Barony

The benchmark data for Barony with the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti reveals a configuration that is dramatically overqualified for the game’s demands, yet the scaling patterns expose interesting bottlenecks. The measured FPS across all resolutions and presets is exceptionally high, placing this combo at rank 412 out of 1702 tested combinations. This places the system firmly in the top quartile of all tested hardware pairings for this title, indicating that the primary experience will be defined by how the game's engine interacts with this high-end hardware.

Settings Recommendations

The data presents a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets, but the optimal choice depends heavily on the target refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 214.1 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The step down to High yields 296.9 FPS, a substantial 38.7% improvement, while Medium and Low push to 348.1 and 470.3 FPS, respectively. Given that the difference between Ultra and High is significant, and the visual fidelity of this roguelike is unlikely to be demanding, the High preset at 1080p offers the best balance of visual quality and raw headroom.

For 2560x1440, the pattern remains similar. Ultra produces 137.3 FPS, which is still playable on many displays, but High jumps to 191.7 FPS. This 39.6% increase over Ultra makes High the recommended setting for 1440p, as it comfortably exceeds the 144Hz threshold that is common for that resolution. The Medium preset at 220.6 FPS offers even more headroom, but the visual trade-off from High is likely not worth the extra frames given the game's art style.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. Ultra drops to 69.4 FPS, which is just below the 70 FPS threshold for a smooth experience on many 4K displays. High, however, delivers 99.9 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. This makes High the definitive choice for 4K gaming, as it is the highest preset that maintains a fluid framerate. The Low preset at 156.9 FPS and Medium at 117.5 FPS are viable, but High is the sweet spot for visual quality without sacrificing performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant component in this configuration for Barony. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, the card provides a massive 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is far beyond what this game requires. The GPU’s boost clock of 1665 MHz and its 10240 shading units are more than capable of handling the game's procedural generation and particle effects, but the data suggests the card is rarely stressed.

This becomes evident when examining the resolution scaling. Moving from 1080p High (296.9 FPS) to 1440p High (191.7 FPS) represents a 35.4% drop, and then to 4K High (99.9 FPS) is another 47.9% drop. This curve is steep, indicating that the GPU is still the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions. However, even at 4K Ultra, the card produces 69.4 FPS, which is playable. The RTX 3080 Ti's 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is clearly sufficient to saturate the game's rendering pipeline, and the bottleneck shifts more toward the engine's single-threaded limitations at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 412 out of 1702 places this system in the 75.8th percentile of all tested combinations. This means that roughly three-quarters of all tested hardware pairings perform worse, and a quarter perform better. Given that the RTX 3080 Ti sits at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs and the i7-14700F at the 94th percentile of all CPUs, the rank is slightly lower than the sum of its parts might suggest.

This discrepancy is explained by the game's nature. Barony is a roguelike, and the data shows that it is not a demanding title for this class of hardware. The high rank is achieved, but the system is not maximizing its potential in this game. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 3090, has an average score only 0.5% higher, and the RTX 5070 is 1.1% higher. These are marginal differences that would not change the overall experience. The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, is only 0.6% faster on average, which is negligible in a game where the FPS is already in the hundreds.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Barony at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 69.4 FPS, which is playable but may not be perfectly smooth on a 60Hz display. The High preset at 99.9 FPS is a better choice for a more consistent experience.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The High preset delivers 191.7 FPS at 2560x1440, which is well above the 144Hz threshold. This is the highest quality setting that comfortably exceeds that refresh rate, making it the recommended choice.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to the RTX 3090 in this system's context?

A: The benchmark data shows the RTX 3090 has an average score that is only 0.5% higher than the RTX 3080 Ti. For Barony, this difference is imperceptible, and both cards will deliver nearly identical frame rates.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the GPU is still the primary driver, but the data suggests the CPU is becoming more relevant. The jump from High to Low at 1080p yields 173.4 FPS, which is a massive increase, indicating that the GPU is still the bottleneck, but the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads are more than enough to feed it.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1080p Medium?

A: The measured average FPS for the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is 348.1 FPS. This is an extremely high framerate that would only be fully utilized on a very high refresh-rate monitor.

Q: Does the i7-14700F hold back the RTX 3080 Ti in this game?

A: No. The CPU's high single-core performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5003, is more than sufficient. The FPS drops from 4K to 1080p are not linear, but the system consistently delivers high frame rates, showing no CPU-induced stutter or bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario that is consistent with a game that is not heavily optimized for multi-threaded workloads. At High settings, the performance goes from 296.9 FPS at 1080p, to 191.7 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 99.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47.9% drop from 1440p to 4K. This is a classic pixel-pushing curve, where the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the dominant factors.

The fact that the drop from 1080p to 1440p is larger than the drop from 1440p to 4K is interesting. It suggests that at 1080p, the system is partially CPU-limited, as the GPU is capable of producing more frames than the game engine can request. Once the resolution increases to 1440p, the GPU begins to work harder, and the scaling becomes more linear. This is supported by the Ultra preset, which drops from 214.1 FPS at 1080p to 137.3 FPS at 1440p (a 35.9% drop) and then to 69.4 FPS at 4K (a 49.5% drop). The system is clearly GPU-limited at 4K, but at 1080p, the CPU’s performance is beginning to cap the output.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. In Barony, the CPU’s role is to handle the game's logic, which includes procedural dungeon generation, enemy AI, and physics calculations. The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this title, as the frame rates are consistently high even at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work to do.

The CPU’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache is beneficial for keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores, and its high single-thread performance is crucial for this genre. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5003 places it in the top tier of processors, and the data shows that it is more than capable of feeding the RTX 3080 Ti. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 94 suggests it outperforms 94% of all CPUs, which is reflected in its ability to maintain high minimum frame rates in this game. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (470.3 FPS) is incredibly high, and while the GPU is still the limiting factor, the CPU's 2.10 GHz base clock and 5.40 GHz boost are working effectively to avoid any frame time spikes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this configuration is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high across all presets. The Low preset averages 470.3 FPS, which is the highest recorded value. Medium follows at 348.1 FPS, High at 296.9 FPS, and Ultra at 214.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 256.2 FPS, showing a wide range of performance scaling based on the preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the framerates remain high but start to show the GPU's workload. Low delivers 297.5 FPS, Medium at 220.6 FPS, High at 191.7 FPS, and Ultra at 137.3 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 36.7% on average across presets, indicating a healthy scaling curve for the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates. Low averages 156.9 FPS, Medium at 117.5 FPS, High at 99.9 FPS, and Ultra at 69.4 FPS. The High preset at 4K is the most balanced, providing nearly 100 FPS, which is a strong result for this resolution. The Ultra preset, while playable, dips below the 70 FPS threshold, making High the more practical choice for 4K gaming.