Barony

# FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + RTX 3070 combo in Barony?

A: This combo ranks 1230th out of 2935 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all systems measured for this game.

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

A: The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 84003 on average, which is 0.2% higher than the Core Ultra 9 285K, 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX, and 1.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 9135. It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%.

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

A: The RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, scores 17083 — just 0.7% lower.

Q: What are the best and worst frame rates recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 385 at 1080p Low settings, while the lowest average is 58 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Medium preset shows a min FPS of 80 and max of 109.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 385 FPS average, which is extremely high. Given the CPU's 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock, the data suggests the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 3070's memory configuration affect 4K performance?

A: With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, the 4K Ultra preset drops to 58 FPS average — a steep fall from the 4K Low result of 127 FPS, indicating memory capacity or bandwidth pressure at high settings.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, provides the graphical horsepower for this combo. Its 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines are complemented by 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1500 MHz and boosts to 1725 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is accessed via a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth — a figure that becomes critical at higher resolutions and settings.

In Barony, the GPU's role is clearly demonstrated by the scaling of frame rates across presets. At 1080p, the difference between Low (385 FPS) and Ultra (176 FPS) is 209 FPS, showing that the GPU's workload increases substantially with visual fidelity. The 4K results tell a more dramatic story: Low settings yield 127 FPS, but Ultra drops to 58 FPS — a 54% reduction. This pattern suggests that the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for lower presets but become strained when texture quality and post-processing effects demand more memory and bandwidth.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 61st among all tested graphics cards places it above the median but not in the top tier. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, scores just 0.7% lower in average benchmarks, indicating near-parity performance. However, the measured FPS data in Barony shows this GPU achieving very playable frame rates across most settings, with the notable exception of 4K Ultra where the average dips to 58 FPS — still technically playable but close to the edge of smoothness.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 achieves a rank of 1230 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places the system in the 58th percentile of all tested configurations — slightly above the midpoint but far from the top. The ranking reflects a balance between a high-end CPU (96th percentile among all processors) and a mid-range GPU (61st percentile among all graphics cards).

The CPU's strong synthetic benchmarks — including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 — suggest it is not the bottleneck in this pairing. The GPU, with its PassMark G3D score of 22214, is the more modest component. The 1230th rank indicates that many combos with stronger GPUs outperform this pairing, even if their CPUs are weaker. Conversely, the high CPU percentile means this combo likely excels in CPU-bound scenarios, though Barony's measured FPS suggests GPU limits dominate at higher settings.

The delta between the CPU's 96th percentile and the GPU's 61st percentile creates an interesting imbalance. In games like Barony, where frame rates are exceptionally high at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. The rank of 1230 reflects this reality: the combo is better than average overall, but the GPU holds it back from competing with top-tier configurations.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers impressive results across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 385 FPS, Medium 287 FPS (with min/max of 244 and 330), High 246 FPS, and Ultra 176 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 209 FPS drop, representing a 54% reduction. These numbers indicate that even at Ultra, the system comfortably exceeds 144 Hz refresh rates, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected decline. Low settings yield 243 FPS, Medium 181 FPS (min 154, max 208), High 155 FPS, and Ultra 111 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 132 FPS (54% reduction), consistent with the 1080p scaling. At 1440p, the Ultra preset still maintains above-100 FPS, which is smooth for most gaming scenarios. The Medium preset's minimum of 154 FPS suggests consistent performance without significant frame drops.

At 3840x2160, the impact of resolution becomes pronounced. Low settings produce 127 FPS, Medium 95 FPS (min 80, max 109), High 81 FPS, and Ultra 58 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 69 FPS (54% reduction), mirroring the pattern seen at lower resolutions. However, the absolute values are much lower — Ultra at 58 FPS is borderline for smooth gameplay, while Medium at 95 FPS is acceptable but not ideal for high-refresh displays. The 4K Medium min FPS of 80 shows there are occasional dips, but the overall experience remains playable.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each resolution step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reduces frame rates by roughly 50-60% at equivalent settings. For instance, Low settings go from 385 FPS at 1080p to 243 FPS at 1440p to 127 FPS at 4K. This consistent scaling suggests balanced system behavior, with the GPU being the primary constraint as resolution increases.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 176 FPS average, which is excellent for any display. There is no practical reason to drop below Ultra at this resolution, as even the highest settings maintain frame rates far above typical refresh rates. The Medium preset's 287 FPS offers diminishing returns in smoothness for most users, but the Ultra preset's 176 FPS is already sufficient for 144 Hz and 165 Hz monitors.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset's 111 FPS average is still very good, particularly for 120 Hz displays. However, for users with 144 Hz or higher refresh monitors, the High preset at 155 FPS delivers a better balance. The Medium preset at 181 FPS provides even more headroom, though the visual quality reduction may not be worth the extra frames for most players. The sweet spot appears to be High settings at 1440p, offering 155 FPS while maintaining good visual fidelity.

At 4K, the recommendations become more nuanced. The Ultra preset's 58 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, making it a poor choice. The High preset at 81 FPS is playable but may experience noticeable dips in demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 95 FPS (min 80) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. For players prioritizing smoothness over visuals, the Low preset at 127 FPS is an option, but the Medium preset is recommended as the best overall experience at 4K.

The data suggests that the combo performs best at 1080p and 1440p, where it can run Ultra settings with confidence. At 4K, users should compromise on settings to maintain playable frame rates, with Medium being the recommended preset.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on TSMC's 3 nm process node. It operates at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boosts to 5.80 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The CPU features 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. The processor also includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units, though this combo relies on the discrete RTX 3070.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates exceptional performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. The PassMark multi-thread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 reinforce this picture. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% lower), AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% lower), and AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% lower), with the AMD EPYC 7F72 being 1.3% higher.

In Barony, the CPU's role is less apparent than the GPU's due to the game's high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 385 FPS, which suggests the CPU can handle even the most extreme frame rate scenarios without becoming a bottleneck. The 24 cores and high boost clock provide ample headroom for game logic, physics, and AI computations. However, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings, meaning the CPU's full potential is not fully utilized in this game.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals clear resolution scaling patterns. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 37% across all settings. For example, Low settings go from 385 FPS to 243 FPS (37% reduction), and Ultra from 176 FPS to 111 FPS (37% reduction). From 1440p to 4K, the drop is more severe at approximately 48%. Low settings go from 243 FPS to 127 FPS (48% reduction), and Ultra from 111 FPS to 58 FPS (48% reduction).

This scaling behavior indicates that the system's limiting component shifts as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU's high performance allows the GPU to operate near its maximum potential, but the GPU still dictates the frame rates. At 1440p, the GPU's workload increases, and the frame rates scale accordingly. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with the 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth struggling to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings.

The consistent 37% and 48% drops across all settings suggest that the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. This implies that the RTX 3070's memory bandwidth and processing power are the primary constraints at higher resolutions, while the CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid being a limiting factor at any resolution tested. The data shows that users seeking higher frame rates at 4K would benefit more from a stronger GPU than a stronger CPU, given this combo's results.