Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

The data for this combination reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but transitions to a CPU-limited state at 1080p, particularly at lower settings. The measured frame rates across twelve distinct configurations show a consistent pattern: as resolution drops, the frame rate gains become disproportionately large, indicating that the Intel Core i5-12600KF is capable of feeding the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti with ample data, but only up to a point. The 471.4 FPS average at 1080p Low versus the 152.6 FPS at 4K Low is a 3.1x difference, which far exceeds the 4x pixel count reduction from 4K to 1080p, suggesting that at 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the primary constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 298.6 to 187.8, a 37.1% reduction. The further step to 3840x2160 at High yields 97.2 FPS, which is 48.2% lower than the 1440p result. This pattern—where each resolution increase causes a larger relative drop—is classic GPU-bound behavior, as the render load scales with pixel count while the CPU work remains relatively constant.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more revealing. The 1080p Low average of 471.4 FPS drops to 294 at 1440p (a 37.6% decrease) and then to 152.6 at 4K (a 48.1% decrease from 1440p). The fact that 1080p Low exceeds 470 FPS suggests the GPU is nowhere near its limit at that resolution; instead, the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and process game logic caps the frame rate. The RTX 3080 Ti, with its 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth, is effectively idle-waiting at 1080p Low. The 471.4 FPS figure is likely near the practical ceiling for this CPU in this game, as evidenced by the relatively small gap between Low and Medium at 1080p (471.4 vs 348.8) compared to the 4K gap (152.6 vs 117.9).

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti brings substantial hardware to this roguelike title. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Barony's visual demands. The GPU's 10240 shading units, operating at a boost clock of 1665 MHz, deliver 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These specifications place the card in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41224.

The GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K resolution, where the data shows a clear separation between settings. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces 72.8 FPS, which is 25.1% lower than the High preset's 97.2 FPS. This spread between Ultra and Low at 4K (72.8 vs 152.6, a 2.1x difference) indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate responds strongly to changes in render load. The RTX 3080 Ti's 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this game, given its 2015 release date and roguelike genre, which typically favors CPU-bound procedural generation over complex graphics pipelines.

Interestingly, the GPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the RTX 3090 (with a -0.5% delta) and the RTX 5070 (with a -1.1% delta). This suggests that the 3080 Ti sits in a competitive performance tier, yet its actual in-game results at 4K Ultra (72.8 FPS) show it is not overkill for this title at maximum settings. The 8 nm process node from Samsung, with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, represents a mature design that still delivers high performance in 2025.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz can boost to 4.90 GHz, and it features a 20 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23444 and a Geekbench multicore score of 12373. More importantly for gaming, its single-thread performance is excellent: a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3925.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 84 among all CPUs indicates it is a strong performer, with an average benchmark score of 27827. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, has a nearly identical average score of 27829 (0% delta), while the i5-12600K is 0.1% behind. This places the 12600KF in a sweet spot for gaming: high single-thread performance for game logic and enough cores (10) to handle background tasks without interference.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the 471.4 FPS average suggests the CPU is the primary limiter. The game's roguelike nature likely involves procedural dungeon generation and complex simulation, which can be single-threaded. The 12600KF's 4.90 GHz boost clock and 1016 3DMark single-thread score indicate it can handle these tasks quickly, but the 471.4 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low implies that even this capable CPU cannot push beyond that threshold in this title. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p (471.4 to 348.8) is a 26% reduction, while the same settings change at 4K (152.6 to 117.9) is only a 22.7% reduction, further confirming that the CPU is the bottleneck at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in the database, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 442nd out of 1702 combinations. This places it in the top 26% of all tested configurations, which is respectable given that the CPU and GPU are both from previous generations (released in 2021). The combo's rank reflects a balanced pairing: the CPU's 84th percentile and GPU's 83rd percentile are nearly identical, suggesting neither component is significantly holding back the other in most scenarios.

The rank of 442 out of 1702 means there are 441 combinations that perform better in this game, likely featuring newer flagship GPUs like the RTX 40-series or more powerful CPUs with higher single-thread performance. However, the data shows that this combination delivers excellent frame rates across all tested configurations, with even the most demanding setting (4K Ultra) achieving 72.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The combination's performance is particularly strong at 1440p, where it exceeds 136 FPS on all settings, making it well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves 471.4 FPS average, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset follows at 348.8 FPS, then High at 298.6 FPS, and Ultra at 212.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 259.2 FPS, representing a 55% reduction from Low to Ultra, indicating that GPU load increases significantly with settings even at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show more sensitivity to settings. Low produces 294 FPS, Medium 222.1 FPS, High 187.8 FPS, and Ultra 136.9 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 157.1 FPS (53.4%), which is slightly less than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to become more of a factor. The 1440p Ultra result of 136.9 FPS remains well above the 100 FPS mark, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes full control. Low yields 152.6 FPS, Medium 117.9 FPS, High 97.2 FPS, and Ultra 72.8 FPS. The Ultra result is the only configuration below 100 FPS in the entire dataset. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K is 79.8 FPS (52.3%), which is comparable to lower resolutions, but the absolute values are much lower. The 72.8 FPS at 4K Ultra is still playable, but it shows the limits of this GPU at maximum settings in this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest frame rate achieved by this combination?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 471.4, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration exceeding 400 FPS in the dataset.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rival in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41224, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX 3090's 41441. It also outperforms the RTX 5070 by 1.1%, which has a score of 41687.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 72.8, and the strong scaling from High (97.2 FPS) to Ultra (72.8 FPS) indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The 4K results show a 2.1x difference between Low (152.6 FPS) and Ultra, confirming GPU-bound behavior.

Q: What is the Intel Core i5-12600KF's single-thread performance relative to its multi-thread performance?

A: The CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309 and a multicore score of 23444, giving a ratio of approximately 7.1x. Its 3DMark single-thread score is 1016, while the 16-thread score is 7956.

Q: How does this combination rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 442nd out of 1702 total combinations, placing it in the top 26% of all tested pairings. The CPU and GPU have nearly identical percentile rankings (84th and 83rd, respectively).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 298.6 at 1080p to 187.8 at 1440p (a 37.1% reduction), and further to 97.2 at 4K (a 48.2% reduction from 1440p). The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 201.4 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The data indicates that the Ultra preset provides diminishing returns compared to High settings, especially at higher resolutions. At 4K, the Ultra preset delivers 72.8 FPS, which is 25.1% lower than High's 97.2 FPS, yet the visual difference between High and Ultra is likely minimal in a roguelike game with this style of graphics. The High preset at 4K maintains a 97.2 FPS average, which is comfortably above 60 FPS and provides a smoother experience than Ultra.

For players prioritizing high refresh rates, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance at 2560x1440, delivering 222.1 FPS, which is 15.4% higher than High at the same resolution. The 1440p Medium result is particularly compelling because it exceeds 200 FPS, making it suitable for 240 Hz monitors. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves 212.2 FPS, so players with 1080p displays can safely enable maximum settings without concern for performance.

The Low preset is only recommended for extreme frame rate chasing, as it yields 471.4 FPS at 1080p and 294 FPS at 1440p, but these gains come at the cost of visual quality. The data suggests that the High preset at 1440p (187.8 FPS) or 4K (97.2 FPS) provides the best overall experience, balancing visual fidelity with frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of most displays. The Ultra preset is best reserved for 1080p gaming, where the 212.2 FPS result proves that the RTX 3080 Ti has ample headroom even at maximum settings.