Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

This combination of an Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional performance in Barony, a roguelike title that scales aggressively with both CPU and GPU headroom. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings presets place this pairing firmly among the elite configs tested, with a combo rank of 29 out of 1702 tested combinations. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at lower resolutions, yet still maintains triple-digit frame rates even at 4K Ultra, making it a top-tier choice for high-refresh-rate displays.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 29th out of 1702 tested configurations, placing it in the top 1.7% of all combinations analyzed. This is a remarkable result, especially considering the CPU's percentile position. The Intel Core i7-13700K sits in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 47282. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700KF, which scores 47334 (a delta of -0.1%), and the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 at 47527 (a delta of -0.5%). This means the 13700K is essentially tied with its direct peers, trailing the Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 by just 0.5% and leading the AMD EPYC 4364P by 0.3% and the Intel Core i9-12900F by 0.4%. In practical terms, the CPU provides a stable foundation that does not bottleneck the RTX 4090 in this title.

The GPU, meanwhile, holds the 91st percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 66473. Its nearest rivals are professional-grade cards: the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733, delta -0.4%), the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66127, delta 0.5%), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67097, delta -0.9%). The RTX 4090 outperforms the Tesla P40 by 0.5% and sits within 0.9% of the Radeon Pro Vega 56. These deltas are minuscule, indicating that the 4090 is at the very top of the performance curve, and the ranking position is driven more by the synergy with the 13700K than by any single component's raw score.

Given that Barony is a roguelike with potentially complex procedural generation and simulation, the high CPU percentile is relevant. The 13700K's multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and a Geekbench multicore score of 17731, ensure that game logic and AI calculations do not create frame hitches. The combination rank of 29 suggests that only 28 other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average frame rates across the test matrix, a signal of the balance between the 13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads and the 4090's massive shading throughput.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its role becomes clearer when examining the measured FPS data. The GPU is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. Its base clock runs at 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, while memory operates at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s, which is more than sufficient for Barony's asset streaming and texture loads at any resolution.

In Barony, the GPU's role is most pronounced at 4K resolution. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 141.8 at High settings to 99.8 at Ultra, a 29.6% reduction. This indicates that the 4090's 16384 shading units and 176 ROPs (with a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s) are being pushed hard by Ultra settings, which likely include higher shadow quality, ambient occlusion, and post-processing effects. The texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s and FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS mean the card can handle even the most demanding shader workloads, but the Ultra preset still imposes a significant load.

At lower resolutions, the GPU's headroom becomes evident. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 663.9 FPS, which is over 6.6 times the 4K Ultra figure. This scaling suggests that at 1080p, the 4090 is not the limiting factor; instead, the CPU's single-thread performance (a 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and PassMark single-thread score of 4333) becomes the ceiling. The GPU's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are largely idle in this title, as Barony does not appear to use ray tracing or DLSS, but the raw rasterization power is what drives these high numbers.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across presets and resolutions allows for clear recommendations. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 141.8 FPS, which is 42% higher than the Ultra preset's 99.8 FPS. Given that most displays at 4K are 60Hz or 120Hz, the High preset is the optimal choice—it provides a comfortable margin above 120 FPS for high-refresh monitors while sacrificing minimal visual fidelity compared to Ultra. The Medium preset at 165.7 FPS is also viable, but the jump from Medium to High (from 165.7 to 141.8 FPS) is relatively small, suggesting that High offers the best balance.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 269.5 FPS, which is far beyond any display's refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 193.6 FPS still exceeds 144Hz, so users with 144Hz monitors can safely run Ultra. For 240Hz displays, the High preset is recommended, as it provides 269.5 FPS with headroom. The Medium preset at 314.7 FPS is unnecessary unless chasing extreme frame rates on 360Hz panels.

At 1920x1080, even the Ultra preset delivers 306.6 FPS, which is above 300 FPS. The High preset at 425.2 FPS and Medium at 496.5 FPS are excessive for any current display, and the Low preset's 663.9 FPS is purely academic. For competitive play, the High preset at 425.2 FPS is the sweet spot—it offers the best visual quality while still crushing any refresh rate. The data shows diminishing returns from Low to Medium (663.9 to 496.5 FPS, a 25% drop) but a more significant drop from High to Ultra (425.2 to 306.6 FPS, a 28% drop), indicating that Ultra settings carry a heavy cost.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 269.5 FPS, which offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance. At 4K High, the system still hits 141.8 FPS, but 1440p provides nearly double the frame rate with minimal visual downgrade.

Q: Is the Core i7-13700K bottlenecking the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 663.9 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 99.8 FPS. The 1080p figure is likely CPU-bound, as the 13700K's single-thread score of 1136 in 3DMark and 4333 in PassMark limits the frame ceiling, but at higher resolutions the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: How does this combo compare to other high-end configurations?

A: With a combo rank of 29 out of 1702, this pairing outperforms 98.3% of tested combinations. The CPU is within 0.5% of its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945, and the GPU is within 0.9% of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, indicating the overall ranking is driven by the combination's synergy.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields 99.8 FPS, which is just below 100 FPS. If you have a 120Hz or higher display, the High preset at 141.8 FPS is better suited, as it provides a 42% performance increase with likely minor visual differences.

Q: What kind of PSU is required for this setup?

A: The GPU's suggested PSU is 850 W, and the CPU has a TDP of 125 W. The RTX 4090 uses a single 16-pin power connector and is a triple-slot card, so a high-wattage PSU with appropriate cabling is necessary.

Q: Does the GPU's 24 GB of VRAM matter in Barony?

A: The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth is overkill for this title, as Barony is a roguelike with moderate texture requirements. The memory bus width of 384 bit ensures no bandwidth bottlenecks, but the 4090's massive compute resources (82.58 TFLOPS FP32) are the primary driver of high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound curve, but with an unusually high ceiling. At High settings, the system achieves 425.2 FPS at 1920x1080, 269.5 FPS at 2560x1440, and 141.8 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 36.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47.4% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 66.6%, which is substantial but expected for a game that scales with pixel count.

The Low preset shows a similar pattern: 663.9 FPS at 1080p, 420 FPS at 1440p (a 36.7% drop), and 220.2 FPS at 4K (a 47.6% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets indicates that resolution scaling is uniform, with the GPU's 176 ROPs and 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate being the primary constraint at 4K. The Ultra preset follows the same trend: 306.6 FPS at 1080p, 193.6 FPS at 1440p (a 36.9% drop), and 99.8 FPS at 4K (a 48.4% drop).

The fact that the 1080p Low figure (663.9 FPS) is 2.4 times the 1080p Ultra figure (306.6 FPS) suggests that even at 1080p, the GPU is still doing significant work. However, the difference between 1080p and 1440p at Low (663.9 to 420 FPS) is only 36.7%, which is lower than the pixel count increase of 77.8%. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU becomes a more significant factor, capping the frame rate. At 4K, the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity are the clear limiting factors, as the 13700K has ample headroom to feed the 4090. The scaling data shows that this combo is best utilized at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU's massive compute resources are fully engaged, and the 13700K's 125 W TDP and 16 cores provide a stable platform for high average frame rates.