Barony

The pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a performance profile in Barony that is defined by extreme headroom at lower resolutions and a rapid shift toward GPU limitation at 4K. The data shows a system capable of pushing frame rates far beyond standard display refresh rates, with the specific bottleneck varying dramatically depending on the resolution and quality preset selected.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic shift in system bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 449 FPS. This figure is so high that it clearly indicates the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames far faster than the processor can feed it. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings drops the average to 284 FPS, a reduction of 165 FPS, which still leaves the system heavily CPU-bound. The scaling from 1080p Low to 1440p Low shows a 36.7% decrease in performance, a substantial drop that confirms the CPU's inability to maintain its peak output as pixel count rises.

The transition to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields an average of 148 FPS. This is a 47.9% reduction from the 1440p figure, and the scaling pattern now suggests the GPU is becoming the more significant constraint. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 301 FPS, a 67% performance loss that highlights how resolution scaling taxes the system. However, even at 4K Low, the 148 FPS average indicates the RTX 3080 is still not fully saturated, as the CPU continues to hold back the highest possible frame rates.

When examining the High preset, the scaling pattern shifts. At 1080p High, the average is 287 FPS, which is still exceptionally high but notably lower than the 449 FPS at Low settings. This indicates that even at 1080p, the increased graphical load begins to engage the GPU more meaningfully. At 1440p High, the average drops to 181 FPS, a 36.9% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 95 FPS, a 47.5% reduction from 1440p. The 4K High result of 95 FPS is the first data point where the GPU is clearly the dominant limiting component, as the frame rate has dropped to a level more consistent with the RTX 3080's capabilities at that resolution.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. From 206 FPS at 1080p, the average drops to 130 FPS at 1440p, a 36.9% decrease. At 4K Ultra, the average plummets to 68 FPS, a 47.7% reduction from 1440p. This 4K Ultra result is the lowest frame rate in the entire dataset and represents a 67% drop from the 1080p Ultra figure. The progression from 1080p to 4K across all settings demonstrates that while the CPU limits performance at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes the clear constraint at 4K, particularly with higher quality presets that increase the pixel shading workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset's 449 FPS average is technically the highest, but it is impractical for most users since it exceeds the refresh rate of virtually any display. The Medium preset at 334 FPS offers a more balanced experience with a minimum frame rate of 284 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. The High preset at 287 FPS is also excellent, but the jump from Medium to High reduces performance by 14.1% while the visual improvement may not be as noticeable in a roguelike title. The Ultra preset at 206 FPS still provides massive headroom, making it a viable option for users with high-refresh-rate displays who prioritize visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 211 FPS with a minimum of 179 FPS, which is the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming. The High preset at 181 FPS remains excellent, offering a 14.2% reduction in performance compared to Medium. The Ultra preset at 130 FPS is still very playable and provides the best visual fidelity, but the drop from High to Ultra is 28.2%, which is a significant trade-off. For most users at 1440p, the Medium or High presets will provide the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, as the frame rates are well above the 144Hz threshold that is common for this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes considerably. The High preset's 95 FPS average is the best balance for 4K gaming, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold while providing good visual quality. The Medium preset at 110 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS offers even more headroom, making it the best choice for users with 4K displays that support variable refresh rates. The Low preset at 148 FPS is playable but sacrifices visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 68 FPS is the most demanding option and may cause noticeable frame drops in busy scenes, making it less recommended for competitive play. The data suggests that Medium or High at 4K provides the most consistent experience, with the Ultra preset reserved for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate stability.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination can achieve in Barony?*

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 449 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is this system capable of maintaining 60 FPS at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the average frame rate is 68 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, though it is the lowest result in the dataset.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36938, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F at 36945, showing a 0% delta. It is slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, which scores 37018, by -0.2%.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with the Medium preset, the minimum frame rate is 179 FPS, with an average of 211 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23172. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA P106-100, scores 23249, which is a -0.3% delta, indicating the RTX 3080 is slightly slower.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p Medium to 4K Medium?

A: The average frame rate drops from 334 FPS at 1920x1080 to 110 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 224 FPS, or 67.1%.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance envelope is exceptionally high. The Low preset produces an average of 449 FPS. The Medium preset delivers an average of 334 FPS, with a minimum of 284 FPS and a maximum of 384 FPS. The High preset averages 287 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 206 FPS. This data shows a clear hierarchy where each step up in quality reduces performance, with the largest gap between Low and Medium at 115 FPS, and the smallest gap between High and Ultra at 81 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show the GPU's influence. The Low preset averages 284 FPS. The Medium preset averages 211 FPS, with a minimum of 179 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS. The High preset averages 181 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 130 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction across all presets, with the Low preset dropping by 165 FPS, Medium by 123 FPS, High by 106 FPS, and Ultra by 76 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The Low preset averages 148 FPS. The Medium preset averages 110 FPS, with a minimum of 94 FPS and a maximum of 127 FPS. The High preset averages 95 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 68 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows more significant drops for the higher quality presets, with Low decreasing by 136 FPS, Medium by 101 FPS, High by 86 FPS, and Ultra by 62 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the only one to report a minimum frame rate, indicating it is the most stable option at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Barony, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 holds a rank of 1065 out of 3717 total tested combos. This places the system in the top 28.7% of all tested configurations for this game. The rank indicates that while this is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it is a strong performer that outperforms the majority of other combinations. The GPU's percentile rank of 68 versus all GPUs and the CPU's percentile of 85 versus all CPUs suggest that the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card when compared to their respective pools.

The combo's rank is likely influenced by the fact that Barony is a roguelike with relatively modest graphical demands, allowing the powerful CPU to drive very high frame rates at lower resolutions. However, the rank of 1065 out of 3717 also indicates that many other combos, likely those with more powerful GPUs, can achieve even higher frame rates at 4K with higher quality settings. The data shows that this system's strength lies in its ability to deliver exceptional performance at 1080p and 1440p, while its 4K performance, though respectable, is not as dominant relative to the rest of the field.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 features 10 cores and 10 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This configuration, based on the Arrow Lake architecture and built on a 3 nm process, provides strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. In the Cinebench R23 benchmark, it scores 3655 in single-core and 25891 in multi-core tests. The PassMark single-thread score is 4412, and the multithread score is 30459. These results demonstrate that the CPU has the raw processing power to handle high frame rates in Barony, which is a game that is not typically considered heavily multi-threaded.

The CPU's role in this system is most evident at 1080p and 1440p resolutions, where the frame rates at Low settings (449 FPS and 284 FPS respectively) are far beyond what the GPU would typically produce if it were the primary bottleneck. The fact that the frame rate drops significantly when moving from Low to Ultra at the same resolution indicates that the GPU is being progressively more utilized as the graphical load increases. However, even at 4K Low with 148 FPS, the CPU is still likely providing enough throughput to keep the RTX 3080 from being fully saturated. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 10 cores are more than sufficient for this game, and the data suggests that the Core Ultra 5 225 is not a limiting factor until the resolution and settings are pushed to the extreme, where the GPU's capabilities become the deciding factor. The processor's performance is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which shows a 0% delta in average benchmark score, indicating that either CPU would produce similar results in this game.