Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i7-12700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers exceptional performance in Barony, with the measured data showing this combination ranks 987th out of 3,717 tested combos, placing it in the top 26.5% of all systems. The benchmark results demonstrate that this setup is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while at 1080p the CPU becomes the primary constraint, creating a clear performance hierarchy that shifts depending on the resolution and settings selected.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a pronounced scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 466 FPS at 1080p to 294 FPS at 1440p, then to 154 FPS at 4K — a reduction of 37% from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48% from 1440p to 4K. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K while the frame rate only drops by roughly two-thirds of that rate, suggesting some CPU headroom remains.

The Medium settings row shows a similar pattern with min and max FPS values available for analysis. At 1080p Medium, the average is 347 FPS with a minimum of 295 and maximum of 399. Moving to 1440p Medium drops the average to 219 FPS (min 186, max 252), and at 4K Medium the average falls to 114 FPS (min 97, max 132). The gap between min and max FPS narrows as resolution increases — from 104 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p and 35 FPS at 4K — indicating that higher resolutions smooth out frame time variance by shifting the bottleneck more firmly onto the GPU.

High settings demonstrate the same scaling direction but with a different magnitude. The 1080p High average of 298 FPS drops to 188 FPS at 1440p (37% reduction) and then to 98 FPS at 4K (48% reduction from 1440p). Ultra settings follow suit: 213 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. The consistent proportional drops across all settings presets suggest that Barony's rendering workload scales predictably with resolution, and the RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient to avoid memory-related bottlenecks even at 4K Ultra.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the Core i7-12700KF's 12 cores and 20 threads with a 5.00 GHz boost clock are capable of feeding the GPU well beyond 200 FPS in most settings, but the 466 FPS Low result at 1080p versus 154 FPS at 4K Low shows the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution climbs. For players targeting 4K, the RTX 3080 Ti's 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 80 RT cores determine the ceiling, while at 1080p the CPU's single-thread performance (3dmark single thread score of 1043, Cinebench R23 single-core of 4071) becomes more relevant.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination achieves a rank of 987 out of 3,717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 73.5th percentile of all systems tested. This is a strong showing for a pairing of a 2021 CPU and 2021 GPU, though not a top-tier result — the rank suggests that many newer or higher-end combinations outperform it, but it remains comfortably ahead of the median system.

The CPU's standalone benchmark performance helps contextualize this rank. The Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35,365 and sits at the 85th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T (avg score 35,403, delta -0.1%), the Intel Core 5 213PE (avg score 35,428, delta -0.2%), and the Intel Core i5-13600T (avg score 35,305, delta +0.2%). These competitors are all within 0.2% of the 12700KF's score, indicating that the CPU's synthetic benchmark performance is essentially tied with several newer models, though the i7-12700K itself (avg score 35,287, delta +0.2%) is the closest match.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41,187 and ranks at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals show more variance: the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40,870 (delta +0.8%), the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB scores 41,707 (delta -1.2%), the NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 41,897 (delta -1.7%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 40,377 (delta +2%). The RTX 3080 Ti outperforms the RTX 5070 by 2% in average score, which is notable given the generational gap, though the RTX 5070 is a newer product.

The combination's rank in Barony specifically — 987th of 3,717 — is lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest (85th and 83rd), implying that Barony's workload characteristics don't perfectly align with the strengths of this pairing. The game's roguelike genre typically involves procedurally generated environments and potentially CPU-heavy simulation logic, which may explain why the 12-core processor's multithreaded capabilities (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28,838, PassMark multithread score of 34,092) don't translate to a higher ranking in this title.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700KF or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti the bottleneck in Barony at 4K?

A: At 4K resolution, the GPU is the limiting component. The average FPS drops from 154 at Low settings to 70 at Ultra settings at 3840x2160, while the CPU's performance (Cinebench R23 multicore 28,838, single-core 4,071) remains constant regardless of resolution. The steep decline in FPS as settings increase at 4K confirms the RTX 3080 Ti's rendering workload is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the best resolution to use for maximum frame rates with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 466 FPS average, which is the highest measured result. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average of 213 FPS far exceeds standard 144Hz monitor refresh rates, so 1080p is optimal for competitive play or high-refresh displays.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-12700K?

A: The Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35,365, while the i7-12700K scores 35,287 — a delta of +0.2% favoring the KF variant. Both processors share the same 12-core, 20-thread configuration and 5.00 GHz boost clock, so the performance difference in Barony is negligible.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti outperform the newer RTX 5070 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: Yes, the RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41,187, which is 2% higher than the RTX 5070's score of 40,377. This indicates that the older Ampere architecture still holds its own against a newer generation GPU in raw benchmark performance.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo delivers an average of 219 FPS, with a minimum of 186 FPS and a maximum of 252 FPS. This provides a smooth experience well above 144Hz, with the minimum still exceeding most high-refresh monitors' refresh rates.

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM on the RTX 3080 Ti sufficient for Barony at 4K Ultra?

A: The benchmark data shows 70 FPS average at 3840x2160 Ultra settings, which indicates the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the game's demands at this resolution. The lack of min FPS data for Ultra suggests the frame rate is stable enough to not warrant reporting a low percentile.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the 1920x1080 Low setting delivers 466 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the dataset. This configuration is suitable for competitive play or for users with very high refresh rate monitors (360Hz and above). The gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is substantial — 466 FPS versus 347 FPS — indicating that Low removes significant rendering overhead.

The 2560x1440 Medium setting provides the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users, with an average of 219 FPS and a minimum of 186 FPS. This ensures no frame drops below the typical 144Hz refresh threshold, while the visual upgrade from Low to Medium is meaningful in a roguelike where environmental readability matters. The 1440p High setting (188 FPS average) is also viable, but the minimum FPS data is not provided, so the Medium row with its documented min of 186 FPS offers more certainty.

At 3840x2160, the Medium setting (114 FPS average, min 97 FPS) is the recommended choice for 4K displays. The jump to High at 4K (98 FPS average) comes close to the 100 FPS threshold many users consider smooth, but the Medium preset's min of 97 FPS versus High's unreported minimum makes Medium the safer option for maintaining consistent frame pacing. The 4K Ultra setting (70 FPS average) may be acceptable for slower-paced exploration in Barony, but the 44 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra is significant given that roguelike gameplay can involve fast reaction moments.

The data shows diminishing returns at higher settings: at 1080p, the difference between Medium (347 FPS) and High (298 FPS) is 49 FPS, while between High and Ultra (213 FPS) it's 85 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces disproportionately heavy effects that reduce frame rates without a corresponding visual benefit in a game with Barony's art style. The Medium preset at any resolution appears to be the sweet spot, offering the best trade-off between visual fidelity and performance consistency.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce an average of 466 FPS, Medium yields 347 FPS with a minimum of 295 and maximum of 399, High drops to 298 FPS, and Ultra settles at 213 FPS. The 219 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p demonstrates the significant impact of settings on GPU workload, even at a resolution where the CPU has more headroom.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 294 FPS for Low, 219 FPS for Medium (min 186, max 252), 188 FPS for High, and 135 FPS for Ultra. The proportional drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings — approximately 37% for Low, 37% for Medium, 37% for High, and 37% for Ultra — indicating that resolution scaling is uniform regardless of the settings preset.

At 3840x2160, the results are 154 FPS for Low, 114 FPS for Medium (min 97, max 132), 98 FPS for High, and 70 FPS for Ultra. The 4K results show a steeper decline between Medium and High (16 FPS difference) compared to High and Ultra (28 FPS difference), which suggests that the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the GPU into a less efficient operating range. The min FPS data at 4K Medium (97) provides the only documented floor at this resolution, indicating that even at 4K, the combo rarely drops below 100 FPS when using Medium settings.

The overall pattern across all resolutions and settings shows that this combination can handle Barony at very high frame rates, with even the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) maintaining a playable 70 FPS average. The complete dataset reveals that the RTX 3080 Ti's performance ceiling in this game is approximately 466 FPS at 1080p Low, while the floor is 70 FPS at 4K Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF brings 12 cores and 20 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This hybrid design combines performance and efficiency cores, though the FACT PACK doesn't specify the exact core distribution. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multithreaded capability: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 28,838, PassMark multithread scores 34,092, and 3dmark max threads hits 9,983. Single-thread performance is equally impressive, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 4,071 and PassMark single-thread at 3,984.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the 466 FPS average suggests the processor can sustain frame rates far beyond what most displays can show. The 20 threads allow for efficient handling of game logic, AI, and procedural generation typical of roguelike titles, while the 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance for critical game loops.

The CPU's L3 cache of 25 MB shared across all cores, combined with 1.25 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core, provides ample fast memory for game data. The 10 nm process node and 125 W TDP indicate efficient power delivery, though the FACT PACK notes the CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, which could affect overall system performance depending on the motherboard configuration.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-12700KF's performance is essentially tied with the i7-13700T (-0.1% delta) and i5-13600T (+0.2% delta), while edging out the i7-12700K by 0.2%. This suggests that in Barony, where high frame rates at 1080p depend heavily on CPU throughput, the 12-core processor provides sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3080 Ti until frame rates exceed 400 FPS. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 9,282 and 8-thread score of 7,211 indicate that the CPU scales well with thread count, which is relevant for a game that may utilize multiple cores for world simulation.

The PassMark data compression score of 441,960 and integer math score of 113,521 highlight the CPU's strength in compute-heavy tasks, though these are less directly relevant to Barony's frame rate than the 3dmark gaming-oriented benchmarks. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with the GPU's 83rd percentile, explains why this combo ranks at the 987th position — both components are above average, but neither is in the top tier, and the game's specific workload characteristics determine the final ranking.