Barony

Barony is a roguelike that, despite its low-fi genre trappings, still leans heavily on the GPU when paired with the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT. The measured data shows a clear progression where frame rates scale predictably with resolution, but the magnitude of that scaling shifts depending on the settings preset. At 1080p, the combination delivers a staggeringly high 285.2 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 131.3 FPS on Ultra. That 53.9% reduction in frame rate from Low to Ultra at the same resolution indicates that the graphics card is being progressively taxed by higher-quality shaders and effects, while the CPU maintains enough headroom to feed it. However, as you push to 4K, the picture changes: the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to a 56.5% performance difference (from 94.4 to 41.1 FPS), but the absolute numbers plummet, making it clear that the Radeon RX 5700 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors at that pixel count.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The frame rate curve from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep, but the shape of that curve reveals which component becomes the bottleneck. At High settings, the i3-12100F + RX 5700 XT combo produces 180.1 FPS at 1080p, 116.3 FPS at 1440p, and just 62.6 FPS at 4K. That represents a 35.4% drop from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 46.2% drop from 1440p to 4K. The accelerating decline as resolution increases is the signature of a GPU-bound workload — the CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads are capable of handling the game's logic at these frame rates, but the RX 5700 XT's compute units (2560 shading units) and pixel rate (121.9 GPixel/s) simply cannot fill the larger frame buffer as quickly.

Looking at Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic: 285.2 FPS at 1080p falls to 181.1 FPS at 1440p (a 36.5% drop), then to 94.4 FPS at 4K (a 47.9% drop). The fact that the 1080p Low result is nearly 2.2x higher than the 4K Low result underscores that the GPU is the limiting component even when visual effects are minimized. The Medium preset tells a similar story: 210 FPS at 1080p, 136.1 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K. Notably, the Ultra preset shows the least relative scaling at the low end — 131.3 FPS at 1080p, 83.4 FPS at 1440p, and 41.1 FPS at 4K — because the game is already pushing the GPU to its limits at lower resolutions, leaving less headroom for additional pixel-count overhead.

The bottom line for resolution scaling: this combo is perfectly playable at 1080p with any preset, comfortable at 1440p on Medium or High, but only suitable for 4K if you are willing to drop to Low settings. The 4K Low figure of 94.4 FPS is still respectably smooth, but the 4K Ultra result of 41.1 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold that most users would consider ideal.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Barony at 4K smoothly?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, where it achieves 94.4 FPS. Medium drops to 71 FPS, High to 62.6 FPS, and Ultra to 41.1 FPS, so you'll need to sacrifice visual fidelity for smoothness at 4K.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High settings at 1440p deliver 116.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. Medium gives 136.1 FPS, and Low hits 181.1 FPS, so you have significant headroom to choose between visual quality and frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 285.2 FPS, which suggests the Intel Core i3-12100F (with its 4.30 GHz boost clock and 12 MB L3 cache) is not holding back performance, while the RX 5700 XT's frame output scales down consistently as resolution increases.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to similar CPUs in raw benchmarks?

A: The i3-12100F's average benchmark score is 13516, placing it at the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. It is 1.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-7700K and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10105, but 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX.

Q: What is the RX 5700 XT's standing among GPUs?

A: The RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 24731, putting it at the 68th percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, but 0.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile.

Q: Is the launch MSRP of the CPU or GPU relevant to its performance class?

A: The i3-12100F had a launch MSRP of $97, while the RX 5700 XT launched at 399 USD. These figures position them as a mainstream pairing, and the measured FPS data confirms they work well together for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. In Barony, this configuration proves more than adequate. The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11912 and a singlecore score of 1681 indicate strong per-thread performance, which is what matters most in a roguelike that likely relies on a few heavily loaded threads for game logic and AI. The 3DMark results — 893 single-thread, 2859 for 4 threads, and 4023 for max threads — show that scaling beyond 4 threads yields minimal gains (from 4026 at 8 threads to 4023 at max), meaning the i3-12100F's 8 threads are sufficient to extract its full potential.

The relationship between the CPU's capabilities and the measured FPS is telling. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 285.2 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 131.3 FPS result suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor — if it were, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at a specific value regardless of resolution. Instead, the FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which points to the GPU doing the heavy lifting. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide enough data locality for the game's map generation and item interactions, which are typical roguelike workloads. The fact that the combo ranks 1254 out of 1702 tested combinations in this game suggests that while the i3-12100F is not a top-tier processor, it is well-matched to this GPU at the resolutions where the RX 5700 XT excels.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. Starting at 1920x1080, the combo delivers 285.2 FPS on Low, 210 FPS on Medium, 180.1 FPS on High, and 131.3 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 53.9% performance penalty for maximum visual quality, which is a substantial but manageable trade-off. At 2560x1440, the numbers are 181.1 FPS (Low), 136.1 FPS (Medium), 116.3 FPS (High), and 83.4 FPS (Ultra). The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 35.4% (High) to 36.5% (Low), showing a consistent scaling penalty across presets. At 3840x2160, the results are 94.4 FPS (Low), 71 FPS (Medium), 62.6 FPS (High), and 41.1 FPS (Ultra). The 4K Ultra figure is the only measured result below 60 FPS, and it represents a 68.7% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score.

Interpreting these numbers, the sweet spot for this combo is clearly 1440p. At that resolution, even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains 83.4 FPS, which is smooth for most players. The 4K results show that the RX 5700 XT's 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 64 ROPs are stretched thin at that pixel count, particularly on Ultra where the game's shadows and post-processing effects demand more memory bandwidth. The 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 4K in this title, as evidenced by the playable Low and Medium results, but the raw shader throughput (2560 shading units) becomes the constraint. Notably, the gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 21.5 FPS (41.1 vs 62.6), which is proportionally larger than the gap at 1080p (48.8 FPS), indicating that Ultra settings introduce effects that scale poorly with pixel count on this GPU.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested combinations for Barony, the Intel Core i3-12100F + AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT pairing ranks 1254 out of 1702 total combos. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which might seem surprising given the high frame rates measured. However, this rank is relative to all combinations tested, many of which use far more powerful CPUs and GPUs. The percentile position (roughly the 26th percentile from the bottom) reflects that Barony is a game where high-end hardware can push frame rates even higher — for instance, a combo with a stronger GPU might achieve 300+ FPS at 1080p Ultra, while this pairing is capped at 131.3 FPS there.

The rank of 1254 with 1702 total combos means there are 448 combinations that perform worse. This is not a poor showing for a mainstream 4-core CPU paired with a 2019-era GPU. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, has an average score just 0.1% higher, which is statistically negligible. The RX 5700 XT's nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, is 0.1% faster, also within noise. These deltaPct values suggest that this combo is tightly clustered with mid-range performers, and the in-game rank reflects the GPU's 68th percentile standing rather than the CPU's 72nd percentile. In practical terms, this combo will outperform most integrated-graphics laptops and older GTX 10-series systems, but it will lag behind modern RTX 40-series or RX 7000-series builds by a wide margin in raw frame rate.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For the best overall experience with this hardware, the data points to 1440p with High settings as the optimal configuration. The 116.3 FPS at High provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, allowing for smooth gameplay even during busy roguelike scenes with multiple enemies and particle effects. Dropping to Medium at 1440p yields 136.1 FPS, which is a 17% improvement, but the visual fidelity loss is rarely worth it when you're already above the refresh rate of most monitors. If you have a 144 Hz display, consider 1080p with Ultra settings: the 131.3 FPS result is just shy of the 144 Hz target, but you'll get the full visual experience.

For 4K users, the recommendation is clear: stick to Low settings. The 94.4 FPS at 4K Low is the only way to maintain a smooth experience at that resolution, and it still looks acceptable given Barony's stylized roguelike aesthetic. Medium at 4K (71 FPS) is playable but marginal, and High (62.6 FPS) is borderline — you'll notice frame pacing issues during intense moments. Ultra at 4K should be avoided entirely, as 41.1 FPS falls below the threshold for acceptable playability. In summary, prioritize resolution and settings based on your display: 1440p High for the best balance, 1080p Ultra for maximum visual quality, and 4K Low only if you have a 4K panel and can tolerate reduced effects. The i3-12100F's 4.30 GHz boost clock ensures the CPU will never be the reason for a frame drop, so you can confidently tune the GPU settings without worrying about CPU-side stutters.