Barony

Barony is a roguelike that, on this Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination, demonstrates a massive performance ceiling that scales dramatically with resolution and settings. The data indicates a system capable of pushing frame rates far beyond standard display refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but one where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K with higher visual presets. The measured results confirm this pairing is overwhelmingly GPU-limited in most scenarios, with the CPU providing ample headroom for the game's logic.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and reveals a clear shift in the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 381.5 at 1920x1080 to 241.1 at 2560x1440, and finally to 129 at 3840x2160. This represents a 66% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload where the rendering resolution directly dictates performance. The scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, indicating that the RTX 4080 SUPER's compute and memory bandwidth are the constraining factors at higher resolutions.

The pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The average FPS drops from 274.5 at 1080p to 172.3 at 1440p, and then to 89 at 4K. This 67.6% drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent with the High setting behavior, reinforcing that the game's visual complexity at Ultra places an enormous load on the GPU. The fact that the 4K Ultra result (89 FPS) is lower than the 1080p High result (381.5 FPS) by a factor of 4.3 highlights how resolution and settings compound to create a massive performance gap.

At Low settings, the story changes. The 4K Low result of 198.1 FPS is still exceptionally high, but the 1080p Low result of 597.5 FPS shows the CPU's single-thread performance is beginning to matter. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (597.5 to 375.8 FPS) shows a 37% drop, and the drop to 4K (198.1 FPS) is another 47% reduction. This suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is still the primary limiter at all resolutions, but the CPU's 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost clock are high enough to feed the GPU effectively.

The data shows a fundamental transition: at 1080p and 1440p, the system is capable of producing frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of most high-end monitors, making the experience incredibly smooth. At 4K, the system still delivers playable frame rates, but the margin for error shrinks significantly, and the Ultra preset becomes demanding enough to push the average below the 100 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combination can achieve in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 597.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the absolute ceiling for this pairing.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra average FPS of 89 is 85.1% lower than the 1080p Low average FPS of 597.5. This massive difference shows that resolution and settings together have a multiplicative impact on performance.

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

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions and settings. The performance scaling with resolution is nearly linear, which is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads provide enough processing power to avoid becoming a limiting factor.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 241.1. This is a very high frame rate that suggests the combination is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 122nd out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 7.2% of all tested systems.

Q: Is the 4K High setting playable?

A: Yes, the 4K High setting yields an average FPS of 129, which is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. Even at 4K Ultra, the 89 FPS average remains playable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF features 10 cores and 16 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. In Barony, this CPU proves to be more than sufficient, as the game's performance is consistently limited by the GPU across all measured resolutions. The CPU's single-thread performance, indicated by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1016 and a passmark_single_thread score of 3925, is strong enough to handle the game's logic and physics without creating a bottleneck.

The CPU's L3 cache is 20 MB (shared), and its L1 and L2 caches are 80 KB and 1.25 MB per core, respectively. These cache sizes are adequate for a roguelike, which typically has moderate memory access patterns. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, and with a dual-channel memory bus, it can provide sufficient bandwidth for the GPU to receive data. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 7956 and the cinebench_r23_multicore score of 23444 show that the CPU has substantial multi-threaded capability, but Barony does not appear to be a heavily multithreaded title.

The CPU's percentile rank of 84 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27827, confirms it is a high-performance part. It sits close to the Intel Core i9-10900K, which has an average score of 27829, a 0% delta. This near-identical performance to a previous-generation flagship indicates that the i5-12600KF has ample processing power for this game. The data strongly suggests that upgrading the CPU would not yield any noticeable performance gains in Barony, as the GPU is the definitive limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Barony, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 122nd out of 1702 tested combos. This places it in the top 7.2% of all systems tested, which is an excellent result. The high rank is primarily attributable to the GPU's exceptional performance, as the RTX 4080 SUPER has a percentile rank of 88 among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 53610.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT with an average score of 53489 (0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M with 53414 (0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 7700S with 52505 (2.1% delta). The RTX 4080 SUPER outperforms all these alternatives, and its closest competitor, the RX 6900 XT, is only 0.2% slower in aggregate benchmarks. This narrow margin suggests that in GPU-bound scenarios, the RTX 4080 SUPER has a slight edge over its closest rival.

The combo's rank of 122 means that 121 other combinations deliver higher average frame rates in Barony. These would likely include pairings with higher-end GPUs, such as the RTX 4090 series, or systems with even faster CPUs that can push frame rates higher at lower resolutions. However, the 122nd rank out of 1702 is a strong showing, and the measured frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are so high that the practical difference between this combo and those ranked above it would be negligible for most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The Low preset yields an average FPS of 597.5, the Medium preset 445.1, the High preset 381.5, and the Ultra preset 274.5. The difference between Low and Ultra is 323 FPS, representing a 54.1% reduction in performance when enabling the highest settings. Even at Ultra, the 274.5 FPS average is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains extremely high. The Low preset produces 375.8 FPS, the Medium preset 281.4, the High preset 241.1, and the Ultra preset 172.3. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings (381.5 to 241.1 FPS) shows a 36.8% reduction, which is in line with the increased pixel count. The Ultra preset at 1440p still maintains a 172.3 FPS average, which is excellent for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the performance begins to show the GPU's limits. The Low preset averages 198.1 FPS, the Medium preset 147.4, the High preset 129, and the Ultra preset 89. The drop from High to Ultra at 4K (129 to 89 FPS) is a 31% reduction, which is significant. The 4K Ultra result of 89 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below the 100 FPS mark, indicating that this is the most demanding scenario for the combo.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each step up in settings (Low to Medium to High to Ultra) costs a significant amount of performance, and each increase in resolution compounds that cost. The system is clearly capable of handling any combination of settings and resolution, but the 4K Ultra setting is the only one that pushes the average FPS below 100.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, as it delivers 274.5 FPS while providing the best visual quality. The performance headroom is so large that there is no reason to compromise on settings at this resolution.

For 1440p displays, the Ultra preset is also recommended, with an average FPS of 172.3. This is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on many 1440p monitors. The High preset at 241.1 FPS would only be necessary for users with very high refresh rate displays (240 Hz or higher), but the visual quality trade-off is not worth it for most users.

For 4K displays, the High preset is the best balance. It delivers 129 FPS, which is above the 120 Hz threshold for premium displays and well above the 60 Hz standard. The Ultra preset at 89 FPS is still playable, but the 31% performance drop from High to Ultra is substantial. The Medium preset at 147.4 FPS offers a middle ground, but the High preset provides the best visual quality without sacrificing the high refresh rate experience.

In summary, the Ultra preset is recommended for 1080p and 1440p, while High is the recommended preset for 4K. The data shows that the system is so powerful at lower resolutions that users should prioritize visual fidelity, while at 4K, a slight compromise in settings is necessary to maintain a high frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Barony, which is not a memory-intensive game, but it ensures that the GPU never runs out of memory, even at 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU has a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz. These high clock speeds, combined with the 10240 shading units, allow the GPU to process the game's pixel and shader workloads at an extremely high rate. The 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are not directly relevant to Barony, as the game does not appear to use ray tracing or DLSS, but they contribute to the GPU's overall compute capability.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS and texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s are exceptionally high, which explains why the system can achieve 597.5 FPS at 1080p Low. The GPU's pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s is the key specification for resolution scaling, as it determines how quickly the GPU can fill the screen with pixels. At 4K, the GPU is pushing over 8 million pixels per frame, and the measured 129 FPS at High settings indicates that the GPU is working at a high utilization rate.

The GPU's percentile rank of 88 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53610, confirms its high-end status. It is 0.2% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, which is a previous-generation flagship, and 2.9% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. This performance margin is small in aggregate, but in Barony, the GPU's raw rasterization power is what matters, and the RTX 4080 SUPER delivers exceptional results. The GPU's 320 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU rating indicate that it is a power-hungry component, but its performance justifies this requirement.