Barony

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers exceptional performance in Barony, a roguelike title that is clearly not demanding on modern hardware. The measured frame rates are consistently high across all tested resolutions and settings, positioning this system in the top tier of tested configurations. This analysis breaks down the performance data, examining how the CPU and GPU each contribute to the results and what the numbers indicate about the system's overall capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

Examining the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a predictable scaling pattern that points to the GPU as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 320 FPS at 1920x1080 to 202 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 118 FPS, and then further down to 105 FPS at 3840x2160, another drop of 97 FPS. This steep decline as pixel count increases is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload grows faster than the CPU's ability to feed the graphics card.

The scaling holds across other settings as well. With Medium settings, the system produces 372 FPS at 1080p, 235 FPS at 1440p, and 123 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 249 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the High setting drop of 215 FPS. This consistent pattern across different quality presets reinforces that resolution is the dominant variable affecting performance, a clear indicator that the rendering pipeline is the bottleneck rather than the processor.

At Low settings, the frame rates are so high that the scaling becomes even more pronounced, with 501 FPS at 1080p dropping to 316 FPS at 1440p and 165 FPS at 4K. The 4K result at Low settings is still far above playable thresholds, but the 336 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K suggests that even at the lowest quality, the GPU is working harder to fill those extra pixels. The data shows that at 1080p, particularly at Low and Medium settings, the CPU may be starting to limit performance, as the frame rates exceed 500 FPS, which is near the practical limit for many game engines.

The Ultra preset shows the same trend, with 229 FPS at 1080p, 145 FPS at 1440p, and 76 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measurement below 100 FPS in the entire dataset, but it remains perfectly smooth for a roguelike game. Overall, the scaling behavior indicates a well-balanced system where the GPU handles the resolution increase gracefully, and the CPU provides enough headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck until frame rates reach extreme levels.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the workhorse of this configuration, and its specifications align well with the measured performance. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Barony, a game with a 2015 release date that does not feature the large texture sets or complex geometry of modern AAA titles. The 12 GB capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra settings, the game's assets fit comfortably within the frame buffer, avoiding any potential stuttering from memory swapping.

The GPU's clock speeds are modest, with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. These clocks are not particularly high, but the architecture's efficiency compensates, as evidenced by the strong frame rates. The RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process node from TSMC, which contributes to its performance-per-watt characteristics. The GPU's 6144 shading units and 80 ROPs are the key components that drive the pixel fill rate, and they are clearly capable of handling Barony's undemanding visual workload.

The benchmark data for the RTX 5070 shows strong synthetic performance, with a Passmark G3D score of 29137 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077. These scores place the GPU in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, indicating solid mainstream performance. However, the nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are somewhat unexpected, including AMD Radeon Pro 580 and AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, which are professional workstation cards with different driver optimizations. The delta percentages are small, with the RTX 5070 trailing the Radeon Pro 580 by 0.1% and leading the Radeon Pro 5300 by 1.2%, suggesting that in raw compute terms, the card is closely matched with these professional parts.

In Barony, the GPU's role is to render the game's simple voxel-based graphics at high frame rates. The data shows that the RTX 5070 is never stressed to its limits, even at 4K Ultra, where it produces 76 FPS. This suggests that the GPU's capabilities are far beyond what this game requires, and the limiting factor at lower resolutions is likely the CPU or the game engine's frame rate cap. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support with feature level 12_2 ensures compatibility with the latest rendering APIs, though Barony likely uses an older DirectX path given its age.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This is a high-core-count desktop part that is overkill for a roguelike like Barony, which rarely utilizes more than a few threads. The CPU's architecture, Arrow Lake-S, is built on a 3 nm process node and features a 30 MB shared L3 cache, which helps with data locality for games that do rely on single-thread performance.

The CPU's benchmark results are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960. These scores place the processor in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, indicating top-tier performance for both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Passmark single-thread score of 4689 is particularly relevant for gaming, as many games, including older titles like Barony, are heavily dependent on single-thread performance. The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz is high, and it appears to be sustaining that frequency under load based on the frame rates.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks are server-class parts like the AMD EPYC 4464P and EPYC 7343, which have much higher core counts but similar average scores. The Core Ultra 7 265 is 0.3% faster than the EPYC 4464P and 0.7% faster than the EPYC 7343, while being 0.3% slower than the Core Ultra 7 265F. This proximity in scores suggests that the CPU's raw compute power is competitive with enterprise hardware, but those server chips have different power and thermal profiles.

In Barony, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, pathfinding, and the procedural generation that is characteristic of roguelikes. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 501 FPS, which is likely near the engine's limit or the CPU's ability to process frames. The fact that the frame rate increases from 501 FPS at Low to 320 FPS at High at 1080p indicates that the CPU can maintain high frame rates regardless of graphical settings, but the GPU becomes more involved as settings increase. The CPU's 20 threads are likely underutilized, but the high single-thread performance ensures that the game logic is processed quickly, preventing any CPU-bound frame rate drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 583rd out of 2935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the high frame rates achieved across the board, but it also indicates that there are many other combos that perform similarly or better, likely due to the game's low requirements. The rank of 583 out of 2935 means that approximately 2352 other combos perform worse, which confirms the strength of this pairing.

The rank is influenced by the fact that Barony is not a graphically demanding game, so even mid-range hardware can achieve high frame rates. The data shows that the combo achieves over 200 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is a level of performance that many other combos may not reach, but the gap between this combo and higher-ranked ones is likely small in absolute FPS terms. The 4K Ultra result of 76 FPS is the weakest link in the dataset, but it still clears the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

The combo's rank is somewhat surprising given the CPU and GPU's percentile rankings of 93 and 82, respectively. One might expect a higher rank, but the game's simplicity means that the combo's performance is not limited by hardware, but rather by the game engine's frame rate caps or other software limitations. The measured data confirms that this combo is more than capable of playing Barony at maximum settings in 4K, which is not something that can be said for many other games. The rank of 583 is a solid result, and it suggests that the combo is well-suited for this title, even if it is not the absolute best.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of performance across four settings presets and three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 501 FPS at Low, 372 FPS at Medium, 320 FPS at High, and 229 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset includes minimum and maximum frame rates of 317 and 428 FPS respectively, indicating a stable frame time distribution with no major dips. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 272 FPS, showing that the GPU has a significant impact on performance even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain exceptionally high. The average FPS is 316 at Low, 235 at Medium, 202 at High, and 145 at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 200 FPS and a maximum of 270 FPS, which is a tighter range than at 1080p, suggesting that the workload becomes more consistent as the GPU takes on more of the rendering burden. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 171 FPS, a smaller gap than at 1080p, which indicates that the CPU is less of a factor at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system still produces very playable frame rates. The average FPS is 165 at Low, 123 at Medium, 105 at High, and 76 at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS, which is a 37 FPS spread, the smallest of any resolution, indicating that the GPU is fully utilized and frame times are consistent. The 4K Ultra result of 76 FPS is the lowest in the entire dataset, but it is still smooth for a roguelike, and the 4K Low result of 165 FPS shows that the system has plenty of headroom even at the highest resolution.

The data across all resolutions shows a clear trend: the frame rate drops are proportional to the increase in pixel count and settings level. The system never falls below 76 FPS, which reflects the hardware's capabilities. The minimum frame rates are only available for the Medium preset, but they show that the system maintains stable performance without significant stutters.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Barony?

A: The highest average frame rate is 501 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings in Barony?

A: Yes, it produces an average of 76 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The CPU has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 and a multi-core score of 42216, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4689.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The minimum frame rate for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 200 FPS, with a maximum of 270 FPS and an average of 235 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 501 FPS, which is likely near the game engine's limit, suggesting the CPU may be the limiting factor at this extreme frame rate.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combos in Barony?

A: This combo ranks 583rd out of 2935 tested combos, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For players with a 1080p monitor, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 229 FPS, which is far above any display's refresh rate and provides a completely smooth experience. Even the High preset at 320 FPS is excessive, so there is no reason to reduce settings below Ultra at this resolution unless seeking to minimize input latency, which the Low preset at 501 FPS might offer.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset produces 145 FPS on average, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors in the 144 Hz range. The High preset at 202 FPS is also excellent, and the choice between High and Ultra is a matter of visual preference since both are well above playable thresholds. The data shows that Medium at 235 FPS offers a good balance if the user prioritizes maximum frame rates over visual fidelity.

For 4K gaming, the Ultra preset at 76 FPS is the recommended choice for the best visual experience, as it remains fluid and immersive for a roguelike. If a higher frame rate is desired, dropping to High settings increases the average to 105 FPS, which is a significant improvement and still looks great. The Medium preset at 123 FPS is a middle ground, but the visual difference between Medium and High is likely minimal in a game with simple graphics.

The most balanced recommendation across all resolutions is the High preset, which delivers 320 FPS at 1080p, 202 FPS at 1440p, and 105 FPS at 4K. This preset provides a strong visual quality-to-performance ratio, ensuring that the system's capabilities are fully utilized without wasting resources on settings that have diminishing returns. For players with high-refresh-rate displays, the Medium preset offers the best combination of frame rate and visual quality, with results of 372 FPS at 1080p, 235 FPS at 1440p, and 123 FPS at 4K. Ultimately, the hardware is so powerful for this game that any settings preset will provide a smooth experience, and the choice should be guided by display capabilities and personal preference.