Barony

Barony is a roguelike that, on this Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination, delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested configurations. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while at 1080p it transitions into a scenario where the CPU's capabilities become the primary ceiling. The measured FPS figures indicate that this pairing is capable of exploiting high-refresh-rate displays with ease, though the scaling behavior between settings and resolutions reveals distinct performance characteristics worth examining.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 383 at 1920x1080 to 242 at 2560x1440, and finally to 126 at 3840x2160. This represents a 67% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit that points directly at the GPU as the limiting factor. The RTX 4080 is being pushed harder as pixel count increases, and the scaling pattern is consistent with a graphics-card-bound workload.

The Low preset tells an even more revealing story. At 1080p Low, the system hits 600 average FPS, but this drops to 379 at 1440p and 198 at 4K. The 4K result is still very high, but the 1080p figure suggests the CPU is capping performance at that resolution. When the GPU has less work to do, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 becomes the constraint, and the 600 FPS ceiling is likely a reflection of the processor's single-thread throughput rather than the graphics card's raw capability.

Medium settings show a similar trend with slightly higher floor values. The 1080p Medium average of 446 FPS drops to 281 at 1440p and 147 at 4K. The minimum FPS figures for Medium also decline with resolution: 379 at 1080p, 239 at 1440p, and 125 at 4K. These minimums demonstrate that even the worst-case frame times remain comfortably above 120 FPS at 1440p, which is excellent for a roguelike that may feature dense particle effects or complex procedural geometry.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates, as expected. The 1080p Ultra average is 274 FPS, falling to 173 at 1440p and 91 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that dips below the 100 FPS threshold, indicating that this is the most demanding scenario in the measured data. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra shows a 47% performance drop, which is steeper than the 36% drop seen from 1080p to 1440p, suggesting that the memory bandwidth and shading throughput of the RTX 4080 are being taxed heavily at the highest resolution.

The overall pattern is clear: this game scales predictably with resolution, and the RTX 4080 is the dominant factor in determining frame rates at 1440p and above. At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more pronounced, particularly on the Low preset where the 600 FPS average appears to be a hard limit imposed by the processor's performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a formidable piece of hardware, and its specifications align well with the measured results. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has ample resources for Barony's procedural environments and effect-heavy combat. The 9728 shading units and 76 RT cores provide substantial compute throughput, though the game's roguelike nature likely relies more on traditional rasterization than ray tracing.

The GPU's clocks are relevant to the frame rates observed. The 2205 MHz base clock and 2505 MHz boost clock are relatively high, and the data suggests the card is able to sustain these frequencies across the tested scenarios. The pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s are indicative of a card that can handle high-resolution rendering without becoming fill-rate limited, which is consistent with the strong 4K performance shown in the measured FPS.

The RTX 4080's benchmark scores contextualize its position. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 263779 are strong, and the Passmark G3D score of 34457 places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 54247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER, which shows a delta of just 0.1%. This means the standard 4080 is essentially on par with its SUPER variant in synthetic tests, and the measured game FPS reflects this high level of performance.

The memory configuration deserves attention. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Barony at any resolution, and the 22.4 Gbps effective memory speed supports the high bandwidth figure. The 4K Ultra result of 91 average FPS suggests that the GPU is being fully utilized at that setting, and the memory subsystem is likely a contributing factor to the scaling behavior seen across resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide a solid foundation for game logic and procedural generation. The 3.40 GHz base clock and 5.00 GHz boost clock are competitive, and the data indicates that this CPU is capable of feeding the RTX 4080 effectively at most settings.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong single-thread and multi-thread capabilities. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and multi-core score of 14769 are respectable, and the Passmark single-thread score of 4516 is particularly relevant for gaming. The percentile of 89 versus all CPUs places it in the top tier of processors, and its average benchmark score of 46062 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, which shows a delta of just 0.1%. This means the Ultra 5 235 is effectively on par with that mobile flagship in overall CPU performance.

The 1080p Low result of 600 average FPS is the key indicator of the CPU's role. At that resolution and setting, the GPU is not heavily loaded, and the frame rate is likely limited by the CPU's ability to process game state and issue draw calls. The fact that this figure is exactly 600 suggests a cap or a natural ceiling from the processor's single-thread performance. The Passmark find prime numbers score of 371 and integer math score of 87948 are moderate, but the single-thread score of 4516 is what matters most for this type of workload.

The CPU's memory support includes DDR5 with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, which is adequate for feeding the RTX 4080's 716.8 GB/s of VRAM bandwidth. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes provides sufficient bandwidth for the GPU, though the RTX 4080 only uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 24EU is present but irrelevant for this discrete GPU configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings to use. For 4K displays, the High preset delivers an average of 126 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance at that resolution. The Ultra preset drops to 91 FPS, which is playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced roguelike combat. The Medium preset at 147 FPS is also viable, but High offers better visuals for a modest 14% performance cost compared to Medium.

At 1440p, the High preset achieves 242 average FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 173 FPS is still very smooth and would be the recommended choice for users prioritizing image quality, as the 69 FPS difference between High and Ultra is noticeable but both remain well above 144 Hz. The Medium preset at 281 FPS is overkill for most displays and doesn't justify the visual downgrade.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 274 average FPS is the clear recommendation. The High preset at 383 FPS and Medium at 446 FPS are faster, but they don't provide a meaningful advantage on standard 60 Hz or 144 Hz monitors. The Low preset at 600 FPS is only relevant for competitive play at extremely high refresh rates, and the visual sacrifices are unlikely to be worth it for a roguelike where situational awareness is key.

The Medium preset's minimum FPS values are worth noting. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 125 FPS, at 1440p it is 239 FPS, and at 1080p it is 379 FPS. These minimums are consistently high, indicating that the game maintains stable frame pacing even during complex scenes. For users who prioritize consistent frame times over peak averages, Medium is a safe choice, but the High preset's lack of reported minimums suggests it may also be stable given the high averages.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo?

A: The data shows strong performance at all resolutions. At 4K, the High preset delivers 126 average FPS, while 1440p High reaches 242 FPS. For 1080p, Ultra achieves 274 FPS. The choice depends on display capability, but 1440p High offers the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate headroom.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Barony?

A: The bottleneck shifts with resolution. At 1080p Low, the 600 FPS average suggests the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is the limiting factor. At 4K, the GPU becomes the constraint, with frame rates dropping to 91 FPS at Ultra settings. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking indicate a balanced pairing overall.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival in this context?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 is within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54209. This means the standard 4080 performs nearly identically to the SUPER variant in synthetic tests, and the measured game FPS reflects this parity.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes. The 4K High preset averages 126 FPS, which is excellent for a roguelike. Even the demanding 4K Ultra preset maintains 91 FPS, which is playable. The 16 GB VRAM and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth provide ample resources for high-resolution rendering.

Q: What is the impact of the CPU's core count on this game?

A: The 14 cores and 14 threads of the Ultra 5 235 are more than sufficient for Barony. The game's procedural generation and logic likely benefit from multi-threading, but the 5.00 GHz boost clock and 4516 Passmark single-thread score are the more critical factors for achieving high frame rates.

Q: Are the frame rate minimums consistent across settings?

A: The Medium preset shows minimums of 379 FPS at 1080p, 239 FPS at 1440p, and 125 FPS at 4K. These minimums are consistently high, indicating stable performance. Other presets do not report minimums in the data, but the high averages suggest they are also stable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 600 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded in the data. The Medium preset averages 446 FPS with a minimum of 379 and a maximum of 513. The High preset averages 383 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 274 FPS. These results show that at 1080p, the system has immense headroom, with even the most demanding setting staying well above 240 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 379 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 281 FPS with a minimum of 239 and a maximum of 324. The High preset delivers 242 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 173 FPS. The 1440p results demonstrate that the RTX 4080 is still the dominant factor, with frame rates dropping by approximately 37% from Low to Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 198 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 and a maximum of 169. The High preset averages 126 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 91 FPS. The 4K data shows a steeper decline across settings, with the Ultra preset being the only configuration that falls below 100 FPS. The scaling from High to Ultra at 4K represents a 28% performance reduction, which is the largest gap between adjacent settings in the measured data.

The minimum FPS values for the Medium preset provide the only frame time data available. At 1080p, the minimum of 379 FPS is 85% of the average, indicating strong consistency. At 1440p, the minimum of 239 FPS is 85% of the average, and at 4K, the minimum of 125 FPS is 85% of the average. This consistent ratio suggests that the performance profile is stable across resolutions, with no unexpected frame drops.