Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i3-12100F + AMD Radeon RX 9070

This pairing of a quad-core Alder Lake processor with AMD's latest RDNA 4.0 flagship GPU produces an intriguing combination for a roguelike title that rarely demands extreme hardware. The data reveals a system that delivers exceptional frame rates across all tested configurations, with the RX 9070 clearly dominating the performance narrative while the Core i3-12100F keeps pace without becoming a limiting factor in most scenarios. The measured results place this combo at rank 550 out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it comfortably in the upper third of all systems evaluated for Barony.

How This Combo Ranks

At position 550 out of 1702 tested combos, this system sits in the 67.7th percentile of all configurations measured for Barony. The ranking reflects a pairing where the GPU's substantial compute resources are leveraged effectively, though the mid-pack positioning suggests that other combinations with more powerful processors achieve higher frame rates in this title. The Intel Core i3-12100F holds a 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs tested, while the Radeon RX 9070 achieves a 79th percentile among GPUs — indicating the graphics card is the stronger component in this pairing. The CPU's average benchmark score of 13516 places it nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX at 13534 (a mere 0.1% difference), while sitting 1.8% above the Intel Core i7-7700K at 13280. This suggests the quad-core processor performs admirably for its class, though the 4-core/8-thread configuration may constrain performance in scenarios requiring extensive parallel processing. The GPU's average benchmark score of 34780 positions it just 0.2% below the NVIDIA A2 at 34866 and 0.8% above the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 at 34511, indicating strong compute capabilities that translate well to gaming workloads.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 9070 brings substantial resources to Barony, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock reaching 2520 MHz, with memory running at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective). The 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operations pipelines provide a theoretical peak of 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 performance. These specifications translate directly to the measured frame rates, where even at 4K Ultra settings the system maintains 68.8 FPS average — a playable level for a roguelike where reaction times matter but competitive frame rates are less critical than in fast-paced shooters. The GPU's 79th percentile ranking among all graphics cards underscores its capability, though the nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA A2 at 34866 and Quadro GV100 at 34677, suggesting the RX 9070's gaming performance exceeds its raw compute ranking. The 56 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support indicate future-proofing, though Barony's visual style likely doesn't stress these features heavily.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable scaling pattern across resolutions, with the most dramatic drops occurring at 4K. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 442 FPS, which falls to 279.2 FPS at 1440p (a 36.8% reduction) and 148.5 FPS at 4K (a 66.4% reduction from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows similar scaling: 204.2 FPS at 1080p drops to 130.7 FPS at 1440p (36% decrease) and 68.8 FPS at 4K (66.3% decrease). This consistent ~66% performance drop from 1080p to 4K across settings indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as pixel count increases fourfold while the processor workload remains relatively constant. At 1080p, the extremely high frame rates suggest the CPU may begin to limit performance — the 442 FPS Low result approaches the practical limits of what a quad-core processor can feed to the GPU. The 1440p results show a more balanced distribution, with the gap between Low (279.2 FPS) and Ultra (130.7 FPS) representing a 53.2% spread that demonstrates both components contributing to overall performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports High settings as the optimal balance for most users, delivering 281.3 FPS at 1080p, 180.7 FPS at 1440p, and 92.3 FPS at 4K. This preset provides a substantial visual quality improvement over Medium while maintaining frame rates well above 60 FPS even at 4K resolution. For competitive play where maximum frame rates matter, Low settings at 1080p delivers 442 FPS — more than double the High preset's output — though the visual compromise may not be worth the performance gain in a game like Barony where environmental readability matters. The Medium preset offers a middle ground with 327.1 FPS at 1080p and 111.6 FPS at 4K, but the jump to High adds visual fidelity for only a 13.7% performance cost at 4K. Ultra settings remain viable at 1440p (130.7 FPS) and even 4K (68.8 FPS), making this the recommended choice for players with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors or those prioritizing visual quality over absolute frame rates. At 1080p, all presets exceed 200 FPS, meaning even Ultra settings provide a competitive advantage without sacrificing graphical detail.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, the measured data shows 4K performance ranging from 68.8 FPS on Ultra settings to 148.5 FPS on Low settings, with High settings delivering 92.3 FPS — all comfortably above playable thresholds.

Q: How does the Intel Core i3-12100F compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 13516 is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX at 13534 (0.1% difference) and 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13462, while sitting 1.8% above the Intel Core i7-7700K at 13280.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data shows 1440p High settings delivers 180.7 FPS, offering an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. At 4K, High settings still maintains 92.3 FPS, making 4K viable for players prioritizing resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when upgrading from 1080p to 4K?

A: Across all settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K averages approximately 66%, with Low settings falling from 442 FPS to 148.5 FPS and Ultra falling from 204.2 FPS to 68.8 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low settings, the 442 FPS result approaches CPU limitations for a quad-core processor, suggesting the i3-12100F may constrain the RX 9070 at extremely high frame rates. At 1440p and above, the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: What benchmark scores does this GPU achieve?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 scores 25381 in Passmark G3D, 133741 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 165532 in Geekbench Vulkan, with an average benchmark score of 34780 placing it at the 79th percentile of all GPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides 4 cores and 8 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, with base and boost clocks of 3.30 GHz and 4.30 GHz respectively. The 12 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help mitigate the limited core count, while the 10 nm process node and 58W TDP keep power consumption modest. Benchmark results show strong single-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681 and Geekbench single-core of 2224, though multi-threaded scores are more modest at 11912 and 7413 respectively. The 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates solid mainstream performance, with the nearest rival comparisons showing the i3-12100F essentially tied with the Threadripper PRO 3975WX in average score — a remarkable result for a budget quad-core against a workstation-class processor. In Barony, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent ~66% performance drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings. However, the 442 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the processor's 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and Passmark single-thread of 3444 become relevant at extreme frame rates, where per-core performance determines the ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all presets: Low settings produce 442 FPS average, Medium achieves 327.1 FPS, High reaches 281.3 FPS, and Ultra maintains 204.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra represents a 53.8% reduction, indicating the GPU handles all settings with substantial headroom. Moving to 2560x1440, the results remain impressive: Low delivers 279.2 FPS, Medium produces 208.1 FPS, High achieves 180.7 FPS, and Ultra maintains 130.7 FPS. The percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p range from 36.8% at Low to 36% at Ultra, showing consistent scaling. At 3840x2160, the system still performs admirably: Low settings produce 148.5 FPS, Medium achieves 111.6 FPS, High delivers 92.3 FPS, and Ultra maintains 68.8 FPS. The 4K results show a 53.7% reduction from Low to Ultra, nearly identical to the 1080p spread, confirming the GPU scales efficiently across resolution and quality settings. The data reveals that High settings provide the most balanced experience across all resolutions, with 4K High achieving 92.3 FPS — well above the 60 FPS threshold — while 1440p High delivers 180.7 FPS for high-refresh-rate monitors. The minimum and maximum FPS values were not recorded in the measured data, limiting analysis of frame time consistency, but the average FPS figures demonstrate this combo handles Barony with substantial performance reserves at every tested configuration.