Barony

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 produces a wide performance envelope in Barony, ranging from a highly playable 78.7 FPS at 4K Ultra to a staggering 506.4 FPS at 1080p Low. The data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions and settings, while becoming increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops and graphical load lightens. This combination ranks 368th out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the top 22% of all configurations tested for this roguelike title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the system produces 323.7 FPS, which drops to 203.9 FPS at 1440p High—a reduction of approximately 37%. Moving to 4K High yields 104.7 FPS, which is roughly 49% lower than the 1440p result and 68% lower than the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the rendering pipeline becomes progressively more demanding on the GPU as pixel count grows.

The scaling behavior changes noticeably when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 506.4 FPS, falling to 321 FPS at 1440p Low and 165 FPS at 4K Low. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 37%, similar to the High preset. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K at Low settings is approximately 49%, which mirrors the High preset pattern. This consistency suggests the GPU is the primary limiter across all resolution points, even at the lowest settings where CPU headroom should theoretically be available.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling curve. Starting at 234.7 FPS at 1080p, the frame rate falls to 144.4 FPS at 1440p—a 38% reduction—and then to 78.7 FPS at 4K, another 45% drop. The fact that 4K Ultra produces a frame rate below 80 FPS indicates that the RTX 5070’s rendering capabilities are being fully taxed at this extreme configuration. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra represents a total reduction of 66%, which is the largest proportional drop across all four settings presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings substantial processing resources to this combination, featuring 24 cores and 32 threads based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its boost clock reaches 6.00 GHz, while the base clock sits at 3.20 GHz. The processor includes 36 MB of shared L3 cache, which is relevant for Barony’s procedural generation and simulation logic. The CPU’s benchmark scores reflect its high-end positioning, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 49872 and a single-core score of 7040.

The CPU’s role in Barony becomes evident when examining the frame rate ceilings at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 506.4 FPS result approaches what appears to be a CPU-imposed limit, given that the GPU could theoretically render even faster at such light settings. The PassMark single-thread score of 4697 and the Cinebench R15 single-core score of 709 suggest strong per-core performance, which is critical for a game that likely has a primary simulation thread. The processor’s percentile ranking of 97 versus all CPUs confirms its elite standing, though its average benchmark score of 79824 places it narrowly behind the AMD EPYC 7413 by 0.3%.

The 24-core configuration provides ample multi-threading headroom, but Barony’s frame rates at 1080p suggest the game may not fully utilize all available threads. The drop from 506.4 FPS at Low to 323.7 FPS at High at 1080p—a 36% reduction—indicates that graphics settings have a significant impact even when CPU resources are abundant. This pattern suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at any resolution, as the FPS scales consistently with GPU workload across all settings presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the decisive component in this configuration’s Barony performance. It features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s boost clock runs at 2512 MHz, with a base clock of 2325 MHz. Its 6144 shading units and 80 ROPs provide the raw pixel throughput needed for high-resolution rendering, and the 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores handle specialized workloads.

The GPU’s benchmark performance places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41687. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, scores 41610—a delta of just 0.2%—while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 trails by 0.6% with a score of 41441. This tight clustering indicates the RTX 5070 performs in a well-established performance tier, though its 83rd percentile ranking shows there are many faster GPUs available.

The 4K Ultra result of 78.7 FPS is the clearest indicator of GPU limitation. At this setting, the GPU is processing approximately 8.3 million pixels per frame, and the frame rate falls below the 100 FPS threshold that higher settings typically target. The jump from 4K High at 104.7 FPS to 4K Ultra at 78.7 FPS—a 25% reduction—shows that Ultra settings impose a significant additional rendering cost. The GPU’s 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is being heavily utilized at these settings, and the data suggests that further graphical enhancements would require either a more powerful GPU or reduced resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 368th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 78th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically exceeds the other’s capabilities in this specific title. The CPU’s 97th percentile ranking versus all CPUs and the GPU’s 83rd percentile ranking suggest the combo is slightly CPU-heavy, but the game’s frame rates indicate the GPU handles the primary rendering workload effectively.

The combo’s position in the rankings is influenced by the fact that Barony is a roguelike with relatively modest graphical requirements compared to modern AAA titles. The 506.4 FPS result at 1080p Low demonstrates that this hardware combination can exceed typical display refresh rates by a wide margin at lower settings. The 368th rank among 1702 combos means that 1334 tested configurations performed better in this game, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs with higher single-thread performance.

The ranking also reflects the diminishing returns of higher-tier hardware in Barony. The jump from 1080p Ultra at 234.7 FPS to 4K Ultra at 78.7 FPS shows that even this capable combo struggles to maintain high frame rates at maximum settings and resolution. The 1702 total combos tested include configurations with significantly more powerful GPUs, which would achieve higher 4K Ultra frame rates and thus secure better rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 506.4 FPS, Medium reaches 377.6 FPS, High achieves 323.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 234.7 FPS. The step from Low to Medium represents a 25% reduction, while the step from Medium to High costs another 14%. The jump from High to Ultra is the most expensive at 27%, reflecting the additional rendering features enabled at the Ultra preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show GPU pressure. Low settings deliver 321 FPS, Medium reaches 237.3 FPS, High produces 203.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 144.4 FPS. The percentage reductions from 1080p are 37% for Low, 37% for Medium, 37% for High, and 38% for Ultra. This uniform scaling confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor across all settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates reflect the substantial pixel increase. Low settings yield 165 FPS, Medium reaches 122.3 FPS, High produces 104.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 78.7 FPS. The reduction from 1440p is 49% for Low, 48% for Medium, 49% for High, and 45% for Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 80 FPS, suggesting that players seeking a consistent 60 FPS experience can comfortably use Ultra settings at 4K, while those targeting higher refresh rates would need to drop to High or Medium presets.