Barony

# Barony with AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

This combination of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 lands at rank 926 out of 2,935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the upper third of all system pairings. The combo's percentile position reflects a hardware pairing that delivers high frame rates across all tested resolutions, though the data reveals some interesting bottlenecks and scaling patterns that merit closer inspection.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 926 out of 2,935 tested combinations places it comfortably in the top third of all systems tested for Barony. This position is largely driven by the RTX 4080's strong absolute performance, as the GPU sits at the 86th percentile among all graphics cards. The CPU, meanwhile, ranks at the 95th percentile among all processors, suggesting that both major components are well above average in their respective categories.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 77,740 places it in a tight battle with several high-end rivals. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX scores 76,513, a delta of just 1.6 percent, while the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P scores 76,492, also a 1.6 percent delta. The Intel Core i9-14900K actually scores higher at 79,097, putting the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 at a 1.7 percent deficit. The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX trails with 76,212, a 2 percent gap. These narrow margins suggest that within this performance tier, the CPU choice matters less than the GPU for Barony's frame rates.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 54,247 shows similar clustering among its nearest rivals. The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, a negligible 0.1 percent delta, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828, putting the RTX 4080 at a 1.1 percent deficit. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698 (2.6 percent ahead), and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55,757 (2.7 percent ahead). The fact that these seemingly disparate GPUs cluster so closely in average benchmarks suggests that Barony's performance ceiling may be more about the game engine and CPU than raw GPU compute.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory runs at 1400 MHz with 22.4 Gbps effective speed. The GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and it packs 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes evident when examining the frame rate progression across settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the RTX 4080 pushes from 197 FPS at Ultra to 430 FPS at Low, showing that even at the highest settings, the GPU has significant headroom. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567 and PassMark G3D score of 34,457 reflect strong DirectX 12 performance, which Barony likely leverages given its modern rendering requirements.

The RTX 4080's position relative to its nearest rivals—just 0.1 percent ahead of the RTX 4080 SUPER and within 2.7 percent of several AMD options—suggests that in Barony, the GPU is not the limiting factor at most settings. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this roguelike's texture and geometry demands, even at 4K Ultra where the average FPS drops to 65.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 275 FPS average, which drops to 173 FPS at 1440p High (a 37 percent reduction) and further to 91 FPS at 4K High (a 47 percent reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count grows, but the CPU remains capable of feeding frames even at lower resolutions.

The Low settings preset shows the most dramatic resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 430 FPS, dropping to 272 FPS at 1440p Low and 142 FPS at 4K Low. The 4K Low result being 67 percent lower than 1080p Low suggests that even with minimal graphical load, the pixel throughput demands of 4K significantly tax the GPU. The Medium preset shows similar trends: 320 FPS at 1080p, 202 FPS at 1440p, and 106 FPS at 4K.

Ultra settings exhibit the steepest relative drops. The 1080p Ultra result of 197 FPS falls to 124 FPS at 1440p Ultra and 65 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result being just 33 percent of the 1080p Ultra figure indicates that the combination of high pixel count and maximum graphical effects creates a GPU-bound scenario. The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU can keep up with the RTX 4080's output, but at 4K, particularly at Ultra settings, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth become the primary constraints.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 1440p High, the system delivers 173 FPS average, which is well above the 4K High result of 91 FPS while still providing a significant resolution upgrade over 1080p.

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

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54,247 is just 0.1 percent behind the RTX 4080 SUPER's 54,209, indicating virtually identical performance in synthetic tests. The measured FPS data in Barony shows the RTX 4080 handles all settings and resolutions with substantial headroom.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, particularly at Ultra settings where FPS drops to 65. At 1080p and 1440p, the high frame rates across all settings suggest the CPU can adequately feed the GPU, with the RTX 4080's pixel throughput being the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 926th out of 2,935 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the top third of all tested systems. Both the CPU (95th percentile) and GPU (86th percentile) are well above average in their respective categories.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to the Intel Core i9-14900K?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77,740 on average benchmarks, which is 1.7 percent behind the Intel Core i9-14900K's 79,097. This small delta suggests the two CPUs perform similarly in the types of workloads Barony requires.

Q: What are the FPS ranges for the Medium preset at each resolution?

A: At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 320 FPS average with a minimum of 272 and maximum of 368. At 1440p Medium, the average is 202 FPS with a range of 172 to 232. At 4K Medium, the average is 106 FPS with a range of 90 to 121.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 275 FPS average, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 1080p still achieves 197 FPS, making it a viable option for players who prioritize visual quality over raw frame rates. The Medium preset at 320 FPS only makes sense for players with high-refresh-rate displays seeking maximum smoothness.

At 1440p, the High preset at 173 FPS average represents the best combination of visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset drops to 124 FPS, which remains smooth but sacrifices significant frame rate for marginal visual improvements. The Medium preset at 202 FPS offers a good middle ground for players who want extra headroom.

At 4K, the High preset at 91 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains playable frame rates while delivering strong visual quality. The Medium preset at 106 FPS provides a modest boost for players who prefer higher frame rates, while the Ultra preset at 65 FPS is only suitable for players who prioritize visual fidelity above all else and can tolerate lower frame rates. The Low preset at 142 FPS is available for players who want maximum smoothness at 4K, though the visual trade-offs are substantial.

The data shows that the High preset offers the best overall experience across all resolutions, with frame rates that exceed 90 FPS at 4K and exceed 170 FPS at 1440p. Players with high-refresh-rate monitors should consider the Medium preset at 1440p or 1080p to unlock additional frame rate headroom.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 64 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports LPDDR5X memory on a quad-channel bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Barony, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance with a Geekbench single-core score of 2,464 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,044. Multi-threaded performance is equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35,314 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 20,992.

The CPU's 95th percentile ranking among all processors indicates it is well above average for gaming workloads. The nearest rival comparisons show that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 trades blows with desktop-class processors like the Intel Core i9-14900K, trailing by just 1.7 percent in average benchmark scores. This level of performance ensures that the CPU is not a bottleneck in Barony, even at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 400 FPS at 1080p Low.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, combined with the GPU's 716.8 GB/s, provides ample data throughput for Barony's procedural generation and physics systems. The PassMark data compression score of 690,650 and encryption score of 35,455 suggest strong general-purpose compute capabilities that benefit the game's non-rendering tasks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS measurements for this combo in Barony are as follows:

At 1920x1080, the system achieves 430 FPS average at Low settings, 320 FPS average at Medium settings (with a range of 272 to 368 FPS), 275 FPS average at High settings, and 197 FPS average at Ultra settings. The 1080p results show a clear progression where each step from Low to Ultra reduces frame rates by approximately 25-30 percent, with the Ultra preset delivering less than half the frame rate of Low.

At 2560x1440, the measured results are 272 FPS average at Low settings, 202 FPS average at Medium settings (with a range of 172 to 232 FPS), 173 FPS average at High settings, and 124 FPS average at Ultra settings. The 1440p results show a similar scaling pattern to 1080p, with the Ultra preset delivering 46 percent of the Low preset's frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 142 FPS average at Low settings, 106 FPS average at Medium settings (with a range of 90 to 121 FPS), 91 FPS average at High settings, and 65 FPS average at Ultra settings. The 4K results demonstrate the GPU becoming the primary constraint, with the Ultra preset delivering just 46 percent of the Low preset's frame rate.

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the most complete data with both minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 272 FPS and maximum of 368 FPS show a 35 percent variance between worst and best cases. At 1440p Medium, the range is 172 to 232 FPS, a 35 percent variance. At 4K Medium, the range is 90 to 121 FPS, a 34 percent variance. This consistent variance across resolutions suggests that Barony's frame time spikes are evenly distributed regardless of pixel count.

The measured data shows that this combo excels in Barony, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra setting maintaining an average above 60 FPS. The system's performance at 1080p and 1440p is exceptional, with frame rates that will satisfy players using high-refresh-rate displays. The combination of the Ryzen AI Max+ 395's strong single-thread performance and the RTX 4080's substantial compute resources ensures that Barony runs smoothly across the entire range of tested settings and resolutions.