Barony

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a formidable performance profile in Barony, placing the combo in the top quartile of all tested configurations. This analysis breaks down the measured data to explain how the CPU and GPU contribute to the frame rates across various resolutions and settings, and what the numbers suggest about the system's balance.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in Barony?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 987th out of 3717 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the top 26.5% of all systems tested, indicating a strong performance tier for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618, which is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. It trails the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by a negligible 0.2% and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 by 0.8%, while leading the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.3% and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX by 0.7%. The performance delta between these processors is minimal.

Q: What is the performance gap between the RTX 3080 Ti and its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187. It is 2% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, 0.8% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, but is 1.2% and 1.7% slower than the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB and the NVIDIA Tesla M40, respectively.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 466 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This suggests the game is highly scalable at lower resolutions with this hardware.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo achieve a 98 FPS average?

A: The combo achieves a 98 FPS average at 3840x2160 (4K) resolution with High settings. This indicates that 4K High is a very playable configuration for this system.

Q: What are the specs of the CPU and GPU in this combo?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K features 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, with a boost clock of 1665 MHz and a memory clock of 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor built on the Raptor Lake architecture and manufactured on a 10 nm process. Its core configuration, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, provides substantial processing power. The CPU's large 24 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache are designed to keep data flowing efficiently to the cores, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14600K posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 16673, and its single-core score is 2491. These results demonstrate a well-balanced processor that excels in both heavily threaded workloads and tasks that rely on single-thread performance. The Passmark multithread score of 38682 and single-thread score of 4270 further corroborate this.

The data from Barony suggests that the CPU is more than capable of keeping up with the GPU. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 466 FPS. This exceptionally high frame rate, which is often CPU-bound, indicates that the i5-14600K is not a limiting factor even in the most demanding frame-rate scenarios. The CPU's high single-thread performance is likely a key reason for this, as roguelike games like Barony often have game logic and simulation that rely heavily on a single primary thread. The processor's 125W TDP and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide flexibility for system builders, but its performance headroom is clear from the measured results.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a high-end graphics card based on the Ampere architecture and the GA102 chip. It is built on Samsung's 8 nm process and packs 28,300 million transistors. The card features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, which yields a massive memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. This high bandwidth is crucial for feeding the GPU's 10240 shading units and 320 texture mapping units at high resolutions.

The RTX 3080 Ti has a boost clock of 1665 MHz and a memory clock of 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). Its raw compute power is rated at 34.10 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 26896 in Passmark's G3D test and 170037 in Geekbench's OpenCL test. These figures place the GPU in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a powerful component.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution and settings are increased. The measured frame rates show a clear progression. At 1080p Low, the system hits 466 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 70 FPS. This scaling pattern is typical for a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 12 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for Barony's textures and effects, even at 4K Ultra, allowing the GPU to focus on raw rendering throughput. The card's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 also ensures compatibility with modern rendering techniques that the game might use.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combo ranks 987th out of 3717 tested configurations in Barony. This places it in the 73rd percentile of all systems, which is a strong showing. The ranking suggests that while there are many faster systems, this combination sits comfortably in the upper echelon of performance.

This rank is a product of both components' strengths. The CPU is a top-tier performer, as evidenced by its 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs in the benchmark database. The GPU, while slightly lower, still sits in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. The combination of a top-10% CPU and a top-17% GPU results in a system that is well-balanced for a game like Barony, which may not be as demanding as modern AAA titles but still benefits from high-end hardware to achieve very high frame rates.

The performance deltas between the i5-14600K and its nearest rivals are incredibly small, all under 1%. This means the CPU is not a differentiating factor in the ranking. The GPU, however, has more variance when compared to its peers. The RTX 3080 Ti is 2% faster than the RTX 5070, but 1.7% slower than the Tesla M40. These differences, while small, can influence the final ranking position. The overall combo rank of 987 indicates that this system is specifically well-suited for Barony, placing it ahead of a significant majority of other hardware pairings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system delivers a very high average of 298 FPS on High settings. Moving to 2560x1440, the average drops to 188 FPS, a decrease of approximately 37%. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 98 FPS, a 48% drop from the 1440p figure and a 67% drop from the 1080p figure.

This scaling behavior is indicative of a GPU-bound system at higher resolutions. The CPU is powerful enough to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, but as the pixel count increases, the rendering load on the GPU grows exponentially. The RTX 3080 Ti's performance, while strong, cannot maintain the same frame rates when asked to render four times the pixels of 1080p.

The data also shows how the frame rate scales with settings at a fixed resolution. At 1080p, dropping from High to Low increases the average FPS from 298 to 466, a 56% improvement. At 4K, the same settings change yields an increase from 98 FPS to 154 FPS, a 57% improvement. This consistency suggests that the game's settings scale similarly across resolutions, but the absolute frame rate is dictated by the resolution. The 4K Ultra average of 70 FPS shows the system's limit, while the 1080p Low average of 466 FPS shows its peak.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the exact measured frame rates for this combo.

1920x1080

• Low: Average FPS of 466.
• Medium: Average FPS of 347, with a minimum of 295 and a maximum of 399.
• High: Average FPS of 298.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 213.

2560x1440

• Low: Average FPS of 294.
• Medium: Average FPS of 219, with a minimum of 186 and a maximum of 252.
• High: Average FPS of 188.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 135.

3840x2160

• Low: Average FPS of 154.
• Medium: Average FPS of 114, with a minimum of 97 and a maximum of 132.
• High: Average FPS of 98.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 70.

The data shows a consistent hierarchy: Low settings produce the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, High, and then Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is significant, often around 25%. The gap between High and Ultra is also substantial, showing that the Ultra preset is the most demanding. The minimum FPS data for Medium settings at each resolution provides insight into frame time consistency, with the 4K Medium minimum of 97 FPS being close to the average of 114 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the "Ultra" preset is the most demanding, with frame rates dropping to 70 FPS at 4K. While this is playable for many, the "High" preset offers a substantial performance boost with a 98 FPS average at 4K, which is a 40% improvement over Ultra. At 1440p, High yields a very smooth 188 FPS average, and at 1080p, it produces 298 FPS.

For players with a 4K display, the "High" preset is the best compromise, delivering a frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold while still providing high visual fidelity. The "Medium" preset at 4K offers an even higher 114 FPS average, which is beneficial for players with high-refresh-rate 4K monitors, but it comes with a visual downgrade from High.

For 1440p and 1080p displays, the "High" preset is the clear recommendation. It provides excellent frame rates that are more than sufficient for smooth gameplay. The "Ultra" preset, while visually superior, can be reserved for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate and have a 1080p or 1440p display, where the frame rate impact is less severe. The "Low" preset is only necessary for players seeking the absolute maximum frame rate, likely for competitive play or on very high refresh rate monitors, as it can push the system to 466 FPS at 1080p.