Barony

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a robust experience in Barony, a 2015 roguelike that scales well across a wide range of hardware. The measured frame rates show this combination is capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p and remains comfortably playable at 4K with adjusted settings. This analysis breaks down the performance data by settings, resolution, and component role.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how the RTX 5050 handles Barony’s four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 138 FPS, which is smooth, but the Medium preset produces an average of 225 FPS. The Low preset reaches 302 FPS, while High lands at 193 FPS. For players with high refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance, as it provides a substantial frame rate advantage over Ultra (225 vs 138 FPS) while maintaining better visual fidelity than Low. The High preset is also a strong choice, delivering 193 FPS, which is still well above the 144 Hz threshold.

At 2560x1440, the scaling pattern shifts. The Ultra preset averages 87 FPS, which is playable, but the High preset jumps to 122 FPS. Medium produces 142 FPS, and Low reaches 191 FPS. Given that the difference between Medium and High at this resolution is only 20 FPS (142 vs 122), the High preset seems like the optimal pick for 1440p, as it offers a richer visual experience without sacrificing the frame rate headroom needed for competitive play. The Medium preset does provide a higher minimum frame rate in the measured data (120 FPS minimum vs no min value for High), so those sensitive to frame pacing may prefer Medium.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. Ultra drops to an average of 46 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target. High settings improve this to 64 FPS, making it the baseline for a smooth 4K experience. Medium settings provide 74 FPS, and Low reaches 100 FPS. For 4K, the High preset is the recommended starting point, as it clears the 60 FPS mark, while Medium offers a more comfortable margin for demanding scenes. The data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K is not advisable for consistent gameplay, given the 46 FPS average.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB207 chip on a 5 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, with memory running at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). The shading units number 2560, with 80 TMUs and 32 ROPs, and the GPU includes 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores.

In Barony, the GPU’s role is most evident at higher resolutions and settings. The benchmark results show that the RTX 5050’s performance scales predictably with load. The PassMark G3D score for this GPU is 17326, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 21035, which puts it in close competition with the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which has a delta of 1.6% relative to this score. The nearest rivals also include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (delta -0.6%) and the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (delta -1%), indicating that the RTX 5050 sits in a performance tier that is competitive with older high-end mobile parts but not with modern mid-range desktop cards.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is sufficient for Barony, as the game’s dated engine does not appear to be VRAM-hungry based on the performance figures. The memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s seems adequate, as the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K does not show any signs of a hard memory bottleneck; instead, the data points to a more balanced load between the CPU and GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, indicating that the RTX 5050 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At the High preset, the average FPS goes from 193 at 1080p to 122 at 1440p, a 37% reduction, and then to 64 at 4K, a 48% reduction from 1440p. This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases with pixel count.

At the Low preset, the scaling is even more drastic: 302 FPS at 1080p drops to 191 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 100 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets suggests that the CPU is providing a stable foundation and that the GPU’s fill rate is the determining factor.

Interestingly, the Medium preset shows a slightly different scaling curve. From 225 FPS at 1080p, it falls to 142 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 74 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). The 4K Medium average of 74 FPS is notably higher than the 4K High average of 64 FPS, suggesting that the Medium preset’s reduced pixel shading load allows the GPU to maintain better throughput. The data indicates that to achieve a stable 60 FPS at 4K, the user must select High or Medium settings, while Ultra is not viable at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with the Ultra preset?

A: The average frame rate at 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset is 138 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 5050 capable of 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 64 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 74 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is 1.6% higher, resulting in a delta of 1.6% relative to the RTX 5050’s score.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum frame rate is 120 FPS, with a maximum of 163 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in Barony at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rate drops by roughly 48% from 1440p to 4K across most presets, which is indicative of GPU-bound rendering.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245?

A: The launch MSRP for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is $270.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1775 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database. Given that the CPU is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU is in the 66th percentile, the system’s overall rank is pulled down by the GPU’s relative position. The combo rank of 1775 suggests that while the CPU is a high performer, the GPU’s mid-range standing means this pairing is not near the top of the charts for this game.

The CPU’s average benchmark score is 48995, which puts it very close to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (delta -0.4%) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (delta -0.5%). The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.6% higher, and the Intel Core i5-14600K is 0.8% higher. This indicates that the Ultra 5 245 is a very competitive mid-range to high-end CPU. However, the RTX 5050’s average score of 21035 is nearly 1.6% lower than the RX 5600 XT, which shows the GPU is a more modest performer. Consequently, the combo’s rank is likely dictated by the GPU’s ability to push frames in Barony, especially at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is an Arrow Lake-S architecture chip with 14 cores and 14 threads. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. It features 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. The integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 EU.

In Barony, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 302 FPS. This high frame rate indicates the CPU is capable of handling the game’s single-threaded logic at very high speeds. The Cinebench R23 single-core score for this CPU is 4648 points, which is robust. The multi-core score of 32924 points suggests that even if Barony utilizes multiple threads, the Ultra 5 245 has ample headroom.

The CPU’s performance relative to its rivals is strong. It is only 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 in average benchmark score. It is 0.6% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K. The PassMark single-thread score is 4394, and the multi-thread score is 38706. These figures suggest that the CPU is not a bottleneck in Barony, as the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is primarily GPU-driven. The data shows that even at 4K Low settings, the system hits 100 FPS, which reflects the CPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates without holding back the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system’s performance across all combinations of resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 302 FPS. The Medium preset averages 225 FPS, with a minimum of 191 FPS and a maximum of 258 FPS. The High preset averages 193 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 138 FPS. This shows that even at the highest quality setting, the system delivers a frame rate that exceeds 120 FPS, making it suitable for high refresh rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high. The Low preset averages 191 FPS. The Medium preset averages 142 FPS, with a minimum of 120 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS. The High preset averages 122 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 87 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant but expected, with the Ultra preset falling from 138 FPS to 87 FPS, a 37% reduction. The Medium preset maintains a frame rate above 140 FPS, which is excellent for a 1440p experience.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset averages 100 FPS. The Medium preset averages 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. The High preset averages 64 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 46 FPS. The data shows that the Ultra preset is not playable at 4K, as the average falls below 60 FPS. The Medium preset is the best option for 4K, providing an average of 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS, ensuring that the frame rate does not dip below the 60 FPS threshold in the measured data. The High preset is borderline, with an average of 64 FPS. Overall, the measured data indicates that the RTX 5050 is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings compromises.