Barony

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Barony on this AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination reveals a steep performance curve as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the system delivers 600 FPS average, which is the absolute ceiling of the measured dataset. Stepping up to 1440p at the same Low preset drops the average to 379 FPS, a reduction of roughly 37%. Pushing further to 4K at Low settings yields 198 FPS, which is about 48% lower than the 1440p result. This scaling pattern shows that at lower resolutions, the frame rate is extremely high but still drops meaningfully with each resolution increment, indicating that even at 1080p the CPU and GPU are both being pushed hard, though the sheer numbers suggest neither component is the sole bottleneck.

Looking at the High preset, the resolution scaling follows a similar trajectory. At 1080p High, the average is 383 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 242 FPS, a 37% decrease. At 4K High, the average falls to 126 FPS, which is 48% lower than the 1440p result. The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and High presets suggests the game's rendering load scales fairly linearly with pixel count. The delta between 1080p and 4K at High settings is 257 FPS, while at Low settings it is 402 FPS. The fact that the absolute drop is larger at Low settings indicates that at lower quality presets, the system has more headroom to express resolution scaling, whereas at higher presets, other limits begin to assert themselves.

The Medium preset tells a slightly different story. At 1080p Medium, the average is 446 FPS, with a minimum of 379 FPS and a maximum of 513 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 281 FPS, with a minimum of 239 FPS and a maximum of 324 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. The variance between minimum and maximum frames is relatively tight at each resolution, roughly 30% of the average, which points to stable frame pacing rather than sporadic spikes. This is notable because it suggests the combination handles the workload evenly, without sudden drops that would be visible as stutter.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 274 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 173 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 91 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 37% reduction, and from 1440p to 4K is a 47% reduction. Interestingly, the 4K Ultra result of 91 FPS is the only measured average below 100 FPS across the entire dataset. This indicates that while the system is extremely capable, the Ultra preset at 4K pushes it to the edge of high-refresh-rate territory. The drop from 4K Medium (147 FPS) to 4K Ultra (91 FPS) is 38%, which shows that the Ultra preset carries a significant performance penalty over Medium at the same resolution.

The data reveals that this game, Barony, is not particularly demanding in the traditional sense, given the high frame rates across all settings. The limiting component shifts depending on the resolution and preset. At 1080p Low, the 600 FPS average suggests the CPU is the primary limiter, as the Ryzen 9 9950X3D's single-thread performance becomes the ceiling. At 4K Ultra, the GPU's rendering load takes over, and the RTX 4080's capabilities define the 91 FPS result. Between these extremes, both components share the burden, with the balance tilting toward the GPU as resolution increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 plays a central role in these results, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for a game like Barony that does not appear to be memory-bandwidth constrained based on the measured frame rates. The memory clock is listed at 1400 MHz with 22.4 Gbps effective, and the boost clock is 2505 MHz. These figures correlate with the GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is a substantial amount of raw throughput for rendering.

In the measured data, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the 600 FPS average is likely above what the GPU can sustain in more complex scenes, but the CPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the 91 FPS average shows the GPU being pushed to its limits, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p and the Ultra preset adds more shading and texture work. The RTX 4080's 9728 shading units and 112 ROPs are responsible for this output, and the data suggests the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K Ultra, given that the CPU is more than capable of feeding it frames.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 4080 scores 6567, and in Geekbench Vulkan it reaches 263779. These scores place the GPU in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average score of 54209, a 0.1% delta, meaning the two are virtually identical in synthetic tests. This parity is reflected in the measured FPS, which does not show any anomaly that would indicate a driver or hardware issue.

The GPU's 16 GB VRAM capacity is worth noting for Barony. The game is a roguelike, and while the measured data does not include VRAM usage, the frame rates at 4K Ultra suggest that 16 GB is sufficient for this title. The fact that the 4K Ultra average is 91 FPS, rather than dipping into single digits due to VRAM overflow, indicates that the memory allocation is well within the GPU's capacity. The RTX 4080's memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s also supports the high frame rates seen at 1440p and 4K, as the game's texture streaming and geometry processing are unlikely to saturate this bus.

At lower resolutions, the GPU is arguably underutilized. The 1080p Low result of 600 FPS is a good example, as the GPU could likely render more frames if the CPU could keep up. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, has a boost clock of 5.70 GHz, which is high for a multi-core part, but the single-thread performance is what matters for Barony's likely single-threaded rendering pipeline. The GPU's role at 1080p is to wait for the CPU to submit draw calls, and the RTX 4080's latency and throughput are not the limiting factors in this scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 244th out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 6.5% of all configurations. This is a strong showing, given that the dataset includes a wide range of CPUs and GPUs, from budget parts to high-end enthusiast hardware. The combo's rank reflects the balance between the CPU's strong single-thread and multi-thread performance and the GPU's high-end rendering capabilities.

The CPU's percentile ranking is 95th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 75779. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755, which has an average score of 75738 (a 0.1% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D at 75716 (also 0.1% delta). These rivals are essentially tied with the Ryzen 9 9950X3D in synthetic benchmarks, which means the CPU is not the differentiator in this combo's rank. The GPU's percentile is 86th, with an average score of 54247, and its nearest rivals are similarly close, with the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54209 (0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X at 54828 (-1.1% delta).

Given that both components rank highly in their respective categories, the combo's 244th position out of 3717 is expected. The rank suggests that there are 243 combos that perform better in Barony, likely featuring more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4090 or the newer RTX 50-series, or possibly CPUs with higher single-thread performance. However, the 244th rank is still an excellent result, as it places this combo in the top percentile of all tested systems. The data shows that the combo is not held back by a weak link; both the CPU and GPU are within 1% of their closest rivals in synthetic tests, so the game's performance is a function of the overall system balance.

The combo rank also provides context for the measured FPS. At 4K Ultra, the 91 FPS average is likely near the top end for this resolution and settings, given the GPU's 86th percentile ranking. At 1080p Low, the 600 FPS average is a ceiling imposed by the CPU, and the combo's rank reflects this capability. The fact that the combo ranks 244th out of 3717, rather than higher, indicates that there are combinations with more headroom at lower resolutions, likely with CPUs that have higher single-thread scores, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285, which is a close rival to the Ryzen 9 9950X3D with a 0.4% delta in average score.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 600, which is the highest recorded in the dataset. This is likely at or near the display's refresh rate cap for many monitors, making it effectively uncapped. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 446 FPS, with a minimum of 379 and a maximum of 513. The gap between minimum and maximum is 134 FPS, indicating some variability but still a smooth experience. At 1080p High, the average is 383 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it falls to 274 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 326 FPS drop, which is a 54% reduction, highlighting the significant cost of the Ultra preset.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 379 FPS, which is 221 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium at 1440p averages 281 FPS, with a minimum of 239 and a maximum of 324, showing a similar variance pattern to 1080p Medium. High at 1440p averages 242 FPS, and Ultra drops to 173 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 206 FPS, a 54% reduction, consistent with the 1080p pattern. The Medium preset at 1440p is 37% slower than the Low preset, while High is 36% slower than Medium, and Ultra is 28% slower than High. This suggests that the Ultra preset is less demanding relative to High than the jump from Low to Medium.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 198 FPS, which is still very high for 4K. Medium averages 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 and a maximum of 169. High averages 126 FPS, and Ultra falls to 91 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is 107 FPS, a 54% reduction, again consistent with the other resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 91 FPS is the only average below 100 FPS in the entire dataset, making it the most demanding configuration tested. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 125, which means even the slowest frames in that preset are above 120 FPS, suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming. However, the 4K Ultra average of 91 FPS suggests that users targeting 120 FPS at 4K would need to dial down to High or Medium.

The data also shows that the difference between resolutions is more pronounced at lower settings. At Low, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 402 FPS, while at Ultra, the drop is 183 FPS. This indicates that the GPU becomes more of a bottleneck at Ultra, reducing the impact of resolution scaling. Conversely, at Low, the CPU is more likely the limiter, and increasing resolution has a larger relative effect on frame rate. In all cases, the measured FPS is well above playable thresholds, even at 4K Ultra, where 91 FPS is still smooth for most users.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Barony?

A: The highest average FPS is 600, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Does this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the average FPS at 4K Ultra is 91, which is well above 60 FPS. The minimum FPS is not listed for this preset, but the average is sufficient for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo's performance at 1440p Medium compare to 4K Medium?

A: At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 281, while at 4K Medium it is 147. This represents a 48% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: At 1080p Low, the 600 FPS average suggests the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom to render more frames if the CPU could provide them faster.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 125, with a maximum of 169 and an average of 147.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 244th out of 3717 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.5% of all configurations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience per the measured rows depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 4K, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average FPS of 147 and a minimum of 125. This ensures that frame rates stay above 120 FPS even in the most demanding scenes, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors. The High preset at 4K drops to 126 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for dips below 120 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 91 FPS, is suitable for 60 Hz displays but may not satisfy users with 120 Hz or 144 Hz panels who prioritize smoothness over maximum visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice, with an average FPS of 242. This is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on 1440p monitors, providing a comfortable margin for frame time variance. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 173 FPS, which is still high enough for 144 Hz displays, but the jump from High to Ultra only improves visual quality marginally while reducing performance by 29%. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 281 FPS, which is overkill for most displays, so High is the sweet spot for visual fidelity without sacrificing frame rate.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best choice, with an average FPS of 274. This is high enough for 240 Hz monitors, and the Ultra preset provides the best visual quality the game offers. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 446 FPS, which is unnecessary for any current display, and the Low preset at 600 FPS is only useful for benchmarking or competitive play where every frame matters. The data shows that at 1080p, the system has so much headroom that the Ultra preset is the only one that meaningfully challenges the hardware, and even then, it remains well above 240 FPS.

For users with variable refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at any resolution is a safe choice, as it has the only recorded minimum FPS values. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 125 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 239 FPS; and at 1080p Medium, it is 379 FPS. These minimums ensure that even the slowest frames are within the VRR range of most high-refresh-rate monitors, preventing tearing and stuttering. The Ultra and High presets do not have recorded minimum FPS values, so users may experience more variability, but the averages suggest that drops are unlikely to be severe.

In summary, the recommended settings are: 4K Medium for a balance of quality and performance, 1440p High for the best visual-to-performance ratio, and 1080p Ultra for maximum visual quality with negligible performance concerns. These recommendations are based solely on the measured FPS data, which shows that the system excels at all resolutions and presets, with the only caveat being 4K Ultra where the 91 FPS average may not satisfy users with very high refresh rate displays.