Barony

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, presents an interesting case for the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher quality presets, but which transitions to a CPU-limited state at lower resolutions and settings. This analysis breaks down the measured data to understand where the performance ceiling lies for this specific pairing in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a classic pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop varies significantly with the quality preset. At the Ultra preset, the average frame rate falls from 158.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 99.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a substantial 37.6% reduction. Continuing to 3840x2160, the frame rate drops further to 55 FPS, which is a 44.5% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 65.4% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep curve indicates that at Ultra settings, the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT's rendering workload is the primary constraint, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth being pushed hard by the higher pixel counts.

The scaling behavior at High settings is less steep. The transition from 1080p (218.8 FPS) to 1440p (141 FPS) results in a 35.5% performance loss. Moving from 1440p to 4K (70.7 FPS) incurs a further 49.9% drop. While still significant, the percentage decline from 1440p to 4K is slightly less severe than at Ultra, suggesting that the GPU is still the limiting factor, but the reduced shader complexity at High settings provides a bit more headroom before the pixel fill rate becomes the absolute bottleneck.

At Medium and Low presets, the pattern shifts dramatically. For the Medium preset, 1080p yields 257.5 FPS, which drops to 161.3 FPS at 1440p (a 37.4% reduction) and then to 85.2 FPS at 4K (a 47.2% reduction from 1440p). The Low preset shows the most extreme scaling: 347.8 FPS at 1080p, 216 FPS at 1440p (a 37.9% drop), and 111.5 FPS at 4K (a 48.4% drop). The fact that the percentage drops between resolutions are remarkably consistent across Medium and Low presets suggests that even at these lower graphical loads, the system is still not purely CPU-bound at 4K; the GPU remains the primary limiter, though the absolute frame rates are high enough to indicate that the CPU is far from saturated.

The key insight is that the i7-14700F, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, provides ample processing power for Barony. The data reveals that the GPU is the limiting component in virtually all tested configurations, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops when resolution increases. Only at the very lowest resolution (1080p) and lowest settings (Low) does the CPU become a more significant factor, where the 347.8 FPS result suggests the system is approaching the point where the CPU's per-thread performance could start to cap the frame rate, but the data does not show a hard plateau.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Barony?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 347.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the system capable of maintaining 60 FPS at 4K with maximum quality?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the measured average frame rate is 55 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 141 FPS at 2560x1440 to 70.7 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 49.9% reduction in performance.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The benchmark results indicate the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the limiting component, as frame rates scale down consistently with increasing resolution across all settings presets.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-14700F hold back the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 347.8 FPS, a very high value that indicates the CPU is keeping pace with the GPU's output.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces an average of 216 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces 99.1 FPS. This is a 54.1% reduction in frame rate when using the Ultra preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The measured performance of this Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination in Barony places it in the 946th position out of 1702 tested combos for this game. This mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the high absolute frame rates recorded, but it reflects the nature of the game and the database of tested configurations. The ranking indicates that while this system delivers excellent performance in absolute terms, a substantial number of other hardware combinations achieve even higher frame rates in Barony.

The CPU's benchmark profile helps contextualize this ranking. The Intel Core i7-14700F scores at the 94th percentile when compared to all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54097. Its nearest rivals show a very tight cluster of performance: the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is only 0.6% faster, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 1.1% faster. On the other side, the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 is 1.2% slower, and the AMD EPYC 7313P is 1.7% slower. This shows the CPU is a top-tier performer, which is consistent with the high frame rates observed in the 1080p Low setting scenario.

The GPU, while solid, is not in the top tier. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT sits at the 77th percentile for all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 33721 is closely matched by its rivals: the AMD Radeon RX 6800 is 0.7% faster, the AMD Radeon HD 7950 is 1% slower, the AMD Radeon RX 480 is 1% slower, and the NVIDIA RTX A5000 is 1.3% faster. This mid-range GPU performance is the primary reason the combo does not rank higher, as it is the limiting factor in most scenarios. The combo's rank of 946 out of 1702 suggests that many other tested systems pair a similarly strong CPU with a more powerful GPU, resulting in higher frame rates in Barony.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates for this combination is as follows.

At 1920x1080:

• Low settings: 347.8 FPS
• Medium settings: 257.5 FPS
• High settings: 218.8 FPS
• Ultra settings: 158.8 FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low settings: 216 FPS
• Medium settings: 161.3 FPS
• High settings: 141 FPS
• Ultra settings: 99.1 FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low settings: 111.5 FPS
• Medium settings: 85.2 FPS
• High settings: 70.7 FPS
• Ultra settings: 55 FPS

The data reveals a consistent hierarchy where the Low preset always delivers the highest frame rate, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The performance gap between presets is significant. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 189 FPS, which is a 54.3% reduction in performance. This gap narrows in absolute terms at higher resolutions, but remains proportionally significant. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 56.5 FPS, a 50.7% reduction.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p incurs a substantial penalty across all settings, typically around a 37-38% drop in frame rate. The move from 1440p to 4K is even more punishing, with drops of approximately 48-50% for most presets. This non-linear scaling is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of fill rate and memory bandwidth as the pixel workload increases quadratically with resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's display resolution and performance targets.

For 3840x2160 displays, the High preset at 70.7 FPS is the most balanced choice. It provides a smooth, playable experience that is above the 60 FPS threshold, while the Ultra preset at 55 FPS falls short of this target. The Medium preset offers a significant boost to 85.2 FPS, which could be preferable for users with high-refresh-rate 4K monitors, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the performance gain for all users. The Low preset at 111.5 FPS is available for competitive play but comes with the most substantial visual compromises.

For 2560x1440 displays, the Ultra preset at 99.1 FPS is fully playable and offers the best visual fidelity. This frame rate is well above the 60 FPS standard and will satisfy most users. The High preset at 141 FPS is an excellent choice for users with 144Hz monitors, as it is just shy of the refresh rate cap. The Medium preset at 161.3 FPS and Low preset at 216 FPS provide diminishing returns for most users, as the visual downgrade is not justified when the Ultra preset already delivers a smooth experience.

For 1920x1080 displays, the Ultra preset at 158.8 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a very high frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most 1080p monitors (typically 144Hz or 165Hz) while delivering the maximum visual quality. The High preset at 218.8 FPS is beneficial for users with 240Hz displays, as it gets closer to that refresh rate cap. The Medium (257.5 FPS) and Low (347.8 FPS) presets offer performance that far exceeds the needs of any standard 1080p display, making them unnecessary sacrifices in visual quality for this resolution.

In summary, the High preset is the sweet spot for 4K, Ultra is the best choice for 1440p and 1080p, and the Ultra preset provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across the board, with the High preset being a strong fallback for higher resolutions.