Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

This combination pairs a 6-core, 12-thread Rocket Lake processor with NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace flagship-tier GPU, producing frame rates that range from playable at 4K Ultra to extraordinarily high at 1080p Low. The measured data shows this system sits at rank 356 out of 3717 tested combinations, placing it in the top 10% of all configurations for this roguelike title. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute provide massive headroom, while the i5-11400F's 4.40 GHz boost clock and 12 MB of shared L3 cache keep the pipeline fed at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that High settings at 2560x1440 delivers the best balance of visual quality and performance, achieving 240 FPS average with no reported minimum frame drops. This is the sweet spot where the RTX 4080 SUPER is sufficiently utilized without being bottlenecked by the CPU, and the frame pacing remains smooth enough for the fast-paced dungeon crawling that Barony demands.

At 1920x1080, High settings produce 381 FPS average, which is already far beyond any display's refresh rate capability. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 108 FPS (from 381 to 273), a 28% performance penalty that buys marginal visual improvements in a game with Barony's blocky, retro-inspired aesthetic. Given that the game's roguelike nature prioritizes responsiveness and clarity over graphical fidelity, High settings are the recommended choice.

For 4K users, Medium settings at 3840x2160 provide 146 FPS average with a minimum of 124 FPS, which keeps the experience comfortably above 120 Hz refresh rates. The step from Medium to High at 4K drops the average to 126 FPS, still playable but closer to the edge of high-refresh territory. Ultra at 4K should be avoided for competitive play, as the 90 FPS average leaves less headroom for the unpredictable spawns and projectile-heavy combat typical of roguelike runs.

The data clearly shows diminishing returns beyond High settings at every resolution. Low settings at 1080p push 555 FPS, but this only matters for theoretical benchmarking since the human eye cannot perceive the difference beyond approximately 240 Hz. Medium settings at 1440p (280 FPS) and High at 1440p (240 FPS) are both excellent, but High's better visual quality with only a 14% frame rate cost makes it the practical recommendation for most users.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER's specifications explain why Barony runs so effortlessly. With 10240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines, the GPU has enormous parallel throughput for a game that primarily relies on simple geometry and sprite-based rendering. The 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are largely idle in this title, but their presence means the card handles any modern visual effects without breaking a sweat.

Memory bandwidth plays a significant role at higher resolutions. The 736.3 GB/s bandwidth from 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus ensures that texture streaming and frame buffer operations never become a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra where the 90 FPS average suggests the GPU is finally being pushed. The 1438 MHz memory clock (23 Gbps effective) provides ample headroom for the game's asset loading during dungeon generation.

The clock speeds tell a story of efficiency. The base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2550 MHz are relatively modest for a flagship GPU, yet the card achieves 555 FPS at 1080p Low. This indicates that Barony is far from GPU-bound at lower resolutions, and the card's 320 W TDP is rarely fully utilized. The 45,900 million transistors on TSMC's 5 nm process node deliver exceptional performance-per-watt for a game that doesn't stress modern rendering pipelines.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its position. The PassMark G3D score of 34245 places it at the 86th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 54209 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 non-SUPER (54247, a -0.1% delta). This means the SUPER variant offers virtually no measurable advantage in synthetic tests, but the real-world Barony data shows the card has more than enough compute for this game's requirements.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the workload shifts between CPU and GPU. At Low settings, the progression from 555 FPS at 1080p to 377 FPS at 1440p to 197 FPS at 4K shows a clear pattern: each resolution step increases pixel count by roughly 1.78x (1080p to 1440p) and 2.25x (1440p to 4K), and the FPS drops by 32% and 48% respectively. This suggests the GPU becomes progressively more involved as resolution increases, but even at 4K Low, the system delivers nearly 200 FPS.

High settings show a similar but more pronounced scaling. From 381 FPS at 1080p to 240 FPS at 1440p (37% drop) to 126 FPS at 4K (48% drop from 1440p), the performance penalty scales with pixel count. The fact that 4K High still maintains 126 FPS indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER has substantial headroom, and the limiting factor at 1080p and 1440p is likely the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls.

Ultra settings magnify the GPU's role. The 273 FPS at 1080p drops to 172 FPS at 1440p (37% drop) and then to 90 FPS at 4K (48% drop). This consistent scaling pattern across all settings suggests that the game's rendering pipeline scales predictably with resolution, and the 4K Ultra result of 90 FPS represents the first configuration where the GPU is genuinely strained. The absence of minimum FPS data for Low, High, and Ultra settings (only Medium has min/max values) suggests that frame pacing is consistent enough that minimums are not a concern.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the i5-11400F is the primary bottleneck. With 555 FPS at Low settings, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are processing game logic and draw calls as fast as possible, but the GPU is waiting. At 4K, the GPU becomes more significant, but the 197 FPS at Low settings shows that even at maximum resolution, this combination rarely struggles.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Barony with this hardware?

A: The measured data shows 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 240 FPS average with excellent visual quality. This resolution balances the GPU's capabilities with the CPU's limits, providing a smooth experience that exceeds 240 Hz displays.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes. At 4K Ultra, the system achieves 90 FPS average, which is playable. For higher refresh rates, 4K Medium provides 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS, and 4K Low reaches 197 FPS, making 4K viable even for competitive play.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to the regular RTX 4080?

A: The average benchmark scores show the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54209 versus the RTX 4080 at 54247, a delta of -0.1%. In Barony specifically, the SUPER's additional performance is negligible, meaning either card would deliver nearly identical frame rates.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F holding back the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: At 1080p, yes. The 555 FPS at Low settings suggests the CPU is the limiting factor, especially considering the GPU's 86th percentile ranking. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes more involved, and the combination works well together.

Q: What settings provide the best competitive advantage?

A: Low settings at 1440p produce 377 FPS, maximizing responsiveness with minimal visual clutter. For most players, High settings at 1440p (240 FPS) offers the best compromise between clarity and performance, as the higher visual detail can help spot enemies and items.

Q: How does this system rank compared to other configurations?

A: This combination ranks 356 out of 3717 tested combos, placing it in the top 9.6% of all systems tested for Barony. This positioning reflects the strong GPU performance offset by the mid-range CPU's limitations at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F's specifications provide context for its performance in Barony. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Rocket Lake architecture, this processor has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 80 KB L1 cache per core help reduce memory latency, which is critical for a roguelike where procedural generation and game state updates happen constantly.

The CPU's benchmark scores show it is a capable mid-range processor. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340 and single-core score of 2024 demonstrate solid performance, while the 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and max-thread score of 5652 indicate the processor scales well with multi-threaded workloads. The PassMark multithread score of 16908 and single-thread score of 2981 place the CPU at the 71st percentile of all processors, which is respectable but not top-tier.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. The 555 FPS at 1080p Low represents a scenario where the CPU is processing game logic, entity updates, and draw calls as fast as possible, but the GPU is waiting for work. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and 8-thread score of 4691 suggest that the processor's thread scaling is efficient, but the single-thread score of 868 highlights that Barony likely benefits most from single-core performance.

The nearest rivals provide context for the CPU's positioning. The AMD EPYC 7H12 scores 17120 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239 (0.4% lower delta), and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278 (0.6% lower). These differences are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the i5-11400F performs on par with these alternatives in Barony. The launch MSRP of $157 for this processor, combined with its 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1200 compatibility, makes it a practical choice for budget-conscious builders, though the data shows it is the limiting factor at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 555 FPS average — the highest result in the entire dataset, indicating the CPU is the ceiling
• Medium: 444 FPS average, with a minimum of 377 FPS and maximum of 510 FPS
• High: 381 FPS average — a 31% drop from Low, showing the GPU begins to matter
• Ultra: 273 FPS average — a 28% drop from High, still far above any display's refresh rate

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 377 FPS average — a 32% drop from 1080p Low, confirming resolution scaling
• Medium: 280 FPS average, with a minimum of 238 FPS and maximum of 322 FPS
• High: 240 FPS average — exactly at the threshold for 240 Hz displays
• Ultra: 172 FPS average — a 28% drop from High, similar scaling to 1080p

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 197 FPS average — a 48% drop from 1440p Low, showing the GPU's increasing role
• Medium: 146 FPS average, with a minimum of 124 FPS and maximum of 168 FPS
• High: 126 FPS average — a 48% drop from 1440p High, consistent scaling
• Ultra: 90 FPS average — the only result below 100 FPS, still playable but not ideal for competitive play

The Medium settings at each resolution are the only rows with min/max data. At 1080p Medium, the 377 FPS minimum indicates the CPU can occasionally bottleneck, while at 4K Medium, the 124 FPS minimum shows the GPU is the primary constraint. The consistent ~48% drop from 1440p to 4K across settings suggests that Barony's rendering pipeline scales predictably with pixel count, and the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of VRAM is never a limiting factor, even at 4K Ultra.