Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a solid, mid-range experience in Barony, a roguelike from June 2015. The data shows this combination achieves high frame rates across most settings, with the CPU providing 4 cores and 8 threads on the Alder Lake architecture, clocked at a 3.30 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost. The GPU, built on the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, offering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Together, they place this combo at rank 1224 out of 1702 tested combinations, which puts it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The measured results indicate that this system is well-suited for Barony's roguelike gameplay, where the procedural generation and physics calculations benefit from the CPU's strong single-threaded performance, while the GPU handles the rendering load efficiently at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, using the Alder Lake-S architecture on a 10 nm process node. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide the computational foundation for Barony's game logic, which includes procedural dungeon generation, enemy AI, and physics interactions. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 1681 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 11912 in multi-core, indicating strong per-thread performance that is critical for roguelikes, which often rely on a single main thread for game simulation. The 3DMark results reinforce this: a single-thread score of 893 and a 4-thread score of 2859 show that the processor scales well when additional threads are utilized, though the 8-thread score of 4026 suggests diminishing returns beyond 4 threads, which aligns with the physical core count.

The CPU's percentile ranking against all processors is 72, meaning it outperforms roughly 72% of the CPUs in the database. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, has an average score of 13534, just 0.1% higher than the i3-12100F's 13516 average benchmark score. This is a striking comparison: a high-end workstation chip and a budget desktop chip land nearly identical in average scores, though the i3 achieves this with far fewer cores, relying on higher clocks and efficient architecture. The Intel Core i7-7700K, a former flagship, trails by 1.8% with an average score of 13280, showing that the i3-12100F's newer architecture provides a meaningful generational uplift. In Barony, the CPU's role is to maintain consistent frame pacing, and the data suggests it does so effectively, as the measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 287.4, indicating the processor is not a bottleneck at lower settings where the GPU has less work.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is an Ampere-architecture GPU with 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units. Its base clock of 1410 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz, combined with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yield a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU's FP32 performance is 16.20 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is relevant for Barony's modern rendering paths. In the PassMark G3D benchmark, the RTX 3060 Ti scores 20349, placing it at the 69th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25180, which is 0.2% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 trails by 0.5% with 25235. This puts the RTX 3060 Ti in a tight competitive band where small benchmark differences do not translate to noticeable gameplay gaps.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and settings. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra drops to 42.9, while at 1080p Low it reaches 287.4, demonstrating that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Barony's visual assets, which include procedurally placed textures and lighting effects, but the data shows that Ultra settings at 4K push the GPU to its limits. The transition from 1080p to 4K at High settings sees a drop from 180.6 to 58.4 FPS, a 67.7% reduction that is typical of GPU-bound scenarios. The GPU's 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores are present but not heavily utilized in Barony, which is not a ray tracing title, so the raw rasterization performance is what matters here.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 287.4 FPS, which drops to 182.6 at 1440p Low (a 36.5% reduction) and further to 95.9 at 4K Low (a 66.6% reduction from 1080p). This scaling indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, and the frame rate is limited by the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth. At Medium settings, the progression is 214.9 FPS at 1080p, 134.6 at 1440p, and 70.3 at 4K, showing a similar percentage drop. The High settings row follows suit: 180.6 at 1080p, 114.1 at 1440p, and 58.4 at 4K.

The Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 130.4 FPS at 1080p, 85.6 at 1440p, and 42.9 at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra is 34.3%, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 49.9%, indicating that the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. This pattern is consistent with a system where the CPU is not the bottleneck: if the CPU were limiting, we would expect frame rates to plateau at lower resolutions, but instead they scale almost linearly with resolution. The data strongly suggests that for 1080p and 1440p gaming, this combo is well-balanced, with the CPU providing enough headroom to keep the GPU busy. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear constraint, and users targeting 4K would need to reduce settings to achieve playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1224 out of 1702 combos in Barony, placing it in the 28th percentile from the top. This rank is lower than one might expect given the high frame rates measured, but it reflects the fact that many other combinations in the database use higher-end CPUs and GPUs. The combo's average benchmark scores are 13516 for the CPU and 25120 for the GPU, which are respectable but not top-tier. The CPU ranks at the 72nd percentile, while the GPU ranks at the 69th percentile, so the combo sits slightly below both individual component percentiles, suggesting that the pairing does not synergize as well as some other combinations.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the database, the CPU's average score is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (0.1% lower), while the GPU's score is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6700M. This means that swapping either component for a similarly-performing alternative would yield negligible differences in Barony. The rank of 1224 out of 1702 indicates that there are 478 combinations with better measured performance, which are likely using flagship CPUs like the Core i9 or Ryzen 9 series paired with RTX 3080 or higher GPUs. However, for the price point of this combo, the performance is competitive, and the measured FPS data shows that it can handle Barony at high frame rates in most scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers excellent performance across all settings. Low settings produce 287.4 FPS, Medium 214.9 FPS, High 180.6 FPS, and Ultra 130.4 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system has substantial headroom, with even Ultra settings maintaining above 130 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The difference between Low and Ultra is 157 FPS, showing that the GPU has enough power to handle the additional visual effects without significant frame rate drops.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a noticeable reduction. Low settings yield 182.6 FPS, Medium 134.6 FPS, High 114.1 FPS, and Ultra 85.6 FPS. The Ultra setting at 1440p is the first point where the frame rate dips close to the 60-80 FPS range, but it still remains playable. The data shows a 46.1% drop from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra, which is expected given the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle with higher settings. Low produces 95.9 FPS, Medium 70.3 FPS, High 58.4 FPS, and Ultra 42.9 FPS. The Ultra setting at 4K falls below 60 FPS, which may be noticeable in fast-paced roguelike combat. The High setting at 58.4 FPS is borderline, while Medium and Low remain comfortably above 60 FPS. This breakdown clearly shows that 4K gaming is only viable with reduced settings for this combo.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset delivers 130.4 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay, and there is no reason to lower settings unless the user prefers higher frame rates for competitive play. The High preset at 180.6 FPS offers a 38.5% improvement over Ultra, but the visual differences between High and Ultra in Barony are likely minimal given the roguelike's art style. For users prioritizing frame rate, Medium at 214.9 FPS is a reasonable choice, but the jump from Ultra to Medium is not necessary for a good experience.

At 1440p, the High preset at 114.1 FPS provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it stays well above 60 FPS while offering better graphics than Medium. The Ultra preset at 85.6 FPS is also acceptable, but the 25% reduction in frame rate compared to High may not justify the visual improvements. The Low preset at 182.6 FPS is only recommended for users with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors who want to maximize frame rates.

For 4K displays, the data indicates that the Medium preset at 70.3 FPS is the highest setting that maintains a comfortable frame rate above 60 FPS. The High preset at 58.4 FPS is playable but may introduce noticeable stutters in intense scenes, while Ultra at 42.9 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 95.9 FPS provides a very smooth experience but sacrifices visual fidelity. Given the roguelike genre, where reaction time matters, the Medium preset at 4K is the recommended choice, as it balances visual quality with the frame rate needed for responsive controls.