Barony

The Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Barony, a roguelike title from 2015. The measured data shows this combo ranks 1065th out of 3717 tested configurations, placing it in the top 29% of all combos for this game. What stands out immediately is how the CPU and GPU interact: at 1080p Low, the system pushes 449 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 68 FPS, a massive spread that reveals where each component dominates. This analysis digs into the numbers to explain why this pairing behaves the way it does.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock runs at 2.50 GHz, boosting up to 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache layout includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a 20 MB shared L3 cache. This processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 CPU lanes. Its launch MSRP is $196.

Benchmark results show the i5-13400F performing strongly across synthetic tests. In Cinebench R23, it scores 22604 multicore and 3191 singlecore. Geekbench reports 11068 multicore and 1996 singlecore. PassMark multithread yields 25032, with single-thread at 3634. The 3DMark tests show a clear scaling pattern: 1880 for 2 threads, 3459 for 4 threads, 5591 for 8 threads, and 7314 for 16 threads, with max threads at 7307. This indicates that the processor gains substantial performance as more threads are utilized, but the gains plateau after 8 threads, suggesting diminishing returns beyond that point.

The percentileVsAllCpus for this CPU is 77, meaning it outperforms 77% of all CPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS with an average score of 25284 (0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 at 25362 (-0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D at 25365 (-0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H at 25201 (0.4%). The i5-13400F's average benchmark score is 25292, sitting almost exactly between these competitors, with deltas of less than half a percentage point. This means the CPU's raw compute power is effectively indistinguishable from its closest rivals in general benchmarks.

For Barony specifically, the CPU's role becomes clearer when examining the FPS data. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 449 FPS, which is likely CPU-bound given the low graphical load. The game is a roguelike from 2015, so its simulation and logic threads benefit from the i5-13400F's 16 threads. The 3DMark results show that 8-thread performance (5591) is close to 16-thread performance (7314), implying that Barony's engine may not fully utilize all 16 threads, but the 10 cores provide headroom for the game's procedural generation and AI routines. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz helps with single-threaded tasks, as evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and Cinebench R15 singlecore of 321.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions. When moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings, FPS drops dramatically, which points to GPU limitation. However, at 1080p Low, the 449 FPS figure is so high that it likely approaches the engine's frame rate limit or the CPU's ability to feed the GPU. The PassMark physics score of 1437 and floating point math of 60539 indicate solid computational throughput for game logic. The CPU's percentile rank of 77 combined with its rival deltas of near-zero suggest that any of these processors would perform similarly in Barony, meaning the game is not particularly CPU-sensitive once a modern mid-range processor is present.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture, using the GA102 chip fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It contains 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, with a transistor density of 45.1M per mm². The GPU has 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, 68 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores. Its base clock is 1440 MHz, boosting to 1710 MHz, with memory running at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The 10 GB of GDDR6X memory sits on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has a TDP of 320 W and uses a dual-slot design with a 1x 12-pin power connector, requiring a 700 W suggested PSU. It connects via PCIe 4.0 x16 and outputs through 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Its launch MSRP is 699 USD.

In GPU benchmarks, the RTX 3080 scores 25086 in PassMark G3D, 14397 in PassMark GPU compute, 152423 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 33620 in Geekbench Vulkan. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 4407. The percentileVsAllGpus is 68, meaning it beats 68% of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA P106-100 with an average score of 23249 (-0.3% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 at 23250 (-0.3%), AMD Radeon RX 6600M at 23273 (-0.4%), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X at 23276 (-0.4%). The RTX 3080's average benchmark score is 23172, which is slightly below these rivals, with deltas of -0.3% to -0.4%, indicating the GPU is marginally weaker in overall synthetic benchmarks than its closest competitors.

For Barony, the GPU's role is defined by the measured FPS across resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 68 FPS, which is the lowest recorded value. This suggests the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's textures, but the rendering load at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings pushes the GPU hard. The boost clock of 1710 MHz and 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 performance handle the pixel and texture work, with a pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s. The 4K High setting yields 95 FPS, showing that dropping from Ultra to High recovers significant performance, and 4K Medium reaches 110 FPS with a min of 94 and max of 127.

The GPU's VRAM capacity of 10 GB is likely not a limiting factor in Barony, given its 2015 release and roguelike genre, which typically features modest texture sizes. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is far from saturated, with 449 FPS at Low and 287 FPS at High. The RTX 3080's benchmark percentile of 68 versus its rival deltas of -0.3% suggests that in this game, the GPU's real-world performance is competitive with its synthetic scores, but the FPS numbers are so high that the game engine or CPU likely caps them. The 1440p results (284 FPS Low, 181 FPS High) reinforce that the GPU has ample headroom until 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: Why does the combo hit 449 FPS at 1080p Low but only 68 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: The 449 FPS figure at 1080p Low represents a scenario where the CPU and game engine are the primary limits, as the RTX 3080 can easily render simple frames. At 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with the 3840x2160 resolution and Ultra settings increasing the pixel and texture workload, dropping the average to 68 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23172, while its nearest rivals score 23249 (NVIDIA P106-100), 23250 (AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16), 23273 (AMD Radeon RX 6600M), and 23276 (AMD Radeon R9 M290X). The deltas are -0.3% to -0.4%, meaning the RTX 3080 is slightly behind these cards in overall benchmarks, but the difference is negligible.

Q: Is the i5-13400F a strong CPU for this game based on its benchmark scores?

A: Yes. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and singlecore of 3191 indicate strong performance. Its PassMark multithread of 25032 and single-thread of 3634 further support this. The processor's percentile rank of 77 and rival deltas within 0.4% show it is well above average and competitive with top-tier mobile and desktop CPUs.

Q: What does the 3DMark thread scaling tell us about the CPU's suitability for Barony?

A: The 3DMark scores scale from 1880 at 2 threads to 7314 at 16 threads, with 8 threads at 5591. This indicates that the game benefits from multiple cores but sees diminishing returns beyond 8 threads. The i5-13400F's 10 cores and 16 threads provide enough parallelism for Barony's roguelike simulation without excess.

Q: How does the combo's rank of 1065 out of 3717 reflect its overall performance?

A: The rank places this combo in the top 28.7% of all tested combinations for Barony. Given the high FPS numbers at most settings, this rank seems low, but it likely reflects that many other combos also achieve very high frame rates in this older game, making the ranking dense at the top.

Q: What is the impact of the GPU's memory bandwidth on performance?

A: The RTX 3080's 760.3 GB/s bandwidth and 10 GB GDDR6X memory are more than sufficient for Barony. The 4K Medium result of 110 FPS with min 94 and max 127 shows that even at high resolutions, the memory subsystem handles the workload without frame drops, as the game's textures are not demanding by modern standards.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1065th out of 3717 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the 71.3rd percentile of all combos (since 1065/3717 = 0.286, so it outperforms 71.4% of combos). This is a strong showing, but the FPS data suggests the ranking might be influenced by the game's age and the fact that many modern GPUs can achieve high frame rates. The rank of 1065 means there are 1064 combos that perform better, likely featuring newer or higher-end GPUs such as RTX 40-series cards or top-tier AMD equivalents.

Looking at the CPU's percentile of 77 and GPU's percentile of 68, the combo's rank is somewhat below what these individual percentiles might suggest. The CPU outperforms 77% of all CPUs, and the GPU outperforms 68% of all GPUs, yet the combo only outperforms 71.4% of combos. This discrepancy indicates that Barony may be more GPU-limited at higher settings, and the RTX 3080's percentile of 68 drags the combo down relative to CPU-heavy rankings. The CPU's nearest rivals (all within 0.4% delta) and GPU's nearest rivals (all within -0.4% delta) suggest that swapping to a slightly different CPU or GPU would yield nearly identical results in this game.

The data shows that at 1080p, the combo achieves frame rates that are likely beyond the refresh rates of most monitors, with 449 FPS at Low and 287 FPS at High. This suggests that the combo's rank is not limited by playability but by the raw performance of other combos that might push even higher FPS at 1080p. At 4K, the combo delivers 68 FPS at Ultra, which is playable but not exceptional, and this likely contributes to its mid-tier rank. The rank of 1065 out of 3717 means there are 2652 combos that perform worse, so this setup is solidly above average for Barony.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 449 FPS, which is the fastest recorded result across all resolutions and settings. Medium settings yield 334 FPS with a minimum of 284 and maximum of 384. High settings drop to 287 FPS, while Ultra settings average 206 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as the GPU has significant headroom even at Ultra settings, which only reduces FPS to 206.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down but remains high. Low settings average 284 FPS, which is still above the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. Medium settings produce 211 FPS with a min of 179 and max of 242. High settings average 181 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 130 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a clear GPU influence, but the system remains well above playable thresholds at all settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. Low settings average 148 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K and indicates the game is not graphically intensive. Medium settings yield 110 FPS with a min of 94 and max of 127. High settings average 95 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 68 FPS. The 4K results show a steep decline from Low to Ultra, with a 54% drop in FPS (from 148 to 68), highlighting the GPU's workload at higher settings.

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K at the same setting reveals the GPU's role. At Low, 449 FPS at 1080p drops to 284 FPS at 1440p and 148 FPS at 4K. At High, the progression is 287 to 181 to 95 FPS. At Medium, it's 334 to 211 to 110 FPS. At Ultra, it's 206 to 130 to 68 FPS. The consistent pattern shows that each resolution step roughly halves or reduces FPS by 40-50%, which is typical for GPU-bound scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, even Ultra settings at 206 FPS are far above the 60 FPS standard, so players can max out settings without concern. The High preset at 287 FPS offers a slight boost for high-refresh-rate monitors (240 Hz or above), but the visual difference between High and Ultra in a roguelike is minimal. For 1440p, Ultra at 130 FPS is still excellent, and High at 181 FPS provides extra headroom for 165 Hz or 180 Hz displays. Medium at 211 FPS is unnecessary unless chasing extremely high refresh rates.

At 4K, the choice is more nuanced. Ultra at 68 FPS is playable but close to the 60 FPS threshold, and frame drops could be noticeable. High at 95 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a 40% FPS increase over Ultra while retaining most visual quality. Medium at 110 FPS provides even more headroom, with a min of 94 FPS ensuring no drops below 60. Low at 148 FPS is overkill for most 4K displays, which typically cap at 60 or 120 Hz, but it would be ideal for 144 Hz 4K monitors.

The data suggests that for a balanced experience, High settings at 1440p or 4K provide the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate. At 1080p, Ultra is recommended since the FPS is still above 200. The Medium setting's min FPS of 284 at 1080p, 179 at 1440p, and 94 at 4K shows that Medium guarantees smooth performance even in demanding scenes, making it a safe choice for competitive play. For pure performance, Low at any resolution delivers the highest FPS, but the visual quality loss in a roguelike (which often relies on readability of items and enemies) may not be worth it.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, FPS decreases from 449 at 1080p to 284 at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 148 at 4K (a 67% drop from 1080p). At High settings, the drop is from 287 to 181 (37%) and then to 95 (67% from 1080p). The pattern is remarkably consistent: each resolution step reduces FPS by roughly 37%, and the total drop from 1080p to 4K is about 67%. This consistency indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter, as the CPU's performance does not change with resolution.

The fact that Low settings at 4K (148 FPS) is higher than Ultra settings at 1080p (206 FPS) shows that settings have a larger impact than resolution in this game. This suggests that Barony's visual effects, such as shadows, lighting, and post-processing, are more demanding than the raw pixel count. The GPU's 10 GB VRAM and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K, as evidenced by the 148 FPS at Low, but Ultra settings increase the shader and texture work, dropping FPS to 68.

The resolution scaling also indicates that the combo is not CPU-bound in most scenarios. If the CPU were the limiter, FPS would remain constant across resolutions at the same settings. Instead, the steady decline from 1080p to 4K confirms that the RTX 3080 is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 449 FPS likely approaches the engine's frame rate cap or the CPU's ability to issue draw calls, but this is an outlier. For most settings and resolutions, the GPU's performance dictates the frame rate, and the i5-13400F provides ample compute to avoid being a limiting factor.