Barony

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, presents an interesting case for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination. The benchmark data shows this pairing is heavily skewed toward CPU performance, with the RTX 5060 providing ample headroom at lower resolutions. The measured results indicate that the most balanced experience is achieved at 1440p with High settings, where the frame rate remains exceptionally high while visual quality is substantially improved over lower presets. This analysis will break down the settings, scaling, and component roles based exclusively on the provided measured data.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings preset for this combination depends on the target resolution, but the data clearly points to High as the best overall choice for a premium experience. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers an average of 76 FPS, which is a playable and smooth frame rate for a roguelike genre. While the Medium preset at 4K achieves a higher average of 89 FPS, the jump to Ultra drops the average to 55 FPS, indicating that the visual fidelity gains from Ultra are not worth the significant performance cost. The High preset at 4K provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, avoiding the frame rate instability that can occur at Ultra.

For users with 2560x1440 displays, High is again the standout preset, producing an average of 146 FPS. This is a substantial improvement over the 4K result and ensures maximum fluidity, which is crucial for a game that can involve fast-paced combat and precise movement. The Medium preset at this resolution offers a higher average of 170 FPS, but the difference in visual quality between Medium and High is often more noticeable than the 24 FPS difference, making High the more compelling choice for a better-looking game without sacrificing playability.

At 1920x1080, the choice becomes more nuanced. The High preset achieves an average of 231 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can even show. While the Low preset hits an astronomical 363 FPS and Medium reaches 270 FPS, the practical benefit is nil for standard 60Hz or 144Hz monitors. The data suggests that High at 1080p is the superior choice, as it offers a significantly better visual presentation than Low or Medium while still maintaining an average frame rate that is effectively uncapped for any current display technology. The Ultra preset at 1080p, with an average of 166 FPS, is also viable, but it does not provide the same performance headroom as High.

The measured FPS ranges for Medium settings at each resolution show that the minimum FPS is consistently about 15% lower than the average. For instance, at 4K Medium, the minimum is 76 FPS, and at 1440p Medium, it is 145 FPS. This suggests that even the Medium preset has occasional dips, which the High preset mitigates by having a higher average and thus a higher likely minimum. Therefore, when all data is considered, High is the recommended preset across all tested resolutions for this hardware combination, as it provides the best combination of high average frame rates and visual fidelity without pushing the hardware to its limits for marginal gains.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combination at 4K resolution?

A: The highest average frame rate at 3840x2160 is achieved with the Low settings preset, which records an average of 120 FPS. The High preset follows at 76 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 55 FPS.

Q: How does the performance at 1440p High compare to the performance at 4K High?

A: The measured data shows a significant difference. At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average frame rate is 146 FPS, which is nearly double the 76 FPS average recorded at 3840x2160 with the same settings. This indicates a substantial performance scaling with resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 5060 the limiting factor at 1080p resolution?

A: The data suggests that at 1920x1080, the CPU is the primary limiting factor. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 363 FPS, while at High settings, it is 231 FPS. This relatively small difference between Low and High settings at 1080p, compared to the larger differences at higher resolutions, indicates that the CPU is reaching its performance ceiling before the GPU becomes fully saturated.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The benchmark results show a large gap. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 229 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves an average of 105 FPS. This represents a reduction of 124 FPS, or approximately 54%, when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the data show any frame rate inconsistency for the Medium preset?

A: Yes, the data includes minimum and maximum FPS values for the Medium preset at all resolutions. For example, at 1920x1080, the average is 270 FPS, but the minimum is 229 FPS and the maximum is 310 FPS. This shows a variance of 81 FPS, indicating potential for noticeable frame rate fluctuations.

Q: What does the combo's rank in the database indicate about its overall performance?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination is ranked 1258 out of 2935 tested combos for Barony. This places it in the upper half of all tested systems, indicating that it performs above average for this specific game, though it is not at the very top tier.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across the three tested resolutions reveals a clear trend: this combination is highly capable at lower resolutions and becomes progressively more GPU-bound as resolution increases. The data shows that the frame rate drop from 1080p to 1440p is noticeable but manageable, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is severe.

At High settings, the average frame rate scales from 231 FPS at 1080p to 146 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 85 FPS (approximately 37%). Moving from 1440p to 4K, the average drops further to 76 FPS, a reduction of 70 FPS (approximately 48%). This pattern indicates that while the CPU is able to feed the GPU at 1080p, the GPU's workload becomes more demanding at 1440p and especially at 4K, where the RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus are likely being stressed.

The scaling at Low settings is even more dramatic. At 1080p, the average is 363 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 229 FPS, a 134 FPS (37%) decrease. At 4K, it falls to 120 FPS, another 109 FPS (48%) decrease. The fact that the percentage drop is consistent between Low and High settings suggests that the resolution scaling is primarily a function of pixel count and fill rate, not a sudden bottleneck. The GPU is being tasked with rendering more pixels, and its performance scales down accordingly.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings shows the most significant proportional loss. The average frame rate goes from 166 FPS at 1080p to 105 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 55 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop). This consistent proportion indicates that the limiting component at Ultra settings is still the GPU's raw rendering capability.

The data strongly suggests that at 1080p, the system is CPU-bound, as the frame rates are extremely high across all settings. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 24 cores and high boost clock, is able to process the game's logic and draw calls faster than the RTX 5060 can render the frames at lower resolutions. However, as the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The RTX 5060, while capable, cannot maintain the same high frame rates when tasked with rendering more pixels, as evidenced by the significant drops in average FPS at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how this system performs across different settings and resolutions. The figures are presented as measured, with no interpolation or estimation.

At 3840x2160, the performance is as follows:

• Ultra settings yield an average of 55 FPS.
• High settings yield an average of 76 FPS.
• Medium settings yield an average of 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS.
• Low settings yield an average of 120 FPS.

This shows a clear hierarchy, with Low being the only preset to break the 120 FPS barrier at 4K. The difference between Medium and High is 13 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is 21 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the performance is significantly higher:

• Ultra settings yield an average of 105 FPS.
• High settings yield an average of 146 FPS.
• Medium settings yield an average of 170 FPS, with a minimum of 145 FPS and a maximum of 196 FPS.
• Low settings yield an average of 229 FPS.

At this resolution, every preset except Ultra maintains an average above 140 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Medium preset's minimum of 145 FPS is higher than the Ultra preset's average, highlighting the performance cost of the highest settings.

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptional across the board:

• Ultra settings yield an average of 166 FPS.
• High settings yield an average of 231 FPS.
• Medium settings yield an average of 270 FPS, with a minimum of 229 FPS and a maximum of 310 FPS.
• Low settings yield an average of 363 FPS.

The data at 1080p shows that even the Ultra preset is very playable, but the Low preset achieves a staggering 363 FPS average. The Medium preset's variance is highlighted by its 229 FPS minimum and 310 FPS maximum, which suggests that while the average is very high, there are moments of significant fluctuation.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus plays a critical role in achieving the high frame rates seen at lower resolutions. With 24 cores and 24 threads, this processor is a high-end desktop part designed for heavy multi-threaded workloads. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is also exceptional, which is often crucial for game logic and physics.

The benchmark data for the CPU shows it excels in both multi-core and single-core tests. It scores 51,731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,303 in single-core. This strong single-core performance is likely what allows the system to maintain such high frame rates at 1080p, where the CPU must process the game's simulation and issue draw calls faster than the GPU can render them. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,823 further confirms its strength in this area.

For a game like Barony, which is a roguelike with procedural generation and complex game state, the CPU's ability to handle these tasks efficiently is paramount. The high frame rates at 1080p (231 FPS on High) are a direct result of the CPU's powerful single-core performance, ensuring it is not a bottleneck. The passmark physics score of 3,315 also indicates strong performance in physics calculations, which can be relevant for in-game interactions.

The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache is also beneficial for gaming, as it allows for faster access to frequently used data. While the game is not likely to use all 24 cores, the high boost clock and efficient architecture ensure that the primary game thread is processed as quickly as possible. The data shows that the CPU's performance is more than sufficient to keep up with the RTX 5060 at 1080p, as evidenced by the minimal frame rate difference between Low and High settings at that resolution. It is only when the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions that the CPU's role becomes less critical to the final frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Barony, the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is ranked 1258 out of 2935 tested combinations. This puts the system in the 57th percentile of all tested builds, meaning it outperforms more than half of the other configurations in this specific game.

This ranking suggests that while the system is very capable, it is not at the absolute top tier for this title. The game's age (released in 2015) and its roguelike nature mean that it is likely more CPU-dependent than a modern AAA title, and the RTX 5060's GPU power is not fully utilized at lower resolutions. The high frame rates measured at 1080p (over 200 FPS on High) are excellent, but other combinations with even more powerful GPUs or CPUs may achieve even higher scores in the database.

Looking at the individual component rankings provides context. The CPU has a percentile rank of 96 against all CPUs, putting it in the top 4% of processors. Its average benchmark score is 84,003, which is only 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX. This shows that the 290K Plus is a top-tier processor, but its gaming performance is not significantly ahead of its closest rivals.

The GPU has a percentile rank of 72 against all GPUs, placing it in the top 28%. Its average benchmark score is 26,331, which is 1.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT and 0.3% lower than the AMD Radeon 860M. This indicates that the RTX 5060 is a solid mid-to-high-range GPU, but it is not a flagship model. The combination of a top-tier CPU and a mid-to-high-range GPU results in a system that is well-balanced for most games but may not lead the charts in GPU-intensive scenarios. The rank of 1258 reflects this balance, showing that it is a strong performer that sits comfortably in the upper half of all tested systems for Barony.