Barony

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile paired with the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H delivers a compelling performance profile in Barony, a roguelike title from 2015. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher presets, yet the CPU’s capabilities become apparent at lower settings where frame rates soar. This analysis breaks down the data to show how each component contributes to the overall experience, with the RTX 4080 Mobile’s 12 GB of VRAM and the Core Ultra 7’s 16 cores playing distinct roles depending on the workload.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, average FPS falls from 275 at 1920x1080 to 173 at 2560x1440, a 37% reduction, and then to 91 at 3840x2160, a further 47% drop. This steep decline as resolution increases is a classic sign of GPU limitation—the RTX 4080 Mobile is being pushed harder at each step, with the pixel throughput demands of 4K proving significantly more taxing than 1080p. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly notable, showing that the graphics card’s rendering capabilities are the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling pattern shifts. The system achieves 430 FPS at 1080p, 272 FPS at 1440p, and 142 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 37% and 48% respectively, similar to High settings, but the absolute numbers are much higher. This suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU remains the limiting factor, though the huge headroom at 1080p indicates the CPU can feed the card efficiently. The fact that 4K Low (142 FPS) still exceeds 1080p Ultra (197 FPS) in raw frame rate underscores how resolution scaling impacts performance more than preset changes.

Medium settings show a consistent trend, with 320 FPS at 1080p, 202 FPS at 1440p, and 106 FPS at 4K. The min FPS values at Medium—272 at 1080p, 172 at 1440p, and 90 at 4K—demonstrate that frame pacing holds up well even as resolution increases. Ultra settings, however, reveal the most significant scaling penalty: 197 FPS at 1080p drops to 124 FPS at 1440p, a 37% reduction, and then plummets to 65 FPS at 4K, a 48% drop from 1440p. This 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, indicating that extreme settings at the highest resolution stress the GPU beyond its comfortable operating range.

The data shows that Barony scales predictably with resolution, but the RTX 4080 Mobile’s performance curve is steeper between 1440p and 4K than between 1080p and 1440p. This is typical for a mobile GPU with a 192-bit memory bus and 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth—at 4K, memory bandwidth becomes a more critical factor, and the 12 GB VRAM capacity helps maintain stability but cannot overcome the sheer fill-rate demands. For players targeting 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting component, while at 1080p, the system has enough headroom that other factors like CPU efficiency come into play.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 Mobile’s specifications directly influence its performance in Barony. The GPU features 7424 shading units, 232 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, running at a base clock of 1290 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. These numbers translate to a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 386.3 GTexel/s, which are substantial for a mobile part. In practice, this hardware is more than capable of handling Barony’s roguelike visuals, which are not graphically intensive by modern standards, but the frame rate data shows that Ultra settings still challenge the card.

The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a crucial factor at 4K, where texture data and geometry require more memory throughput. The fact that 4K Ultra yields 65 FPS while 4K High yields 91 FPS suggests that VRAM allocation and memory bandwidth are not the primary bottlenecks at High, but at Ultra, the additional settings likely increase memory pressure, causing the performance drop. The min FPS of 90 at 4K Medium, compared to no min FPS recorded for High, indicates that Medium maintains a more stable frame rate, possibly due to lower memory usage.

Benchmarks place the RTX 4080 Mobile at the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 38135. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 with a delta of -0.4%, the RTX 5080 Mobile at -0.6%, and the RTX 4070 at +1.3%. These small deltas suggest that the RTX 4080 Mobile is positioned in a competitive mid-to-high tier, but its actual gaming performance in Barony is what matters most. The GPU’s 24.72 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 58 RT cores are overkill for a game like Barony, which likely does not use ray tracing, but the raw rasterization performance drives the high frame rates seen at lower settings.

The GPU’s TDP of 110 W is modest for a high-end mobile part, yet it still delivers 430 FPS at 1080p Low. This efficiency is notable, especially considering the Ada Lovelace architecture’s 5 nm process node from TSMC. The 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die yield a density of 121.8M per mm², which contributes to the card’s performance-per-watt. In Barony, this translates to smooth gameplay even at demanding settings, with the caveat that 4K Ultra pushes the card to its limits.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for the RTX 4080 Mobile in Barony?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings achieves 173 FPS average, offering a strong balance of visual quality and performance. At 4K, High settings still manage 91 FPS, but Ultra drops to 65 FPS, so 1440p is the sweet spot for consistent high refresh rates.

Q: How does the GPU’s VRAM affect performance in this game?

A: The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory provides ample capacity for Barony’s textures and assets. At 4K Ultra, the 65 FPS result suggests VRAM is not the limiting factor, as the card has enough memory; instead, the GPU’s compute and fill-rate capabilities are what constrain performance.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 Mobile bottlenecked by the CPU in Barony?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 430 FPS, which is extremely high and indicates the CPU can keep up. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as frame rates drop to 65 FPS. The bottleneck shifts depending on resolution and settings, with the GPU dominating at higher loads.

Q: What settings provide a stable 60+ FPS at 4K?

A: Medium settings at 3840x2160 yield an average of 106 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS, ensuring a stable experience above 60 FPS. High settings at 4K average 91 FPS, but no min FPS is recorded, so Medium is the safer choice for consistency.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals in benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 38135 is within 1.3% of the RTX 4070 and within 0.6% of the RTX 5080 Mobile, showing it performs in a similar tier. The MX570 is 0.4% behind, indicating the 4080 Mobile is competitive with its direct peers.

Q: Can this system handle high refresh rate monitors?

A: Yes, at 1080p, all settings exceed 197 FPS, and Medium reaches 320 FPS, supporting 240Hz and even 360Hz displays. At 1440p, High hits 173 FPS, which supports 165Hz monitors, while 4K is limited to 91 FPS at High, making 60Hz or 120Hz displays more appropriate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4080 Mobile delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings achieve 430 FPS average, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce 320 FPS with a minimum of 272 FPS and a maximum of 368 FPS, showing excellent frame pacing. High settings reduce the average to 275 FPS, while Ultra settings still manage 197 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system has massive headroom, and even the most demanding preset remains well above typical refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops but remains strong. Low settings average 272 FPS, which is still high enough for esports-level play. Medium settings yield 202 FPS with a min of 172 FPS and a max of 232 FPS, demonstrating consistent performance. High settings produce 173 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 124 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GPU can handle this resolution comfortably, with all presets exceeding 120 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh gaming.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes. Low settings average 142 FPS, which is playable but notably lower than lower resolutions. Medium settings achieve 106 FPS with a min of 90 FPS and a max of 121 FPS, providing a stable experience above 60 FPS. High settings drop to 91 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 65 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, and without recorded min/max values, it may have frame dips that affect smoothness. Overall, the data shows that 4K is playable but requires tuning settings to maintain high frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provide ample data throughput for gaming. In Barony, which is not a CPU-intensive title, the processor’s capabilities are more than sufficient, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low where the CPU is least burdened.

Benchmark scores for the Core Ultra 7 155H place it at the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average score of 32697. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14600T with a 0% delta, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 at +0.1%, the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F at -0.2%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H at -0.4%. These tight deltas show that the Core Ultra 7 is competitively positioned, though its performance in Barony is more about avoiding bottlenecks than providing raw gaming power.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role becomes evident at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 430 FPS result suggests the CPU can feed the GPU effectively without becoming a limiting factor. However, as resolution increases, the GPU takes over as the primary bottleneck, which is typical for a game like Barony that relies more on graphics rendering than complex physics or AI. The Core Ultra 7’s single-thread performance, as seen in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1743, is adequate for the game’s logic, but the lack of min FPS data at most settings makes it difficult to assess CPU-related stutters.

The 28 W TDP of the Core Ultra 7 is low for a processor with 16 cores, but in a mobile gaming laptop, this allows for efficient operation that complements the GPU. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG 128EU graphics could theoretically handle Barony, but the dedicated RTX 4080 Mobile dominates performance. Overall, the CPU provides a solid foundation, but the data indicates that the GPU is the star of the show in this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the best experience, the choice of settings depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, High settings at 275 FPS offer a great balance, as Ultra (197 FPS) provides minimal visual gains for a 28% performance drop. Medium (320 FPS) is also excellent, but High is recommended for better visuals without sacrificing smoothness. The 430 FPS at Low is unnecessary for most displays, so High is the optimal preset for 1080p.

At 1440p, High settings at 173 FPS are the sweet spot, delivering strong visual quality while maintaining high frame rates. Medium (202 FPS) is faster but less detailed, and Ultra (124 FPS) is still smooth but with diminishing returns. For a 144Hz monitor, High is ideal, while those with 165Hz displays may prefer Medium for extra headroom. Low settings at 272 FPS are overkill for most users, so High is the recommended choice.

At 4K, the situation is more nuanced. Medium settings at 106 FPS with a 90 FPS minimum provide the most stable experience, making it the best preset for consistent performance. High (91 FPS) is playable but lacks recorded min/max data, which could indicate less stability. Ultra (65 FPS) is only suitable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, and it risks dropping below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. For 4K gaming, Medium is the recommended preset, as it balances quality and performance effectively.

Overall, the RTX 4080 Mobile and Core Ultra 7 155H combination excels at 1080p and 1440p, where High settings offer the best experience. At 4K, Medium settings are the wise choice to maintain smooth gameplay. The data shows that this system is versatile, but users should adjust expectations at the highest resolution to avoid frame rate drops.