Barony

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination delivers strong performance in Barony, with the data indicating a system that excels at high refresh rate 1080p and 1440p gameplay while remaining capable at 4K. The measured results show a clear hierarchy across presets and resolutions, with the Ultra preset at 4K being the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that users prioritizing smoothness should make specific setting choices. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, the roles of the CPU and GPU, and how this combo ranks against other tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for Barony reveals a consistent pattern across all three resolutions: the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, while the Ultra preset demands a significant performance cost. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 270 FPS, which is remarkably close to the High preset’s 231 FPS, yet the jump from Medium to Ultra causes a substantial drop to 166 FPS. This suggests that the visual fidelity gains from Ultra come at a steep performance penalty, making Medium the sensible choice for most users who want high frame rates without sacrificing too much visual quality.

The situation becomes more critical at 2560x1440, where the Medium preset delivers 170 FPS, while High trails at 146 FPS, and Ultra falls to 105 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is narrower than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is beginning to work harder, but Medium still provides the best balance of smoothness and quality. For 4K, the Medium preset is the only viable option for consistent high refresh rate gaming, as it achieves 89 FPS, whereas High drops to 76 FPS, and Ultra falls to 55 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target.

The Low preset is interesting because it offers the highest frame rates at every resolution—363 FPS at 1080p, 229 FPS at 1440p, and 120 FPS at 4K—but the performance gain over Medium is not proportional to the likely loss in visual quality. The data shows that Medium at 4K provides 89 FPS, which is 74% of the Low preset’s performance, suggesting that the graphical enhancements of Medium are relatively efficient. Given that Barony is a roguelike where responsiveness matters, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, offering 270 FPS at 1080p, 170 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K, all of which are comfortably playable. The Ultra preset is only recommended for users with 1080p displays who prioritize maximum visual detail, as it still achieves 166 FPS, but at higher resolutions, the performance cost becomes prohibitive.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary driver of frame rates in Barony, as evidenced by the scaling of performance across settings and resolutions. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for this game’s demands. The core clock operates at a base of 2280 MHz and boosts to 2497 MHz, and the measured FPS data shows that these clocks are effectively utilized, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck.

At 1080p, the RTX 5060 demonstrates its raw capability, with the Low preset hitting 363 FPS and Medium at 270 FPS. These high frame rates indicate that the GPU’s 3840 shading units and 120 TMUs are processing the game’s geometry and textures efficiently. The 48 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s, which is more than adequate for 1080p but becomes more strained at 4K. The memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a critical factor at higher resolutions, as the 8 GB VRAM capacity may become a limiting factor with Ultra settings at 4K, where the average FPS drops to 55.

The GPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals shows a tight grouping. The RTX 5060’s average benchmark score of 26331 places it just 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon 860M and NVIDIA GeForce MX550, and 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT. This suggests that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5060 is competitive with these cards, but the measured FPS in Barony shows that it performs well above the 60 FPS threshold for most settings, indicating that the game is not overly demanding on the GPU. The 8 GB memory capacity is worth noting, as it may limit texture quality at 4K, but the measured data shows that Medium settings at 4K still achieve 89 FPS, suggesting that the memory is not a severe bottleneck for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals how the system’s performance scales with resolution, and the data shows a predictable decline in FPS as pixel count increases. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 270 at 1920x1080 to 170 at 2560x1440, a 37% decrease, and then to 89 at 3840x2160, a 48% decrease from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming increasingly stressed at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s role diminishes as the pixel count rises.

The Low preset shows a similar trend, with FPS dropping from 363 at 1080p to 229 at 1440p (37% decrease) and then to 120 at 4K (48% decrease from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets suggests that the limiting factor is primarily the GPU’s pixel processing capability, rather than any specific setting. The High preset at 4K achieves 76 FPS, which is 33% lower than the 1440p result of 146 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 55 FPS, a 48% reduction from the 105 FPS at 1440p.

This scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound, as the FPS values are extremely high (363 FPS on Low), and the CPU’s 14 cores and 14 threads are capable of feeding the GPU efficiently. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the FPS drops are more pronounced. The 4K results, particularly the Ultra preset at 55 FPS, show that this resolution is at the edge of the RTX 5060’s capability for this game, and users seeking 4K gameplay should stick to Medium settings for a stable experience above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system’s performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 363 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset follows at 270 FPS, with a minimum of 229 FPS and a maximum of 310 FPS, indicating some frame time variance but overall smooth performance. High settings yield 231 FPS, while Ultra drops to 166 FPS, showing the full range of performance from maximum to minimum settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 229 FPS, which is still exceptionally high for this resolution. Medium settings produce 170 FPS, with a minimum of 145 FPS and a maximum of 196 FPS, suggesting that the game remains fluid even during intense scenes. High settings achieve 146 FPS, and Ultra drops to 105 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold but represents a significant 38% reduction from Medium.

The 4K results show the most variation between settings. Low settings achieve 120 FPS, which is impressive for 4K and indicates that the game’s low-detail rendering is not particularly demanding. Medium settings yield 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS, providing a playable experience with some headroom. High settings drop to 76 FPS, and Ultra falls to 55 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stuttering during fast-paced gameplay. The data across all resolutions shows a clear pattern: the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality, while Ultra is only suitable for 1080p gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination ranks 1258 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 57th percentile of all configurations. This ranking indicates that while the combo is above average, it is not among the top performers, which makes sense given the mid-range positioning of the GPU. The ranking suggests that there are many other combinations that achieve higher FPS in this game, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs with higher single-thread performance.

The CPU’s benchmark performance relative to its nearest rivals provides context for this ranking. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, 0.1% difference) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, -0.1% difference). This means that the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo’s ranking, as it performs on par with its closest competitors. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 26331 places it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, which is respectable but not exceptional, and its nearest rivals show a similar level of performance.

The combo’s rank of 1258 out of 2935 suggests that there is significant room for improvement, but the measured FPS data shows that the system is still capable of delivering high frame rates in Barony. The ranking likely reflects the fact that many higher-end GPUs can achieve higher FPS at 4K Ultra settings, where this combo struggles, but for most users playing at 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings, this combo provides a smooth experience that exceeds the requirements of the game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, which is an unusual configuration for a desktop CPU, as it lacks Hyper-Threading technology. The base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is critical for a roguelike like Barony that may not scale well with multiple cores. The CPU’s architecture, Arrow Lake-S, is built on a 3 nm process by TSMC, and it includes 24 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps with data access speeds.

In the benchmark data, the CPU’s single-thread performance is notable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4516. These scores suggest that the CPU can handle the game’s logic and physics calculations efficiently, which is important for maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions. The multi-thread performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 37816, indicating that the CPU can handle background tasks without impacting game performance.

The CPU’s role in Barony is likely most significant at 1080p, where the FPS values are extremely high (363 FPS on Low), suggesting that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain these frame rates. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU’s performance becomes less critical. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 89 places it in the top 11% of all CPUs, indicating that it is a high-performing component, and its nearest rivals show that it is competitive with other mid-range and high-end processors. The 14 threads may be a limitation in heavily threaded scenarios, but for Barony, the single-thread performance is likely sufficient to avoid any CPU-related bottlenecks.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming in Barony with this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 achieves 89 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 60 FPS except for Low (120 FPS). Ultra drops to 55 FPS, so Medium is recommended for a balance of quality and performance.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 26331, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon 860M (26401) and 1.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (26011), but 0.3% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (26421).

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p resolution?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 363 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235’s single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 score of 2085) is sufficient to drive high frame rates.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 170 FPS, while High averages 146 FPS, a difference of 24 FPS or 14%. The Medium preset also provides a minimum of 145 FPS, ensuring smoother gameplay.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 1258 out of 2935 tested combos, placing it in the 57th percentile. This is above average but not top-tier, reflecting the mid-range GPU performance.

Q: What is the CPU’s multi-thread performance relative to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has a Passmark multi-thread score of 37816, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030 vs 46062 average benchmark scores), but the specific multi-thread scores for rivals are not provided in the data.