Barony

# Barony with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers exceptional performance in Barony, ranking 663rd out of 2,935 tested combos, placing it in the top 22.4% of all systems. The data shows this combination is heavily CPU-limited at lower resolutions, with frame rates reaching 469 FPS at 1080p Low, while the GPU becomes the primary constraint at 4K Ultra, where performance drops to 71 FPS. This is a system that excels at high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, with all measured settings at that resolution exceeding 135 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The combo ranks 663rd out of 2,935 tested combinations, placing it in the top 22.4% of all systems tested. This indicates strong but not flagship-level performance, with room for higher-tier GPUs or CPUs to improve the ranking.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this setup?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 469, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. Even at 4K with High settings, the system maintains 99 FPS average, showing the hardware's capability across the resolution spectrum.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads with a 5.80 GHz boost clock are the primary driver, as frame rates exceed 299 FPS even at High settings. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient at this resolution, making the CPU the performance ceiling.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score is 37,648, which is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37,628) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile by 1.3% (38,135) and leads the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 by 1.3% (37,157).

Q: What settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings deliver 189 FPS average, while Ultra settings still achieve 135 FPS. The Medium preset offers 220 FPS with a minimum of 187 FPS, making it the safest choice for maintaining high frame rates during intense gameplay sequences.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking compared to all processors?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84,003. Its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83,807, a mere 0.2% difference.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread desktop processor built on Intel's Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It features a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 cache per core provide ample data storage for game logic and entity processing. Its 3 nm process node, manufactured by TSMC, houses 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most pronounced at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1920x1080, frame rates scale dramatically with settings changes, from 469 FPS at Low to 215 FPS at Ultra. This 254 FPS spread indicates that the CPU's 24 threads are being fully utilized to process game state, AI, and physics calculations. The single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7,303, ensures that even the primary game thread runs efficiently.

The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 60,860 and single-thread score of 4,823 place it in the 96th percentile of all processors. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 9 290K Plus is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX, while trailing the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%. This competitive positioning means the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios.

The 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth, enabled by dual-channel DDR5 support, provides sufficient throughput for Barony's procedural generation and world streaming. With 24 threads available, the game's multithreaded systems—such as pathfinding, particle effects, and dungeon generation—run in parallel without causing frame time spikes. The CPU's integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU is present but irrelevant in this configuration, as the discrete RTX 4070 handles all rendering tasks.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation processors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1,920 MHz with a boost clock of 2,475 MHz, delivering 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Barony, the GPU's influence becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 3840x2160, frame rates range from 155 FPS at Low to 71 FPS at Ultra, a spread of 84 FPS. This compression of performance at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is becoming the bottleneck, particularly at Ultra settings where the pixel fill rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are taxed. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Barony's art assets, as even at 4K Ultra, the game does not exceed this memory allocation.

The GPU's benchmark performance shows an average score of 37,648, placing it in the 81st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37,628, a 0.1% difference. The RTX 4070's PassMark G3D score of 26,927 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 174,152 indicate strong DirectX 12 and Vulkan support, which aligns with Barony's modern rendering requirements. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 APIs ensure compatibility with the game's graphical features.

The 200 W TDP and dual-slot design make this GPU suitable for most desktop configurations, with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The 240 mm length and 110 mm height allow for installation in standard mid-tower cases. The RTX 4070's production status is end-of-life, with a successor in the GeForce 50 series, but its performance in Barony remains competitive, as evidenced by the measured frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a rank of 663 out of 2,935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 22.4% of systems. This ranking is influenced by both components' individual performance: the CPU's 96th percentile standing and the GPU's 81st percentile standing combine to create a balanced system that excels in CPU-bound scenarios.

The CPU's nearest rivals—the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% ahead), AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% ahead), and AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% ahead)—are all within a narrow performance band. This means the Ultra 9 290K Plus provides no significant advantage over its closest competitor, the 285K, in synthetic benchmarks. However, in actual Barony gameplay, the 24-thread configuration handles the game's multithreaded workload effectively, as shown by the high frame rates at 1080p.

The GPU's ranking is more varied, with the RTX 4070 sitting between the RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% faster) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% slower). This positions the RTX 4070 as a mid-to-high-range GPU that can handle Barony at high settings across all resolutions, but it does not provide the overhead needed for 4K Ultra at frame rates above 100 FPS.

The combo rank of 663 means there are 662 systems that outperform this configuration. These would typically feature higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 4080 or 4090, or CPUs with more cache or higher clock speeds. The gap between this combo and top-tier systems is most evident at 4K Ultra, where the 71 FPS average is below the 144 Hz refresh rate that many gaming monitors support. At 1440p, however, the combo's 135 FPS at Ultra places it firmly in the high-refresh-rate territory.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and refresh rate priorities. At 1920x1080, all settings exceed 215 FPS, making any preset viable for competitive play. The Medium preset offers 349 FPS average with a minimum of 296 FPS, providing a significant safety margin for frame time consistency. Low settings at 469 FPS are unnecessary for most users, as the difference between Low and Medium is unlikely to be visually noticeable in Barony's roguelike pixel-art style.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 220 FPS average with a minimum of 187 FPS, making it the best choice for maintaining high frame rates during dense dungeon exploration. High settings at 189 FPS are also excellent, while Ultra at 135 FPS remains playable but approaches the threshold where frame drops become noticeable on 144 Hz monitors. The data suggests that Medium or High at 1440p provides the best experience, as the 253 FPS maximum at Medium shows headroom for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 99 FPS is the recommended choice for balanced performance. Medium at 115 FPS offers a slight improvement but with a minimum of 98 FPS, which could cause stutters in busy areas. Ultra at 71 FPS is playable for turn-based or slower-paced exploration but may feel sluggish in fast combat encounters. Low at 155 FPS is not recommended, as the visual quality loss outweighs the frame rate gain at this resolution.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize 2560x1440 with High or Medium settings for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The system's CPU strength at lower resolutions means users with 1080p monitors can run Ultra settings without concern, while 4K users should stick to High to stay above 90 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 469 FPS average, followed by Medium at 349 FPS (minimum 296 FPS, maximum 401 FPS), High at 299 FPS, and Ultra at 215 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 254 FPS drop, indicating that the GPU's shading units and texture units are increasingly taxed as visual quality improves.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected reduction from 1080p. Low settings achieve 296 FPS, Medium delivers 220 FPS with a 187 FPS minimum and 253 FPS maximum, High reaches 189 FPS, and Ultra drops to 135 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 161 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to limit performance.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. Low settings produce 155 FPS, Medium achieves 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 FPS and maximum of 132 FPS, High reaches 99 FPS, and Ultra falls to 71 FPS. The 84 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest of all resolutions, confirming that the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors.

The data shows consistent performance scaling across settings at each resolution. The Medium preset at all three resolutions provides the most complete dataset with minimum and maximum FPS values, allowing for accurate assessment of frame time consistency. The 1080p Medium minimum of 296 FPS and 1440p Medium minimum of 187 FPS both indicate stable performance, while the 4K Medium minimum of 98 FPS shows the system approaching its limits.