Barony

# Barony with Intel Core Ultra 5 135H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, presents an unusual benchmark scenario for this mobile platform pairing. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (14 cores, 18 threads) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8 GB GDDR6) combo delivers a wide FPS spread across resolutions and settings, with measured results ranging from 46 FPS at 4K Ultra to 303 FPS at 1080p Low. The data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but transitions to a more balanced state at 1080p, where the CPU's capabilities become increasingly relevant.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a pronounced resolution scaling curve that shifts the performance bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 303 FPS, which drops to 191 FPS at 1440p Low (a reduction of 112 FPS) and further to 100 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 67% performance drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical preset, the GPU is still the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

The scaling becomes more dramatic at higher settings. At Ultra, performance falls from 139 FPS at 1080p to 87 FPS at 1440p, then to 46 FPS at 4K — a cumulative 67% reduction across the resolution steps. The Medium settings tell a similar story: 225 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows 193 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K.

The pattern suggests that Barony's rendering load scales nearly linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a game from this era. The fact that 4K Ultra still manages 46 FPS — playable but not smooth — indicates the RTX 4060's 8 GB frame buffer and 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient to avoid catastrophic drops, but the GPU's compute throughput (15.11 TFLOPS FP32) becomes the limiting factor at 4K.

Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 164 FPS (303 vs 139); at 4K, it narrows to 54 FPS (100 vs 46). This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that even reducing settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel fill rate demands, whereas at 1080p, settings have a more pronounced effect on frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, based on the AD107 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, which appears adequate for Barony's texture and geometry demands at all tested resolutions. The GPU's 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s, which aligns with the observed 4K performance.

The clock behavior is relevant: the GPU boosts to 2460 MHz from a base of 1830 MHz, and the memory operates at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with the 96 TMUs producing a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s, explain why the card can push 193 FPS at 1080p High — a demanding scenario for a game that predates modern rendering techniques but still benefits from raw throughput.

However, the GPU's benchmark scores reveal its positioning. With a Passmark G3D score of 19545 and a percentile rank of 61 among all GPUs, the RTX 4060 sits in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark score include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Radeon 780M (deltaPct 0.3), and AMD Radeon Pro 560 (deltaPct 0.5) — all within 0.7% of the 4060's average score of 17639. This clustering suggests that while the 4060 is capable, it is not a high-end part, and Barony's 4K Ultra result of 46 FPS reflects this mid-range positioning.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in Barony, as even the 4K Ultra setting does not show signs of texture thrashing or min FPS collapses (the only min FPS recorded is 63 at 4K Medium, which is reasonable). This suggests the game's memory footprint, even at maximum settings, fits comfortably within 8 GB, allowing the GPU to focus on compute rather than memory management.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H, with 14 cores and 18 threads, provides ample processing headroom for Barony, a game unlikely to stress modern multi-core CPUs heavily. The CPU's base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz, combined with 18 MB of shared L3 cache, deliver strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1700) that is more relevant for game logic and draw call handling.

The CPU's benchmark data shows it performs near its rivals: its average benchmark score of 29093 sits within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123, deltaPct -0.1), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245, deltaPct -0.5), AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940, deltaPct 0.5), and Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, deltaPct -0.6). This places the 135H in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, indicating solid mid-to-high-range processing capability.

At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 303 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU's limit for frame generation in Barony. The fact that 1080p High (193 FPS) is significantly lower than 1080p Low (303 FPS) suggests the GPU is still the primary constraint even at this resolution, but the 303 FPS ceiling hints that the CPU's 18 threads and 4.60 GHz boost are not creating a bottleneck until very high frame rates.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, delivered via dual-channel DDR5, is sufficient for feeding the GPU's 272.0 GB/s bandwidth without causing stalls. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG 96EU graphics are irrelevant in this configuration since the discrete RTX 4060 is active, but the CPU's ability to drive high frame rates at 1080p indicates that the 135H is not a weak link in this pairing — at least not until frame rates exceed 300 FPS, which is beyond the practical range for most displays.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo holds a rank of 1763 out of 2935 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the 60th percentile of all combos. This ranking is consistent with the individual component percentiles: the GPU sits at the 61st percentile, and the CPU at the 81st percentile. The combo's rank being slightly lower than the CPU's percentile suggests that Barony's performance is more dependent on GPU capability, which drags the overall ranking down.

This rank of 1763 out of 2935 means there are 1172 combos that perform better, and 1762 that perform worse. The fact that the combo outperforms roughly 60% of all tested configurations is notable given that this is a mobile platform (the CPU has a TDP of 28 W, and the GPU has a TDP of 115 W). The data indicates that this pairing delivers playable frame rates at 4K for a game like Barony, which is not a given for many mid-range mobile setups.

The combo's ranking is likely influenced by the GPU's 61st percentile standing — it is not a top-tier card, but it is also not a budget part. The CPU's higher percentile (81) means that in CPU-bound scenarios (e.g., 1080p Low at 303 FPS), the system punches above its GPU's weight class. However, Barony's rendering demands ensure that most configurations are GPU-bound, so the combo's rank reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's strengths.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, every preset is playable, but the Medium setting offers the best balance: 225 FPS average with a min of 191 FPS and max of 259 FPS. The jump from Medium to High (193 FPS) costs 32 FPS, while the jump from Medium to Ultra (139 FPS) costs 86 FPS — making Medium the sweet spot for maintaining high refresh rates without visual compromise.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again provides the best experience: 142 FPS average with a min of 121 FPS and max of 164 FPS. High (122 FPS) is also playable, but Ultra (87 FPS) drops below 90 FPS, which may be noticeable on high-refresh displays. Low (191 FPS) is available for competitive play, but the visual degradation is likely unnecessary given Medium's 142 FPS.

At 4K, the situation changes. Medium (74 FPS, min 63 FPS) is the highest preset that maintains a stable 60+ FPS floor, making it the recommended choice for 4K. High (64 FPS) is borderline, with no min FPS recorded, but it risks dipping below 60 FPS. Ultra (46 FPS) is playable but not smooth, and Low (100 FPS) sacrifices too much visual quality for the performance gain.

The data suggests that Medium is the universal sweet spot across all resolutions, delivering 225 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K. For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, Low at 1440p (191 FPS) or 4K (100 FPS) offers a significant boost, but the Medium preset represents the best compromise between image quality and performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 303 FPS average
• Medium: 225 FPS average, min 191 FPS, max 259 FPS
• High: 193 FPS average
• Ultra: 139 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 191 FPS average
• Medium: 142 FPS average, min 121 FPS, max 164 FPS
• High: 122 FPS average
• Ultra: 87 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 100 FPS average
• Medium: 74 FPS average, min 63 FPS, max 85 FPS
• High: 64 FPS average
• Ultra: 46 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only setting with min/max data across all resolutions, indicating it was tested more thoroughly. The min FPS values (191 at 1080p, 121 at 1440p, 63 at 4K) show that even at the lowest recorded frames, the Medium preset maintains playability at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K's 63 FPS min is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution is consistent: Low offers roughly 2.2x the performance of Ultra at 1080p (303 vs 139), 2.2x at 1440p (191 vs 87), and 2.2x at 4K (100 vs 46). This uniformity suggests that Barony's settings scale predictably, with each tier (Low to Medium, Medium to High, High to Ultra) costing approximately 15-20% performance at the same resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Barony?

A: The data shows 1440p Medium is the highest resolution/setting combination that maintains 120+ FPS (142 average, 121 min). 4K is playable at Medium (74 FPS, 63 min), but 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate.

Q: Is 4K playable with this setup?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings (74 FPS average, 63 FPS minimum). High settings drop to 64 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29093, which is within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (deltaPct -0.5), AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (deltaPct 0.5), and Intel Core i5-13500HX (deltaPct -0.6).

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 303 FPS, which is close to the CPU's likely frame generation limit. However, at 1080p High (193 FPS) and above, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the linear performance drop as settings increase.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 1763 out of 2935 tested combinations, placing it in the 60th percentile. This is consistent with the GPU's 61st percentile rank among all GPUs.

Q: Is the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Barony?

A: Yes. Even at 4K Ultra (46 FPS), there are no signs of VRAM-related stuttering or texture issues. The only min FPS recorded (63 at 4K Medium) is well above playable thresholds, indicating the 8 GB frame buffer is not a limiting factor in this game.