Barony

The data for Barony with the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 shows a combination that is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, but transitions to a more balanced load at lower resolutions. The measured FPS figures reveal that while the CPU is capable of pushing very high frame rates, the GPU becomes the primary limiter as resolution increases, particularly at higher settings. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics from the FACT PACK to explain the scaling behavior and the role each component plays.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a classic resolution scaling curve, with the most dramatic performance drops occurring between 1440p and 4K. At 1080p High settings, the combo achieves 275 FPS average, but at 4K High, that number falls to 91 FPS—a 67% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the limiting factor at 4K, as the workload shifts overwhelmingly to the GPU's rendering pipeline.

Looking at the full resolution sweep at High settings, the pattern is consistent and pronounced. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 102 FPS (from 275 to 173), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 82 FPS (from 173 to 91). The fact that the 1080p-to-1440p drop is larger in absolute terms suggests the CPU is still contributing meaningfully at 1080p, but by 1440p the GPU is already becoming the dominant constraint. At 4K, the 91 FPS average is still playable, but the scaling shows that pushing to Ultra settings at this resolution will tax the GPU heavily.

The Low settings data reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 430 FPS, which is exceptionally high and points to the CPU's ability to feed frames quickly when the GPU has less work. At 1440p Low, the score is 272 FPS, and at 4K Low, it is 142 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p Low is 158 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K Low is 130 FPS. This more gradual decline at Low settings compared to High settings indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, even when visual complexity is reduced.

The Medium settings data provides a middle-ground view with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 320 FPS with a min of 272 and max of 368. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 202 FPS with a min of 172 and max of 232. At 4K Medium, the average is 106 FPS with a min of 90 and max of 121. The min-to-max spread narrows as resolution increases, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios where frame time variance is reduced.

Ultra settings show the most extreme scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 197 FPS, at 1440p Ultra it is 124 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 65 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, confirming that this settings/resolution combination is the most demanding. The progression from 1080p to 1440p Ultra (a 73 FPS drop) and then from 1440p to 4K Ultra (a 59 FPS drop) shows that the GPU is being pushed to its limits, with the CPU having ample headroom to spare.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H brings 16 cores and 22 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This mobile processor is built on the Meteor Lake architecture and is designed for laptops, yet its benchmark results show it can keep up with a desktop-class GPU like the RTX 4080 in Barony. The CPU's multi-threaded performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 at 14551 points, indicates strong parallel processing capability, but Barony's results suggest the game is not heavily multi-threaded in a way that stresses all 22 threads.

The single-core performance is more relevant for this game. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1759 points, combined with the boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provides the per-core throughput needed to drive high frame rates. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 430 FPS, which is only possible when the CPU can issue draw calls and game logic updates fast enough to feed the GPU. The fact that 1080p High (275 FPS) is still well above the 4K Low result (142 FPS) suggests the CPU is not the primary constraint at any tested resolution.

The CPU's position in the broader market, at the 84th percentile of all CPUs, puts it slightly ahead of rivals like the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H (0.3% faster) and slightly behind the AMD EPYC 4244P and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (both 0.4% slower). The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is 0.5% ahead in average benchmark score. These small deltas indicate that the Ultra 7 165H is competitively positioned for gaming workloads, though it is not a top-tier desktop part.

In Barony specifically, the CPU's role is to maintain a high enough frame rate ceiling that the GPU can be fully utilized. The data shows this is the case at 1080p and 1440p, where the combo produces frame rates above 170 FPS even at High settings. At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes, and the results are determined almost entirely by the RTX 4080's rendering capacity. The 22 threads of the Ultra 7 165H are likely underutilized, but the high boost clock ensures that the game's primary thread is not a bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: Does the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H bottleneck the RTX 4080 in Barony?

A: No, the data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck at any tested resolution. At 1080p High, the combo reaches 275 FPS, and at 1080p Low it hits 430 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K (e.g., from 275 to 91 FPS at High) is consistent with GPU-bound scaling.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system?

A: The data shows that 1440p High at 173 FPS offers a strong balance of visual quality and speed. For players prioritizing frame rate, 1080p Low at 430 FPS is the maximum the combo can deliver. At 4K, High settings at 91 FPS are playable, but Ultra at 65 FPS may be too demanding for smooth gameplay.

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

A: The combo ranks 926th out of 2935 tested combinations, placing it in the top 32% of all systems. This rank reflects the strong performance of the RTX 4080 and the capable Ultra 7 165H, though it is not at the very top of the leaderboard.

Q: Is the RTX 4080's VRAM sufficient for Barony at 4K?

A: The RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, and the measured results show no evidence of VRAM limitations. At 4K Ultra, the combo still achieves 65 FPS, indicating that memory capacity is not a constraint in this game.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance affect the results?

A: The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1759 points, combined with the 5.00 GHz boost clock, supports high frame rates. The 1080p Low result of 430 FPS demonstrates that the CPU's per-core speed is sufficient to avoid limiting the GPU at lower resolutions.

Q: What do the min FPS values at Medium settings tell us about frame pacing?

A: At 1080p Medium, the min FPS is 272, which is 85% of the average of 320. At 1440p Medium, the min is 172 (85% of the 202 average), and at 4K Medium, the min is 90 (85% of the 106 average). This consistent ratio suggests stable frame pacing across resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 926 out of 2935 tested combinations places it in the 68th percentile of all systems tested in Barony. This is a solid result, but not exceptional, given that the RTX 4080 is a high-end GPU. The ranking suggests that other combinations with faster CPUs or more optimized pairings achieve better performance in this title.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 86th among all GPUs is higher than the combo's overall rank, which implies that the CPU is slightly holding back the system's potential in Barony. The Ultra 7 165H's 84th percentile among CPUs is close to the GPU's standing, but the small gap between the two suggests the CPU is the weaker link in this pairing, even if it is not a severe bottleneck.

Compared to the RTX 4080's nearest rivals, the GPU is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% slower), and it outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1%. However, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% faster in average score, and the AMD Radeon 8060S is 2.7% faster. These deltas are small enough that in-game performance in Barony would likely be similar across these GPUs when paired with the same CPU.

The CPU's nearest rivals also show tight competition. The Intel Core Ultra 5 338H is 0.3% faster, while the AMD EPYC 4244P and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 are both 0.4% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is 0.5% faster. These differences are within the margin of error for most benchmarks, meaning the Ultra 7 165H is competitively positioned but not a standout performer.

The combo's 926th rank out of 2935 means there are 2009 combinations that score worse, which is a large majority. This indicates that the Ultra 7 165H and RTX 4080 together are a capable pairing for Barony, delivering high frame rates at all tested resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and the measured FPS data makes this clear. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 256-bit bus providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, the GPU has ample resources for Barony's rendering demands. The boost clock of 2505 MHz and 9728 shading units give it the raw compute power to handle high resolutions.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects its high-end status. Its average benchmark score of 54247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209), which confirms its performance. The Passmark G3D score of 34457 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 both indicate strong rasterization and compute capabilities.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution rises. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 65 FPS, which is the lowest result in the dataset. This is a clear sign that the GPU is being fully utilized at this setting, with no CPU overhead limiting performance. The fact that 4K Low (142 FPS) is more than double the 4K Ultra score shows how much the GPU's workload scales with visual complexity.

The GPU's memory subsystem is also relevant. The 16 GB capacity is more than enough for Barony at any tested setting, as evidenced by the stable frame rates at 4K. The 716.8 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory access do not become bottlenecks, even at the highest resolutions.

The RTX 4080's architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. This density, at 121.1 million transistors per mm², allows for high clock speeds and efficient power delivery. The 320 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate that this is a power-hungry card, but the performance data justifies the power draw in demanding scenarios like 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo is as follows:

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 430 FPS average
• Medium: 320 FPS average, 272 min, 368 max
• High: 275 FPS average
• Ultra: 197 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 272 FPS average
• Medium: 202 FPS average, 172 min, 232 max
• High: 173 FPS average
• Ultra: 124 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 142 FPS average
• Medium: 106 FPS average, 90 min, 121 max
• High: 91 FPS average
• Ultra: 65 FPS average

The 1080p results show the combo's maximum capability, with the Low setting producing 430 FPS, which is a high ceiling for any game. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 233 FPS drop, indicating that the GPU's workload increases significantly with each settings tier. The Medium settings at 1080p have a min FPS of 272, which is still above the 4K High average of 91 FPS, highlighting the resolution's impact.

At 1440p, the results remain strong, with High settings at 173 FPS being the most balanced option. The Ultra setting at 1440p produces 124 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS and playable. The Medium setting's min FPS of 172 is close to the High average, suggesting that the gap between Medium and High at 1440p is smaller than at 1080p.

At 4K, the GPU's limits become apparent. The High setting at 91 FPS is borderline for high-refresh monitors, while Ultra at 65 FPS is near the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Low setting at 142 FPS shows that reducing settings can restore high frame rates even at 4K. The Medium setting's min FPS of 90 matches the High average, indicating that the GPU is the sole constraint at this resolution.

The min FPS values at Medium settings across all resolutions are consistently 85% of the average, which suggests good frame pacing and no sudden spikes in rendering time. This consistency is a positive sign for gameplay stability, even when the GPU is under heavy load.