Barony

Barony, a roguelike title from 2015, presents an unusual benchmark scenario when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly powerful for the game's engine, resulting in frame rates that far exceed display refresh rates at nearly every setting. This combination ranks 596th out of 2935 tested combos, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations tested in this game. The ranking indicates that while the hardware is exceptionally strong, it is not the absolute fastest pairing for this specific title, with other combinations achieving higher average frames per second. The benchmark results reveal a system where the GPU is rarely the limiting factor, shifting the performance bottleneck to the CPU and the game's own frame rate ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 596 out of 2935 combos places this specific pairing in the 79.7th percentile of all tested systems for Barony. This is a strong position, but it is crucial to interpret this correctly; it does not mean the hardware is weak, but rather that the game is so lightweight that many other high-end combinations can achieve similar or higher frame rates. The data suggests that the primary constraint is not the raw power of the RTX 5090, but rather the game's single-threaded nature and the CPU's ability to feed the renderer. The ranking indicates that this system is significantly faster than the median combo, but the performance envelope is compressed at the top end, where many CPUs can push the game to its limits.

The CPU's placement among its peers provides context for this ranking. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H has a percentileVsAllCpus of 81, meaning it outperforms 81% of all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 29093 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, which scores 29123 (a delta of -0.1%), and the Intel Core i5-13500HX, which scores 29270 (a delta of -0.6%). This suggests that the CPU's performance is well within the expected range for a high-end mobile processor and is not a significant outlier in either direction. The game's ranking reflects this; the 135H is capable, but it does not have the raw single-core dominance to top the charts in a game that is not heavily multithreaded.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a data center-class GPU by any measure, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. In the context of Barony, these specifications are vast overkill. The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 92 indicates it outperforms 92% of all GPUs, yet its role in this game is largely to render simple geometry and textures at incredibly high speeds. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra settings, the GPU manages an average of 74 FPS, which reflects its ability to handle the load, but the frame rates are not scaling linearly with its compute power.

The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 79842 is closely matched by its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with a score of 79605 (deltaPct 0.3%). This indicates that in synthetic benchmarks, the 5090 is not dramatically ahead of older professional cards, which further underscores that Barony is not a GPU-bound workload. The GPU's VRAM capacity of 32 GB is entirely unused in this scenario, as Barony's low-resolution textures and simple shaders would fit in a fraction of that memory. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is essentially cruising at a fraction of its potential, with the game's frame rate often being dictated by the CPU's frame pacing rather than the GPU's render time.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling as resolution decreases, but the relationship is not proportional. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 315 at 1080p to 199 at 1440p and then to 104 at 4K. This is a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is less than the theoretical 4x pixel increase, indicating that the system is becoming more CPU-bound at lower resolutions. At 4K, the GPU is working harder, but the frame rate is still high, suggesting that the game engine is not fully utilizing the GPU's capabilities.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution provides further insight. At 1080p, the difference between Low (493 FPS) and Ultra (226 FPS) is a 54% reduction. At 4K, the difference between Low (163 FPS) and Ultra (74 FPS) is a 55% reduction. This consistency suggests that the performance drop is primarily due to increased GPU load from higher settings, but the absolute frame rates remain high enough to indicate that the CPU is still the primary bottleneck. The fact that the 4K Ultra score of 74 FPS is still above 60 FPS shows that the RTX 5090 is never fully saturated, and the limiting factor at lower resolutions is the CPU's ability to process the game's logic and draw calls.

FAQ

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

A: The combo ranks 596th out of 2935 tested combinations, placing it in the top 20% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 29093, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123, -0.1%) and the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, -0.6%), indicating they are statistically equivalent in performance.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the main performance driver in this game?

A: No, the data suggests the CPU is the primary bottleneck. The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus is 92, but the frame rates are not scaling with its raw power, indicating the game is not GPU-bound.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings average 311 FPS, while Ultra settings average 142 FPS, a reduction of 54%.

Q: Does the game support high refresh rate monitors at 4K?

A: Yes, at 4K High settings, the system averages 104 FPS, which is sufficient for a 100Hz monitor, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 74 FPS, which is better suited for a 60Hz display.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 5090 have and is it fully utilized?

A: The RTX 5090 has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, but in this game, it is unlikely to be fully utilized due to the simple graphics of Barony.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of settings for optimal play. For a 60Hz display, the Ultra preset at 4K (74 FPS) is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual fidelity while maintaining a playable frame rate. For 1440p, the High preset (199 FPS) is recommended for a high-refresh-rate monitor (e.g., 165Hz), as it offers a balance between visual quality and speed. The Medium preset at 1440p (231 FPS) is also viable, but the visual improvement from High may not justify the 14% frame rate drop.

At 1080p, the High preset (315 FPS) is the sweet spot for competitive play, as it delivers extremely high frame rates that minimize input lag. The Low preset (493 FPS) is unnecessary for most users, as the frame rate is already far beyond the refresh rate of any consumer monitor. The Ultra preset at 1080p (226 FPS) is still exceptionally fast and could be chosen for the best visual experience, but the difference between High and Ultra is likely to be imperceptible in a roguelike game. The data indicates that the Medium preset at 4K (121 FPS) offers a good middle ground, but the High preset at 4K (104 FPS) is only slightly slower and may provide a more stable experience due to the higher settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It has 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. In Barony, the CPU's role is critical because the game is likely single-threaded. The CPU's single-core benchmark scores are 1700 in Cinebench R23 and 3521 in Passmark, which are solid but not top-tier. The game's frame rate at 1080p Low (493 FPS) suggests that the CPU is capable of processing the game logic very quickly, but it is likely the limiting factor at these extreme frame rates.

The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 81 shows it is a strong performer, but its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, are desktop parts with similar scores. This indicates that the 135H's mobile design does not compromise its ability to run this game, but it also does not have the single-core headroom to push frame rates beyond what is measured. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU's 14 cores are mostly idle, as the game likely uses only a few threads. The 18 MB of L3 cache is sufficient for the game's data, and the dual-channel memory bandwidth is not a bottleneck at these settings. Overall, the CPU is a competent partner for the GPU, but it is the component that sets the ceiling for performance in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The table below details the exact average frame rates measured for this combination across all tested settings and resolutions.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 104 | N/A | N/A |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 163 | N/A | N/A |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 121 | 103 | 139 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 74 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | High | 199 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 311 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 231 | 197 | 266 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 142 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | High | 315 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 493 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 366 | 312 | 421 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 226 | N/A | N/A |

The data shows a consistent pattern: at 1080p, the system achieves the highest frame rates, with Low settings reaching 493 FPS and High settings hitting 315 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p has a minimum FPS of 312, indicating good frame pacing. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop by roughly 37% on average, with High settings at 199 FPS and Low at 311 FPS. At 4K, the frame rates drop further, with High at 104 FPS and Low at 163 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding, averaging 74 FPS. The data indicates that the scaling from 1080p to 4K is not linear, which is consistent with a system that becomes more GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the absolute numbers are still high across the board.