Barony

# Barony with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers exceptional performance in Barony, a roguelike title from 2015 that proves remarkably scalable across modern hardware. This combination ranks in the 80th percentile among all tested CPU and GPU pairings for this game, and the measured frame rates reveal a system capable of triple-digit performance even at 4K Ultra settings. The data shows a fascinating interplay between a 24-core processor designed for heavy workloads and a 12 GB graphics card built for high-resolution gaming, with results that challenge assumptions about how older titles utilize modern silicon.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combination in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 583rd out of 2,935 tested combinations, placing it in the top 20% of all systems evaluated for this game.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the measured average frame rate is 229 FPS, indicating the system is heavily CPU-limited at this resolution since the GPU has significant headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 40,377 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40,318, only 0.1% higher), while it sits 2% above the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 trails by 0.8%.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance relative to its multi-threaded capability?

A: The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 7,303 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 51,731 in multi-core, showing strong per-thread performance that benefits games like Barony which rely heavily on single-thread execution.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 5070 have, and what memory type does it use?

A: The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth—ample capacity for Barony's relatively modest texture requirements.

Q: What is the CPU's L3 cache configuration?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has 36 MB of shared L3 cache, with 192 KB of L1 cache per core and 3 MB of L2 cache per core, totaling substantial on-die storage for game data.

How This Combo Ranks

The 583rd position out of 2,935 tested combinations places this system firmly in the upper echelon of Barony performance. This ranking reflects a synergistic pairing where neither component bottlenecks the other to a significant degree—at least at higher resolutions. The 96th percentile CPU ranking (among all CPUs tested) combined with the 82nd percentile GPU ranking creates a system that outperforms the vast majority of tested hardware configurations.

What makes this ranking particularly interesting is the nature of Barony itself. As a roguelike with procedurally generated dungeons, the game's performance profile differs from typical AAA shooters. The data suggests that the CPU's robust single-threaded performance (7,303 in Cinebench R23 single-core) matters significantly, as roguelike games often have simulation-heavy logic that runs on one or two threads. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus's 24 cores and 24 threads provide ample parallel processing for any background tasks, while its 5.80 GHz boost clock handles the primary game thread with ease.

The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all tested GPUs is respectable, though not elite. The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and Radeon Pro WX 7100—are workstation-class cards that perform within 1% of the RTX 5070 in aggregate benchmarks. This suggests that while the RTX 5070 excels in gaming-specific workloads, its general compute performance is comparable to professional-grade alternatives.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 brings 12 GB of GDDR7 memory to Barony, a title that hardly stresses modern graphics hardware. The memory operates at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 192-bit bus. For a game released in 2015, this bandwidth is far beyond what the engine can utilize, which explains why the GPU rarely becomes the limiting factor until 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU's Blackwell 2.0 architecture features 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. Clock speeds are modest for a modern card—2,325 MHz base and 2,512 MHz boost—yet the measured frame rates in Barony are exceptional. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 501 FPS average, indicating the GPU is nowhere near saturation. The 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is more than sufficient for Barony's visual effects, which include particle systems and lighting that might challenge older GPUs but are trivial for this hardware.

The RTX 5070's 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores are essentially unused in Barony, as the game predates widespread ray tracing adoption. However, these features contribute to the GPU's synthetic benchmark scores, which show strong DirectX performance: 277 in Passmark DirectX 11, 108 in DirectX 12, and 320 in DirectX 9. The DirectX 9 score is particularly relevant, as many roguelike titles use older rendering APIs, and this GPU handles legacy workloads with aplomb.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates reveal a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptionally high frame rates: 501 FPS at Low, 372 FPS at Medium, 320 FPS at High, and 229 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 317 FPS and maximum of 428 FPS, indicating consistent performance with minimal frame time variance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive but show the expected decline. Low settings produce 316 FPS, Medium delivers 235 FPS (with 200 FPS minimum and 270 FPS maximum), High achieves 202 FPS, and Ultra drops to 145 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings represents a 37% reduction in average frame rate, suggesting the GPU is beginning to matter more at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance profile changes dramatically. Low settings still deliver 165 FPS, Medium provides 123 FPS (104 FPS minimum, 141 FPS maximum), High manages 105 FPS, and Ultra drops to 76 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration below 100 FPS, indicating that this resolution pushes the GPU to its limits. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 89 FPS, compared to 272 FPS at 1080p, clearly demonstrating that the GPU becomes the dominant performance factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, even Ultra settings at 229 FPS will exceed virtually any monitor's refresh rate, making this the clear choice for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The 320 FPS at High settings offers diminishing returns over Ultra, so players with high-refresh monitors should select Ultra for the best balance.

At 1440p, the 145 FPS at Ultra settings remains excellent for most gaming monitors. However, players with 240 Hz displays might prefer High settings at 202 FPS, sacrificing some visual quality for a 39% frame rate increase. Medium settings at 235 FPS provides another option for competitive play, though the visual difference between Medium and High in Barony may be minimal given the game's art style.

For 4K resolution, the recommendation becomes more nuanced. Ultra settings at 76 FPS are playable but may feel less responsive on high-refresh displays. High settings at 105 FPS offers a substantial improvement while maintaining good visual quality, making it the sweet spot for 4K gaming. Medium settings at 123 FPS provides the best frame rate without dropping to Low, which at 165 FPS sacrifices too much visual detail for marginal gains. The 104 FPS minimum at 4K Medium suggests consistent performance, while the 76 FPS Ultra average has no recorded minimum, implying more variable frame times.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 3 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.80 GHz provide exceptional single-threaded performance, which is crucial for Barony's game logic. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all tested processors reflects its dominance in both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads.

In Barony, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the frame rate scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 501 FPS, but this drops to 229 FPS at Ultra—a 54% reduction that is entirely attributable to GPU workload. However, the fact that 1080p Low produces 501 FPS suggests the CPU can sustain frame rates far beyond what most displays can show. The 5.80 GHz boost clock ensures that Barony's primary game thread runs at maximum speed, while the 24 cores handle any auxiliary tasks like enemy AI pathfinding or procedural generation.

The CPU's memory subsystem also plays a role. With dual-channel DDR5 support and 115.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth, the processor can feed data to the GPU without bottlenecks. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample storage for frequently accessed game data, reducing latency and improving frame consistency. The 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die represent a dense, efficient design that excels in gaming scenarios where single-thread performance is paramount.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the shifting bottleneck between CPU and GPU. At 1080p, the system delivers 501 FPS at Low and 229 FPS at Ultra—a 2.19x difference that is purely GPU-driven. The CPU is clearly not the limiting factor at this resolution, as evidenced by the exceptional frame rates even at Ultra settings.

Scaling to 1440p, the frame rates drop by approximately 37% at Ultra (229 to 145 FPS) and 37% at Low (501 to 316 FPS). This consistent scaling suggests the GPU is becoming more significant, but the CPU still has headroom. The 4K results show a more dramatic shift: Ultra drops to 76 FPS (a 67% reduction from 1080p Ultra), while Low drops to 165 FPS (a 67% reduction from 1080p Low). This consistent 67% reduction across all settings at 4K indicates that the GPU is now the primary bottleneck, with the CPU's contribution being relatively constant.

Interestingly, the scaling between settings at each resolution reveals the GPU's workload characteristics. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 272 FPS (501 to 229), while at 4K, the difference is only 89 FPS (165 to 76). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the GPU has ample headroom to render additional visual effects, but at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that Ultra settings consume nearly all available resources. The 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient even at 4K Ultra, as the game's textures are modest by modern standards, but the computational load of higher resolutions overwhelms the GPU's 2,512 MHz boost clock.