drop is largest at 1080p, but the relative drop is more severe at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, even Ultra settings deliver an average of 215 FPS, which is far above the refresh rate of most monitors. Therefore, there is no need to compromise on visual quality; the Ultra preset is recommended for the best experience, as the performance headroom is substantial. The High preset at 1080p yields 299 FPS, which offers a marginal improvement in smoothness but sacrifices visual fidelity for a gain that is unlikely to be perceptible on standard displays.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 135 FPS, which is still excellent for competitive play and high-refresh monitors. The High preset at 189 FPS is also viable, but the Ultra settings provide a richer visual experience with minimal risk of dropping below 60 FPS. Given the roguelike genre’s focus on gameplay clarity rather than fast-paced reflexes, the Ultra preset is recommended for 1440p, as the 135 FPS average is smooth and the visual enhancements are noticeable.

For 4K resolution, the situation changes. The Ultra preset averages 71 FPS, which is playable but may not be ideal for users with 120Hz or 144Hz displays. The High preset at 99 FPS offers a much better balance, providing a significant 28 FPS improvement over Ultra while still maintaining high visual quality. The Medium preset at 115 FPS is an even better option for maximizing smoothness, with a 44 FPS gain over Ultra. Given that the difference between High and Medium in terms of visual fidelity is often less pronounced than the frame rate gain, the Medium preset is the recommended choice for 4K, as it delivers 115 FPS average with minimums of 98 FPS, ensuring a consistently fluid experience. The Low preset at 155 FPS is only advisable if the user prioritizes frame rate above all else, but the visual degradation is substantial.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 469 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 349 FPS, with a minimum of 296 and a maximum of 401 FPS, showing a tight distribution. High settings average 299 FPS, while Ultra averages 215 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline of approximately 120 FPS per step, indicating that the GPU workload scales predictably with graphical complexity.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 296 FPS, a drop of 173 FPS from the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 220 FPS, with a range of 187 to 253 FPS. High settings average 189 FPS, and Ultra averages 135 FPS. The deltas between presets are 76 FPS (Low to Medium), 31 FPS (Medium to High), and 54 FPS (High to Ultra). This shows a more compressed range compared to 1080p, as the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 155 FPS, which is still high for 4K. Medium averages 115 FPS, with a minimum of 98 and a maximum of 132 FPS. High settings average 99 FPS, and Ultra averages 71 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 84 FPS, which is the smallest absolute difference across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is saturated at this resolution. The min FPS data for Medium at 4K (98 FPS) is particularly notable, as it shows that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not dip below 98 FPS, ensuring a stable experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K features 16 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This Raptor Lake-S architecture, built on a 10 nm process, includes 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 per core. The CPU’s benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 19429 and single-core of 2529. The 3DMark scores show scaling from 1136 single-thread to 12412 max-threads, indicating strong multi-threading capabilities.

In Barony, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p resolution, where the frame rates exceed 215 FPS even at Ultra settings. The high single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1136) is critical for the game’s logic and AI, which are typically single-threaded in roguelike titles. The fact that the 1080p Low preset hits 469 FPS suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU with frames faster than the GPU can render them, making the processor the bottleneck. However, as resolution increases, the GPU workload grows, and the CPU’s advantage becomes less relevant. The CPU’s percentile of 89 and its tight rivalry with processors within 0.5% performance delta indicate that it is not an outlier, but its high boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides excellent per-core performance that benefits Barony’s game logic. The Passmark single-thread score of 4333 corroborates this, showing that the chip excels at the type of workload that Barony’s turn-based or real-time mechanics would generate. The data shows that the CPU is never a limiting factor at 4K, where the GPU dominates, but it is the primary driver of the extremely high frame rates seen at 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, featuring 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. It has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock is 2475 MHz, and it delivers 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its benchmark scores include a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 154858, and a Passmark G3D score of 26927, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU’s role in Barony becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p, the GPU is underutilized, as evidenced by the relatively small performance gaps between settings presets (e.g., 469 FPS at Low vs. 215 FPS at Ultra) compared to what the GPU’s raw power could deliver. The GPU’s 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Barony, which is a roguelike with modest texture requirements, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor. At 1440p, the GPU begins to assert itself, with the Ultra preset dropping to 135 FPS, but still maintaining high throughput. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, particularly at Ultra settings where the average FPS falls to 71. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are the key specifications that determine this performance, as 4K Ultra requires significant fill rate and shading capacity. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is adequate for the game, but the shading units and ROPs are the limiting factors at high resolutions. The similarity in performance to rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (delta -1.3%) and AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (+0.4%) in synthetic benchmarks does not translate to identical in-game results, but it confirms that the RTX 4070 is a mid-to-high-end GPU that excels at 1080p and 1440p, while being adequate but not overpowered at 4K. The 200W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its performance class, and the data indicates that for Barony, the GPU’s role is to provide high frame rates at lower resolutions while capping performance at 4K Ultra.