Barony

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, proves surprisingly demanding at high frame rates, and the data for the Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti combo reveals a clear scaling story. The measured FPS across resolutions indicates that while the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, the CPU’s capabilities come into sharp focus at lower resolutions, where the frame rates climb to levels that test even the fastest processors.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1080p to 4K shows a dramatic and expected drop in average FPS, but the shape of that drop is revealing. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 257.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces that to 166.4 FPS, a 35% decrease. The jump to 4K is even steeper, landing at 83.5 FPS, which is a 50% reduction from the 1440p figure. This pattern—where the largest percentage loss occurs between 1440p and 4K—strongly suggests that the RTX 3070 Ti is the limiting component at the highest resolution.

At 4K, the GPU’s raw throughput (21.75 TFLOPS FP32) and 8 GB of GDDR6X memory are being taxed heavily, as evidenced by the Ultra preset dropping to 62.6 FPS. However, the scaling story reverses at 1080p. The jump from High (257.3 FPS) to Low (405.7 FPS) is enormous, indicating that the game is not purely GPU-bound at this resolution. If the GPU were the sole constraint, we would expect a smaller delta between settings. The fact that Low settings nearly double the frame rate compared to Ultra (184.5 FPS) points to the i5-12400’s six cores and 12 threads becoming a more significant factor, as the GPU is capable of far more work than the CPU can feed it at these lower resolutions.

The data implies a system where the bottleneck shifts. At 4K, the RTX 3070 Ti is the wall. At 1080p, the game’s engine seems to hit a CPU limit, particularly with its single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 910), which prevents the GPU from reaching its full potential. The 1440p results represent the sweet spot where the workload is balanced enough to allow both components to work in tandem.

FAQ

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 62.6, which is the lowest score recorded for this combo. This suggests that while playable, it is the most demanding configuration tested.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest score is 405.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates the game’s potential for extremely high frame rates when graphical load is minimized.

Q: Is there a large performance gap between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, the difference is significant. Medium settings yield 192.7 FPS, while High settings drop to 166.4 FPS. This 26.3 FPS gap shows that High settings carry a notable performance cost at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti’s benchmark percentile compare to its nearest rival?

A: The GPU is in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 30849. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME, has an average score of 30755, meaning the RTX 3070 Ti is 0.3% ahead.

Q: What is the CPU’s ranking relative to other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 is in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 19850. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K.

Q: Does the game’s frame rate scale linearly with resolution?

A: No. The data shows a non-linear drop. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 257.3 at 1080p to 166.4 at 1440p (a 35% reduction), and then to 83.5 at 4K (a 50% reduction from 1440p). The larger drop at higher resolutions confirms the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture and uses the GA104 chip. Its 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is crucial for understanding the 4K results. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset falls to 62.6 FPS, while High settings only manage 83.5 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 20.9 FPS, which is larger than the 15.1 FPS gap at 1080p between the same settings (184.5 vs 257.3). This suggests that the Ultra preset’s demands on the 8 GB VRAM buffer and the GPU’s compute units (6144 shading units) are more punishing at higher pixel counts.

The GPU’s boost clock is 1770 MHz, and it achieves a PassMark G3D score of 23356. Its percentile rank of 74 places it above many cards, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700, is only 0.8% behind in average score. However, in this specific game, the RTX 3070 Ti’s performance at 1080p Low (405.7 FPS) versus its performance at 4K Ultra (62.6 FPS) shows a 6.5x range. This wide spread confirms that the card is not the sole determinant of performance; the workload must be heavy enough to engage it fully. The 4K results show the GPU working hard, while the 1080p results suggest the card is often idling, waiting on the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings. The Low preset leads with 405.7 FPS, followed by Medium at 301.1 FPS, High at 257.3 FPS, and Ultra at 184.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 221.2 FPS, a massive spread that indicates the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the scores remain high but show a more pronounced GPU influence. Low settings produce 257.6 FPS, Medium drops to 192.7 FPS, High to 166.4 FPS, and Ultra to 118.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 138.9 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, showing that the GPU is starting to take on a larger share of the workload.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s dominance is clear. Low settings yield 131.4 FPS, Medium falls to 98.6 FPS, High to 83.5 FPS, and Ultra to 62.6 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra is 68.8 FPS. The scaling from Medium to High (15.1 FPS drop) and High to Ultra (20.9 FPS drop) shows that each incremental setting increase has a significant cost, confirming that the RTX 3070 Ti is the principal bottleneck at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz are key to its performance. The benchmark data shows a strong multi-threaded capability, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a PassMark multithread score of 18747. However, its single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 910) is what appears to limit frame rates at 1080p.

The data supports this theory: at 1080p Low, the game hits 405.7 FPS. This is a staggering number that few games can reach, and it indicates that the CPU is working near its limit to feed the GPU. The 3dmark 2-thread score of 1692 suggests that the game’s primary thread is well-served, but the drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p (221.2 FPS) is not purely a GPU effect. If the CPU could keep up, the GPU would still be able to render more frames at Ultra settings. The fact that it doesn’t points to the i5-12400’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache and its 10 nm process node being insufficient to fully saturate the RTX 3070 Ti at these lower resolutions.

Compared to its rivals, the CPU is in the 77th percentile. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K. This indicates it is a solid mid-range performer, but its 65 W TDP and locked multiplier suggest it is not designed for extreme overclocking, which could help in this scenario.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear choice, delivering 405.7 FPS. This is ideal for competitive play or for those with very high refresh rate monitors. However, the jump to Medium at 1080p still provides an excellent 301.1 FPS, which is a 25.8% reduction in performance but likely a significant improvement in visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset at 166.4 FPS is a strong balance, offering a substantial upgrade over Medium (192.7 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate well above 144 Hz. The Ultra preset at 118.7 FPS is playable but begins to approach the limit for high-refresh-rate displays.

For 4K gaming, the situation is more constrained. The Medium preset at 98.6 FPS is the most sensible option, as it provides a smooth experience above 60 FPS. The High preset at 83.5 FPS is also viable, but the Ultra preset at 62.6 FPS, while technically playable, offers diminishing returns for the performance cost. The data suggests that the High preset at 1440p is the overall sweet spot for this combo, offering a high frame rate with good visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti ranks 694th out of 1702 tested combos for Barony. This places it in the top 41% of all configurations, which is a respectable position given the game’s age and the specific demands of its engine.

This ranking is likely influenced by the CPU’s single-thread performance bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the GPU is more than capable of producing higher frame rates. The combo’s performance is strong, but not elite, as evidenced by the fact that it does not crack the top 500. The data suggests that users with faster CPUs could see higher 1080p frame rates, while the 4K performance is firmly in the GPU’s domain. The RTX 3070 Ti’s 74th percentile rank and the CPU’s 77th percentile rank are consistent with a mid-to-high-tier pairing, and the 694th rank reflects a system that is capable but not at the absolute bleeding edge of performance for this specific title.