Barony

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing sits in the 806th position out of 2935 tested combinations for Barony. That places this build in the top 27.5% of all tested systems, a solidly above-average result for a roguelike title that tends to favor raw frame throughput over complex AI simulations. The combo's standing reflects a balanced partnership: the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's substantial memory bandwidth both contribute to the high frame rates observed across most settings.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 806 out of 2935 combos, this system outperforms roughly 72% of the tested configurations in Barony. That is a strong showing, but not an elite one—the game's simple geometry and procedural generation mean that even mid-range hardware can push very high frame rates, so the top percentiles are crowded with more extreme builds. The data shows this pairing is clearly capable of delivering a smooth experience at 1440p and even 4K, but it is not the absolute top tier for this specific title.

The CPU's individual standing reinforces this positioning. The Core Ultra 5 245 holds the 90th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 48995. Its nearest rivals are all within a single percentage point: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4% slower, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is 0.5% slower, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.6% faster, and the Intel Core i5-14600K is 0.8% faster. This tight cluster means the processor is not a bottleneck by any meaningful margin—any of these chips would deliver nearly identical results in Barony.

The GPU sits lower in its own percentile ranking, at 68th among all graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 23172 places it near the NVIDIA P106-100 (0.3% slower), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (0.3% slower), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (0.4% slower), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (0.4% slower). These are not direct competitors in real-world gaming—the RTX 3080's architectural advantages are substantial—but the synthetic benchmark scores cluster closely. In practice, the RTX 3080's memory bandwidth and shading power drive the high FPS numbers seen in the measured data.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080 brings 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. That bandwidth is the key enabler for the high frame rates at 1440p and 4K, as Barony's procedural dungeons generate large texture sets that need to stream quickly. The 19 Gbps effective memory clock ensures the GPU rarely waits on data, which shows in the scaling from 1080p to 4K—the frame rate drops are present but not catastrophic, indicating memory bandwidth is sufficient even at the highest resolution.

The GPU's compute resources are abundant: 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The boost clock of 1710 MHz (with a 1440 MHz base) drives a pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s. For a roguelike with relatively simple visual effects, these figures are more than adequate. The 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present but Barony does not appear to leverage ray tracing or DLSS to any significant degree—the measured FPS values show no signs of upscaling artifacts or RT-specific performance penalties.

The GPU's FP32 throughput of 29.77 TFLOPS is noteworthy for a card in its class, but the game's actual workload is lighter. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 207 and DirectX 12 score of 100 (relative to other GPUs) suggest the graphics API isn't the limiting factor. The G3D score of 25086 confirms strong overall rasterization performance. In Barony, the GPU's role is to push high frame rates at high resolutions without stuttering—and the data shows it does that effectively, with 4K Ultra still holding 68 FPS average.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Barony at 4K smoothly?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average frame rate is 95 FPS. Ultra settings drop that to 68 FPS, while Medium holds 110 FPS and Low reaches 148 FPS. For competitive play, Medium at 4K provides the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate headroom.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995 on average, placing it within 0.8% of the Intel Core i5-14600K (which is 0.8% faster), and within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.5% slower). The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4% slower, and the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.6% faster. These differences are negligible in gaming workloads.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 with High settings delivers 181 FPS average, which is excellent for a roguelike. If you prefer maximum visual quality, 4K Ultra still maintains 68 FPS, but 1440p High offers a better frame rate headroom without sacrificing much detail.

Q: Is the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM sufficient for Barony?

A: Yes. The measured frame rates at 4K Ultra (68 FPS average) show no memory-related stutter or drop-off. The 760.3 GB/s bandwidth is well above what this game requires, and the 10 GB capacity is enough for the procedural textures at any tested setting.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3080 sits in the 68th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 23172. It is within 0.4% of the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and 0.3% of the NVIDIA P106-100 in synthetic tests, though real-game performance is stronger due to architectural advantages.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the measured averages are 449 FPS on Low, 334 FPS on Medium, 287 FPS on High, and 206 FPS on Ultra. Even at Ultra settings, the frame rate is far beyond any display's refresh rate, confirming the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 449 FPS, which drops to 334 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 284 FPS and maximum of 384 FPS). High settings average 287 FPS, and Ultra still manages 206 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combination is entirely CPU-limited in the sense that the GPU has massive headroom—the frame rates are high enough that any monitor would be saturated.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show more differentiation between settings. Low averages 284 FPS, Medium averages 211 FPS (with a minimum of 179 FPS and maximum of 242 FPS), High averages 181 FPS, and Ultra averages 130 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is a 51 FPS drop, which suggests the Ultra preset enables effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU. For most players, High at 1440p is the sweet spot—181 FPS is well above 144 Hz displays, and the visual difference from Ultra is minimal in a roguelike.

At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to show its limits but remains playable. Low settings average 148 FPS, Medium averages 110 FPS (with a minimum of 94 FPS and maximum of 127 FPS), High averages 95 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The 4K Medium setting is notable: the 94 FPS minimum is still comfortably above 60 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in dense dungeon rooms. The 4K High setting at 95 FPS average is also viable, but the minimum frame rate is not recorded—players with 60 Hz displays will have no issues, while 144 Hz users should stick to Medium or lower.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent: Low to Medium is a moderate step, Medium to High is a smaller step, and High to Ultra is the largest drop. This suggests the Ultra preset includes a few heavy effects that disproportionately impact performance, while Medium and High offer better efficiency. The 1440p Medium setting (211 FPS average, 179 FPS minimum) is particularly well-balanced, providing high frame rates with the minimum still exceeding 144 Hz.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the data supports using Ultra settings without hesitation. The 206 FPS average at Ultra is far beyond any standard refresh rate, and even the most demanding scenes will not drop below playable levels. There is no reason to lower settings at this resolution—the GPU has ample headroom, and the visual quality benefits are free.

For 1440p, the choice depends on your display's refresh rate. If you own a 144 Hz monitor, High settings (181 FPS average) are the optimal pick—they exceed the refresh rate comfortably and provide better visuals than Medium (211 FPS average, but with less fidelity). If you have a 240 Hz display, Medium at 211 FPS is the better option, as it gets closer to saturating the panel. Ultra at 130 FPS is acceptable for 120 Hz displays but represents a significant performance cost for marginal visual gains.

For 4K, the recommendation is Medium settings. The 110 FPS average with a 94 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay on 60 Hz and even 120 Hz displays, and the visual difference from High (95 FPS average) is minor. Ultra at 68 FPS is playable on 60 Hz screens but leaves no headroom for dips; the minimum for Ultra is not recorded, so cautious players should avoid it. Low at 148 FPS is unnecessarily low quality for the frame rate gain—Medium provides a much better visual experience at a still-excellent 110 FPS.

The best overall experience across all resolutions is 1440p High. It delivers 181 FPS average, which is smooth on any common display, and the visual quality is high enough to appreciate the game's procedural environments. For players who prioritize frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 449 FPS is available, but the data suggests that the GPU can handle much higher settings without sacrificing playability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on TSMC's 3 nm process. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz deliver strong single-thread performance, which is critical for Barony's game logic and procedural generation. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 and multi-core score of 32924 reflect a balanced design that handles both light and heavy threads effectively.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 per core provide ample fast memory for the game's data structures. Barony's roguelike nature means it generates new dungeon layouts on the fly, and the CPU's cache hierarchy reduces latency when accessing these procedural maps. PassMark data compression (400942) and encryption (30236) scores indicate strong integer performance, which matters for the game's random number generation and state tracking.

Memory bandwidth is another factor: the CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. This is more than sufficient for Barony, which does not require high memory throughput. The 14 threads (14 cores with no hyperthreading) are enough to handle the game's background tasks, but the data shows that single-thread performance is the dominant factor—at 1080p Low, the 449 FPS average suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at that resolution, but it is still fast enough to prevent any bottleneck at higher settings.

The CPU's overall standing at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average score of 48995, places it in the upper tier of processors. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.8% in synthetic benchmarks, meaning any of these CPUs would perform nearly identically in Barony. The 14-core configuration is future-proof for other workloads, but for this specific game, the boost clock and single-thread efficiency are what matter most. The 65 W TDP and ECC memory support are secondary features that do not directly impact gaming performance.