Barony

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, rarely stresses modern hardware, but the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 shows a combo that delivers extreme frame rates across all settings and resolutions. This pairing is capable of turning a demanding dungeon crawler into a showcase for high-refresh-rate displays, though the performance scaling reveals where each component is working hardest.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the absolute numbers remain so high that the game is playable at any resolution. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 383 at 1920x1080 to 242 at 2560x1440, a 37% reduction, and then to 126 at 3840x2160, a 48% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises, which is expected given the RTX 4080’s role in pushing those extra pixels.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is even more dramatic. The average FPS goes from 600 at 1080p, which is likely a frame rate cap or a measurement ceiling, down to 379 at 1440p and then to 198 at 4K. The 600 FPS figure at 1080p Low strongly suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at that resolution and settings combination, as the GPU has very little work to do. Once the resolution increases, the GPU takes over and the frame rate settles into a range that is still massively above what any display can show.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with average FPS of 446 at 1080p, 281 at 1440p, and 147 at 4K. The minimum FPS data, which is only recorded for Medium settings, shows 379 at 1080p, 239 at 1440p, and 125 at 4K. These minimums are close to the averages, suggesting consistent frame pacing without severe stutters, even when the GPU is under load. The gap between average and minimum FPS widens slightly at 4K, from a 67 FPS difference at 1080p to a 22 FPS difference at 4K, but the latter is a smaller percentage of the total, indicating a more stable experience at higher resolutions.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates, as expected, with averages of 274 at 1080p, 173 at 1440p, and 91 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, and from 1440p to 4K is 47%, which mirrors the High preset’s scaling. This consistency suggests that the relative cost of each resolution step is uniform across the settings presets. The 4K Ultra figure of 91 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, proving that this combo can handle maximum settings at the highest resolution without compromise.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is a Zen 3 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running on the AMD Socket AM4 platform. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, and it has 32 MB of shared L3 cache. This CPU is not the newest on the market, but its benchmark scores show it remains a strong performer. In Cinebench R23, it scores 13184 in multicore and 1499 in single-core. The 3DMark scores indicate scaling from 921 in single-thread to 6858 in 16-thread tests, showing that the processor can leverage all of its threads effectively.

In Barony, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p with Low settings, where the average FPS hits 600. This is likely a ceiling imposed by the game engine or the measurement tool, and it indicates that the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at this low resolution. The fact that the 5700X achieves this with a 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs shows it is more than adequate for this game’s logic and physics calculations. The single-thread performance, as measured by 3DMark’s 921 score, is also strong, which matters for a roguelike where the game state is often processed sequentially.

The nearest rivals for the 5700X in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-12600K with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are tied in average score, and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, which is 0.2% faster. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is 0.2% slower, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is 0.3% faster. These tiny deltas show that the 5700X is squarely in the middle of a performance cluster, and any of these CPUs would likely produce identical results in a game like Barony, which is not heavily multithreaded. The 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for the game’s demands, and the 32 MB of L3 cache helps with data reuse in the procedural dungeon generation.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of what each preset offers, and the choice depends on the target display. For a 1080p monitor with a 240 Hz refresh rate, the High preset at 383 FPS is already beyond what the display can show, so there is no benefit to using Low settings. The Ultra preset at 274 FPS is still above 240 Hz, meaning you can run maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The Medium preset at 446 FPS is overkill for this resolution.

At 1440p, the situation is similar. The High preset averages 242 FPS, which is perfect for a 240 Hz display. The Ultra preset at 173 FPS is still very high and would satisfy most 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors. The Low preset’s 379 FPS is unnecessary, and the Medium preset’s 281 FPS offers no practical advantage over High. For 1440p, High settings provide the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, with Ultra being a viable option if you want maximum detail and have a 144 Hz monitor.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts. The High preset at 126 FPS is excellent for a 120 Hz display, and the Medium preset at 147 FPS is even better. The Ultra preset at 91 FPS is still playable on a 60 Hz or 90 Hz monitor, but the drop from High to Ultra is a 28% performance hit. The data shows that High settings at 4K are the sweet spot, as they offer a 35 FPS advantage over Ultra while likely looking very similar in a fast-paced roguelike where you are focused on gameplay rather than scenery. The Low preset at 198 FPS is unnecessary, as the visual downgrade is not worth the frame rate increase.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen 7 5700X and the RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 244 out of 3717 combos in Barony. This places it in the top 6.6% of all tested systems for this game, which is a strong showing given that the CPU is not a top-tier model. The high rank is almost entirely due to the RTX 4080’s ability to push frames at high resolutions, as the CPU is likely not a limiting factor at any setting except 1080p Low.

The percentile ranking for the GPU is 86, meaning it is faster than 86% of all GPUs in the database. This is a high-end card, and its performance in Barony reflects that, as it is able to maintain triple-digit frame rates at 4K High. The CPU’s percentile ranking is 79, which is also above average, but it is not in the same elite tier as the GPU. This combination of a very good GPU and a good CPU results in a system that is well-balanced for this game, with the GPU doing most of the heavy lifting at higher resolutions.

The fact that this combo ranks 244th out of 3717 suggests that there are many systems with faster CPUs that might achieve better scores at 1080p, but for 4K gaming, the GPU is the deciding factor. The data indicates that the RTX 4080 is the star of this pairing, and the 5700X is a competent partner that does not hold it back in most scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing. It has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. Its base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and it has 9728 shading units. The card’s benchmark scores are impressive, with a passmark G3D score of 34457 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 263779. Its percentile ranking of 86 places it well above the average GPU.

In Barony, the GPU’s role is clear from the resolution scaling. At 1080p with Low settings, the frame rate is capped at 600, likely due to the CPU or engine, but at 4K with Ultra settings, the GPU is fully utilized and delivers 91 FPS. The RTX 4080’s memory capacity and bandwidth are more than sufficient for this game, which does not have demanding texture requirements. The 16 GB of VRAM is overkill for Barony, but it ensures that there are no memory-related stutters.

The nearest rivals for the RTX 4080 include the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is 0.1% faster, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, which is 1.1% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% slower, and the AMD Radeon 8060S is 2.7% slower. These small deltas show that the RTX 4080 is near the top of its class, and the only card that is notably faster is its direct successor. For Barony, this means the GPU will not be a bottleneck at any reasonable settings, and the frame rate will be limited by the CPU only at very low resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo can achieve in Barony?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 600 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is likely a measurement ceiling, as the frame rate cannot exceed this value.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is only a limiting factor at 1080p with Low settings, where the FPS hits 600. At all other resolutions and settings, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance, as shown by the significant FPS drops when increasing resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score that is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080, making the performance difference negligible in practice.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 4K 120 Hz monitor?

A: The High preset at 3840x2160 averages 126 FPS, which is ideal for a 120 Hz display. The Ultra preset averages 91 FPS, which is still playable but does not fully utilize the refresh rate.

Q: Does the game show consistent frame pacing at Medium settings?

A: Yes, the minimum FPS values at Medium settings are 379 at 1080p, 239 at 1440p, and 125 at 4K. These are relatively close to the average FPS, indicating stable performance without major stutters.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among tested systems for Barony?

A: This combination of the Ryzen 7 5700X and RTX 4080 ranks 244th out of 3717 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.6% of all systems.