Barony

# Barony with Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

Barony, a roguelike originally released in 2015, presents an interesting performance profile when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050. The measured data shows a system that delivers high frame rates across most configurations, though the relationship between resolution and settings reveals where the bottleneck shifts between CPU and GPU. This combination ranks 1775th out of 2935 tested combos in the database, placing it in the 60th percentile of all systems tested for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K follows a clear pattern that indicates a progressive shift from CPU-bound to GPU-bound performance. At 1080p Low settings, the system delivers 302 FPS average; moving to 1440p Low drops to 191 FPS (a 37% reduction), and 4K Low produces 100 FPS (a 48% reduction from 1440p). These scaling ratios suggest that at lower settings, the CPU is heavily involved in maintaining frame rates, and the GPU is not the primary constraint until 4K.

At Medium settings, the scaling is more gradual: 225 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 74 FPS at 4K (48% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium settings indicates that the rendering workload scales predictably with pixel count, but the absolute frame rates remain high enough that the CPU's 10 cores and 10 threads are not overwhelmed.

High settings show a different pattern: 193 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 64 FPS at 4K (48% drop from 1440p). The percentage drops are nearly identical to Medium, suggesting that the additional graphical complexity of High settings does not fundamentally alter the scaling behavior. However, the absolute values are lower at every resolution compared to Medium, confirming that the RTX 5050's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 2560 shading units are being utilized more heavily.

Ultra settings exhibit the steepest scaling: 138 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 46 FPS at 4K (47% drop from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 46 FPS is the only measured configuration that approaches the lower bounds of playability, and the min FPS value of 63 at 4K Medium indicates that even Medium settings can produce frame time spikes in demanding scenes.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is primarily CPU-limited across all settings, as the RTX 5050 has headroom to render frames faster than the Core Ultra 5 225 can feed it. At 1440p, the balance shifts toward the GPU, though the CPU still contributes to the high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor, with the 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 throughput constraining performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 302 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 300 FPS, and it demonstrates the CPU's capability to drive very high frame rates in Barony when GPU load is minimal.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 46, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Medium configuration achieves 74 FPS average with a 63 FPS minimum, making it the highest quality 4K setting that reliably stays above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035, placing it at the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL with an average score of 21153, a 0.6% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713, which is 1.6% lower than the RTX 5050.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 193 at 1920x1080 to 122 at 2560x1440, representing a 37% reduction. This scaling is consistent with the pixel count increase of 78% from 1080p to 1440p, indicating that the GPU is the primary factor in this transition.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 225 perform in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655. In PassMark, it scores 30459 for multithreaded performance and 4412 for single-threaded performance. Its percentile ranking against all CPUs is 85th, and its average benchmark score of 36938 places it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, Medium settings produce 142 FPS average (with 120 FPS minimum and 163 FPS maximum), while High settings produce 122 FPS average. This 20 FPS difference (14%) is notable, but both configurations are well above 60 FPS and provide smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB207 chip manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It contains 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 113.4 million per square millimeter. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2317 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz, and its memory runs at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) across a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, the RTX 5050 has sufficient capacity for Barony's requirements at the tested settings. The measured FPS data shows that memory capacity is not a limiting factor, as even the highest memory-demanding Ultra settings at 4K produce playable frame rates (46 FPS average). The 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units provide a balanced configuration for a game of this era.

The GPU's performance in Barony can be contextualized by its benchmark scores. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2502, while PassMark G3D yields 17326 and PassMark GPU Compute scores 9184. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 90334 and Vulkan score of 89381 indicate strong general-purpose compute capabilities. The nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (0.6% higher average score) and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (1.6% lower), showing that the RTX 5050 sits in a competitive mid-range performance tier.

The GPU's 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and AI workloads, though these are not directly relevant to Barony's rasterization-based rendering. The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s are adequate for the resolution scaling observed in the measured data. At 4K Ultra, the 46 FPS average represents the GPU's practical limit in this game, while at lower resolutions and settings, the GPU has substantial headroom that the CPU cannot fully utilize.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 1775th out of 2935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 60th percentile of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's 85th percentile standing among all processors and the GPU's 66th percentile position among all graphics cards. The combination outperforms 60% of tested systems while being outperformed by 40%, indicating that it sits in the upper-middle range of gaming configurations.

The rank of 1775 suggests that while the individual components are respectable, the pairing does not boost to the top tier of performance in Barony. This is likely due to the game's age and CPU-oriented nature; a roguelike from 2015 does not heavily stress modern GPUs, so the RTX 5050's mid-range capabilities are sufficient. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655) is more relevant to Barony's gameplay, which likely benefits from high clock speeds over many cores.

In the context of the 2935 tested combos, the top performers likely feature flagship CPUs and GPUs that achieve significantly higher frame rates at 4K Ultra settings. However, this combo's 46 FPS at 4K Ultra and 302 FPS at 1080p Low demonstrate that it can handle the full range of visual configurations, with only the most demanding settings falling below ideal frame rates. The ranking also reflects that the system maintains playable performance across all measured resolutions, which is not true for lower-ranked combinations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture (Arrow Lake-S codename) from the Core Ultra Series 2 family. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU is manufactured on TSMC's 3 nm process node, containing 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. Its cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not saturated. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 302 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game. The single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and PassMark single-thread score of 4412, is critical for a roguelike where game logic and entity updates often run on a single thread.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and PassMark multithread score of 30459, provide headroom for background tasks and any multi-threaded game systems. The 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that this processor outperforms 85% of alternatives in the database. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, has nearly identical average benchmark scores (36945 vs 36938, a 0% difference), while the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is 0.2% slower.

The CPU's memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth, which pairs well with the RTX 5050's 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes ensures that data transfer between CPU and GPU is not a bottleneck. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 16EU provides basic display output capabilities but is not used for gaming performance. With a 65 W TDP and launch MSRP of $246, the CPU offers efficient operation, though pricing considerations are not the focus of this analysis.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 302 FPS average, Medium settings produce 225 FPS average (with 191 FPS minimum and 258 FPS maximum), High settings produce 193 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 138 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54% reduction in frame rate, from 302 to 138 FPS, demonstrating the impact of increasing graphical fidelity.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but decreases noticeably. Low settings achieve 191 FPS average, Medium settings achieve 142 FPS average (with 120 FPS minimum and 163 FPS maximum), High settings achieve 122 FPS average, and Ultra settings achieve 87 FPS average. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with all configurations showing approximately 37% lower frame rates. Even at the most demanding 1440p Ultra setting, the 87 FPS average remains comfortably above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance becomes more varied. Low settings produce 100 FPS average, Medium settings produce 74 FPS average (with 63 FPS minimum and 85 FPS maximum), High settings produce 64 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 46 FPS average. This is the first resolution where some configurations fall below 60 FPS, with Ultra settings being the only one that does so. The 4K Medium minimum FPS of 63 shows that even at this resolution, the system can maintain playable frame rates with moderate settings.

The complete dataset shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p Low is the fastest configuration at 302 FPS, while 4K Ultra is the slowest at 46 FPS. The Medium settings provide the only configurations with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, with 1080p Medium ranging from 191 to 258 FPS, 1440p Medium ranging from 120 to 163 FPS, and 4K Medium ranging from 63 to 85 FPS. These ranges indicate that Medium settings have the most variable performance, likely due to the balance between CPU and GPU load. The High and Ultra settings at each resolution have consistent average FPS values but no recorded minimum or maximum, suggesting more stable frame times.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the highest visual quality while maintaining smooth gameplay, 1440p Ultra is the recommended configuration. The 87 FPS average at this setting provides a 45% margin above the 60 FPS threshold, and the visual fidelity of Ultra settings is preserved. At 4K, Ultra settings are not recommended, as the 46 FPS average falls below 60 FPS and may result in noticeable stuttering. The 4K High setting at 64 FPS is marginally above 60 FPS and may be acceptable for players who prioritize resolution over frame rate stability.

For competitive or fast-paced play, 1080p Low at 302 FPS offers the highest possible frame rate, which can reduce input latency and provide the smoothest experience on high-refresh-rate displays. The 1440p Low setting at 191 FPS is also an excellent choice for players with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors, as it maintains frame rates above the refresh rate of most gaming displays. The 1080p Medium setting at 225 FPS provides a balanced option for players who want some visual improvements without sacrificing the high frame rates.

The 4K Medium setting at 74 FPS average (with 63 FPS minimum) is the best option for players who prioritize resolution above all else. It is the only 4K configuration that consistently maintains frame rates above 60 FPS while offering better visual quality than Low settings. The 63 FPS minimum indicates that there may be occasional dips, but these are rare enough that the average remains high. For most players, 1440p High at 122 FPS offers the best overall balance of visual quality, frame rate, and consistency, as it is well above 60 FPS and provides significant graphical improvements over Medium settings.