Barony

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Barony, a roguelike where frame pacing can be critical for dodging traps and enemies. The measured data shows this combination handles the game with significant headroom across most settings, with the primary trade-off appearing at the highest resolutions and quality presets. Based on the measured frames per second, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, particularly for users with high-refresh-rate displays, as it maintains a 60 FPS minimum even at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. At 1080p, the Medium preset achieves an average of 213 FPS with a minimum of 181 FPS, which is exceptionally high and well beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. The Low preset pushes this to 287 FPS, but the jump from Low to Medium is substantial in visual quality for a relatively modest performance cost. The High preset at 1080p still delivers a robust 183 FPS average, making it a viable alternative if the user prioritizes slightly better textures and effects over the higher frame rates of Medium or Low.

At 1440p, the data reveals that Medium remains the sweet spot, delivering a 135 FPS average and a 114 FPS minimum. High follows closely at 116 FPS average, which is still excellent. Ultra at 1440p drops to an 83 FPS average, which is playable but represents a significant reduction in smoothness compared to Medium. For 4K, the situation changes dramatically. Medium is the only preset that guarantees a 60 FPS minimum, with an average of 70 FPS. High at 4K averages 60 FPS, but the lack of a recorded minimum suggests it can dip below that threshold, making it riskier for maintaining a perfectly consistent frame rate. Ultra at 4K falls to a 43 FPS average, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay.

Given this data, the Medium preset is the recommended choice for most scenarios. It provides a 60 FPS minimum at 4K, a 114 FPS minimum at 1440p, and a 181 FPS minimum at 1080p. This ensures a consistently fluid experience regardless of the display resolution. The High preset is a reasonable compromise for 1080p and 1440p users who want enhanced visual details without sacrificing the high frame rates, but it is not recommended for 4K due to the potential for sub-60 FPS dips. The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, where the 131 FPS average is still acceptable, but it is clearly intended for users who prioritize maximum graphical quality over frame rate stability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the defining component in this pairing for Barony's performance at higher resolutions. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for the game's assets, as evidenced by the smooth performance at 4K Medium, which is the most memory-intensive setting tested that remains playable. The GPU's boost clock of 1650 MHz and its 2176 shading units are responsible for the raw pixel-pushing capability.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's architecture is Turing, built on a 12 nm process from TSMC. Its performance percentile against all GPUs is 62, indicating it is a mid-range performer. The data shows a clear GPU bottleneck at 4K, where the average FPS drops significantly compared to lower resolutions. For instance, moving from 1440p High (116 FPS) to 4K High (60 FPS) halves the frame rate, highlighting the GPU's workload at that resolution. The GPU's direct competitors, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (which scores -0.4% deltaPct) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (-0.5% deltaPct), are statistically tied in synthetic benchmarks, but the measured game data shows this specific card is well-suited for Barony's demands. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in the measured rows, as even the Ultra preset at 4K runs without reported issues, albeit at a low 43 FPS average.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and setting combination for a 60 FPS experience?

A: The 4K Medium preset is the only 4K option that guarantees a 60 FPS minimum, with an average of 70 FPS. At 1440p, the Ultra preset also achieves an average of 83 FPS, which is above 60 FPS, but the Medium preset offers a much higher 135 FPS average for a smoother experience on high-refresh monitors.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER's performance compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The data shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score is 18093. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, has a score of 18159, which is a deltaPct of -0.4%. The AMD Radeon RX 460 has a score of 18373, a deltaPct of -1.5%, indicating the RTX 2060 SUPER is slightly behind these cards in raw synthetic tests, though the game-specific performance is strong.

*Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF a bottleneck for this GPU in Barony?*

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combination reaches 287 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that would stress many CPUs. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and single-core score of 6235 indicate immense processing power. The fact that FPS scales inversely with resolution (higher at 1080p, lower at 4K) points to the GPU being the primary limiter at higher resolutions, while the CPU handles the low-resolution frame generation efficiently.

Q: What is the measurable difference between Low and Medium settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 181 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 135 FPS. This is a difference of 46 FPS, or roughly a 25% reduction in frame rate, when moving from Low to Medium. The Medium preset also provides a recorded minimum of 114 FPS, ensuring a stable experience, whereas the Low preset has no minimum recorded, implying it stays at a very high level.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset for this game?

A: The Ultra preset is only recommended if you are playing at 1080p and prioritize visual fidelity, as it yields a 131 FPS average. At 1440p, the average drops to 83 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS standard. The data shows that the Medium preset provides a more stable and higher frame rate at all resolutions, making it a superior choice for gameplay.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity of 8 GB limit the game's performance?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, there is no indication that the 8 GB VRAM is a bottleneck. The game runs at all settings and resolutions without failing to produce a playable frame rate. The lowest average FPS recorded was 43 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a performance issue related to the GPU's compute power rather than a memory capacity problem, as the game still executes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2616 out of 3717 tested combos for this game. This places it in the 30th percentile of all tested system configurations, indicating that while it is not a top-tier setup, it performs admirably for its component class. The rank suggests that many other combinations, likely featuring more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates, but this specific pairing offers a consistent experience.

The CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 94, meaning it is faster than 94% of CPUs in the database. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 62, meaning it is faster than 62% of GPUs. The disparity in these percentiles highlights the imbalance of the pairing; the CPU is a high-end part while the GPU is a mid-range one. This is reflected in the game data, where the frame rates are high at lower resolutions (where the CPU matters more) but fall off at 4K (where the GPU is the limiting factor). The combo rank of 2616 suggests that for users with this CPU, upgrading the GPU would yield a significant improvement in Barony's performance, particularly at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data demonstrates a clear and predictable scaling pattern across resolutions. At the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 213 at 1080p to 135 at 1440p, a reduction of 78 FPS, and then to 70 at 4K, a further reduction of 65 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting component as resolution increases. The scaling is not linear; the drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 37% reduction in FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a 48% reduction. This suggests that the GPU's workload grows super-linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a game that is heavily reliant on fill rate.

At the Low preset, the scaling is even more pronounced. The average FPS goes from 287 at 1080p to 181 at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 95 at 4K (a 48% drop). This pattern shows that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The CPU, with its high single-core score of 6235 in Cinebench R23, is clearly capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p, as evidenced by the 287 FPS result, but the GPU cannot maintain that throughput as the pixel count increases. This analysis confirms that for Barony, the RTX 2060 SUPER is the component that determines the upper limit of performance at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU provides ample headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a detailed view of performance across all nine tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 287 FPS. The Medium preset averages 213 FPS, with a minimum of 181 FPS and a maximum of 245 FPS. The High preset averages 183 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 131 FPS. These numbers illustrate that even at the highest settings, the 1080p experience is exceptionally smooth, with no configuration dropping below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 181 FPS. The Medium preset delivers a 135 FPS average, with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. The High preset averages 116 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. The 1440p data shows that the Medium and High presets are both excellent for high-refresh monitors, while the Ultra preset remains well above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 95 FPS. The Medium preset is the standout, with a 70 FPS average and a 60 FPS minimum, making it the only 4K setting that guarantees a 60 FPS floor. The High preset averages 60 FPS, but with no recorded minimum, it may dip below that level. The Ultra preset averages 43 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that falls below the 60 FPS standard. This breakdown highlights the Medium preset as the optimal choice for 4K, providing a stable and playable frame rate without the risk of stuttering.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a powerhouse processor that provides the computational foundation for this system. It features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This CPU is built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture using a 10 nm process. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and a single-core score of 6235. In the Geekbench tests, it scores 21462 in multi-core and 2578 in single-core.

In the context of Barony, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, enemy AI, and physics calculations. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 287 FPS, a frame rate that would be challenging for many CPUs to sustain. The fact that the FPS scales down consistently with resolution increases confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU. The CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 94, meaning it outperforms 94% of processors in the database. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, which has an average score of 69515 and a deltaPct of 0.9%, indicating the i7-14700KF is slightly ahead. The data implies that for Barony, the i7-14700KF offers far more processing power than needed, ensuring that the game's frame rate is entirely dependent on the GPU's capabilities. This makes the CPU a future-proof component that would support a GPU upgrade without becoming a new bottleneck.