Barony

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination ranks 448th out of 1702 tested combos for Barony, placing it in the upper 26% of all systems tested. This is a strong result, though not a top-tier one, reflecting that Barony is a roguelike where the CPU's single-thread performance and the GPU's raw throughput both matter, but neither is pushed to extremes. The RTX 3080 Ti sits at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-12400 is at the 77th percentile among all CPUs; the combo's overall rank is slightly below the GPU's percentile, suggesting the processor holds the system back a touch in this title.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 19850 places it in a tight cluster of rivals. The Intel Core i7-9700 scores 19831, a delta of 0.1% ahead, while the Intel Core i7-8700 scores 19894, a delta of -0.2% behind. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX scores 19928, a -0.4% delta, and the Intel Core i5-11600K scores 19771, a 0.4% delta. These differences are negligible in practice, meaning the i5-12400's performance class is essentially identical to several prior-generation chips. What matters more is that this CPU's 3DMark multi-threaded score of 5890 and single-thread score of 910 provide enough headroom for Barony's simulation logic, which is not heavily threaded.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41224 is similarly close to its nearest rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 41441, a -0.5% delta, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 41610, a -0.9% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 41687, a -1.1% delta, and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 41897, a -1.6% delta. This places the 3080 Ti within 2% of its nearest competition, indicating the GPU is not a bottleneck in most scenarios. The data shows this combo is well-balanced for Barony, with the CPU ranking slightly lower than the GPU, which aligns with the game's roguelike nature where frame rates are often CPU-limited at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data strongly favors High settings at 1440p as the sweet spot. At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo delivers 189.5 FPS average, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold for most monitors. Pushing to Ultra at 1440p drops the average to 137.4 FPS, still playable but closer to the edge of high-refresh displays. At 1080p, High settings yield 299.9 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the jump to Medium yields 348.5 FPS, and Low yields 468.5 FPS — these are diminishing returns for visual quality.

At 4K, the picture changes. High settings at 3840x2160 produce 101.8 FPS average, which is smooth for most displays, but Ultra drops to 68.9 FPS, which may feel less fluid on high-refresh panels. Medium at 4K gives 113.3 FPS, and Low gives 152.6 FPS. Given the measured rows, High at 1440p or 4K offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with 4K High providing 101.8 FPS and 1440p High providing 189.5 FPS. If the user prioritizes frame rate over visuals, Low at 1080p yields 468.5 FPS, but that sacrifices the game's atmospheric lighting and effects. The data suggests that Ultra settings are only worth it at 1080p, where 213.7 FPS remains high, but the visual difference between High and Ultra is rarely worth a 30% FPS penalty at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 3DMark scores show a clear scaling pattern: single-thread scores 910, 2-thread scores 1692, 4-thread scores 3012, 8-thread scores 4745, and max-thread scores 5890. This indicates that the chip scales well up to 8 threads, then plateaus, which is typical for a 6-core part. For Barony, a roguelike that primarily relies on single-threaded game logic and moderate multi-threading for entity updates, the i5-12400's single-thread performance is the primary driver.

The Cinebench R23 scores reinforce this: single-core 2249 and multi-core 15935. The multi-core score is only about 7x the single-core score, which is expected for a 6-core/12-thread chip with a 65W TDP. The PassMark scores show similar characteristics: single-thread 3456, multi-thread 18747, and physics 1105. The physics score is notably low relative to the multi-thread score, which might indicate that the CPU's per-core efficiency is sufficient but not exceptional for physics-heavy scenes. However, Barony's 2D-style roguelike rendering means physics loads are modest, and the CPU's boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures responsive frame pacing.

The CPU's percentile rank of 77 means it outperforms 77% of all tested CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 19850 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831, 0.1% delta). This means the i5-12400 is a proven mid-range performer that won't bottleneck the RTX 3080 Ti in Barony at most settings. At 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 468.5 FPS, the CPU is clearly the limiting factor, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU takes over as the constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear trend across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates: Low 468.5 FPS, Medium 348.5 FPS, High 299.9 FPS, and Ultra 213.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that even at Ultra settings, the system is well above any practical refresh rate, and the CPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra is 254.8 FPS, showing that settings have a massive impact at 1080p.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain high but start to show GPU influence: Low 297 FPS, Medium 220.6 FPS, High 189.5 FPS, and Ultra 137.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is 171.5 FPS, which is a 36.6% reduction, indicating the GPU is now more involved. At 1440p Ultra, the 137.4 FPS average is still smooth for most displays, but the gap between High and Ultra is 52.1 FPS, a 27.5% penalty for the extra visual settings.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor: Low 152.6 FPS, Medium 113.3 FPS, High 101.8 FPS, and Ultra 68.9 FPS. The jump from 1080p Low to 4K Low is a 315.9 FPS drop, a 67.4% reduction, which is expected given the 4x pixel count. The 4K Ultra result of 68.9 FPS is the only measured row below 100 FPS, and it's still playable but not ideal for high-refresh monitors. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being viable at High settings (101.8 FPS) but not Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is an Ampere-architecture GPU with a GA102 chip, 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. It has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and memory runs at 19 Gbps effective. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 26896 and DirectX 12 score of 110 show strong raw performance, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 indicates solid modern API efficiency.

The GPU's percentile rank of 83 places it above the CPU's 77, confirming that the processor is the weaker link in this pairing. The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41224 is within 1.6% of its nearest rivals, including the RTX 3090 (-0.5% delta) and RTX 5070 (-1.1% delta). This suggests the 3080 Ti is a high-end part that can handle Barony's rendering demands with ease, even at 4K.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K, where the frame rate drops from 468.5 FPS at 1080p Low to 152.6 FPS at 4K Low, a 67.4% reduction. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for a roguelike's textures and effects, and the measured data shows no VRAM-related stutters. The RTX 3080 Ti's FP32 throughput of 34.10 TFLOPS ensures that even the most complex lighting and particle effects in Barony are rendered without issue. The GPU is clearly not the constraint until 4K Ultra, where 68.9 FPS is achieved, indicating that even a top-tier GPU struggles with the most demanding settings at maximum resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck dynamics clearly. At Low settings, the frame rates are 468.5 FPS at 1080p, 297 FPS at 1440p, and 152.6 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 171.5 FPS (36.6%), and from 1440p to 4K is 144.4 FPS (48.6%). This progressive decline indicates that the GPU becomes more involved as resolution increases, but the CPU still has headroom at 1080p, as evidenced by the 468.5 FPS ceiling.

At High settings, the scaling is similar but steeper: 299.9 FPS at 1080p, 189.5 FPS at 1440p, and 101.8 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 110.4 FPS (36.8%), and from 1440p to 4K is 87.7 FPS (46.3%). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the GPU is the primary scaling factor, with the CPU providing a stable baseline.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is most pronounced: 213.7 FPS at 1080p, 137.4 FPS at 1440p, and 68.9 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 76.3 FPS (35.7%), and from 1440p to 4K is 68.5 FPS (49.9%). The near-50% drop from 1440p to 4K at all settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, while the CPU is the limiter at 1080p. The data shows that the i5-12400 can push over 460 FPS at 1080p Low, but the RTX 3080 Ti cannot maintain that pace at 4K, confirming that resolution scaling is GPU-bound beyond 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Barony with this CPU/GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1440p High offers 189.5 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors. At 4K High, the combo still delivers 101.8 FPS, making 4K viable for standard 60 Hz displays.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: It ranks 448th out of 1702 combos, placing it in the upper 26% of all systems tested for Barony. This is a strong result, though not in the top tier.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: At 1080p Low, the CPU is the bottleneck, as indicated by the 468.5 FPS ceiling. At 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the constraint, with 68.9 FPS. The GPU's percentile (83) is higher than the CPU's (77), confirming the processor is the weaker link overall.

Q: What settings should I use for the best experience?

A: High settings at 1440p provide 189.5 FPS, which is a balanced choice. At 4K, High settings (101.8 FPS) are recommended over Ultra (68.9 FPS) for smoother gameplay.

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400's average benchmark score of 19850 is within 0.4% of the Intel Core i7-9700, i7-8700, and i5-11600K, indicating near-identical performance in this game.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, it achieves 152.6 FPS, and at 4K High, it achieves 101.8 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 68.9 FPS, which is playable but not ideal.