Barony

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Barony with the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 363 FPS at 1080p to 229 FPS at 1440p, then to 120 FPS at 4K. That represents a 36.9% drop moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47.6% drop moving from 1440p to 4K. The absolute numbers remain high throughout, indicating that even at 4K Low, the system delivers a very playable 120 FPS average.

At Medium settings, the scaling follows a similar pattern: 270 FPS at 1080p, 170 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 37.0% and 47.6% respectively, nearly identical to the Low setting scaling. This consistency suggests that the rendering load scales proportionally with pixel count across these two presets, which is typical for a game where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

High settings show a slightly different story. At 1080p, the average is 231 FPS, dropping to 146 FPS at 1440p (a 36.8% decrease) and then to 76 FPS at 4K (a 47.9% decrease from 1440p). The 4K High result of 76 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered acceptable for smooth gameplay, but it is notably lower than the Low and Medium results at the same resolution. Ultra settings produce the steepest curve: 166 FPS at 1080p, 105 FPS at 1440p, and 55 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, indicating that this preset pushes the GPU to its limit at the highest resolution.

The scaling behavior reveals that the RTX 5060 becomes the limiting component as resolution rises. At 1080p, all presets except Ultra exceed 230 FPS, with Low reaching 363 FPS — a level where the CPU's single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1043) and memory bandwidth likely play a larger role in frame pacing than raw GPU throughput. At 4K, the GPU's 8 GB GDDR7 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are taxed more heavily, and the frame rate differences between presets widen considerably. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 197 FPS, but at 4K that gap narrows to 65 FPS, confirming that the GPU saturates more quickly at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, containing 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. Its base clock is 2280 MHz with a boost clock of 2497 MHz, and the memory operates at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 8 GB GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications position the GPU at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 26331.

The nearest rivals in the benchmark rankings provide context for the RTX 5060's standing. The AMD Radeon 860M scores 26401, just 0.3% higher, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 scores 26421, also 0.3% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 26553, 0.8% higher. On the other side, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT scores 26011, which is 1.2% lower than the RTX 5060. These deltas are all within a narrow 2% band, indicating that the RTX 5060 sits in a tightly contested performance tier.

In Barony specifically, the GPU's role is evident from the frame rate scaling across resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the RTX 5060 produces 363 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show. Even at 4K Low, the 120 FPS average demonstrates that the GPU has substantial headroom in this roguelike title. The game's genre — a roguelike with procedurally generated dungeons — typically features less demanding graphics than modern AAA shooters, which explains why this mid-range GPU can deliver triple-digit frame rates at most settings.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is worth noting in the context of 4K gaming. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 55, and while the data does not explicitly attribute this to VRAM limitations, the steep drop from Medium (89 FPS) to Ultra (55 FPS) suggests that the highest texture and shading settings place significant pressure on the memory subsystem. The 128-bit memory bus, while paired with fast GDDR7, may constrain performance when the GPU attempts to feed 8 GB of VRAM to a 4K framebuffer with Ultra-quality assets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users. The 170 FPS average at 1440p Medium is well above the refresh rate of typical 144 Hz monitors, and the minimum FPS of 145 ensures that even demanding scenes maintain smooth frame pacing. Moving to High at the same resolution drops the average to 146 FPS, which is still excellent, but the 24 FPS difference between Medium and High suggests that the Medium preset provides most of the visual experience with notably higher frame rates.

For 4K displays, Medium is the recommended preset. The 89 FPS average at 3840x2160 Medium is comfortably above 60 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. High at 4K delivers 76 FPS average, which is playable, but the 13 FPS advantage of Medium provides more headroom for scene complexity. Ultra at 4K drops to 55 FPS, which may introduce perceptible stutter in a roguelike where quick reactions matter. Low at 4K produces 120 FPS, but the visual sacrifice is unnecessary given that Medium achieves 89 FPS with presumably better image quality.

At 1080p, the choice depends on the display's refresh rate. For 144 Hz monitors, High at 231 FPS is more than sufficient, and even Ultra at 166 FPS exceeds the refresh rate. For 240 Hz displays, Medium at 270 FPS or Low at 363 FPS would be required to fully utilize the panel's capability. The data shows that the RTX 5060 is never the limiting factor at 1080p — all presets deliver frame rates that exceed typical monitor refresh rates, and the game appears to be CPU-bound at this resolution, particularly at Low settings where 363 FPS approaches the practical limits of the Core i7-12700K's processing throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this system in Barony?

A: The highest average FPS is 363, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the maximum value recorded across all resolutions and settings combinations.

Q: Does the RTX 5060 maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra in Barony?

A: No. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 55, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. This is the only measured configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS average.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 26331, while the RX 6750 XT scores 26011. The RTX 5060 is 1.2% higher, according to the deltaPct of 1.2 for that rival.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 145, with an average of 170 and a maximum of 196. This indicates consistent frame delivery without major dips.

Q: Is the Core i7-12700K a bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The 363 FPS at 1080p Low is extremely high, and given that the CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score is 1043 and its 3dmark_2_threads score is 2065, the processor's single-thread performance appears to be the limiting factor at this extreme frame rate, as the GPU has more than enough throughput to render the simple scenes at Low settings.

Q: How many combinations does this system rank in for Barony?

A: The combo rank is 1637 out of 3717 total combinations tested. This places the system in the 56th percentile of all CPU-GPU combinations for this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S family, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and it features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes. Its TDP is 125 W, and it was released on 2021-11-03 with a launch MSRP of $409.

In benchmark tests, the Core i7-12700K demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 19784, while the single-core score is 1850.5. The Geekbench multicore score is 15790, and the single-core score is 2308. The Passmark multithread score is 34404, with a single-thread score of 4013. The processor's percentile rank among all CPUs is 84, with an average benchmark score of 35287.

The nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark rankings show how closely matched the 12700K is to its competition. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305, just 0.1% lower. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365, 0.2% lower. The Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403, 0.3% lower. The Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428, 0.4% lower. All four rivals are within half a percentage point of the 12700K, indicating that this processor sits in a very dense performance tier where generational and model variations produce minimal differences.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not fully utilized. At 1080p Low, the 363 FPS average likely approaches the CPU's frame delivery limit, as the game's roguelike nature typically involves many small objects, procedural generation, and AI calculations that can stress the processor. The 12-core, 20-thread configuration provides ample parallel processing capability, and the 3dmark_16_threads score of 9276 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 9979 confirm strong multi-threaded throughput. However, the 3dmark_single_thread score of 1043 and 3dmark_2_threads score of 2065 suggest that single-threaded performance is the more critical factor for achieving the highest frame rates in this title, as Barony's game logic may not scale perfectly across all 20 threads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for Barony with the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: average 363 FPS
• Medium: average 270 FPS, minimum 229 FPS, maximum 310 FPS
• High: average 231 FPS
• Ultra: average 166 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: average 229 FPS
• Medium: average 170 FPS, minimum 145 FPS, maximum 196 FPS
• High: average 146 FPS
• Ultra: average 105 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: average 120 FPS
• Medium: average 89 FPS, minimum 76 FPS, maximum 102 FPS
• High: average 76 FPS
• Ultra: average 55 FPS

The 1080p results show a monotonic decrease from Low to Ultra, with each preset step costing roughly 30-60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p has a 310 FPS maximum and 229 FPS minimum, a spread of 81 FPS that indicates some scene-to-scene variability. At 1440p, the Medium preset similarly shows a 51 FPS spread between minimum (145) and maximum (196). At 4K, the Medium preset narrows to a 26 FPS spread, suggesting that the GPU becomes more consistently saturated at higher resolutions.

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 1440p are consistent across presets: Low drops by 134 FPS (363 to 229), Medium by 100 FPS (270 to 170), High by 85 FPS (231 to 146), and Ultra by 61 FPS (166 to 105). These absolute drops decrease as the preset quality increases, reflecting the diminishing returns of resolution scaling at higher graphical loads. The same pattern holds from 1440p to 4K: Low drops by 109 FPS (229 to 120), Medium by 81 FPS (170 to 89), High by 70 FPS (146 to 76), and Ultra by 50 FPS (105 to 55).

Across all measured configurations, the system maintains an average FPS above 55, with the vast majority of settings delivering well over 100 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 55 FPS is the only outlier below 60 FPS, and even that is close enough to the threshold that minor in-game adjustments could push it higher. The data confirms that this combination of the Core i7-12700K and RTX 5060 is well-suited for Barony, offering high frame rates across all resolution and quality settings, with only the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration requiring any compromise.