Barony

Barony, a roguelike that first shipped in 2015, presents a unique performance profile for the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings, indicating that this pairing is far beyond the demands of the title at any resolution. The data shows a system that is almost entirely GPU-bound at 4K, but which transitions to a CPU-limited scenario at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 500 FPS. This analysis breaks down the measured results, contextualizes the ranking, and provides actionable settings guidance based solely on the provided figures.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 505.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 164.4 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of approximately 67.5%. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is heavily loaded when details are minimized, as the CPU is capable of feeding frames at a much higher rate than the graphics card can render at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low is also significant, moving from 505.8 to 319.4 FPS, showing that even at 1440p the RX 7900 XT is the limiting factor.

However, the scaling pattern changes drastically when looking at the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 231.6 FPS, which drops to 144.2 FPS at 1440p and then to 77.7 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is roughly 66.4%, which is very similar to the Low preset's drop. This consistency suggests that the GPU's rendering workload scales predictably with pixel count regardless of the visual fidelity, as the CPU overhead per frame remains relatively constant. The absolute numbers at 1080p Ultra are still high enough to suggest that the Core i7-14700K is not a limiting factor, even with the increased draw calls and geometry that Ultra settings might imply.

The data indicates that at 4K, the RX 7900 XT is the definitive bottleneck. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 86.7 FPS (from 164.4 to 77.7), which is a direct consequence of the GPU's shader and texture work. Conversely, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 274.2 FPS (from 505.8 to 231.6), a much larger absolute gap that still points to GPU scaling but with the CPU having more headroom. The benchmark results imply that for players targeting 1080p or 1440p, the CPU has ample headroom, and the frame rate will be almost entirely dictated by the GPU's performance at the chosen settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 31 chip, featuring 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s is substantial, which is likely a key factor in maintaining high frame rates at 4K, where texture bandwidth demands are highest. The GPU's boost clock is listed at 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz, and these high frequencies contribute to its raw compute throughput of 51.48 TFLOPS. In Barony, a game with relatively simple geometry but potentially many on-screen elements, the GPU's compute and fillrate capabilities are more than sufficient.

The card's 192 ROPs and 336 TMUs provide a high pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s, which are likely the specifications that allow it to maintain over 100 FPS at 4K High settings. The 20 GB VRAM is far more than what Barony would require, meaning there is no risk of memory capacity limiting performance at any resolution tested. The card's benchmark scores corroborate its high-end positioning, with a Passmark G3D score of 29009 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs.

Comparing the RX 7900 XT to its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score shows it is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, which has a score of 38349 versus 38358, resulting in a deltaPct of 0. It is also within 0.3% of the NVIDIA CMP 70HX and 0.6% of the RTX 4080 Mobile. This indicates that while the card is powerful, its compute performance is on par with some mobile flagship parts, although its desktop-class power envelope of 300 W and dual-slot cooler allow it to sustain these clocks without thermal throttling, which is reflected in the consistent frame rates seen in the measured data.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested hardware combinations for Barony, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT achieves a combo rank of 378 out of 1702 tested combos. This places it in the top 22.2% of all systems tested in this game, which is a strong showing but not a top-tier result. Given the individual component strengths—the CPU is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU is in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs—one might expect a higher combined rank. This discrepancy suggests that Barony's engine may not fully utilize the hardware's potential, possibly being more sensitive to single-threaded performance or having an engine-level frame cap that prevents the highest-end combos from pulling away.

The CPU's nearest rival in overall benchmark score is the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which has an average score of 70104 compared to the 14700K's 70074, a negligible 0% delta. This means that in synthetic tests, the two chips are identical, and the measured FPS in Barony would likely be the same if the CPU were the bottleneck. However, since the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios, the CPU's raw power is somewhat secondary. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is a close competitor with a score of 70420 and a deltaPct of -0.5%, indicating slightly higher performance, but again, this would not translate to higher FPS in Barony where the RX 7900 XT is the constraint.

The ranking data implies that while this combo is fast, there are 377 other combinations that produce higher average frame rates in Barony. These likely include CPUs with even higher single-core performance or GPUs with faster rasterization speeds. Nevertheless, the absolute frame rates are so high that the rank is more of a theoretical measure than a practical indicator of playability, as the lowest average FPS recorded (77.7 at 4K Ultra) is still well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The combo's position is a reflection of the hardware's overall capability, not a criticism of its in-game performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete grid of results across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 505.8 FPS on Low, 378.5 FPS on Medium, 323.4 FPS on High, and 231.6 FPS on Ultra. These figures demonstrate that even at the highest settings, the frame rate is nearly four times higher than a standard 60 Hz display's refresh rate, and nearly double that of a 120 Hz display. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 54.2% reduction in performance, which is a considerable cost for the visual improvements offered by the Ultra preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 319.4 FPS on Low, 238.1 FPS on Medium, 205.2 FPS on High, and 144.2 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, averaging around a 36.9% reduction in FPS. This is a typical scaling factor for GPU-bound workloads, confirming that the RX 7900 XT's rendering capabilities are the primary driver of performance at these settings. The 1440p Ultra result of 144.2 FPS is still exceptionally smooth and would fully saturate a high-refresh-rate monitor.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 164.4 FPS on Low, 124.4 FPS on Medium, 103.4 FPS on High, and 77.7 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured figure below 100 FPS, but it remains comfortably playable. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 52.7% performance hit, which is similar to the 1080p scaling, suggesting that the GPU's workload increases proportionally with both resolution and settings. The data shows a smooth, predictable curve across all twelve measurement points, indicating stable performance without any anomalous dips or stutters.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target display's resolution and refresh rate. For a 1080p display with a 240 Hz refresh rate, the Ultra preset at 231.6 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still exceeding the refresh rate. For a 1440p display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, the High preset at 205.2 FPS or the Ultra preset at 144.2 FPS are both viable; the latter exactly matches a 144 Hz panel, while the former provides headroom for frame time variance.

For 4K gaming, the High preset at 103.4 FPS is recommended as the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as it delivers a smooth experience on a 100 Hz display. The Ultra preset at 77.7 FPS is also playable on a 60 Hz or 75 Hz monitor, but the step down to High provides a 33.1% increase in frame rate for what is often a marginal visual difference in a roguelike's pixel-art style. The Medium preset at 124.4 FPS at 4K is an option for those prioritizing frame rate over all else, but the High preset offers a better visual experience without sacrificing playability. The Low preset is only recommended for competitive play at 1080p, where the 505.8 FPS result is far beyond the capabilities of any current display, making it a theoretical benchmark rather than a practical setting.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Barony?

A: The highest average frame rate is 505.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-14700K bottleneck the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT in this game?

A: The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, but at 1080p Low, the frame rate is so high (505.8 FPS) that the CPU is likely the bottleneck. In most tested scenarios, the GPU is the primary constraint.

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

A: The combo ranks 378th out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the top 22.2% of all systems in the database for this game.

Q: Is the 20 GB of VRAM on the RX 7900 XT sufficient for Barony?

A: Yes, the 20 GB of GDDR6 memory is far more than required for this game, which was released in 2015. Memory capacity is not a limiting factor in any of the measured results.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops from 164.4 FPS on Low to 77.7 FPS on Ultra, a reduction of 86.7 FPS or approximately 52.7%.

Q: Which settings provide the best experience for a 1440p 144 Hz monitor?

A: The Ultra preset at 144.2 FPS is the best match for a 144 Hz display, while the High preset at 205.2 FPS offers more headroom for consistent frame pacing.