Barony

# Barony with AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + AMD Radeon 8060S

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the AMD Radeon 8060S integrated graphics produces a distinctive performance profile in Barony, a roguelike that scales heavily with resolution and settings. Measured frame rates range from a playable 48 FPS at 4K Ultra to an exceptionally smooth 316 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this combination is primarily GPU-limited at higher resolutions but capable of exploiting high refresh rates at lower settings. The combo ranks 1693rd out of 2935 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-mid tier of the database, yet the absolute frame rates suggest the game's modest graphical demands allow this mobile platform to deliver competitive results.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings, revealing a clear GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, average FPS falls from 201 at 1080p to 127 at 1440p, then to 66 at 4K — a reduction of 37% from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48% from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that the Radeon 8060S's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases, with the CPU's 16 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock remaining largely underutilized.

Low settings show a similar trend but with steeper absolute drops: 316 FPS at 1080p decreases to 199 FPS at 1440p (37% reduction) and then to 104 FPS at 4K (48% reduction from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest that resolution scaling is uniform — the GPU's fill rate and shading units are the primary constraint, not memory bandwidth or cache hierarchy. At 4K Ultra, the average of 48 FPS represents just 15% of the 1080p Low result, demonstrating that the most demanding configuration overwhelms the integrated GPU's 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs.

The Medium preset provides the only complete min/max data, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 4K Medium, the average of 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 89 shows a 23 FPS spread, indicating moderate frame pacing variability. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 148 FPS with a 44 FPS spread (126–170), while 1080p Medium achieves 235 FPS with a 71 FPS spread (199–270). The widening variance at lower resolutions suggests that CPU-side frame generation becomes more variable when the GPU is less constrained, though absolute frame times remain well within playable territory.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8060S, built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture with a 4 nm process, operates with a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz. Its 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs deliver a peak pixel rate of 185.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 464.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 14.85 TFLOPS. These specifications place the GPU in the 87th percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 55757 — nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (0.6% delta).

Memory is entirely system-shared, with the GPU relying on the CPU's dual-channel DDR5 configuration and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth. This shared memory architecture explains the pronounced performance degradation at 4K Ultra, where the 48 FPS average likely reflects both fill rate limits and memory access latency. The system-dependent bandwidth means that the Ryzen 9 8945HX's memory controller performance directly influences GPU results, making this a tightly coupled platform.

In Barony specifically, the GPU's role becomes dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The transition from 1080p High (201 FPS) to 4K High (66 FPS) represents a 67% performance loss, while the same resolution change at Low settings shows a 67% loss (316 to 104 FPS). This consistent scaling across presets indicates that the GPU's pixel processing capabilities, rather than its geometry or compute throughput, are the primary constraint. The 40 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are largely irrelevant for this roguelike, which likely uses minimal RT effects, meaning the raw rasterization performance is what matters.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports a clear hierarchy of settings for this combination, with the optimal choice depending on target resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, all presets deliver playable frame rates, but the jump from High (201 FPS) to Ultra (144 FPS) costs 28% performance for what is presumably marginal visual improvement in a roguelike's stylized graphics. The Medium preset at 235 FPS offers the best balance, providing a 17% improvement over High while maintaining a 199 FPS minimum that exceeds most displays' refresh rates.

At 1440p, the High preset (127 FPS) becomes the recommended choice, as it maintains smooth gameplay while the Ultra preset drops to 91 FPS — still playable but with less headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 148 FPS offers similar visual quality to High with a 17% performance boost, making it the statistically superior option for most users. The Low preset's 199 FPS is excessive for typical 144Hz displays, suggesting that the performance headroom is better spent on higher settings.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. Ultra drops to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered necessary for smooth gameplay. High (66 FPS) barely crosses this threshold, while Medium (77 FPS) provides the best playable experience with a 66 FPS minimum. The Low preset at 104 FPS offers the smoothest 4K experience but sacrifices significant visual quality. For 4K users, Medium is the measured sweet spot, delivering 77 FPS average with acceptable frame consistency.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Ryzen 9 8945HX and Radeon 8060S ranks 1693rd out of 2935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 42nd percentile of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the integrated GPU's limitations relative to discrete solutions, though the absolute frame rates are respectable for a mobile platform. The CPU's 95th percentile ranking among all processors (average benchmark score of 76212) contrasts sharply with the GPU's 87th percentile ranking (average score of 55757), indicating that the platform is significantly CPU-heavy in its performance profile.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (0.1% faster), AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (0.4% slower), and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (0.6% faster), showing that the 8945HX is competitive with top-tier desktop and mobile processors. The GPU's rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.1% faster) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (0.6% faster), which is notable — the integrated Radeon 8060S matches discrete GPUs from previous generations, though it falls 2.8% behind the RTX 4080 and 1.7% ahead of the Radeon Pro W5700X.

In Barony specifically, the combo's rank of 1693 suggests that many discrete GPU configurations outperform it, particularly at 4K Ultra where the 48 FPS result likely places it below most systems with dedicated graphics cards. However, at 1080p Low (316 FPS), the combo outperforms many systems with older discrete GPUs, demonstrating that the 8060S's efficiency at lower resolutions compensates for its bandwidth limitations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Barony?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset achieves 127 FPS average, while Medium reaches 148 FPS with a 126 FPS minimum, both comfortably above typical 120Hz refresh rates. At 1080p, frame rates exceed 200 FPS but the visual fidelity is lower, while 4K drops to 66 FPS at High settings.

Q: How does the Radeon 8060S compare to discrete GPUs?

A: The Radeon 8060S's average benchmark score of 55757 places it within 0.1% of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. It sits 1.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X and 2.8% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. In Barony, this translates to playable 4K at Medium settings and excellent 1080p performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Barony?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions. Frame rates drop consistently by approximately 37% from 1080p to 1440p and 48% from 1440p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads. The CPU's 16 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low (316 FPS).

Q: What settings should I use for 4K gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 4K provides 77 FPS average with a 66 FPS minimum, making it the only tested setting that maintains playable frame rates with reasonable visual quality. High settings drop to 66 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Low settings at 104 FPS are an option if performance is prioritized over visuals.

Q: How does this combo's ranking compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1693rd out of 2935 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking is consistent with the GPU's 87th percentile among all GPUs, though the CPU's 95th percentile ranking suggests the platform has untapped potential if paired with a stronger discrete GPU.

Q: Does the shared system memory affect performance?

A: Yes, the Radeon 8060S uses system-shared memory with bandwidth dependent on the CPU's memory configuration. The Ryzen 9 8945HX provides dual-channel DDR5 with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but likely contributes to the significant performance drop at 4K Ultra, where memory bandwidth becomes more critical.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are: Low 316 FPS, Medium 235 FPS (minimum 199, maximum 270), High 201 FPS, and Ultra 144 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent degradation, with Ultra delivering 45.6% of Low's performance. The Medium preset's minimum of 199 FPS matches the High preset's average, indicating that Medium provides High-level performance consistency with better average frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 199 FPS, Medium 148 FPS (minimum 126, maximum 170), High 127 FPS, and Ultra 91 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p is nearly uniform across settings: Low loses 37%, Medium loses 37%, High loses 37%, and Ultra loses 37%. This uniformity reinforces that resolution scaling is GPU-bound, with no setting-specific bottlenecks emerging at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 104 FPS, Medium 77 FPS (minimum 66, maximum 89), High 66 FPS, and Ultra 48 FPS. The 4K results show a similar 48% drop from 1440p across all settings, though the absolute numbers become critical — Ultra falls below 50 FPS, and High barely exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 66 FPS matches the High preset's average, again showing that Medium offers the best frame consistency at this resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture (Dragon Range codename), fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process with 13,140 million transistors across a 2x 71 mm² die configuration. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts to 5.40 GHz, with a 55 W TDP that classifies it as a high-performance mobile part. The 64 MB L3 cache, 1 MB L2 per core, and 64 KB L1 per core provide substantial data locality for game workloads, while the dual-channel DDR5 memory interface delivers 83.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In Barony, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game logic updates. The high frame rates at 1080p Low (316 FPS) demonstrate that the CPU can sustain over 300 frames per second, likely due to the 5.40 GHz boost clock and 16 high-performance cores. The PassMark single-thread score of 3907 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6030 indicate excellent per-core performance, which is crucial for game engines that often rely on a few primary threads.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are equally impressive, with Cinebench R23 multi-core scoring 42713 and PassMark multi-thread scoring 51405. These results place the CPU in the 95th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 76212 — essentially tied with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (0.1% delta) and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (0.6% delta). However, in Barony, the CPU's power is largely untapped; the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K, and even at 1080p, the frame rates are more likely limited by the GPU's rendering pipeline than the CPU's game logic throughput. The 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth, while adequate for this integrated GPU configuration, would likely bottleneck a discrete GPU with higher bandwidth requirements, further emphasizing the balance this platform strikes.