Barony

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combination produces a playable, though not luxurious, experience in Barony. Benchmark results show the pairing excels at 1080p, delivering smooth triple-digit frame rates at lower presets, but struggles to maintain a consistent 60 FPS at 4K. This data paints a clear picture of a system balanced for 1080p gaming, where the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and the i3-12100F's four performance cores align well with the roguelike's demands.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At this setting, the combo achieves an average of 137 FPS on Low, 102 FPS on Medium, 88 FPS on High, and 63 FPS on Ultra. Higher resolutions like 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 show significant performance drops, with 4K Ultra averaging only 21 FPS.

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

A: The performance hit is substantial. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 88 at 1920x1080 to 55 at 2560x1440, and finally to 29 at 3840x2160. This represents a 67% reduction in average frame rate from 1080p to 4K at High settings, indicating the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Q: Which graphics preset provides the most balanced experience at 1080p?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 appears to be the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 102 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while providing a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset (137 FPS). The High preset (88 FPS) is also viable, but Ultra (63 FPS) leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

*Q: Is the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM a limiting factor in Barony?*

A: The data suggests VRAM capacity is a constraint at higher resolutions and settings. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS plummets to 21, and at 2560x1440 Ultra, it drops to 40. These figures indicate that the 4 GB VRAM and the GPU's overall compute power are insufficient for the increased memory and processing demands of 4K and Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU's performance influence the frame rates?

A: The i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads appear sufficient to handle the game's logic at 1080p, as evidenced by the high average FPS (137 on Low). However, at 4K, the frame rate is likely constrained by the GPU, not the CPU. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860, suggest it has ample processing power to avoid bottlenecking the GPU in this title.

*Q: How does this combo rank relative to other tested systems in Barony?*

A: The combo ranks 3589 out of 3717 tested combinations. This places it in the lower percentile of all tested systems, which aligns with its performance classification. While it handles 1080p well, its overall ranking reflects its struggles at higher resolutions and with more demanding settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 serves as the graphical workhorse, and its specifications directly explain the observed performance scaling. With 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, the GPU is a modest performer by modern standards. Its base clock of 1485 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz provide the processing speed, but the 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth is a significant limitation. This is particularly evident at 3840x2160, where the average FPS on Low is 45, but drops to 21 on Ultra. The data suggests that the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth are overwhelmed by the high-resolution textures and effects.

The GPU's benchmark results reinforce this picture. The Passmark G3D score of 7880 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 305 place it at the 40th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (0.3% higher score) and the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (0.4% higher score), which are integrated or older mobile parts. This indicates the GTX 1650 is positioned at the entry-level tier, and its performance in Barony reflects that positioning. The 12 nm TU117 chip, with 4,700 million transistors, is an efficient but not powerful design, and the 75 W TDP means it draws minimal power, but also limits its peak performance.

In Barony, the GPU's role is to render the procedural dungeons and effects. At 1080p, the GPU has enough resources to maintain high frame rates, but the frame rate drops sharply as resolution increases. The transition from 1920x1080 High (88 FPS) to 2560x1440 High (55 FPS) shows a 37.5% decrease, while the jump to 3840x2160 High (29 FPS) represents a further 47.3% decrease. This non-linear scaling points to the GPU's memory bandwidth and fill rate being saturated at higher pixel counts.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, plays a supporting role in Barony's performance. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz are adequate for the game's logic, and the 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps with data locality. The CPU's benchmark scores show it is a competent performer: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 7252. These numbers place the CPU at the 68th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is above average for general processing tasks.

The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at any resolution tested. At 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves 137 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that requires solid single-thread performance. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and Passmark single-thread score of 3444 support its capability to handle the game's main thread. However, as resolution increases, the workload shifts to the GPU, and the CPU's influence on the final frame rate diminishes. The frame rate differences between settings at the same resolution (e.g., 1080p Low at 137 FPS vs. 1080p Ultra at 63 FPS) are driven more by GPU load than CPU load.

The i3-12100F's position relative to its rivals is interesting. It is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the Intel Core 3 N355 (0% delta), and only 0.3% slower than the Intel Core i5-9500. This suggests that in a CPU-bound scenario, the i3-12100F would perform similarly to these parts. In Barony, however, the game appears to be primarily GPU-bound, especially at higher settings. The CPU's 58 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory indicate it is a flexible, low-power option that pairs well with the GTX 1650 without creating a significant bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of the combo's performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system is very capable. The Low preset yields an average of 137 FPS, while Medium averages 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. High settings average 88 FPS, and Ultra drops to 63 FPS. These numbers show that the combo can handle 1080p gaming comfortably, even on the most demanding preset, which stays above the 60 FPS target.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance impact is clear. The Low preset averages 87 FPS, which is still smooth, but the Medium preset averages 64 FPS (min 55, max 74), and High drops to 55 FPS. The Ultra preset averages just 40 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may feel less fluid in fast-paced situations. This resolution represents a compromise, where lower presets are playable but higher presets start to struggle.

At 3840x2160, the combo is clearly out of its depth. The Low preset averages 45 FPS, which is borderline playable, but Medium drops to 34 FPS (min 29, max 39), High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages just 21 FPS. These frame rates are too low for a smooth experience, indicating that 4K gaming is not viable with this hardware. The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS falls, and the gap between presets narrows in absolute terms, but the relative performance loss is significant.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a steep decline in performance as pixel count increases. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS at High settings drops from 88 to 55, a 37.5% decrease. From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, it drops further to 29, a 47.3% decrease. This scaling suggests the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the workload on the GPU increases quadratically with resolution.

The pattern is consistent across presets. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 137 (1080p) to 87 (1440p) to 45 (4K), which represents a 67.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Ultra, the drop is from 63 (1080p) to 40 (1440p) to 21 (4K), a 66.7% reduction. This consistent percentage drop indicates a strong GPU bottleneck, as the CPU's performance does not change with resolution, yet the frame rates fall uniformly. The GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM is likely a key factor, as higher resolutions require more memory for textures and frame buffers, pushing the GPU beyond its capacity.

The data implies that the combo is designed for 1080p gaming. At this resolution, the GPU can deliver high frame rates, and the CPU has enough headroom to keep up. At 1440p, the system becomes less capable, and at 4K, it is not a viable option for smooth gameplay. The resolution scaling shows a classic case of a balanced entry-level system that excels at its target resolution but quickly hits its limits when pushed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frames per second, the recommended settings depend on the user's target resolution and preference for visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the High preset (88 FPS) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, providing a substantial upgrade over Medium (102 FPS) while maintaining a smooth frame rate. For users who prioritize maximum smoothness, the Medium preset (102 FPS) is an excellent choice, as it stays well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset (87 FPS) is the only setting that guarantees a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset (64 FPS) is playable, but the minimum FPS of 55 suggests potential stutters in demanding scenes. The High (55 FPS) and Ultra (40 FPS) presets are not recommended for this resolution, as they fall below the 60 FPS target. For a 1440p experience, users should accept the visual compromises of the Low preset.

At 3840x2160, no preset delivers an ideal experience. The Low preset (45 FPS) is the most playable, but it is still below 60 FPS. Medium (34 FPS), High (29 FPS), and Ultra (21 FPS) are all too slow for a responsive roguelike. Therefore, the recommendation is to avoid 4K with this combo. The data shows that the system is best utilized at 1080p, where it can run the game at high frame rates with good visual settings. For the best experience overall, the Medium or High preset at 1920x1080 is the optimal choice.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for Barony, this pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 3589 out of 3717 combos. This places it in the bottom 3.5% of all tested systems, which is a low standing. This rank is consistent with the measured performance data, which shows the combo is only truly capable at 1080p and struggles at higher resolutions.

The rank reflects the combined limitations of both components. The GPU's 40th percentile standing among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 7472, is a significant factor. Its rivals, such as the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (0.3% faster) and the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (0.4% faster), are not powerful parts, and the GTX 1650 only marginally outperforms them. The CPU, while ranked at the 68th percentile, cannot compensate for the GPU's weaknesses in a graphically demanding title.

The combo's rank of 3589 indicates that while it is a functional entry-level system, it is outpaced by the vast majority of other configurations. The data shows that the i3-12100F's performance is solid, but the GTX 1650 is the weak link. This is evident in the game's performance, where the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 1440p and 4K. For users with this combo, the data suggests they are at the bottom rung of the performance ladder, and they should stick to 1080p gaming to get the most out of their hardware. The high rank number also implies that many other combinations offer better frame rates, making this a less desirable setup for Barony enthusiasts looking for higher fidelity or resolution.