Barony

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. In Barony, a roguelike title, this CPU’s role is primarily about maintaining high frame rates rather than being the bottleneck, as the game’s mechanics are not heavily dependent on multi-threaded workloads. The processor’s 36 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 help ensure that data flow to the GPU remains uninterrupted, which is critical for sustaining the high average FPS observed in the benchmark results.

The CPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 97th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 79824. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7413, scores 80041, a delta of -0.3%, meaning the EPYC is marginally ahead, while the Intel Core i9-14900KF and Core Ultra 7 265KF trail by 0.7%, and the Core Ultra 7 265K trails by 0.9%. For Barony, these differences are negligible at most settings, as the game’s frame rates are far more dependent on GPU performance, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU’s single-core performance, indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7040, is robust, but the game’s results show that even at 1080p Low, where frame rates reach 448.3 FPS, the CPU does not appear to be the limiting factor, as the GPU still has headroom to render frames.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i9-14900K perform relative to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i9-14900K has an average benchmark score of 79824, placing it in the 97th percentile. Its closest competitor, the AMD EPYC 7413, scores 80041, which is 0.3% higher. The Intel Core i9-14900KF and Core Ultra 7 265KF score 79245 and 79240, respectively, each 0.7% lower, while the Core Ultra 7 265K scores 79102, which is 0.9% lower.

Q: What is the CPU’s core and thread configuration, and does it benefit Barony?

A: The i9-14900K features 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. Barony, being a roguelike, typically does not scale perfectly with many cores, so the high boost clock is more relevant for maintaining consistent frame rates, though the data indicates the GPU is the primary driver of performance in this game.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory capacity and bandwidth, and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 66.2, which suggests the GPU’s VRAM and bandwidth are sufficient for this title, but the frame rate drop from High to Ultra indicates a significant load increase on the GPU.

Q: How does the RTX 3080’s average benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 35787, placing it in the 80th percentile. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo scores 35860, which is 0.2% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 36101, 0.9% higher. The AMD Radeon 880M scores 35646, 0.4% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 35435, 1% lower.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations in Barony?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 537th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top third of all systems tested, which is strong for a roguelike that may not demand extreme hardware.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the system achieve the highest frame rate?

A: The highest average frame rate is 448.3 FPS at 1080p with Low settings. This drops to 286.3 FPS at High settings and 204.2 FPS at Ultra, showing that while the system is capable of very high FPS at lower settings, the gap narrows as settings increase.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, featuring 8704 shading units, 272 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. Its base clock is 1440 MHz with a boost clock of 1710 MHz, and it has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The GPU’s FP32 performance is 29.77 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. In Barony, the GPU is the dominant component, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling across resolutions and settings.

At 1080p Low, the RTX 3080 pushes 448.3 FPS, but this drops to 286.3 FPS at High and 204.2 FPS at Ultra. At 1440p, the frame rates are 287.1 FPS at Low, 181.6 FPS at High, and 132.2 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the GPU’s workload increases significantly, with 146.5 FPS at Low and 66.2 FPS at Ultra. The 10 GB VRAM appears adequate for Barony, as the game does not exhibit VRAM-related stutters in the data, but the performance drop from High to Ultra at 4K (from 92.4 FPS to 66.2 FPS) indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed by the higher settings. The RTX 3080’s average benchmark score of 35787 places it in the 80th percentile, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, scores 36101, which is 0.9% higher, but in Barony, the RTX 3080 still delivers playable frame rates at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 537th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This places the system in the top 31.5% of all configurations tested, which is a strong showing for a roguelike game that may not require top-tier hardware. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where the i9-14900K’s high single-thread performance and the RTX 3080’s capable rasterization power combine to deliver high frame rates across most settings. However, the rank also indicates that there are 536 combos that perform better, likely featuring newer or more powerful GPUs, as the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game.

In comparison to other combos, the i9-14900K’s position in the 97th percentile of CPUs and the RTX 3080’s 80th percentile of GPUs suggests that the system’s overall ranking is constrained by the GPU, not the CPU. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7413, which scores 0.3% higher, would likely not change the game’s performance, as Barony is not CPU-bound at typical settings. The combo’s rank of 537 is a reflection of the GPU’s mid-to-high tier status, and the data shows that the system is capable of exceeding 200 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a clear trend as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, with the average FPS dropping significantly. At Low settings, the system produces 448.3 FPS at 1080p, 287.1 FPS at 1440p, and 146.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67.3% drop from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s performance would not degrade with resolution. At High settings, the frame rates are 286.3 FPS at 1080p, 181.6 FPS at 1440p, and 92.4 FPS at 4K, a 67.7% drop. At Ultra settings, the frame rates are 204.2 FPS at 1080p, 132.2 FPS at 1440p, and 66.2 FPS at 4K, a 67.6% drop.

The consistent percentage drop across settings suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the RTX 3080’s workload scales with pixel count. The CPU, with its high boost clock and 24 cores, is not the limiting factor, as even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate is highest, the CPU does not cap performance. The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens at higher resolutions, with a 3.1x difference at 1080p (448.3 vs 204.2 FPS) compared to a 2.2x difference at 4K (146.5 vs 66.2 FPS). This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even reducing settings to Low does not yield the same proportional improvement as at lower resolutions, confirming that the RTX 3080 is the limiting component in this combo.