Barony

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 produces a combo that ranks 1603rd out of 1702 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the bottom 6% of all systems. This is a profoundly lopsided pairing in a CPU-bound roguelike: the processor is a 20-core, 28-thread Raptor Lake Refresh part with a 3.40 GHz base clock and 5.60 GHz boost, while the graphics card is an end-of-life Polaris 20 part with a 1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost clock. The CPU sits in the 96th percentile of all processors, while the GPU sits in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. The benchmark data makes clear that the RX 570 is the limiting factor at every resolution and setting, with the i7-14700KF's massive compute headroom going largely unused in a game that stresses the graphics pipeline far more than the 20-core processor.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Core i7-14700KF brings 20 cores and 28 threads, with a 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core. It boosts to 5.60 GHz and scored 44,557 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,290 in single-core tests. In Barony, however, these specifications translate into almost no observable performance advantage because the measured FPS is consistently capped by the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 135.7 FPS average, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset — but that is still far below what this CPU could theoretically push if paired with a stronger GPU. The CPU's single-threaded strength, evidenced by a 4,480 Passmark single-thread score and 2,972 Geekbench single-core score, is more than sufficient for a roguelike's logic and AI routines. The data shows that moving from 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra drops average FPS from 135.7 to 61.4, a 54.7% reduction that has nothing to do with CPU load and everything to do with the GPU's rendering limits. The CPU's 125 W TDP and active production status suggest it is a modern part, but in this specific pairing, its role is to wait for the GPU. The processor's nearest rivals — the Core i7-14700K at 70,074 average score (0% delta), the EPYC 9115 at 69,887 (0.3% higher), and the Ryzen 9 9950X at 70,420 (0.4% lower) — are all statistically identical in compute, reinforcing that the CPU is not the bottleneck here.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 135.7, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 130 FPS in the entire dataset.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 1603rd out of 1702 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the bottom 99th percentile of all tested systems. This is a low ranking driven almost entirely by the GPU's limitations.

Q: Does the CPU's 20-core count help in Barony?

A: The benchmark results do not show any benefit from the 20-core configuration. The FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound behavior — for example, dropping from 87.3 FPS at 1080p High to 61.4 FPS at 1080p Ultra — which indicates the CPU is not the constraining component at any tested setting.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 89.9 FPS average, while Ultra produces 42.4 FPS. That is a 47.5 FPS difference, or a 52.8% reduction, showing that the GPU is the primary driver of performance degradation.

Q: Is the RX 570's 4 GB VRAM a problem in this game?

A: The data suggests VRAM capacity is not a separate issue from overall GPU performance. The 4 GB GDDR5 memory with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is consistent with the card's 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, and the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (24.0) is the lowest in the dataset, indicating the GPU is simply overwhelmed at that resolution.

Q: How does this combo compare to the GPU's nearest rival?

A: The RX 570's average benchmark score is 30,158, with the RTX 5060 at 30,109 (0.2% delta) and the RX 7700 XT at 30,097 (0.2% delta). These are near-identical scores, meaning the RX 570's performance profile is essentially equivalent to those newer cards in synthetic tests, but in Barony the measured FPS still remains low due to the game's specific demands.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data is unambiguous: this is a GPU-limited system. At Low settings, moving from 1080p (135.7 FPS) to 1440p (89.9 FPS) results in a 45.8 FPS drop, then to 4K (46.7 FPS) another 43.2 FPS drop. The pattern is identical at High settings: 87.3 FPS at 1080p, 55.8 FPS at 1440p, and 31.5 FPS at 4K. At Ultra settings, the progression is 61.4 FPS at 1080p, 42.4 FPS at 1440p, and 24.0 FPS at 4K — the latter being the only configuration that falls below 25 FPS. These drops are roughly proportional to the pixel count increase, which is the classic signature of a GPU bottleneck. The 4K to 1080p scaling factor at High settings is 2.77x (31.5 to 87.3 FPS), while the pixel count scales by 4x; the fact that FPS does not scale linearly with pixels suggests that even at 1080p, the GPU is not fully saturated, but the CPU is not the limiting factor either. The i7-14700KF's 5.60 GHz boost clock and 6,290 Cinebench R23 single-core score are far beyond what a roguelike requires, so the data points to the RX 570's 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 5.095 TFLOPS compute as the primary constraints. The 4K Ultra result of 24.0 FPS is barely playable, while 4K Low at 46.7 FPS is marginal, and no 4K configuration reaches 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 135.7 FPS on Low, 103.9 FPS on Medium, 87.3 FPS on High, and 61.4 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 74.3 FPS, or 54.7% of the Low value, showing that the GPU's rendering overhead dominates the settings scaling. At 2560x1440, the results are 89.9 FPS on Low, 66.9 FPS on Medium, 55.8 FPS on High, and 42.4 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 47.5 FPS, but the percentage drop remains similar at 52.8%. At 3840x2160, the numbers fall to 46.7 FPS on Low, 34.1 FPS on Medium, 31.5 FPS on High, and 24.0 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low result is lower than the 1080p Ultra result (61.4 FPS), which confirms that resolution has a larger impact than settings. The data shows that the 1080p Medium setting (103.9 FPS) is the only configuration that combines high frame rates with non-minimal settings, while 1440p Low (89.9 FPS) is the only 1440p setting that approaches 90 FPS. No 4K configuration exceeds 46.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 24.0 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS playability threshold.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo ranks 1603rd out of 1702 tested combinations, which is the 12th percentile from the bottom. This ranking is consistent with the GPU's 74th percentile standing among all GPUs, but it is far lower than the CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's low ranking confirms that the RX 570 drags down the overall system performance. The GPU's nearest rivals — the RTX 5060 (0.2% delta), RX 7700 XT (0.2% delta), Tesla M60 (0.6% delta), and RTX 5070 Mobile (0.8% delta) — all have nearly identical average benchmark scores, ranging from 29,928 to 30,109. This means the RX 570 is not an outlier among its peers; it is simply an older, lower-end card that cannot keep up with the i7-14700KF's capabilities. The CPU's nearest rivals — the i7-14700K (0% delta), EPYC 9115 (0.3% higher), Ryzen 9 9950X (0.4% lower), and Xeon Platinum 8270 (1.3% lower) — are all within 1.3% of each other, showing that the CPU is a top-tier part whose performance is wasted in this pairing.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data suggests that 1080p Medium at 103.9 FPS is the best overall experience, as it provides a high frame rate while using higher-than-minimal settings. 1080p High at 87.3 FPS is also viable and offers better visual quality at a still-smooth frame rate, but the 16.6 FPS drop from Medium to High may not be worth the visual gain. At 1440p, Low at 89.9 FPS is the only setting that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 1440p displays; 1440p Medium at 66.9 FPS is playable but noticeably lower, and 1440p High at 55.8 FPS drops below 60. At 4K, no setting achieves 60 FPS: Low at 46.7 FPS is the best option, but it is still marginal for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution because it consistently produces the lowest FPS — 61.4 at 1080p, 42.4 at 1440p, and 24.0 at 4K — with no evidence that the visual improvements justify the frame rate cost. For the best balance of image quality and performance, 1080p Medium is the clear winner, followed by 1440p Low for higher-resolution displays.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and a 1750 MHz memory clock (7 Gbps effective). Its base clock is 1168 MHz, boosting to 1244 MHz, and it delivers 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 performance. The card is built on the 14 nm process with 5,700 million transistors and a 232 mm² die size. In Barony, this GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, the combo only reaches 135.7 FPS, which is below what the CPU could drive; at higher settings, the GPU's 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs become overwhelmed. The 4K Ultra result of 24.0 FPS aligns with the GPU's 39.81 GPixel/s pixel rate and 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate, which are insufficient for 4K rendering. The GPU's 74th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 30,158 place it in the mid-range of all GPUs, but its nearest rivals are all within 0.8% of its score, meaning it is neither unusually weak nor strong for its class. The RX 570's 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU are modest, but they do not compensate for the card's age: it was released in 2017 and is now end-of-life, with a predecessor in Arctic Islands and a successor in Vega. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is not explicitly limiting in the data, but the card's overall compute and memory bandwidth are, as evidenced by the consistent FPS drops across all settings and resolutions.