Barony

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers a surprisingly strong performance profile in Barony, a roguelike title that scales well across resolutions and settings. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of high frame rates even at demanding 4K with medium settings, while lower resolutions push well beyond typical high-refresh-rate thresholds. The RTX 2070 SUPER, despite being an end-of-life product from the Turing generation, proves to be the primary driver of performance in this game, with the Core Ultra 5 225 providing ample headroom at every tested configuration. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, resolution scaling, component roles, and how this combo ranks among the extensive database of tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but predictable, revealing a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 202 FPS at 1920x1080 to 127 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 67 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 47% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. The pattern is consistent with a graphics card that has a fixed 8 GB GDDR6 memory buffer and a 256-bit bus, where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Low settings show the most dramatic scaling, with 316 FPS at 1080p dropping to 199 FPS at 1440p and then 104 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop of 117 FPS is the largest absolute decrease across all settings, indicating that even at Low settings, the GPU's shading units and ROPs are heavily taxed by the increased pixel count. The 4K Low result of 104 FPS still clears the 100 FPS mark, which suggests the RTX 2070 SUPER retains enough raw throughput for playable performance when visual effects are minimized.

Medium settings provide the only complete data set with minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 235 FPS with a minimum of 200 FPS and maximum of 270 FPS. Stepping to 1440p yields 148 FPS average with 126 FPS minimum and 171 FPS maximum. At 4K, the average drops to 78 FPS with 66 FPS minimum and 89 FPS maximum. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium sits at 66 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this combo can maintain playable frame rates at 4K with Medium settings, though without much margin for demanding scenes.

Ultra settings expose the hardest scaling curve. From 145 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 1440p and finally 48 FPS at 4K, the drop is consistent and steep. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS falls below the 60 FPS standard, making Ultra at 4K a less viable option for this pairing. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra represents a 47% reduction, nearly identical to the High settings drop, reinforcing that the RTX 2070 SUPER's pixel throughput is the binding constraint at higher resolutions.

The data suggests that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the high FPS values across all settings—even 145 FPS at Ultra—indicate that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU sufficiently, but the GPU still has headroom to spare. At 1440p, the GPU becomes more dominant, and at 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, with FPS values dropping in proportion to pixel count increases. The Core Ultra 5 225, with its 10 cores and 10 threads and boost clock of 4.90 GHz, does not appear to constrain performance at any tested resolution, as the FPS scaling tracks GPU workload rather than CPU capability.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER is the workhorse of this combination in Barony, and its specifications directly explain the measured FPS patterns. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is sufficient for this game's textures and geometry even at 4K, as evidenced by the playable Medium settings result of 78 FPS. The memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) provides the bandwidth needed to feed the 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, which handle the pixel processing that drives resolution scaling.

The GPU's boost clock of 1770 MHz, up from a base of 1605 MHz, supports consistent performance across the tested settings. The Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process with 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, delivers 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. This compute throughput is what enables the 316 FPS result at 1080p Low, where vertex and pixel work are minimal but still require substantial shader execution.

In the benchmark database, the RTX 2070 SUPER sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M with a score of 20480 (1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (1.2% higher), the Intel Arc B570 at 20556 (1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (1.5% higher). These margins are small, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER performs in a tightly contested tier. In Barony, however, the GPU's performance exceeds what its percentile might suggest, as the game's roguelike rendering demands are not extreme.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. Barony is a roguelike with relatively modest texture requirements, so the 8 GB buffer is not exceeded at any tested setting. This is evident from the fact that even Ultra settings at 4K produce a measurable average of 48 FPS rather than collapsing due to memory swapping. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and frame buffer updates do not become a separate bottleneck, allowing the FPS to scale primarily with shading and ROP workload.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility mean that Barony can leverage modern rendering paths. The 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present but likely unused in this game, as roguelikes typically do not employ ray tracing or DLSS features. The 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate and 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate provide the raw throughput that drives the resolution scaling observed in the data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1678 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 57th percentile of all configurations in the database. This rank reflects the GPU's mid-tier position rather than the CPU's strength, as the Core Ultra 5 225 ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 36938.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the general benchmark database are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with a score of 36945 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at 37018 (-0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at 37093 (-0.4%), and the Intel Core i9-12900T at 37112 (-0.5%). These scores are nearly identical, meaning the Core Ultra 5 225 performs on par with these alternatives in synthetic tests. In Barony, the CPU's performance is more than adequate, as the FPS data shows no signs of CPU limitation even at 1080p Low where the GPU is producing 316 FPS.

The combo rank of 1678 suggests that most higher-ranked combinations use more powerful GPUs, as the CPU is unlikely to be the differentiating factor. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 65th percentile GPU rank correlates with a combo rank that sits below the median, indicating that Barony's performance is heavily weighted toward GPU capability. Given that the GPU's nearest rivals are within 1.5% of its average score, swapping the RTX 2070 SUPER for any of those alternatives would likely produce similar FPS results in this game, keeping the combo rank roughly stable.

The data is marked as measured, meaning these FPS values come from actual testing rather than estimation. This adds confidence to the rank and the resolution scaling analysis. The 2935 total combos provide a broad context, and a rank of 1678 places this pairing in the upper-middle tier, suitable for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming and playable 1440p experiences, with 4K performance dependent on settings adjustments.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Barony at 4K with smooth frame rates?

A: Yes, at Medium settings the average FPS is 78 with a minimum of 66 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. At High settings, the average drops to 67 FPS. Ultra settings produce 48 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS standard.

Q: What is the best resolution for high-refresh-rate monitors?

A: At 1080p, even Ultra settings achieve 145 FPS average, while Medium reaches 235 FPS and Low hits 316 FPS. At 1440p, High settings produce 127 FPS average, making that resolution viable for 120 Hz displays, while Ultra drops to 91 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The GPU has an average benchmark score of 20282, placing it at the 65th percentile. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480 (1% higher), the RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (1.2% higher), the Intel Arc B570 scores 20556 (1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582 (1.5% higher). All are within 1.5% of the RTX 2070 SUPER's score.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in Barony?

A: No. The Core Ultra 5 225 has 10 cores and 10 threads with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, and the FPS scaling across resolutions follows GPU workload patterns. At 1080p Low, the GPU produces 316 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed it adequately at all tested settings.

Q: What is the 4K Ultra performance, and is it playable?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 48. This is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, so users should select Medium (78 FPS) or High (67 FPS) for better 4K performance.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to the total database?

A: The combo ranks 1678 out of 2935 tested combinations in Barony. This places it in the upper-middle range, consistent with the GPU's 65th percentile ranking and the CPU's 85th percentile ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are 316 at Low settings, 235 at Medium, 202 at High, and 145 at Ultra. The Medium setting also records a minimum of 200 FPS and a maximum of 270 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. The spread from Low to Ultra is 171 FPS, indicating that visual settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution. Even at Ultra, the 145 FPS average exceeds the needs of most 144 Hz monitors, making 1080p a comfortable environment for this combo.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 199 at Low, 148 at Medium, 127 at High, and 91 at Ultra. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 171 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant across all settings, with Low falling by 117 FPS, Medium by 87 FPS, High by 75 FPS, and Ultra by 54 FPS. This resolution is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming, as even Ultra stays above 90 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 104 at Low, 78 at Medium, 67 at High, and 48 at Ultra. The Medium setting provides a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 89 FPS. The 4K results show a clear hierarchy: Low and Medium are playable, High is borderline, and Ultra is below the 60 FPS threshold. The fact that Low settings still achieve 104 FPS at 4K indicates that the GPU has enough raw power for this game when effects are reduced.

The complete data set includes 12 measured points, with only the Medium settings providing minimum and maximum values. The absence of min/max data for other settings limits variance analysis, but the available numbers for Medium across all three resolutions show consistent frame pacing, with the spread between minimum and maximum being 70 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions is consistent with GPU-bound workloads where frame times become more uniform.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 plays a supporting role in Barony, providing ample processing headroom that never becomes the limiting factor. The CPU has 10 cores and 10 threads, a base clock of 3.30 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per core L2 cache provide sufficient data locality for game logic and entity updates typical of roguelike titles.

The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 25891 in multicore and 3655 in single-core tests. PassMark multithread score is 30459, and single-thread score is 4412. These scores place the CPU at the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938. The nearest rivals—AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, Ryzen 5 5500X3D, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Intel Core i9-12900T—all score within 0.5% of the Core Ultra 5 225, indicating that any of these CPUs would perform nearly identically in Barony.

The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth ensure that memory bandwidth is not a constraint for this game. The CPU's PCIe Gen 5 support with 20 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the RTX 2070 SUPER, which uses PCIe 3.0 x16, though backward compatibility means the GPU operates at PCIe 3.0 speeds without issue.

In Barony, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, pathfinding, and entity management, which are typical for roguelike games with procedural generation. The 10 threads are more than sufficient, and the high single-core performance from the 4.90 GHz boost clock ensures that any single-threaded workloads do not bottleneck. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (316 FPS) is strong evidence that the CPU can push frame rates well beyond what most monitors can display, and the resolution scaling pattern confirms that the GPU, not the CPU, is the performance limiter at higher resolutions.

The CPU's integrated graphics (Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 16EU) are irrelevant for this discrete GPU configuration, but their presence does not interfere with performance. The CPU's production status is active, and its release date of 2025-01-06 makes it a current-generation part, though the GPU is end-of-life. This pairing of a new CPU with an older GPU creates a balanced system where the CPU will not need upgrading for many future game titles, while the GPU is the component to watch for more demanding games than Barony.