Barony

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a commanding performance in Barony, securing a combo rank of 782 out of 1702 tested combinations. This places the pairing in the upper half of the database, a position driven by the GPU's substantial rasterization power and the CPU's solid multi-threaded throughput. The data indicates this system is not merely playable but exceptionally fast, with all measured average frame rates at 1080p and 1440p surpassing the 100 FPS threshold, making it a high-refresh-rate candidate for the roguelike genre.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 782 out of 1702 tested combos places it in the 46th percentile of all configurations tested in Barony. This is a strong showing, though not a top-tier result, suggesting that while the hardware is capable of extreme frame rates, there are faster combinations in the database. The ranking is heavily influenced by the graphics card, which sits at the 72nd percentile against all GPUs, while the processor holds a 77th percentile rank against all CPUs.

Benchmark results show the CPU's multi-threaded performance is robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and a passmark multithread score of 19433. Its single-thread performance is also competitive, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 909. This balance ensures the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios. The GPU's raw compute power is significant, with an FP32 throughput of 20.31 TFLOPS and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162, indicating it can handle the game's procedural generation and particle effects with ease.

Relative to its direct rivals, the CPU is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-8700K, showing a delta of just 0.1% in average benchmark score. It is also 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U and 1.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7773X, while being 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS. For the GPU, it is 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and 1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, while trailing the AMD FirePro S7150 by 0.6% and the AMD Radeon R9 M295X by 1.1%. These margins are minimal, confirming that the RTX 3070 is a well-positioned mid-range competitor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the primary driver of Barony's impressive frame rates. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is ample for the game's texture streaming and tile-based environments. The GPU's clock speeds are set at a base of 1500 MHz and a boost of 1725 MHz, with memory running at 14 Gbps effective. These specifications allow for significant overclocking headroom, but even at stock settings, the performance is substantial.

The data demonstrates a clear scaling pattern tied to VRAM and memory bandwidth. At 4K resolution, the Ultra preset drops to 58.1 FPS, likely due to the increased memory pressure and pixel fill rate demands. The GPU's pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1440p and below, but the 4K Ultra setting strains the 8 GB frame buffer. In contrast, the Low preset at 4K achieves 127.3 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle high resolutions when texture memory is not a limiting factor.

The GPU's architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which Barony can leverage for improved draw call efficiency. The 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this roguelike, as the game does not appear to rely on ray tracing or DLSS. The benchmark results indicate that raw rasterization performance, measured by the Passmark G3D score of 22214, is the key factor in achieving the high frame rates observed.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Barony?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At High settings, it achieves 153.7 FPS, which is a 46.7% increase over the 4K High result of 81.8 FPS. This resolution balances visual fidelity with high refresh rates, making it ideal for competitive play.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in Barony?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F's 6 cores and 12 threads provide sufficient processing power, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518. The benchmark results show no evidence of CPU bottlenecking, as frame rates scale consistently with GPU load across resolutions.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM enough for 4K gaming?

A: The data suggests it is borderline. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 58.1, which is a 28.6% decrease from the 4K High setting (81.8 FPS). This indicates that the 8 GB frame buffer is a limiting factor at the highest settings and resolution.

Q: Can this system run Barony at 144Hz?

A: Yes, at 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p High, it hits 245.1 FPS, and at 1440p High, it reaches 153.7 FPS. Both exceed the 144Hz threshold, allowing for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, the difference is 211.2 FPS (388.3 FPS on Low versus 177.1 FPS on Ultra), representing a 119% performance uplift when dropping to Low settings. This shows the game is highly scalable with graphical fidelity.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 3070's nearest rival, the RX 6600 XT?

A: The RTX 3070 has a 0.9% higher average benchmark score than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT. In practical terms, this translates to a marginal performance advantage, suggesting the two cards will perform nearly identically in Barony.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast, with the Low preset achieving 388.3 FPS, Medium at 286.7 FPS, High at 245.1 FPS, and Ultra at 177.1 FPS. The scaling from Ultra to Low represents a 219% performance increase, showing that the game is highly responsive to settings changes.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected decline. The Low preset delivers 243.4 FPS, Medium hits 183.9 FPS, High reaches 153.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 111.7 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 37.3% average reduction in FPS across all settings, which is a moderate cost for the increased resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system still manages playable frame rates, but the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low setting achieves 127.3 FPS, Medium at 97 FPS, High at 81.8 FPS, and Ultra at 58.1 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra at 4K is 23.7 FPS (a 29% reduction), which is the largest relative penalty for the highest settings preset across all resolutions. This pattern indicates that the 8 GB VRAM becomes a bottleneck when combining 4K resolution with the Ultra preset.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 2560x1440 with the High preset. This configuration delivers 153.7 FPS, which is above the threshold for high-refresh-rate displays while maintaining substantial visual quality. The High preset at 1440p offers a 37.6% performance increase over the Ultra preset at the same resolution (111.7 FPS), with a minimal visual fidelity loss.

For users prioritizing maximum visual quality, the 1080p Ultra preset is the best choice, achieving 177.1 FPS. This provides a 64% performance margin over the 1440p Ultra setting, allowing for smooth gameplay even in the most visually demanding scenes. The Ultra preset is playable at 1440p (111.7 FPS), but the data suggests that the High preset is the better balance of image quality and frame rate stability.

At 4K, the High preset (81.8 FPS) is the recommended maximum, as the Ultra preset (58.1 FPS) approaches the lower limit of acceptable playability. The Medium preset at 4K (97 FPS) offers a more comfortable margin, making it the safer choice for users with 4K monitors. The Low preset is generally unnecessary at 1080p and 1440p, given the high frame rates already achieved, but it may be useful for competitive play where maximum frame rates are paramount, offering 388.3 FPS at 1080p.