Barony

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a performance profile in Barony that is overwhelmingly dictated by resolution, with the GPU taking on an increasingly heavy burden as pixel count climbs. At 1920x1080, the combo produces an average of 323.6 FPS on High settings, which rises to 506 FPS on Low—a figure that suggests the CPU has ample headroom to feed the graphics card. Moving to 2560x1440, the same settings yield 204.7 FPS and 318.7 FPS respectively, while at 3840x2160, the numbers drop to 108.5 FPS and 165.3 FPS. This scaling pattern is telling: the gap between Low and High settings widens from 182.4 FPS at 1080p to 56.8 FPS at 4K, indicating that the RX 7900 XT becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases, whereas the CPU’s role diminishes. The 4K Ultra result of 75.4 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra result of 232 FPS highlights a substantial 156.6 FPS deficit, reinforcing that the GPU’s pixel throughput, not the processor’s 20 cores, constrains the highest-fidelity experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combination reveals a clear hierarchy in how Barony scales across the three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system operates in a CPU-leaning regime where even the most demanding preset, Ultra, still averages 232 FPS—a figure that would be difficult to distinguish from a monitor’s refresh rate cap in most scenarios. Dropping to Low at this resolution pushes the average to 506 FPS, which is over double the High preset’s 323.6 FPS, suggesting that the game’s draw calls and object counts are not saturating the i7-14700KF’s capabilities. The 1080p Medium result of 374.3 FPS sits predictably between these extremes, and the overall spread from Low to Ultra (274 FPS) demonstrates that the CPU can sustain very high frame rates regardless of visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the scaling becomes more pronounced as the GPU starts to assert its influence. The Low preset averages 318.7 FPS, a drop of 187.3 FPS from the 1080p equivalent, while High falls to 204.7 FPS and Ultra to 146.3 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 172.4 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p but still substantial. This indicates that while the RX 7900 XT is beginning to work harder, the CPU remains capable of delivering high throughput, as evidenced by the fact that even the heaviest settings at this resolution exceed 144 FPS.

The transition to 3840x2160 fundamentally changes the bottleneck. The Low preset averages 165.3 FPS—a 153.4 FPS reduction from 1080p Low—and High drops to 108.5 FPS, with Ultra falling to 75.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra narrows to 89.9 FPS, which is the smallest of any resolution, indicating that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth (800.0 GB/s) are now the primary constraints. The 4K High result of 108.5 FPS is still playable, but the Ultra preset’s 75.4 FPS shows that the card’s 5376 shading units are fully occupied at this pixel count. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, users should expect a roughly 30% performance penalty when moving from High to Ultra, and a similar penalty when stepping down from 1440p to 4K at the same settings.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database’s tested configurations, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT holds the 372nd position out of 1702 combos for Barony. This percentile placement—roughly the top 21.9% of all tested systems—indicates that the setup is well above average for this title, though it does not crack the upper echelon dominated by more recent or higher-end hardware. The GPU’s individual standing is modest in comparison: the RX 7900 XT sits at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 38358, placing it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (score 38349, deltaPct 0) and slightly ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (score 38225, deltaPct 0.3). Meanwhile, the CPU’s 96th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average score of 70104, puts it in a tight cluster with the Intel Core i7-14700K (score 70074, deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (score 70420, deltaPct -0.4).

The combination’s overall rank of 372 suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier part, the GPU’s mid-80s percentile performance prevents this combo from reaching the top 300. In Barony specifically, the measured FPS numbers show that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, which aligns with its lower relative percentile. The rank also implies that there are 1330 other configurations that outperform this one in aggregate, likely featuring newer GPUs with higher raw throughput. However, the fact that this combo still achieves 232 FPS at 1080p Ultra and 75.4 FPS at 4K Ultra means it is far from a weak performer, just not the absolute best for this particular game’s engine.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The system delivers an average of 323.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is well above the refresh rate of most standard monitors.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 75.4, which is a 156.6 FPS reduction from the 232 FPS achieved at 1920x1080 Ultra.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to bottleneck at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the data shows a moderate spread between Low (318.7 FPS) and Ultra (146.3 FPS), indicating the GPU is starting to limit performance, but the CPU still has enough headroom to push beyond 300 FPS on lighter presets.

Q: What is the rank of this combo among all tested systems in Barony?

A: This configuration ranks 372nd out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the top 21.9% of all systems benchmarked for this game.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 38358, which is virtually identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38349, deltaPct 0) and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38225).

Q: What is the best FPS recorded for this combo across all tested settings?

A: The highest average FPS is 506, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which is the only result exceeding 500 FPS in the measured data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured averages provides a detailed picture of this combo’s behavior. At 1920x1080, the Low preset records 506 FPS, followed by Medium at 374.3 FPS, High at 323.6 FPS, and Ultra at 232 FPS. The incremental drops from Low to Medium (131.7 FPS), Medium to High (50.7 FPS), and High to Ultra (91.6 FPS) show that the game’s settings have a non-linear impact, with the Low-to-Medium jump being the most significant. At 2560x1440, the same progression yields 318.7 FPS (Low), 239.3 FPS (Medium), 204.7 FPS (High), and 146.3 FPS (Ultra). The absolute decrease from 1080p to 1440p is largest for Low (187.3 FPS) and smallest for Ultra (85.7 FPS), indicating that higher preset levels compress the resolution penalty. At 3840x2160, the results are 165.3 FPS (Low), 124.2 FPS (Medium), 108.5 FPS (High), and 75.4 FPS (Ultra). The 4K Low result is still higher than the 1080p Ultra result, which suggests that even at 4K, dropping settings can yield better performance than maxing out at a lower resolution.

The data also reveals that the Medium preset consistently offers a balanced middle ground, with margins over High ranging from 15.7 FPS at 4K to 50.7 FPS at 1080p. Conversely, the Ultra preset’s penalties relative to High are 91.6 FPS (1080p), 58.4 FPS (1440p), and 33.1 FPS (4K), showing that the visual fidelity gain from Ultra becomes relatively cheaper as resolution increases. For users targeting a specific frame rate, the 1440p High result of 204.7 FPS is a strong candidate for high-refresh-rate displays, while the 4K High result of 108.5 FPS is suitable for standard 60 Hz monitors with room to spare.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings a substantial compute foundation to this pairing, with 20 cores and 28 threads running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its synthetic benchmarks underscore its strength: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a single-core score of 6290, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 19287 and single-core score of 2972. These figures place the CPU in the 96th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70104 that is statistically tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K (70074, deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, deltaPct -0.4). In the context of Barony, a roguelike that typically relies on single-threaded game logic and occasional multi-threaded asset streaming, the CPU’s high single-core performance is likely the more relevant attribute, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 506 FPS.

The processor’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample fast storage for game data, which helps maintain high minimum frame rates even when the GPU is under load. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking suggests that it is not a bottleneck in this system, a conclusion supported by the fact that frame rates at 1080p scale more with settings than with resolution. The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—the i7-14700K and the Ryzen 9 9950X—show that the 14700KF is effectively at parity with the best consumer chips, meaning any performance shortfall in Barony must be attributed to the GPU. At 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes further, as the 7900 XT’s 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 192 ROPs become the limiting factors, but the CPU still ensures that frame pacing remains consistent across the board.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend entirely on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080 users, the High preset at 323.6 FPS is an excellent choice, as it provides a smooth experience on any monitor without sacrificing visual quality; stepping to Ultra reduces performance to 232 FPS, which is still high but offers diminishing returns for the 91.6 FPS penalty. At 2560x1440, the High preset’s 204.7 FPS is the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate panels, while Medium at 239.3 FPS is preferable for those who prioritize frame rate over detail. The Ultra preset at this resolution (146.3 FPS) remains viable for 144 Hz displays but starts to approach the lower threshold of that range.

For 3840x2160, the recommendation is more nuanced. The High preset’s 108.5 FPS is ideal for 120 Hz displays, providing a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS baseline. The Medium preset at 124.2 FPS is a better option for users who want a buffer against drops in busy scenes, while the Low preset’s 165.3 FPS is suited for competitive play where frame rate is king. The Ultra preset at 75.4 FPS is only recommended for users with 60 Hz monitors who insist on maximum visual fidelity, as the 33.1 FPS penalty over High is significant. Across all resolutions, the data suggests avoiding Ultra at 4K unless necessary, and favoring High as the balanced default, with Medium as the fallback for higher frame rate targets.