Barony

# Barony with Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The measured data for Barony on this combination of an Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 shows exceptional performance across all tested resolutions and settings, placing this combo at rank 77 out of 3717 tested configurations. The frame rates range from a low of 102 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 679 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this system is capable of delivering smooth gameplay in virtually any scenario the roguelike presents. The following analysis breaks down the measured results to understand where the bottlenecks lie, how the components contribute, and what settings offer the best balance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling, with the CPU maintaining a comfortable lead at lower resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 433 at 1920x1080 to 273 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 160 FPS, and then further to 143 at 3840x2160, another 130 FPS drop. This linear degradation of roughly 35-37% per resolution step is characteristic of a system where the graphics card is the limiting factor, as the pixel count increases by approximately 78% from 1080p to 1440p and another 125% from 1440p to 4K.

The Low settings row shows an even more dramatic scaling curve. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 679 FPS, which drops to 428 FPS at 1440p and 224 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops here are larger — 37% and 48% respectively — suggesting that at lower graphical loads, the GPU is still the primary constraint, but the CPU begins to show its influence at 1080p where the frame rate approaches what the processor can feed. The fact that 679 FPS at 1080p Low is more than double the 311 FPS at 1080p Ultra indicates that the rendering load, not the CPU's instruction throughput, is what governs performance in this title.

Interesting behavior emerges in the Medium preset, which is the only row with min and max FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 505 FPS with a minimum of 429 and maximum of 580, a spread of 151 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 319 with a range of 271 to 366, a narrower 95 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the average is 167 with a range of 142 to 191, just 49 FPS apart. This tightening of the frame time distribution as resolution increases reinforces the GPU-bound conclusion — at higher resolutions, the GPU's consistent workload smooths out the variance that the CPU's variable frame production creates at lower resolutions.

The Ultra preset tells the same story with steeper drops. From 311 FPS at 1080p to 196 FPS at 1440p (37% reduction) and then 102 FPS at 4K (48% reduction from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 102 FPS is the only measured average below 143 FPS, which means that even at the most demanding configuration, this system stays above the 100 FPS threshold. The scaling from High to Ultra at each resolution is consistent — roughly 28-30% fewer frames — which suggests that Ultra adds a proportional amount of graphical work rather than introducing a specific bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus and 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, provides more than enough memory capacity and throughput for Barony's graphical demands at any resolution. The GPU's 21760 shading units and 680 texture mapping units are the primary drivers of the raw pixel throughput that the measured FPS numbers reflect. The boost clock of 2407 MHz, up from a base of 2017 MHz, allows the card to sustain high utilization across all tested scenarios, though the game's roguelike nature likely does not push the card to its thermal or power limits given the frame rates observed.

The memory configuration deserves attention in the context of resolution scaling. The 32 GB capacity is far beyond what Barony requires, even at 4K Ultra, which means there is no risk of texture swapping or memory pressure affecting the measured averages. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth scales effectively with the increasing pixel counts, as evidenced by the relatively smooth FPS degradation from 1080p to 4K. If the memory subsystem were insufficient, the 4K results would show a disproportionate drop compared to the 1440p results, but the data shows consistent scaling.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79842. Its nearest rivals in the database — the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79605 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X at 80959 — are within 1.4% of its average score, yet the RTX 5090's measured FPS in Barony at 4K Ultra (102 FPS) is more than triple what these older accelerator cards could likely manage, though those cards are not directly compared in this game's data. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18355 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376728 indicate strong modern API performance, which aligns with the excellent frame rates observed.

The 575 W TDP and dual-slot cooler mean the card is a power-hungry component, but the measured performance justifies the power draw for users seeking maximum frame rates. The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures no bandwidth bottleneck from the CPU connection, which is important given the very high FPS numbers at lower resolutions where CPU-GPU communication overhead could theoretically become a factor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data across the four presets at three resolutions provides clear guidance for optimizing the gameplay experience. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 505 FPS average with a minimum of 429 FPS, while High and Ultra offer 433 and 311 FPS respectively. The jump from Medium to High costs only 72 FPS (14% reduction), but the jump from High to Ultra costs 122 FPS (28% reduction). Given that roguelikes often feature dense particle effects and procedurally generated environments, the Medium preset's combination of 505 FPS average and a 429 FPS minimum ensures that even the most chaotic on-screen moments stay well above any display refresh rate.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out with 319 FPS average and a minimum of 271 FPS. High delivers 273 FPS, which is still excellent, but the 46 FPS gap between Medium and High is smaller in percentage terms (14%) than the 123 FPS gap between High and Ultra (45%). The Ultra preset at 196 FPS is smooth, but the Medium preset's 319 FPS provides headroom for future content updates or more demanding procedural generation. The measured minimum of 271 FPS at Medium means that even the worst-case frame times stay above 144 Hz refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the trade-off becomes more pronounced. Ultra delivers 102 FPS average, which is playable but close to the edge of what some users might consider smooth. High offers 143 FPS, a 40% improvement over Ultra, while Medium provides 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the best choice for users with high-refresh-rate 4K displays, as its 167 FPS average and 142 FPS minimum comfortably exceed 120 Hz. The Low preset at 224 FPS is unnecessary for most users given that the visual quality degradation is not worth the extra frames when Medium already delivers a minimum above 142 FPS.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot at all three resolutions, offering the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate stability. The min FPS data, only available for Medium, shows that this preset has the most consistent frame pacing, which is crucial in a roguelike where sudden enemy spawns or projectile-heavy rooms can cause frame time spikes.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 77 out of 3717 tested configurations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 sits in the top 2.1% of all tested combos for Barony. This ranking reflects the combined strength of both components, as the CPU's 96th percentile standing and the GPU's 92nd percentile standing contribute to a system that excels in this game's specific workload.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database — the Intel Xeon 6520P with a delta of 0%, the AMD EPYC 4564P at -1.5%, the AMD EPYC 9175F at -1.9%, and the AMD EPYC 4565P at -2.1% — are all enterprise or server-class processors. The fact that the Ultra 7 270K Plus matches or slightly exceeds these server chips in average benchmark score (93785 vs 93786 for the Xeon 6520P) while being a desktop part with a 125 W TDP suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in Barony's performance. The GPU's nearest rivals are older data center and mobile parts, with the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at +0.3% and the Radeon RX 6850M XT at +1.1%, indicating that the RTX 5090's position relative to its peers is strong but not dominant in synthetic benchmarks.

The rank of 77 is particularly impressive given that Barony is a roguelike with a 2015 release date, suggesting that the game's engine is not heavily optimized for modern multi-threaded hardware. Despite this, the combo still achieves frame rates that rival or exceed what most systems would deliver, which points to the raw single-thread and multi-thread capabilities of the CPU and the brute-force rendering power of the GPU. The 3717 tested combos include a wide range of hardware, so ranking in the top 77 indicates that this specific pairing is exceptionally well-suited to Barony's requirements.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 679 FPS at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The Medium preset at 1080p achieves 505 FPS, while High reaches 433 FPS and Ultra hits 311 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured 4K Ultra average is 102 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS. Even the minimum frame rate at 4K Medium (142 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS, and the 4K Ultra average provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The High preset delivers 433 FPS at 1080p, 273 FPS at 1440p, and 143 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 48% reduction from 1440p to 4K, indicating a GPU-bound scaling pattern.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations in Barony?

A: This combo ranks 77th out of 3717 tested combinations, placing it in the top 2.1% of all tested systems for this game. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most consistent frame pacing?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data, showing a frame spread of 151 FPS at 1080p (429 to 580), 95 FPS at 1440p (271 to 366), and 49 FPS at 4K (142 to 191). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates more consistent frame times.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has an average benchmark score of 93785, matching the Intel Xeon 6520P at 93786 (0% delta), and outperforming the AMD EPYC 4564P by 1.5%, the EPYC 9175F by 1.9%, and the EPYC 4565P by 2.1%.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. The Low preset leads with 679 FPS average, followed by Medium at 505 FPS (with a minimum of 429 and maximum of 580), High at 433 FPS, and Ultra at 311 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent scaling of graphical load, with each step adding roughly 25-35% more rendering work that translates to proportionally lower frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 428 FPS for Low, 319 FPS for Medium (minimum 271, maximum 366), 273 FPS for High, and 196 FPS for Ultra. The percentage drops from 1080p are 37% for Low, 37% for Medium, 37% for High, and 37% for Ultra, showing a remarkably consistent scaling factor across all presets. This uniformity suggests that the GPU's rendering pipeline handles the resolution increase in a predictable manner, with no preset-specific bottlenecks emerging.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 224 FPS for Low, 167 FPS for Medium (minimum 142, maximum 191), 143 FPS for High, and 102 FPS for Ultra. The drops from 1440p are 48% for Low, 48% for Medium, 48% for High, and 48% for Ultra, again showing perfect consistency. This means that the GPU's workload scales linearly with pixel count, and the RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is sufficient to feed the rendering pipeline without any memory-related stutters or drops.

The only preset with complete min/max data is Medium, which shows that frame timing becomes more stable as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between minimum and maximum is 151 FPS (429 to 580), at 1440p it is 95 FPS (271 to 366), and at 4K it is 49 FPS (142 to 191). This trend indicates that the CPU is the source of frame time variance at lower resolutions, while the GPU's consistent rendering time at higher resolutions smooths out the overall frame pacing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with 24 cores and 24 threads, provides substantial multi-threading capability that is only partially utilized by Barony. The CPU's base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz deliver strong single-thread performance, which is critical for a roguelike that likely runs most game logic on a single main thread. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2439 and multi-core score of 44253 demonstrate the processor's balanced capabilities, with the single-core result being particularly relevant for this game's frame rate ceiling.

The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 per core provide fast access to frequently used game data, which helps maintain consistent frame times. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93785, places it among the top desktop processors available. Its nearest rivals are all server-class chips — the Xeon 6520P (93786, 0% delta), EPYC 4564P (95183, -1.5%), EPYC 9175F (95615, -1.9%), and EPYC 4565P (95764, -2.1%) — which means the Ultra 7 270K Plus competes with enterprise hardware despite its desktop market segment.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5, combined with PCIe Gen 5 support with 20 lanes, ensures that data transfer to the RTX 5090 is not a bottleneck. This is evidenced by the fact that frame rates at 1080p Low reach 679 FPS, which is a scenario where the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and update game state is the limiting factor. The Passmark single-thread score of 5068 and multi-thread score of 68574 both indicate strong performance, though the single-thread result is more relevant for Barony's likely single-threaded game loop.

The 125 W TDP and 3 nm process node from TSMC represent an efficient design that can sustain high boost clocks without excessive power draw, which is important for maintaining consistent frame rates over long gaming sessions. The CPU's release date of 2026-03-10 and launch MSRP of $299 make it a current-generation part that pairs well with the RTX 5090, though the measured results suggest that even this powerful CPU is not the primary driver of Barony's frame rates — the GPU handles that role. The data indicates that the CPU's role is to maintain a high enough frame production rate to keep the GPU fed, and at 1080p Low the 679 FPS result shows the CPU can produce frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher resolutions.