Barony

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a dominant performance in Barony, ranking in the 46th percentile of all tested system combos. The data shows this pairing is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions, while the CPU's robust multi-threading capabilities ensure the game remains fluid even at 4K Ultra settings. This is a high-performance mobile setup where the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates, but the processor provides a solid foundation that prevents bottlenecks at standard monitor refresh rates.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and can boost up to 4.80 GHz, providing a substantial amount of processing power for a roguelike title like Barony. The processor features a 24 MB shared L3 cache and a dual-channel DDR5 memory bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which helps feed data to the cores efficiently during complex game logic and procedural generation.

In the context of Barony, the CPU's role is to handle game state calculations, enemy AI, and world generation. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is more than adequate for this task. The processor's Passmark multi-thread score of 24873 and single-thread score of 3468 place it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, showing strong performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028 and single-core score of 1743 further confirm its capability. When comparing to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 7 155H is essentially tied with the Intel Core i5-14600T, which has an average score of 32707 versus the Ultra 7's 32697, a negligible 0% delta. It is also within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F, indicating that its raw compute performance is competitive with desktop-class alternatives.

Looking at the measured frame rates, the CPU does not appear to be the limiting factor. At 1080p High settings, the system achieves an average of 217 FPS, and at 1440p High, it reaches 137 FPS. These high frame rates suggest that the processor can keep up with the GPU's output. The most telling sign is at 4K Ultra settings, where the average FPS drops to 51. This is a significant decrease from the 1080p Ultra result of 156 FPS, which points to the GPU being the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings, not the CPU. The processor's ability to sustain high minimum frame rates, such as the 215 FPS minimum at 1080p Medium, indicates that it is not causing stutters or frame dips, providing a stable gaming experience.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly correlate with the frame rates observed in Barony. This GPU is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, featuring 5888 shading units and 184 tensor cores. It has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with a memory clock running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is crucial for handling the game's textures and graphical effects at high resolutions.

The GPU's performance in Barony is strong across all tested settings. Its Passmark G3D score of 26927 places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, has an average score of 37628 versus the RTX 4070's 37648, a 0.1% delta, indicating a near tie in synthetic benchmarks. However, the RTX 4070 is 1.3% behind the RTX 4080 Mobile, showing there is a performance tier above it. This GPU is clearly capable of delivering high frame rates in this game, as evidenced by the 340 FPS average at 1080p Low settings.

The GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth are sufficient for Barony, as the game does not appear to be VRAM-limited at the tested resolutions. The 12 GB frame buffer is more than enough for a roguelike with this visual complexity. The data shows that the GPU scales well with resolution, but the frame rate drops are more pronounced at 4K, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being taxed. The transition from 1080p Ultra (156 FPS) to 4K Ultra (51 FPS) represents a 67% reduction in performance, which is a typical pattern for a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering load increases quadratically with pixel count. The RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the driving force behind these results.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific configuration of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1572 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all systems tested for this game, meaning it is faster than most but not at the absolute top end. The rank of 1572 out of 2935 indicates that while this is a strong setup, there are many other combinations that deliver higher average frame rates, likely featuring more powerful desktop-class GPUs or newer processors.

The ranking is a reflection of the balance between the CPU and GPU. The RTX 4070 is a capable card, but it is not the most powerful in the GeForce 40-series, and its mobile variant is often outclassed by high-end desktop GPUs. The Core Ultra 7 155H is a mobile processor, and while it performs well, desktop CPUs with higher clock speeds and more cache can provide better game performance. The combo's rank suggests that in Barony, the GPU is the more significant contributor to the final score, as the game is not heavily CPU-dependent. The measured frame rates at 1080p, where the CPU is less likely to be a bottleneck, still show the GPU's output, and the rank indicates that other combos with stronger GPUs achieve higher scores. This is a solid, high-refresh-rate 1440p setup, but it is not a top-tier 4K performer, as the 51 FPS average at 4K Ultra shows.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p High settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 137 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Barony?*

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS is 51, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. Lowering to 4K High settings raises the average to 72 FPS, providing a more comfortable experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H has an average benchmark score of 32697, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14600T's score of 32707, representing a 0% performance delta. It is also within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the tested configurations?

A: The data shows minimum FPS values for Medium settings only. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 215 FPS, at 1440p Medium it is 136 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 71 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The average FPS drops from 156 at 1080p Ultra to 51 at 4K Ultra, a 67% reduction, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload where the rendering resolution increases significantly.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, indicating it performs better than 81% of the graphics cards in the database.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The frame rate scaling across resolutions is a clear indicator of a GPU-bound system. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 217 at 1080p to 137 at 1440p, and then to 72 at 4K. This is a predictable pattern in which the performance decreases as the pixel count increases. The most dramatic drop occurs between 1440p and 4K, where the frame rate is nearly halved (from 137 to 72 FPS). This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate are being saturated at 4K resolution.

Looking at the Ultra settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The system achieves 156 FPS at 1080p, 98 FPS at 1440p, and only 51 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is a 67% reduction from the 1080p baseline, which is a significant performance hit that highlights the GPU's limitations at that resolution. This pattern is consistent with the RTX 4070's specifications, as its 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are challenged by the 8.3 million pixels at 4K. The CPU is not the bottleneck here, as it is capable of maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.

The data for Medium settings provides a similar story. The minimum FPS values show a clear degradation: 215 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K. This consistent scaling pattern across all settings confirms that the GPU is the primary performance limiter. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates as the resolution decreases, but that is not the case. The system scales almost linearly with resolution, which is the hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the "High" preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this system in Barony. At 1080p High, the system delivers an average of 217 FPS, which is excellent for a fast-paced roguelike. At 1440p High, the average drops to 137 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. Even at 4K High, the system maintains an average of 72 FPS, making it the only preset that provides a playable 4K experience above 60 FPS. The High preset appears to be the sweet spot, leveraging the GPU's capabilities without the significant performance penalty of Ultra.

The "Medium" preset is a viable alternative for players who prioritize higher frame rates over visual fidelity. The data shows that Medium settings yield a 253 FPS average at 1080p and 159 FPS at 1440p, with a minimum FPS of 215 and 136 respectively. This preset provides a substantial performance boost over High, making it ideal for competitive play or for users with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors who want to maximize frame rates. However, the visual differences between Medium and High are often minimal in roguelike titles, so the performance gain may not be worth the graphical compromise for all players.

The "Ultra" preset is not recommended for most use cases. While it achieves 156 FPS at 1080p and 98 FPS at 1440p, the 4K performance drops to just 51 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay. The "Low" preset offers the highest frame rates, with a 340 FPS average at 1080p, but this is likely to result in a significant reduction in visual quality that detracts from the game's atmosphere. The data suggests that for a balanced experience, High settings are the best choice, providing high frame rates at all resolutions while maintaining good visual fidelity. For users with 4K displays, High is the only preset that consistently delivers above 60 FPS, making it the clear recommendation.