Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers exceptional performance in Barony, placing in the top 7% of all tested system configurations. This pairing produces extraordinarily high frame rates across all settings and resolutions, with the primary bottleneck shifting from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p. Analysis of the measured data reveals a system capable of maxing out high-refresh-rate displays even at demanding 4K Ultra settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge codename) using a 4nm process from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The processor features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, providing 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes and includes integrated Radeon Graphics.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 9600X demonstrates strong single-thread performance with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5. Multi-threaded results are equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17528.5 and a Geekbench multicore score of 14438. The processor's PassMark multithread score of 30027 and single-thread score of 4570 indicate balanced performance across workloads. The CPU holds an 81st percentile ranking versus all CPUs, placing it in the top fifth of processors overall.

In Barony, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions where frame rates reach extreme heights. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 600 FPS average, which is likely near the upper limit of what the CPU can feed to the GPU. The 12-thread configuration and high boost clock of 5.40 GHz help maintain high frame rates even when the game's logic or physics calculations become demanding. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample space for game data, reducing the need to access slower system memory. The processor's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (0.2% faster), AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (0.5% slower), AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (0.6% slower), and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (0.8% slower), showing the 9600X sits in a tightly competitive performance band.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5nm TSMC process, featuring the AD103 chip with 45,900 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with memory running at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). It comes equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 76 RT cores, and 304 tensor cores. Its compute capabilities include 48.74 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 operations, with a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s.

The RTX 4080's PassMark G3D score of 34457 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 reflect strong raw graphics performance. Geekbench results show 214739 in OpenCL and 263779 in Vulkan, indicating excellent compute throughput. The GPU holds an 86th percentile ranking versus all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% faster), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% slower), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (2.6% slower), and AMD Radeon 8060S (2.7% slower).

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution rises. The 16 GB VRAM capacity provides ample headroom for high-resolution textures and effects, even at 4K Ultra settings. The 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and data transfer remain efficient. The 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores, while not directly relevant to Barony's roguelike rendering, contribute to the card's overall computational strength. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 91 FPS average, demonstrating that the GPU can handle the most demanding configuration in this game while maintaining playable frame rates.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data shows a clear progression of frame rates as resolution increases, revealing the shifting bottleneck between CPU and GPU. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 600 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops the average to 379 FPS, a 36.8% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 198 FPS, representing a 67.0% decrease from 1080p. This pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has spare capacity to render frames quickly.

For High settings, the progression shows 383 FPS at 1080p, 242 FPS at 1440p (36.8% drop), and 126 FPS at 4K (67.1% drop from 1080p). Medium settings follow a similar trend: 446 FPS at 1080p, 281 FPS at 1440p, and 147 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings produce 274 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and 91 FPS at 4K, with a 66.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The consistent ~67% drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests that the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions. The frame rate scaling with resolution is nearly linear, which is typical for a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p, the CPU's ability to process game logic and issue draw calls becomes the constraint, as evidenced by the extremely high frame rates that exceed what most displays can show. At 4K, the GPU's rendering workload increases substantially, and the measured 91-198 FPS range across settings shows the RTX 4080's capabilities are being fully utilized. The minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings (125 FPS at 4K, 239 FPS at 1440p, 379 FPS at 1080p) provide insight into frame time consistency, with the 4K result showing a minimum that is 85% of the average, indicating relatively stable performance.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 244th out of 3717 tested combos in Barony. This places the system in the top 6.6% of all configurations, indicating that this pairing delivers near-elite performance for this game. The rank reflects the synergy between the 6-core CPU and the high-end GPU, which together produce frame rates that exceed the requirements of most displays.

Relative to other systems in the database, this combo outperforms the vast majority of configurations. The ranking position suggests that while there are faster combinations, particularly those featuring top-tier CPUs paired with the RTX 4080 or faster GPUs, this setup provides excellent performance for Barony. The CPU's 81st percentile ranking and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking both contribute to the overall competitive position of this combo. The data indicates that the 9600X does not significantly bottleneck the RTX 4080 in this game, as evidenced by the high frame rates achieved even at 1080p where CPU limitations typically surface first.

The combo's performance is particularly strong considering the CPU's mid-range positioning. The 9600X's nearest rivals are all within 1% of its average benchmark score, yet the system still achieves top-tier results in Barony. This suggests that the game's performance is more dependent on the GPU at higher resolutions and on single-thread CPU performance at lower resolutions, both of which this combo handles well.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For 4K displays, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 91 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay but below the 120+ FPS that high-refresh-rate displays can showcase. The High preset at 4K produces 126 FPS average, providing a significant improvement while still maintaining high visual quality. The Medium preset at 4K offers 147 FPS average with minimum FPS of 125, ensuring consistent frame delivery. For competitive play or maximum smoothness at 4K, Medium provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, while High is recommended for those prioritizing image quality over frame rate.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset achieves 173 FPS average, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset reaches 242 FPS, and Medium hits 281 FPS with a minimum of 239 FPS. For 1440p users, Ultra provides an excellent experience with no compromise in smoothness, as even the most demanding preset exceeds 144 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p produces 379 FPS, which is only useful for extreme competitive scenarios where maximum frame rate is prioritized over visuals.

For 1080p, all presets deliver exceptionally high frame rates. Ultra produces 274 FPS, High reaches 383 FPS, Medium hits 446 FPS with a minimum of 379 FPS, and Low achieves 600 FPS. At this resolution, the Ultra preset is recommended because it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining frame rates far above any display's refresh rate. The CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, so increasing graphical settings has minimal impact on frame rate performance relative to the visual improvements gained.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this combo in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 600 at 1080p Low settings. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 91 FPS, while 4K High maintains 126 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, placing it 0.1% below the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209), 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828), 2.6% above the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698), and 2.7% above the AMD Radeon 8060S (55757).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K on High settings?

A: On High settings, the system produces 383 FPS at 1080p, 242 FPS at 1440p, and 126 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K represents a 67.1% reduction in average FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 9600X perform in multi-threaded workloads?

A: The CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17528.5 and a PassMark multithread score of 30027. Its 3DMark max threads score is 7590, with 16-thread and 8-thread scores of 7585 and 6726 respectively.

Q: Which resolution shows the smallest performance gap between Low and Ultra settings?

A: The data shows performance gaps between Low and Ultra of 326 FPS at 1080p, 206 FPS at 1440p, and 107 FPS at 4K. The smallest absolute gap is at 4K, but the relative gap (2.18x difference) is consistent across resolutions.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded for Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 4K Medium, the minimum FPS is 125. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 239 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 379 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

3840x2160 (4K):

• Ultra: 91 FPS average
• High: 126 FPS average
• Medium: 147 FPS average, 125 FPS minimum, 169 FPS maximum
• Low: 198 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Ultra: 173 FPS average
• High: 242 FPS average
• Medium: 281 FPS average, 239 FPS minimum, 324 FPS maximum
• Low: 379 FPS average

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Ultra: 274 FPS average
• High: 383 FPS average
• Medium: 446 FPS average, 379 FPS minimum, 513 FPS maximum
• Low: 600 FPS average

The data shows that increasing resolution from 1080p to 4K reduces average FPS by approximately 67% across all settings. The Medium preset consistently provides the highest minimum FPS values relative to average FPS, indicating better frame pacing. The 4K Ultra setting at 91 FPS remains above the 60 FPS playability threshold, while 4K High and Medium offer progressively smoother experiences. At 1440p and below, all settings exceed 144 FPS, making this combo suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming at those resolutions.