Barony

Barony, a roguelike released in 2015, is not typically the title that comes to mind when considering a flagship mobile CPU paired with a top-tier desktop GPU. Yet, the benchmark data for this specific combination—the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090—reveals a fascinating performance profile that pushes the game's engine to its absolute limits. The measurements indicate that this setup delivers extreme frame rates across all resolutions, but the scaling patterns expose a clear bottleneck that shifts depending on the graphics settings. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to understand where this combo excels, where it is held back, and what it means for the player.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Barony, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 secures the 610th position out of 2935 total combos. This places it in the top percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it delivers performance that is significantly higher than the vast majority of other configurations. The data suggests that this is not merely a capable system for Barony, but one that is positioned near the very apex of the performance hierarchy, with only a small fraction of other tested setups managing to outperform it.

The ranking reflects the sheer processing power of both components, but it also raises a question about the nature of the game itself. Barony, being a roguelike with a release date in 2015, is unlikely to have the demanding graphics of a modern AAA title. Therefore, a high rank here is more indicative of raw computational horsepower rather than optimized graphical rendering. The system is effectively brute-forcing its way to the top, a conclusion supported by the massive frame rates seen in the measured data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, and its specifications in the FACT PACK paint a picture of immense capability. It houses 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a massive 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This is paired with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. For a game like Barony, which does not have the massive texture and geometry demands of modern shooters, this level of VRAM and bandwidth is astronomically overkill. The data implies that the GPU is never going to be the limiting factor in terms of memory capacity or texture streaming; it has more than enough resources to handle anything the game can throw at it.

The GPU's immense compute power, with 16,384 shading units and an FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS, is the primary driver of the high frame rates. However, the benchmark results also suggest a nuanced role. At 1080p with Low settings, the GPU is rendering frames so quickly that the CPU is likely struggling to keep up, a classic CPU-bound scenario. The GPU's role shifts from being the primary performer to being a passenger, waiting for the CPU to feed it instructions. Conversely, at 4K with Ultra settings, the GPU is finally given a workload substantial enough to flex its muscles, yet the frame rate drop indicates that even then, the game's engine is not optimized to fully utilize the card's potential.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how the game scales with different quality presets. At 1920x1080, the "High" preset yields an average of 301 FPS, while the "Ultra" preset drops to 216 FPS. While both are exceptionally smooth, the 85 FPS difference is notable. The data suggests that the "High" preset offers a better balance for high-refresh-rate monitors, as the visual fidelity difference between High and Ultra in a game with Barony's art style is likely minimal compared to the significant frame rate cost.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges. The "High" preset averages 190 FPS, while "Ultra" averages 136 FPS. The 54 FPS drop is again significant. For 3840x2160, the "High" preset delivers an average of 99 FPS, which is still very playable, but the "Ultra" preset drops to 71 FPS. The data indicates that the "High" preset is the sweet spot for this combination, providing a substantial performance headroom over "Ultra" at every resolution without a commensurate visual payoff. The "Medium" preset offers a middle ground, but for a system of this caliber, there is little reason to dial down from High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates show a consistent and predictable degradation as resolution and settings increase. Starting at 1920x1080, the system produces staggering results. The "Low" preset hits an average of 471 FPS, which is an extraordinary figure. The "Medium" preset averages 351 FPS, with a minimum of 298 FPS and a maximum of 403 FPS. The "High" preset averages 301 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages 216 FPS. These numbers suggest that at 1080p, the system is almost always CPU-limited, as the GPU is capable of far more than the game engine can request.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain incredibly high. The "Low" preset averages 298 FPS, a drop of 173 FPS from 1080p. The "Medium" preset averages 221 FPS, with a minimum of 188 FPS and a maximum of 254 FPS. The "High" preset averages 190 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages 136 FPS. The scaling is linear, suggesting that the GPU is now starting to take on more of the workload, but the CPU is still very much in the picture. At 4K, the "Low" preset at 3840x2160 averages 156 FPS, while "Medium" averages 116 FPS, with a min/max of 98/133 FPS. The "High" preset averages 99 FPS, and "Ultra" drops to 71 FPS. These figures show a system that is finally becoming more balanced, with the GPU's workload increasing enough to bring frame rates down to "normal" high-end levels.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is telling. At "Low" settings, the average FPS drops from 471 at 1920x1080 to 298 at 2560x1440, a 36.7% decrease, and then to 156 at 3840x2160, a 66.9% decrease from 1440p. This steep drop indicates that even at "Low" settings, the GPU is becoming a more significant factor as resolution increases. The CPU is likely still the primary bottleneck at 1080p, but by 4K, the GPU is working hard enough to become the limiting component.

At "Ultra" settings, the drop is less steep in percentage terms. The average FPS goes from 216 at 1080p to 136 at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 71 at 4K (a 47.8% drop from 1440p). This suggests that at "Ultra" settings, the GPU is already heavily utilized even at 1080p, making the relative impact of resolution scaling less pronounced. The data implies that for this game, the CPU is the primary limiter at lower resolutions and settings, while the GPU becomes the limiter at higher resolutions and settings. This is a classic sign of a game engine that is not particularly well-optimized for multi-core processors or modern GPU architectures.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Barony with this hardware?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160 with High settings, the system averages 99 FPS, which is a solid target for 4K gaming. However, for maximum smoothness on a high-refresh monitor, 2560x1440 with High settings provides an average of 190 FPS.

Q: Is the "Ultra" preset worth the performance hit?

A: The benchmark results indicate that "Ultra" reduces average FPS by 85 at 1080p and 28 at 4K compared to "High." Given the game's art style, the visual differences are likely negligible, making "High" the more sensible choice.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: The data suggests a CPU bottleneck at 1080p. For example, the "Low" preset averages 471 FPS, which is an extreme workload for the CPU to manage, indicating that the Ryzen 9 8945HX is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: Does the GPU ever become the limiting factor?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with "Ultra" settings, the average FPS drops to 71. The significant drop from lower resolutions indicates that the GPU is now the primary bottleneck, as the resolution and settings place a substantial load on the RTX 4090.

Q: What kind of frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 190 FPS at 2560x1440 with the High preset, which is an excellent result for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors.

Q: Is this combo overkill for Barony?

A: The data suggests so. Even at 4K with "Ultra" settings, the system maintains an average of 71 FPS. At any lower setting or resolution, frame rates are exceptionally high, indicating that the hardware is far more powerful than the game requires.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030. In Barony, this CPU's role is crucial, particularly at lower resolutions where the game's logic and entity updates are the primary tasks. The data implies that the CPU is the main driver of the extreme frame rates seen at 1080p, as its high single-thread performance and numerous cores allow it to process the game's simulation quickly.

The CPU's performance is ranked in the 95th percentile among all processors, and it trades blows with processors like the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, with delta percentages of 0.1% and 0.6% respectively. However, the game's engine seems to be the limiting factor. While the CPU is capable of producing massive frame rates, the game's engine likely cannot utilize all 16 cores efficiently. This is why the frame rates, while high, don't scale linearly with the CPU's multi-core prowess. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU, and in Barony, it does so with extreme effectiveness, ensuring that the GPU is never starved for data. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz is particularly important for the game's single-threaded tasks, ensuring that the primary game logic thread is processed as fast as possible.