Barony

The data for Barony, a 2015 roguelike, reveals a striking performance profile for the Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings, indicating that this combination is far beyond what the game requires for smooth gameplay. The analysis below breaks down the scaling behavior, comparative standing, and component roles based solely on the measured metrics.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic pattern where the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as pixel count rises, though the CPU still holds significant sway at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 636.9 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops this to 402.6 FPS, a reduction of roughly 36.8%. The jump to 3840x2160 further reduces the average to 212.3 FPS, another 47.3% decrease from the 1440p figure. This steep drop-off indicates that even at Low settings, the rendering load at 4K is substantial enough to engage the GPU more fully, yet the absolute numbers remain so high that the CPU is still likely a contributing factor.

For the Ultra preset, the scaling is less dramatic in percentage terms but still clear. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 289.8 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 181.6 FPS, a 37.3% reduction. At 4K Ultra, the average bottoms out at 98.5 FPS, a further 45.8% decline from 1440p. The pattern across all settings shows that the most significant FPS penalty occurs between 1440p and 4K, which is expected given the quadrupling of pixels from 1080p to 4K. However, the fact that even 4K Ultra stays above 98 FPS suggests that the RTX 5080 is not fully saturated by this older title, and the i5-12600KF's single-thread performance plays a measurable role in keeping these numbers elevated.

The difference between Low and Ultra at each resolution highlights the GPU's headroom. At 1080p, the gap is 347.1 FPS (from 289.8 to 636.9). At 1440p, the gap narrows to 221 FPS. At 4K, the gap is 113.8 FPS. This narrowing delta indicates that as resolution increases, the GPU work grows, but the CPU's ability to feed frames becomes less of a bottleneck. The data suggests that for users targeting high refresh rates, the 1080p and 1440p results will heavily depend on the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads, while 4K results are more representative of the GPU's raw throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing holds a strong position. The comboRankInGame is 79 out of 1702 total combos, placing it in the top 4.6% of all tested systems for Barony. This percentile ranking is notable given the game's age and its relatively modest graphical demands compared to modern titles. The high rank suggests that the i5-12600KF and RTX 5080 work together efficiently, avoiding any severe bottleneck that would drag the average FPS down.

The CPU's own percentileVsAllCpus is 84, indicating it outperforms 84% of all processors in the database. Its average benchmark score of 27827 places it nearly exactly at parity with the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores 27829 with a 0% delta. The i5-12600KF also sits just 0.1% below the i5-12600K and 0.2% below the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, while being 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-13700H. These tiny margins show that the i5-12600KF is competitive with much newer or higher-tier parts in synthetic tests, which translates into the high frame rates seen in Barony.

For the GPU, the percentileVsAllGpus is 89, and its average benchmark score is 59188. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A570M (58239, 1.6% slower), the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 1.9% faster), and the Intel Arc A580 (57756, 2.5% slower). The RTX 5080's lead over these parts in synthetic benchmarks aligns with its measured performance in Barony, where it consistently delivers over 100 FPS even at 4K Ultra. The fact that this combo ranks 79th overall, despite the CPU being in the 84th percentile and GPU in the 89th percentile, indicates that the game's engine does not penalize this pairing, allowing both components to operate near their potential.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 brings 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is far more than Barony requires, as the game’s release date of 2015 predates high-resolution textures that would stress such capacity. The GPU's boost clock is listed at 2617 MHz, with a base clock of 2295 MHz. These clocks, combined with the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and 10752 shading units, contribute to its high throughput. In Barony, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the FPS scaling.

The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 98.5, which is the lowest recorded figure for this combo. This is still a very playable number, but it represents the point where the GPU is working hardest. The transition from High to Ultra at 4K costs 34.3 FPS (from 132.8 to 98.5), while the transition from Medium to High costs 24.1 FPS (from 156.9 to 132.8). This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately impact the GPU, likely related to shadow quality or post-processing, though the specific settings are not enumerated in the data. The GPU's transistor count of 45,600 million and die size of 378 mm² indicate a large, power-hungry chip, but its performance in this older game is overwhelmingly sufficient.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low yields 636.9 FPS, Medium yields 473.7 FPS, High yields 406.2 FPS, and Ultra yields 289.8 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 54.5% reduction in FPS, which is substantial but leaves even the Ultra preset well above the refresh rate of most monitors. The data shows that the CPU is likely the limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU has significant headroom; the difference between Low and Medium is 163.2 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is 116.4 FPS, indicating diminishing returns for higher settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 402.6 FPS for Low, 297.4 FPS for Medium, 258 FPS for High, and 181.6 FPS for Ultra. The relative ordering remains consistent, with Ultra being roughly 55% slower than Low. The gap between Medium and High narrows to 39.4 FPS, suggesting that these two presets are closer in visual complexity. At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 212.3 FPS for Low, 156.9 FPS for Medium, 132.8 FPS for High, and 98.5 FPS for Ultra. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration below 100 FPS, but it remains perfectly fluid for a roguelike genre, which typically does not demand twitch reflexes.

The data reveals that the scaling from Medium to High is relatively consistent across resolutions, with a delta of about 67.5 FPS at 1080p, 39.4 FPS at 1440p, and 24.1 FPS at 4K. This pattern confirms that the High preset adds a moderate load, while the jump to Ultra imposes a heavier penalty, especially at higher resolutions where the pixel fill rate becomes critical.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend on the user's display refresh rate and resolution preference. For 4K displays, the Ultra preset at 98.5 FPS is viable for most gaming scenarios, but the High preset at 132.8 FPS provides a 34.8% performance uplift with presumably only minor visual differences. Given that Barony is a roguelike with a top-down perspective, the visual fidelity gains from Ultra are likely not worth the frame rate cost, making High the recommended choice for 4K.

For 1440p, the Ultra preset at 181.6 FPS is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, offering a smooth experience without any noticeable compromise. If a user has a 240 Hz display, the High preset at 258 FPS would be a better match, though the Medium preset at 297.4 FPS could also be considered for maximum smoothness. The Low preset at 402.6 FPS is excessive for any current display technology and would be unnecessary outside of competitive play.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 289.8 FPS is already beyond what most monitors can display, so users should prioritize visual quality and select Ultra without fear of performance issues. The Medium preset at 473.7 FPS offers no practical advantage over Ultra unless the user has a 480 Hz display, which is rare. The data suggests that for the majority of users, the High or Ultra presets at 1440p or 4K provide the best balance of image quality and frame rate, as the game's engine does not exhibit severe performance cliffs until Ultra is combined with 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 20 MB L3. This architecture, based on Alder Lake, delivers strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309 and Geekbench single-core score of 2529. In Barony, which is an older title likely not optimized for many threads, single-core performance is critical, and the i5-12600KF's boost clock of 4.90 GHz helps maintain high frame rates.

The CPU's multithreaded capabilities are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23444 and a Passmark multithread score of 27575. However, the game’s engine probably does not leverage all 16 threads effectively, so the gains from the CPU's core count are less apparent than its clock speed. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the FPS reaches 636.9, which is a very high number that indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck even in lightly threaded scenarios. The fact that the combo ranks 79th overall suggests that the CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the RTX 5080 without holding it back significantly.

The CPU's TDP is 125 W, and it is built on Intel’s 10 nm process with a die size of 215 mm². Its memory support includes DDR4 and DDR5, though the specific bandwidth is not listed. The benchmark scores show strong consistency, with the 3DMark 16-thread score of 7956 and max-thread score of 7952 being nearly identical, indicating that the CPU scales well with additional threads up to a point. For Barony, the CPU's role is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data, and the measured FPS suggests it performs this task admirably, even at 1080p where CPU load is typically highest.