Barony

# Barony — Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This combination of Intel's Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers playable frame rates across all tested resolutions in Barony, with the data showing a clear pattern of GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions and CPU-bound behavior at 1080p. The combo ranks 2069th out of 2935 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, though the measured results indicate the pairing is well-balanced for this roguelike title. At 4K Ultra, the average of 43 FPS is the only sub-60 result in the entire measurement set, while every other configuration tested clears 60 FPS, with the most demanding 1440p Ultra setting reaching 83 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals how the limiting component shifts as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average drops from 287 FPS at 1920x1080 to 181 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 106 FPS, then further to 95 FPS at 3840x2160. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings shows a 47.5% decrease in average FPS, which is roughly proportional to the 2.25x increase in pixel count, suggesting the GPU becomes the primary constraint at 4K even with minimal graphical demands.

At High settings, the progression is similarly steep: 183 FPS at 1080p falls to 116 FPS at 1440p and then to 60 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67.2% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is slightly less severe than the Low settings drop of 66.9%, indicating that the additional shading work at High settings does not fundamentally change the scaling behavior. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic decline, going from 131 FPS at 1080p to 83 FPS at 1440p and finally 43 FPS at 4K — a 67.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K, identical in percentage terms to the High preset drop.

The Medium preset provides the only complete min/max data across all resolutions, with average FPS of 213 at 1080p, 135 at 1440p, and 70 at 4K. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings show the same pattern: 181 at 1080p, 114 at 1440p, and 60 at 4K. The fact that even the 4K Medium minimum of 60 FPS exactly matches the 4K High average suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is consistently delivering near its ceiling at this resolution, and any additional graphical load pushes the average below the 60 FPS threshold.

The scaling data points to the GPU as the limiting factor at 1440p and above. The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads, with boost clock reaching 5.10 GHz, are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p where the 287 FPS Low result indicates substantial headroom remains in the processor. However, at 4K, the RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth become the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 43 FPS Ultra result that trails even the 1080p Ultra performance by 67.2%.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to this pairing, running at a base clock of 3.50 GHz with a 5.10 GHz boost capability. This Arrow Lake-S architecture chip, built on TSMC's 3 nm process, posts a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648, placing it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs tested in the database. The benchmark results indicate this processor has substantial compute headroom for Barony, which is not a heavily threaded title.

In the context of this game's measured performance, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at resolutions above 1080p. The 1080p Low result of 287 FPS is the highest measured value in the entire dataset, and the fact that this is only 74 FPS higher than the 1440p Low result of 181 FPS — despite the pixel count increasing by 2.25x — suggests the CPU is still managing to push a very high frame rate at the lower resolution, but the GPU's rendering capacity becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs.

The processor's nearest rival in the database is the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, which scores 0.4% higher on average, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 sits 0.5% above the Core Ultra 5 245. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H trails by 0.6%, and the Core i5-14600K is 0.8% behind. These tight margins — all within 1% of each other — indicate that the Core Ultra 5 245's compute performance is competitive with a broad range of desktop and workstation parts, though the differences are unlikely to manifest as meaningful frame rate variations in Barony given the game's modest threading requirements.

The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth provide ample data throughput for the game's procedural generation systems. The Passmark multithread score of 38706 and integer math score of 91187 reflect strong general-purpose compute, while the Passmark single-thread score of 4394 confirms the high clock speeds translate to responsive single-threaded performance. For a roguelike that likely relies on deterministic procedural generation, the CPU's 14 threads ensure that any background simulation or pathfinding tasks do not starve the main game loop.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, built on the TU106 chip with Turing architecture, provides 8 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 1650 MHz and 2176 shading units produce 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, with 136 texture mapping units and 64 raster output processors yielding a texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s. These specifications place the GPU in the 62nd percentile among all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 18093.

The measured frame rates in Barony demonstrate that this GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average of 43 FPS represents a 67.2% reduction from the 1080p Ultra average of 131 FPS, while the pixel count increases by 4x. This disproportionate drop indicates that the GPU's shading and memory subsystems are overwhelmed by the combination of 4K resolution and Ultra settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's texture requirements, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across settings at each resolution, but the raw compute throughput limits performance at 4K.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's nearest rivals in the database are all within 1.6% of its average score: the RTX 3060 Mobile is 0.4% faster, the Radeon Pro 5700 is 0.5% faster, the Radeon RX 460 is 1.5% faster, and the Arc A770M is 1.6% faster. This clustering suggests the GPU's performance level is well-established in the database, and Barony's results likely reflect this mid-range positioning. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 and Passmark G3D score of 16462 provide additional context for the GPU's DirectX 12 capabilities, which are relevant given the game's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate.

At 1440p, the GPU delivers playable performance across all settings, with the Ultra preset averaging 83 FPS and the Low preset reaching 181 FPS. The 4K results show a clear boundary: Medium settings average 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, while High settings average exactly 60 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. This progression indicates that the GPU's compute resources are the determining factor at 4K, with each step up in settings costing roughly 25-27 FPS on average. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 175 W TDP and dual-slot cooler design are consistent with its performance class, and the PCIe 3.0 x16 interface does not appear to create a bottleneck given the measured results.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset delivers the best experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets produce averages above 130 FPS, with Low at 287 FPS, Medium at 213 FPS, High at 183 FPS, and Ultra at 131 FPS. Given that even Ultra exceeds 120 FPS on average, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice for 1080p displays, as the frame rate remains high while visual quality is maximized. The minimum FPS at Medium is 181, which suggests Ultra would likely maintain a minimum above 100 FPS, though no min data is available for Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts toward High settings. The High preset averages 116 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a 39.8% improvement over Ultra's 83 FPS. Medium averages 135 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS, making it the safest choice for competitive play, but High offers a better balance of visual quality and performance. Ultra at 83 FPS is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes, and the absence of min FPS data for Ultra makes its frame time consistency uncertain.

At 3840x2160, the data indicates that Medium settings provide the only fully comfortable experience. The Medium preset averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery. High averages exactly 60 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves no margin for frame time spikes, while Ultra averages 43 FPS and should be avoided on this hardware. Low averages 95 FPS but sacrifices significant visual quality. For 4K displays, Medium is the recommended preset, as it is the only setting level that maintains an average above 60 FPS while keeping the minimum at or above 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Barony at 4K with smooth performance?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings. The measured 4K Medium average is 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS. High settings average exactly 60 FPS, while Ultra drops to 43 FPS, which is below the smooth gameplay threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: The High preset is recommended for 2560x1440, averaging 116 FPS. Medium averages 135 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS. High provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER perform relative to its closest GPU rivals in the database?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score of 18093 is within 1.6% of four nearby rivals: the RTX 3060 Mobile (0.4% faster), Radeon Pro 5700 (0.5% faster), Radeon RX 460 (1.5% faster), and Arc A770M (1.6% faster). This indicates tightly clustered performance among mid-range GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p in Barony?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 1080p, as the Low preset reaches 287 FPS with the Core Ultra 5 245's 14 cores boosting to 5.10 GHz. The GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases, with 4K performance dropping to 43 FPS on Ultra.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 131 FPS. This is the highest resolution-settings combination that maintains an average above 120 FPS, making it suitable for high refresh rate 1080p monitors.

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

A: This combination ranks 2069th out of 2935 tested combos, placing it in the 70th percentile of the database. The ranking reflects the mid-range positioning of the RTX 2060 SUPER, which sits in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, paired with a CPU in the 90th percentile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, all settings presets deliver high frame rates. Low settings average 287 FPS, Medium averages 213 FPS with a minimum of 181 FPS and maximum of 245 FPS, High averages 183 FPS, and Ultra averages 131 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 156 FPS, representing a 54.4% reduction in average FPS from the lowest to highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low averages 181 FPS, Medium averages 135 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 155 FPS, High averages 116 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 98 FPS, a 54.1% reduction, which is nearly identical to the 1080p percentage drop.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates compress significantly. Low averages 95 FPS, Medium averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 81 FPS, High averages 60 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K is 52 FPS, or 54.7%, maintaining the same proportional scaling pattern seen at lower resolutions.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 181 FPS is 85% of the average of 213 FPS. At 1440p, the minimum of 114 FPS is 84.4% of the average of 135 FPS. At 4K, the minimum of 60 FPS is 85.7% of the average of 70 FPS. This consistent ratio suggests frame time distribution remains stable across resolutions at Medium settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2069th out of 2935 tested combinations in Barony, placing it near the 70th percentile of all tested systems. This positioning is consistent with the individual component rankings: the CPU sits in the 90th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 62nd percentile among all graphics cards. The combo rank being pulled toward the GPU's percentile indicates that Barony's performance in this pairing is more dependent on the graphics card than the processor.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals — all within 0.8% of the Core Ultra 5 245's average benchmark score — suggests that swapping in any of these alternative processors would have minimal impact on Barony's frame rates. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are all within 1.6% of the RTX 2060 SUPER's score, meaning the measured FPS values in this dataset are representative of a broader class of mid-range graphics hardware.

The gap between the combo's rank and the CPU's 90th percentile positioning highlights the GPU-bound nature of this pairing in Barony at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock enable frame rates above 287 FPS, but the GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS of compute becomes the limiting factor at 4K, where even Medium settings only achieve 70 FPS on average. For users considering upgrades, the data suggests that improving the GPU would yield larger frame rate gains than upgrading the CPU, given the processor's substantial headroom at all tested resolutions.