Barony

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile delivers a commanding performance in Barony, a roguelike that scales aggressively with hardware. This combination sits in the top 27.5% of all tested combos for this title, and the measured frame rates indicate that the 16-core processor is the primary driver of the experience, especially at lower resolutions. The data suggests that players with high-refresh-rate displays will find this combo exceptionally capable, though the GPU still imposes a firm ceiling at 4K Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a textbook pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 462 FPS. This figure drops to 291 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 152 FPS at 3840x2160, demonstrating that the RTX 5080 Mobile becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises. The progression from 1080p Low to 4K Low represents a 67% reduction in average frame rate, which is consistent with a GPU that is being fed more work per frame.

The High preset tells a similar story with slightly lower absolute numbers. The combo achieves 295 FPS at 1080p, 186 FPS at 1440p, and 97 FPS at 4K. The scaling pattern here is nearly linear with pixel count, which indicates that the RTX 5080 Mobile is the bottleneck at every resolution above 1080p. At 1080p High, the 295 FPS result is close to the 343 FPS recorded at Medium, suggesting that the CPU is starting to limit performance even at this resolution when the GPU is not fully saturated.

The Ultra preset reveals the steepest performance cliff. At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 211 FPS, which drops to 133 FPS at 1440p and 70 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured point below 100 FPS, and it falls to 70 FPS. This is a 57% drop from the 1080p Ultra figure, reinforcing that the GPU is the dominant constraint at the highest fidelity settings. For players targeting 4K, the data shows that dropping from Ultra to High yields a 38% frame rate improvement, bringing the average from 70 FPS to 97 FPS.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground with measured minimum and maximum values. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 343 FPS with a minimum of 292 FPS and a maximum of 395 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 217 FPS with a range of 184 to 249 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 113 FPS with a range of 96 to 130 FPS. The minimum frame rates at Medium settings stay above 96 FPS at 4K, which is a useful indicator for players who prioritize smoothness over maximum frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1023rd out of 3717 tested combinations for Barony, placing it in the 72.5th percentile of all measured systems. This is a strong result that puts it ahead of roughly three-quarters of the tested field. The ranking reflects the combined capability of the Ryzen 9 8945HX and the RTX 5080 Mobile, both of which are recent high-end mobile parts.

The CPU itself benchmarks at the 95th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 76,212. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, scores 76,155, which is a 0.1% difference. The AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX both score higher at 76,492 and 76,513 respectively, but the deltas are small at -0.4% and -0.4%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 75,779, which is 0.6% lower. This tight grouping means the 8945HX is effectively at parity with the fastest desktop and mobile processors available, and the Barony ranking reflects this capability.

The GPU benchmarks at the 81st percentile among all tested graphics cards, with an average score of 38,349. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 at 38,299, a 0.1% difference, followed by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at 38,135, a 0.6% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A scores 38,691, which is -0.9% relative, and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X scores 38,706, also -0.9%. The 5080 Mobile is therefore slightly faster than the RTX 4080 Mobile in aggregate benchmarks, which is notable given the generational gap.

The combination of a 95th percentile CPU and an 81st percentile GPU produces a combo ranking that is slightly below the CPU percentile but above the GPU percentile. This suggests that Barony is more sensitive to CPU performance than GPU performance, which is consistent with the roguelike genre's heavy reliance on game logic and procedural generation. The 1023rd rank out of 3717 combos means that while the CPU is near the top of the field, the GPU is the component that holds the combo back from a higher ranking.

GPU Role

The RTX 5080 Mobile is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 28 Gbps effective. The GPU has 7,680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines. Its base clock is 975 MHz with a boost clock of 1500 MHz, and it features 60 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores. The pixel rate is 144.0 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 23.04 TFLOPS.

In Barony, the GPU's role is most apparent at 4K resolution, where the frame rate drops from 152 FPS at Low to 70 FPS at Ultra. This 54% reduction indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at high resolution and high settings. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as Barony is not a demanding title in terms of memory capacity. The bandwidth figure of 896.0 GB/s is unlikely to be a constraint at any of the measured settings, as the frame rates scale consistently with render resolution.

The boost clock of 1500 MHz is relatively modest for a modern GPU, but the architecture compensates with high shader count and efficient memory utilization. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4,952 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 169,754 indicate strong raw compute capability. The Passmark G3D score of 27,711 places the GPU in the 81st percentile, which aligns with its measured performance in Barony.

At 1440p, the GPU still imposes a ceiling, as seen by the 291 FPS at Low compared to 133 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 54%, which is identical to the 4K gap. This suggests that the GPU is fully utilized at both resolutions, and the CPU has enough headroom to feed it. At 1080p, the GPU is less stressed, as evidenced by the smaller gap between Low and Ultra: 462 FPS versus 211 FPS, a 54% reduction that matches the higher resolutions.

The RTX 5080 Mobile's performance relative to its rivals confirms its position. It is 0.6% faster than the RTX 4080 Mobile in average benchmark score, which is a small but measurable advantage. In Barony, this translates to the frame rates measured, and the GPU's 81st percentile ranking means it is faster than most GPUs in the database but not at the very top.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p High provides an average of 186 FPS, while 4K High provides 97 FPS. For the highest frame rates, 1080p Low reaches 462 FPS, but 1440p High offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How much faster is this combo at 1080p versus 4K on High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average frame rate is 295 FPS, while at 4K High it is 97 FPS. This represents a 204% increase in frame rate when dropping from 4K to 1080p.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 4K Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 70 FPS is significantly lower than the 4K High result of 97 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 95th percentile ranking suggests it has ample headroom at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1023rd out of 3717 tested combinations for Barony, placing it in the top 27.5% of all systems tested. The CPU is at the 95th percentile and the GPU is at the 81st percentile.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 292 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it is 184 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 96 FPS. These minimums indicate consistent frame times at Medium settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 Mobile compare to the RTX 4080 Mobile in benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 38,349, while the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38,135. This is a 0.6% difference in favor of the 5080 Mobile.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Dragon Range. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The processor is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC and features 64 MB of L3 cache, with 1 MB of L2 cache per core and 64 KB of L1 cache per core. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

In Barony, the CPU's role is evident in the frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 462 FPS, which is more than double the 4K Low result of 152 FPS. This indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates, and the GPU becomes the bottleneck only as resolution increases. The 16 cores and 32 threads are more than sufficient for a roguelike, which typically does not scale beyond a few threads, but the high boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance.

The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42,713 and single-core score of 6,030 demonstrate the processor's capability. The Passmark multithread score of 51,405 and single-thread score of 3,907 further confirm its position. The CPU is at the 95th percentile among all tested processors, and its nearest rivals are within 0.6% of its average score. This tight grouping means the 8945HX is essentially tied with the fastest processors in the database.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s is unlikely to be a constraint in Barony, as the game does not appear to be memory-bandwidth sensitive based on the measured frame rates. The L3 cache of 64 MB is generous and helps with procedural generation and game state management. The processor's 55 W TDP is modest for a 16-core part, which suggests it is well-suited for mobile use, and the measured performance in Barony reflects its efficiency.

The combination of high single-thread performance and ample core count means the 8945HX does not bottleneck the RTX 5080 Mobile at any measured setting. At 1080p Low, the 462 FPS result shows that the CPU can push frame rates well beyond typical display refresh rates. At 4K Ultra, the 70 FPS result is clearly GPU-limited, as the CPU has no trouble maintaining frame pacing at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Barony. For players using a 1080p display with a high refresh rate, the Low preset delivers 462 FPS, which is far beyond any current monitor's capability. The Medium preset at 343 FPS is also excessive, and even the Ultra preset at 211 FPS exceeds 144 Hz. The best choice at 1080p is the Ultra preset, which offers the highest visual quality while still maintaining 211 FPS average.

At 1440p, the High preset at 186 FPS is the recommended choice for most players, as it provides a smooth experience on 144 Hz displays and above. The Ultra preset at 133 FPS is also viable for 120 Hz displays, but the High preset offers a 40% frame rate increase with only a modest reduction in visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 217 FPS is unnecessary for most displays, and the Low preset at 291 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for a frame rate that exceeds display capabilities.

At 4K, the High preset at 97 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it is close to 100 FPS and provides a smooth experience on 60 Hz to 90 Hz displays. The Medium preset at 113 FPS is also viable and offers better minimum frame rates, with a minimum of 96 FPS compared to the High preset's unmeasured minimum. The Ultra preset at 70 FPS is playable but noticeably less smooth, and the Low preset at 152 FPS sacrifices significant visual quality for frame rate.

For players who prioritize minimum frame rates, the Medium preset is the safest choice at 4K, as it maintains a minimum of 96 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset has a minimum of 184 FPS, which is well above any display's refresh rate. The data suggests that the High preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions, providing a 97 FPS average at 4K, 186 FPS at 1440p, and 295 FPS at 1080p. This preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance without exceeding the capabilities of typical displays.