Barony

Barony, a roguelike released in 2015, proves to be remarkably undemanding on modern hardware. The measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER show a combination that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet reveals the CPU's substantial headroom at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the performance data, focusing on how the system scales across resolutions and settings, and what the frame rates indicate about the respective roles of the processor and graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a classic scaling pattern where the performance cost of higher resolutions becomes the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the system produces 239 FPS, which drops to 151 FPS at 1440p and further to 79 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This steep decline is characteristic of a system where the GPU's rendering workload, particularly pixel fill-rate and memory bandwidth, becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The scaling from Medium to High settings provides additional insight. At 4K, the jump from Medium (128 FPS) to High (110 FPS) costs about 14% performance, while the jump from High to Ultra (79 FPS) costs a further 28%. This non-linear drop at the highest preset suggests that Ultra settings introduce particularly heavy effects or shading work that disproportionately impacts the GPU at 4K resolution. At 1080p, the same setting transitions show a different pattern: Medium (388 FPS) to High (333 FPS) is a 14% drop, but High to Ultra (239 FPS) is a 28% drop, mirroring the 4K behavior.

The low-resolution data points strongly indicate CPU involvement. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 522 FPS, while at 1440p Low it achieves 329 FPS, and at 4K Low it hits 172 FPS. The fact that 1080p Low does not exceed 522 FPS, despite the GPU having far less work to do, suggests that the game's engine or the CPU's per-thread performance is capping the frame rate at this extreme. The 265K's boost clock of 5.50 GHz and its single-core Cinebench R23 score of 2020 provide context for how it handles this scenario.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-S architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz are the key figures for gaming performance. The CPU's benchmark results show strong single-threaded capability, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2020 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2713. These scores, combined with a PassMark single-thread score of 4928, indicate that the 265K can handle lightly-threaded game logic without becoming a bottleneck.

In Barony, the CPU's role becomes evident only at lower resolutions and settings. The data suggests that at 1080p Low, the GPU is not fully utilized, as the frame rate of 522 FPS is likely constrained by the game's main thread or physics updates. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (102.4 GB/s bandwidth) are sufficient for the roguelike's data access patterns. Compared to its nearest rivals, the 265K's average benchmark score of 70879 places it 1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163) and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69996). It trails the Intel Xeon 6511P by 0.2% (71051) and the Xeon Platinum 8270 by 0.7% (71370).

The 265K's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs (avg benchmark score 70879) reinforces that it is a top-tier processor for gaming workloads. However, the measured FPS data shows that in Barony, the CPU rarely becomes the limiting factor above 1080p. The difference between 1080p Low (522 FPS) and 1440p Low (329 FPS) is a 37% drop, which is much smaller than the 48% drop seen from 1440p Low to 4K Low (172 FPS). This indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at 1440p, but the GPU's workload at 4K becomes the clear bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is based on the AD104 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and its 7168 shading units are the primary drivers of its rasterization performance. With 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores, it is well-equipped for modern rendering techniques, though Barony's older engine likely does not leverage these heavily.

The GPU's benchmark scores show it sits at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 43223. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, -0.1% delta) and the RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, -0.1% delta). The RTX 4070 SUPER's PassMark G3D score of 29995 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 205624 indicate strong overall compute and graphics capability. In Barony, the GPU's role is most apparent at 4K resolution, where the frame rates drop significantly across all settings.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 79 suggests the GPU is compute-bound rather than memory-bound. The measured FPS at 4K Medium (128 FPS) versus 4K High (110 FPS) shows a 14% performance cost for the higher preset, which is consistent with increased shader complexity. The GPU's texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s are more than sufficient for Barony's visual demands, but the resolution scaling indicates that the GPU's raw throughput is the key constraint at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 522 FPS average, Medium settings reach 388 FPS (with min/max of 330/446 FPS), High settings deliver 333 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 239 FPS. The 1080p Low result is the only data point where the CPU likely becomes the primary constraint, as the frame rate is extremely high but does not scale proportionally to GPU workload reductions.

At 2560x1440, performance remains very high but shows clearer GPU scaling. Low settings yield 329 FPS, Medium produces 245 FPS (min/max 208/282 FPS), High delivers 210 FPS, and Ultra drops to 151 FPS. The 1440p Medium result's minimum of 208 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above 200 FPS, suggesting no perceptible stutter.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 172 FPS, Medium averages 128 FPS (min/max 109/147 FPS), High averages 110 FPS, and Ultra averages 79 FPS. The 4K Medium result's minimum of 109 FPS is notable, as it shows that even the most demanding preset at 4K stays above 100 FPS in the worst case, which is a strong result for a roguelike title.

The data shows a consistent pattern: for each resolution, the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings is roughly 2.2x. At 1080p, the gap is from 522 to 239 FPS (2.18x); at 1440p, from 329 to 151 FPS (2.18x); at 4K, from 172 to 79 FPS (2.18x). This consistency suggests that the game's settings scale uniformly regardless of resolution, and the GPU's workload increases linearly with preset complexity.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 522, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only data point that exceeds 500 FPS, indicating a likely CPU or engine-level frame rate cap.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in terms of benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 43223, which is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262) and 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268). It is 1% lower than the RTX 4090 Mobile (43667).

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM of the RTX 4070 SUPER sufficient for Barony at 4K Ultra?

A: The data indicates yes. At 4K Ultra, the system achieves 79 FPS average, and there is no evidence in the measured data of memory-related stuttering or frame drops. The GPU's 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for the game's textures.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all CPUs?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70879. This places it above the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163) and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69996).

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded for Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum FPS is 330. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 208 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 109 FPS. These minimums represent the worst-case frame rates in the measured sample.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU become the bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU or engine becomes the limiting factor at 1080p Low. The 522 FPS result is disproportionately high compared to other resolutions, and the 265K's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 score of 2020) likely caps the frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The measured 128 FPS average with a 109 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay without the 28% performance penalty seen when moving to High (110 FPS) or the 38% penalty for Ultra (79 FPS). The jump from Medium to High only improves visual fidelity modestly in a roguelike, so the extra 18 FPS gained by staying on Medium is worthwhile.

For 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice. At 210 FPS average, it provides a substantial visual upgrade over Medium (245 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate that far exceeds any display's refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 151 FPS is also viable, but the 28% drop from High to Ultra is hard to justify unless the player prioritizes maximum visual settings over the safety margin of higher frame rates.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation. The 239 FPS average at Ultra is still extremely high, and the additional visual features over High (333 FPS) are worth the 28% performance cost. Since even the Ultra preset at 1080p produces frame rates well above 200 FPS, there is no reason to compromise on settings unless the player is targeting a 500+ FPS competitive scenario, in which case Low (522 FPS) would be the choice.

In general, the data shows that Medium settings at 4K provide a better experience than Ultra settings at 4K, due to the 62% frame rate advantage (128 vs 79 FPS). Similarly, at 1440p, High settings (210 FPS) are preferred over Ultra (151 FPS) for maintaining a consistent high refresh rate experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 650th out of 3717 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the top 17.5% of all tested system configurations for this game. The ranking reflects that Barony is not a demanding title, and many lower-tier components can achieve high frame rates, but this particular combo still outperforms the vast majority of alternatives.

The rank is influenced by the CPU's 94th percentile standing and the GPU's 83rd percentile standing. While the GPU is not in the top tier of graphics cards, its 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 2475 MHz boost clock are more than sufficient for Barony's requirements. The CPU's 20 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock provide a strong foundation, but the game's engine does not appear to fully utilize the multi-threading capabilities, as evidenced by the 1080p Low frame rate cap.

Compared to other combos in the database, this system's rank of 650 out of 3717 indicates that it is not at the absolute top, likely due to the GPU not being the highest-end model available. However, the measured FPS data shows that this combo delivers excellent real-world performance, with no resolution or settings combination falling below 79 FPS average. The 4K Medium result (128 FPS) is particularly strong, suggesting that this combo is well-suited for high-resolution gaming in Barony, even if it does not top the overall ranking charts.