Barony

Barony is a roguelike that rarely stresses modern hardware, and the measured results for the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti confirm this, delivering extremely high frame rates across all tested configurations. The data shows a system that is massively overqualified for the title, with performance scaling that reveals a complex interaction between resolution, settings, and the underlying components. This combination sits at rank 251 out of 1702 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 15% of all systems, which is a strong indicator of its capability even in a title that is not graphically demanding.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but expected, and the data illustrates how the workload shifts from the CPU to the GPU as pixel count increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 548.4 FPS, but this falls to 347.2 FPS at 1440p and further to 179.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which clearly indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, even though the absolute numbers remain exceptionally high. The pattern holds across all settings, but the relative drop is more pronounced at higher quality presets.

When moving from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 250.6 FPS to 157.3 FPS, a 37% decrease. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is even more severe, with the frame rate falling from 157.3 FPS to 80.5 FPS, a 49% reduction. This accelerating decline as resolution increases is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 4070 Ti’s rendering capabilities are being taxed by the sheer number of pixels. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU becomes the bottleneck, which is why the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less dramatic than the scaling from 1440p to 4K.

The data suggests that for competitive play at high refresh rates, 1080p is the sweet spot, with even Ultra settings producing 250.6 FPS. For a more immersive visual experience at 4K, players would need to compromise on settings, as Ultra yields 80.5 FPS while High settings improve this to 115.9 FPS. The scaling behavior shows that this hardware combination is versatile, but the game’s engine and the GPU’s limits become apparent at 4K, where the frame rate is still playable but no longer in the field of extreme high-refresh-rate performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the dominant factor in this system’s performance, and its specifications align well with the observed frame rates. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, the card provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a roguelike like Barony, where texture and geometry complexity are modest. The GPU’s boost clock of 2610 MHz and its 7680 shading units contribute to its raw compute power, which is reflected in its Passmark G3D score of 31624 and its 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs. This places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards, though its nearest rivals include mobile and professional parts, indicating a unique performance niche.

The GPU’s memory configuration and clock speeds are not stressed by this game, as indicated by the high frame rates even at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the card produces 80.5 FPS, which is a demanding scenario for most hardware, but the RTX 4070 Ti handles it with ease. The card’s 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a theoretical maximum that is unlikely to be fully utilized by Barony’s simple rendering pipeline, but it ensures that the game runs smoothly at all settings. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 44900 and its position relative to rivals like the Intel Arc A730M, which it beats by 1.5%, further contextualize its standing in the broader market.

The data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of frame rate differences across settings. At 4K, moving from Low to Ultra settings reduces the average FPS from 179.8 to 80.5, a 55% drop, which is a direct result of increased GPU workload. This sensitivity to settings is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, and it confirms that the graphics card, rather than the CPU, is the component that determines performance at higher resolutions. The card’s 12 GB VRAM is ample for this title, and there is no indication that memory capacity or bandwidth limits performance in any tested configuration.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average frame rate is 548.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 80.5 FPS, which is the lowest frame rate recorded in the dataset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, as frame rates are extremely high and the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less severe than from 1440p to 4K.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield 347.2 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 157.3 FPS, a difference of 189.9 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44900, which is 1.5% higher than the Intel Arc A730M, its nearest rival in the data.

Q: What is the system’s overall rank among tested hardware combinations for Barony?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 251 out of 1702 tested combos in the game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a clear picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 548.4 FPS on Low, 408.3 FPS on Medium, 350.3 FPS on High, and 250.6 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show that even at the highest quality preset, the system is capable of driving a 240Hz monitor to its limit. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a 54% reduction in frame rate, which is significant but leaves the system with ample headroom for competitive play.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. Low settings produce 347.2 FPS, Medium yields 260.4 FPS, High delivers 223.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 157.3 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction from Low to Ultra, similar to the 1080p scaling, but the absolute numbers are lower due to the increased pixel count. The system is still capable of high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p, with even Ultra settings exceeding 144 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are more moderate but still playable. Low settings yield 179.8 FPS, Medium produces 133.4 FPS, High delivers 115.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 80.5 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K is 55%, consistent with the other resolutions, but the absolute values are much lower. This indicates that the GPU is being pushed harder at 4K, and players seeking 4K 120Hz performance would need to use High settings or lower. The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern of performance scaling that is directly tied to the GPU’s workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K plays a supporting role in this system’s performance, and its capabilities are more than sufficient for Barony’s demands. With 20 cores and 28 threads, the CPU provides massive parallel processing power, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The processor’s boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its R23 single-core score of 6287, which is critical for game logic and physics in a roguelike. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 70074 places it in a tight cluster with rivals like the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which is essentially identical with a 0% delta.

The data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game, as frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which are GPU-centric variables. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 548.4 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for frame generation, but this is still far above any practical display refresh rate. The CPU’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide ample bandwidth for game data, and its 125W TDP is modest for a 20-core part. The processor’s performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as its Passmark multi-thread score of 52392, further confirms its high-end status.

The CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor. The fact that frame rates at 1080p are so high indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough draw calls and game state updates to maintain these levels. However, the data does not show any CPU-related performance drops, as the minimum frame rates are not recorded. The i7-14700K’s position relative to the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which it trails by 0.5% in average benchmark score, shows that it is a top-tier processor that is unlikely to hold back any GPU in this game.