Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The combination of an Intel Core i3-12100F and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in Barony produces frame rates that range from 100 FPS at 4K Ultra to 641 FPS at 1080p Low, with the data revealing a system where the GPU's massive headroom is constrained by the processor's four physical cores at lower resolutions. Across all twelve measured configurations, the average frame rates never drop below the 100 FPS threshold, indicating that this pairing delivers a consistently playable experience even at the most demanding settings, though the scaling patterns expose significant bottlenecks that vary by resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern: as resolution increases, average frame rates decrease, but the magnitude of the drop is not uniform across settings. At High settings, moving from 1080p (423 FPS) to 1440p (267 FPS) represents a 36.9% reduction, while stepping up to 4K (140 FPS) from 1440p costs another 47.6%. This steep decline suggests that the RTX 4090 is being progressively more utilized as pixel count rises, but even at 4K High, the 140 FPS average indicates the GPU is not fully saturated.

The Low settings curve tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the system produces 641 FPS, which drops to 418 FPS at 1440p (a 34.8% reduction) and then to 219 FPS at 4K (a 47.6% reduction from 1440p). These percentages are remarkably similar to the High settings scaling, which implies that the limiting factor is shifting from the CPU to the GPU in a consistent manner across both presets. However, the absolute numbers at 1080p Low—641 FPS—are far beyond what any display can refresh, making this configuration purely academic for real-world use.

Ultra settings exhibit the most dramatic resolution scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 303 FPS; at 1440p, it falls to 191 FPS (a 37.0% drop); and at 4K, it reaches 100 FPS (a 47.6% drop from 1440p). The consistent 47.6% reduction from 1440p to 4K across all four settings presets is a notable pattern, suggesting that the GPU's rendering load scales nearly linearly with pixel count in this game, while the 1080p-to-1440p drops of approximately 35-37% indicate a partial CPU limitation at the lower resolution.

The data reveals that Barony is not a particularly demanding title for this hardware. Even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains a 100 FPS average, which is well above playable thresholds for most displays. The limiting component at 1080p is clearly the CPU, as evidenced by the 641 FPS Low result being so close to the 423 FPS High result—the GPU has ample headroom, but the processor's four cores cannot feed it faster.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, is the dominant component in this pairing. Its base clock of 2235 MHz and boost clock of 2520 MHz, combined with 16,384 shading units, provide the raw compute capacity that drives the high frame rates observed in the measured data. The GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are more than sufficient for Barony's roguelike rendering demands.

The memory subsystem of the RTX 4090 is particularly relevant for high-resolution gaming. The 24 GB capacity is far in excess of what Barony requires at any settings level, and the 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory allocation never become bottlenecks. At 4K Ultra, where the game would theoretically use the most VRAM, the GPU still delivers 100 FPS, suggesting that memory capacity is not a limiting factor in any measured configuration.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 88 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347, positions it as a top-tier part, though its nearest rivals according to the data are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, 0.3% delta), and AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896, -2.5% delta). These comparisons are based on aggregate benchmark scores rather than game-specific performance, but they indicate that the RTX 4090 sits in a performance tier that is largely unmatched in the database.

The GPU's end-of-life production status and 450 W TDP are notable, but the measured FPS data shows that power draw is not a practical concern for Barony, as the game's modest requirements mean the card is rarely operating at full load. The 304 mm length and triple-slot width are physical characteristics that matter for case compatibility, but they do not affect the benchmark results presented here.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 156th out of 3,717 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the top 4.2% of all configs in the database. This ranking reflects the overall performance across all measured resolutions and settings, weighted by the aggregate of the twelve FPS data points.

A rank of 156 out of 3,717 is strong, but it is notable that a pairing with the second-fastest consumer GPU does not crack the top 100. The reason lies in the CPU: the Core i3-12100F has a percentile ranking of 68 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13,494. Its nearest rivals in the CPU database include the Intel Core 3 N355 (13,492, 0% delta), Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452, 0.3% delta), and Intel Core 5 120UL (13,594, -0.7% delta). These are mid-range processors, and their presence alongside the i3-12100F indicates that the CPU is the weak link in this combination.

The data suggests that many of the 155 combos ranked above this pairing likely feature more powerful CPUs paired with similarly strong GPUs. In Barony, where the CPU can become the bottleneck at lower resolutions, the i3-12100F's four cores and eight threads limit the system's ability to achieve the highest possible frame rates. The combo's rank is a reflection of this imbalance, even though the absolute FPS numbers are high enough to satisfy most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings yield an average of 641 FPS, Medium delivers 493 FPS (with a minimum of 419 and maximum of 567), High achieves 423 FPS, and Ultra reaches 303 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 338 FPS, which is substantial, but even the lowest result at 1080p is far above display refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decrease but remain exceptionally high. Low settings produce 418 FPS, Medium delivers 311 FPS (minimum 264, maximum 358), High achieves 267 FPS, and Ultra reaches 191 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 34.8% for Low to 37.0% for Ultra, showing a consistent scaling factor as pixel count increases by 1.78x.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers strong performance. Low settings average 219 FPS, Medium delivers 163 FPS (minimum 138, maximum 187), High achieves 140 FPS, and Ultra reaches 100 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that drops to triple digits, and it does so exactly at 100 FPS, which is still a playable threshold for most users.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with both minimum and maximum FPS data, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 419 to 567 FPS, a spread of 148 FPS; at 1440p, the range narrows to 264 to 358 FPS, a spread of 94 FPS; and at 4K, it narrows further to 138 to 187 FPS, a spread of 49 FPS. This tightening of the frame rate range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary driver of performance, with less variability introduced by the CPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache are modest by modern standards, but they are sufficient for Barony's lighter thread requirements. The CPU's 58 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility are standard for the platform, and its 10 nm process node from Intel's foundry produces a 163 mm² die.

In the benchmark suite, the i3-12100F scores 1,186 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,674 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 7,252 and single-core score of 1,932. These scores place it in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, which is respectable for a budget-oriented part but clearly below the performance tier of the RTX 4090. The PassMark multi-thread score of 14,015 and single-thread score of 3,444 further illustrate the CPU's capabilities, but the 4-core limitation becomes evident in the 3DMark 16-thread score of 4,051 compared to the 4-thread score of 2,859—the scaling from 4 to 16 threads is only 41.7%, indicating that additional threads beyond 8 do not provide meaningful gains.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p, where the 641 FPS Low result is likely limited by the processor's ability to issue draw calls and process game logic. The fact that High settings at 1080p produce 423 FPS, while Ultra produces 303 FPS, suggests that the CPU can still keep up with the GPU's output at these levels, but the diminishing returns from Low to Ultra point to a growing GPU load that the CPU cannot fully feed. At 4K, the CPU becomes less of a factor, as the GPU's rendering time dominates the frame budget.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's display refresh rate and resolution preference. At 1080p, all settings presets produce frame rates well above 240 Hz, making the choice between Medium, High, or Ultra largely a matter of visual fidelity rather than performance. The 303 FPS at 1080p Ultra is still exceptionally high, so users with 240 Hz or even 360 Hz displays can safely enable Ultra settings without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 311 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays, while Ultra produces 191 FPS, which is still above 144 Hz thresholds. Users with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors can choose Ultra for better visuals, while those with 240 Hz displays may prefer High (267 FPS) or Medium (311 FPS) to maximize frame rates. The 4K resolution presents the most constrained options: Ultra averages 100 FPS, which is suitable for 100 Hz or 120 Hz displays, while High (140 FPS) and Medium (163 FPS) provide additional headroom for higher refresh rates.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1440p or 4K appears to be the sweet spot, as it provides 267 FPS and 140 FPS respectively, with no minimum FPS data indicating potential stutters. The Medium preset offers slightly higher averages but with documented minimums that are roughly 15-18% below the averages, suggesting more frame time variability. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops to 100 FPS at 4K, which may be marginal for users with 120 Hz displays who want consistent frame pacing.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this combo in Barony?

A: The highest average FPS is 641, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the least demanding configuration tested, where the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Barony?

A: This combination of Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 156th out of 3,717 total tested combos, placing it in the top 4.2% of all systems in the database.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded, and at what settings?

A: The lowest average FPS is 100, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the only measured configuration that drops to triple digits, and it still meets the 100 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM ever become a limiting factor in Barony?

A: No. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of VRAM limitations at any resolution or settings preset. The 24 GB capacity and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are far in excess of what Barony requires.

Q: How does the i3-12100F's CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13,494, which is within 1.1% of its nearest rivals: the Intel Core 3 N355 (13,492, 0% delta), Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452, 0.3% delta), and Intel Core 5 120UL (13,594, -0.7% delta).

Q: At which resolution does the CPU become less of a bottleneck?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU's rendering load dominates the frame time, reducing the CPU's influence. The frame rate spread between minimum and maximum at 4K Medium is only 49 FPS, compared to 148 FPS at 1080p Medium, indicating more consistent GPU-limited performance.