Barony

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers exceptional performance in Barony, a roguelike title where the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings are extremely high. The data shows this combination ranks 77th out of 3717 tested combos, placing it in the top 2% of all systems. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 679 FPS, while even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset maintains a smooth 102 FPS, indicating that this hardware pairing is far more powerful than the game's typical requirements.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior in Barony reveals a system that is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the GPU only becoming the primary limiting factor at 4K with the Ultra preset. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 433 FPS to 273 FPS, a 37% reduction. This substantial decrease continues when scaling from 1440p to 4K, where the High preset falls from 273 FPS to 143 FPS, another 47.6% decline. These steep percentage drops suggest that while the RTX 5090 is extraordinarily capable, the game engine at lower resolutions is constrained by the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates.

At the Low preset, the scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced. The 1080p Low result of 679 FPS drops to 428 FPS at 1440p (a 37% reduction), and then further to 224 FPS at 4K (a 47.7% reduction from 1440p). The fact that 4K Low still achieves 224 FPS while 4K Ultra only manages 102 FPS indicates that the graphical settings have a significant impact on the GPU workload, but the resolution scaling remains consistent across presets. This consistency suggests that the game's rendering pipeline scales linearly with pixel count, and the performance bottleneck shifts between CPU and GPU depending on the combination of resolution and quality settings.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic resolution scaling, with 311 FPS at 1080p dropping to 196 FPS at 1440p and finally 102 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result represents only 32.8% of the 1080p Ultra performance, indicating that this settings combination finally saturates the RTX 5090's capabilities. The medium preset, which is the only one with min/max FPS data, shows similar scaling: 505 FPS at 1080p (429 min, 580 max), 319 FPS at 1440p (271 min, 366 max), and 167 FPS at 4K (142 min, 191 max). The frame time consistency, as evidenced by the min/max ranges, remains excellent even at 4K Medium, with the minimum still well above 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-13700K compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, placing it 89th percentile among all CPUs. It trails the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 by just 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 by 0.3%, while leading the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and Intel Xeon w3-2535 by 0.5% each. This indicates near-identical overall performance with the top competitors.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combination?

A: The highest measured average is 679 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. Even at the more demanding 2560x1440 Low preset, the system still delivers 428 FPS, and 4K Low produces 224 FPS, showing that the hardware easily exceeds refresh rate capabilities at any resolution.

*Q: Is the RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM necessary for Barony?*

A: The game is a roguelike with relatively modest graphics requirements, and the measured data shows no indication that VRAM capacity is a limiting factor. The 32 GB GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provides massive headroom, but the performance scaling suggests that GPU compute and CPU throughput are the relevant factors rather than memory capacity.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's average benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 achieves an average benchmark score of 79842, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. It outperforms the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB by 0.3% and the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB by 0.6%, while also leading the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT by 1.1%. However, it trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X by 1.4%.

Q: What frame rates can users expect at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 102 FPS. This is the most demanding configuration tested, yet it still provides a smooth experience for high-refresh-rate 4K displays. The gap between Ultra and High at 4K (102 vs 143 FPS) represents a 40.2% performance difference.

Q: Does the CPU's 16-core configuration benefit this game specifically?

A: The i7-13700K features 16 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Barony is not a heavily threaded title, but the high single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2116, likely contributes to the extremely high frame rates at lower resolutions where CPU bottlenecks are apparent.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 serves as the rendering powerhouse in this configuration, and its specifications directly influence the measured results. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s, which are more than sufficient for the demands of Barony at any resolution.

The GPU's 21760 shading units and 680 tensor cores contribute to its raw compute capability of 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance. In the context of Barony, these specifications mean the GPU is rarely the limiting factor except at the most demanding settings combinations. The data supports this interpretation: at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 102, which is 55.2% lower than the 4K High result of 143 FPS. This significant drop indicates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU's shading and texture units, while the High preset remains well within the GPU's capabilities.

The RTX 5090's benchmark scores provide additional context for its gaming performance. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18355 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376728 demonstrate strong modern API performance. The PassMark G3D score of 39650 and GPU Compute score of 26756 further confirm its dominance. Interestingly, the GPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are professional and mobile parts like the Tesla P100 variants and Radeon RX 6850M XT, all within 1.4% delta, yet the RTX 5090's gaming-specific architectures and drivers likely provide advantages in actual game workloads that synthetic benchmarks may not fully capture.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 679 FPS, Medium achieves 505 FPS (with a minimum of 429 and maximum of 580), High reaches 433 FPS, and Ultra still maintains 311 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54.2% performance reduction, but even the lowest result is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The min/max data for Medium (429-580 FPS) indicates consistent frame pacing with only a 35.2% variance between minimum and maximum.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains extremely high. Low settings yield 428 FPS, Medium delivers 319 FPS (271 min, 366 max), High produces 273 FPS, and Ultra maintains 196 FPS. The Medium preset's min/max range shows a 35.1% variance, similar to the 1080p result, suggesting the CPU and GPU maintain stable performance as resolution increases. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at each preset results in performance drops of 37% for Low, 36.8% for Medium, 37% for High, and 37% for Ultra, showing consistent scaling across all quality levels.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates even at the highest settings. Low settings achieve 224 FPS, Medium produces 167 FPS (142 min, 191 max), High reaches 143 FPS, and Ultra drops to 102 FPS. The 4K Medium min/max range (142-191) shows a 34.5% variance, maintaining the consistency seen at lower resolutions. The performance drop from 1440p to 4K is 47.7% for Low, 47.6% for Medium, 47.6% for High, and 47.9% for Ultra, indicating that the pixel count increase from 3.7 million to 8.3 million pixels (a 124% increase) results in roughly a 48% performance reduction, showing that the GPU has substantial headroom even at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 4K Medium, the system achieves 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay even on high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 319 FPS (271 min, 366 max), providing excellent headroom for future content or demanding scenes. The availability of min/max data for Medium settings allows for confidence in frame time consistency, which is crucial for a roguelike where reaction times matter.

For users prioritizing the highest visual fidelity, the Ultra preset remains viable at 4K with 102 FPS, though this represents a 39% performance drop from High settings (143 FPS). The High preset at 4K provides a strong middle ground with 143 FPS, which is 40.2% higher than Ultra and only 14.4% lower than Medium. At 1440p, all presets exceed 196 FPS, meaning users can select Ultra without concern for performance. At 1080p, even Ultra achieves 311 FPS, so the choice of preset becomes purely a matter of visual preference rather than performance necessity.

The Low preset, while producing the highest frame rates (679 FPS at 1080p, 428 FPS at 1440p, 224 FPS at 4K), offers diminishing returns given that even Ultra settings maintain playable frame rates at all resolutions. For competitive play where maximum frame rates are desired, Low at 1440p (428 FPS) provides a better balance of resolution and speed compared to Low at 1080p, since the 37% resolution increase only costs 37% performance. The data suggests that Medium at 4K (167 FPS) represents the optimal configuration for users with 4K displays, while Medium at 1440p (319 FPS) is ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K plays a critical role in enabling the extraordinarily high frame rates observed in Barony, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The CPU features 16 cores and 24 threads across its Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample fast memory for game logic and draw calls. The processor is built on Intel's 10 nm process with a die size of 257 mm², and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration.

The synthetic benchmark results for the i7-13700K demonstrate its strong single-thread and multi-thread capabilities. Its Cinebench R23 scores of 30745 multi-core and 2116 single-core, along with a Geekbench multicore score of 19429 and single-core score of 2529, indicate excellent overall processing power. The PassMark multithread score of 45887 and single-thread score of 4333 further confirm its performance. In the context of Barony, the high single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1136) is particularly relevant, as the game's simulation and entity updates likely rely heavily on a few threads.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows it is perfectly positioned in the market. With an average benchmark score of 46881, it sits within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX, and Intel Xeon w3-2535. This tight grouping means the i7-13700K offers comparable processing power to its competitors. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with the RTX 5090's 92nd percentile GPU ranking, creates a balanced system where neither component is clearly the bottleneck in most scenarios. The measured FPS data at 1080p Low (679 FPS) suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at extraordinarily high rates, while the 4K Ultra result (102 FPS) indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor only when extremely demanding settings are enabled.