Barony

# Barony with Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers exceptional frame rates across all tested resolutions in Barony, a roguelike title that scales aggressively with both CPU and GPU performance. The measured data shows this combo landing at rank 244 out of 3,717 tested combinations, placing it comfortably in the top 7% of all systems tested. With average FPS ranging from 91 at 4K Ultra to 600 at 1080p Low, this pairing demonstrates headroom for virtually any display configuration, though the scaling patterns reveal where each component's contribution matters most.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but proportional to the workload increase, indicating a balanced system where neither component bottlenecks prematurely. At Low settings, the combo produces 600 FPS at 1080p, 379 FPS at 1440p, and 198 FPS at 4K — a 68% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This scaling suggests the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are handling the resolution jump effectively, though the sheer pixel count at 4K begins to tax the GPU more heavily.

Moving to Medium settings, the averages are 446 FPS at 1080p, 281 FPS at 1440p, and 147 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop here is 67%, nearly identical to Low, which indicates the GPU remains the primary scaling factor as resolution increases. The min FPS at 1080p Medium is 379, while at 4K Medium it falls to 125 — a 67% reduction in minimums as well, showing consistent performance behavior across the frame delivery curve.

High settings show 383 FPS at 1080p, 242 FPS at 1440p, and 126 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K reduction is 67% again, reinforcing that resolution scaling in Barony is highly consistent regardless of quality preset. The 1440p-to-4K drop is 48%, while 1080p-to-1440p is 37%, meaning the pixel-count increase from 1440p to 4K (2.25x) costs slightly more proportional performance than the 1080p-to-1440p jump (1.78x), pointing to memory bandwidth pressure at the highest resolution.

Ultra settings deliver 274 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and 91 FPS at 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 67% once again, making Ultra the most demanding preset with the lowest absolute floor at 4K. The consistent 67% scaling across all presets suggests that Barony's rendering pipeline scales linearly with resolution, and the RTX 4080's 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 compute is the limiting factor at 4K rather than any CPU-side constraint — the CPU's 20 cores and 20 threads at up to 5.50 GHz boost have ample headroom even at 1080p where frame rates exceed 600.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 244 out of 3,717 tested combinations places it in the 93.4th percentile of all systems measured in Barony. This is a strong showing, though not the absolute top tier — the data indicates that systems with higher-end GPUs or more optimized CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher average FPS in this game. The RTX 4080's percentileVsAllGpus of 86 means it outperforms 86% of all GPUs in the database, while the Core Ultra 7 265K's percentileVsAllCpus of 94 places it ahead of 94% of all CPUs.

Within the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 scores an average benchmark of 54,247, which is 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209) — a negligible margin that translates to virtually identical gaming performance. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% ahead at 54,828, and the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% ahead at 55,698, while the Radeon 8060S leads by 2.7% at 55,757. These small deltas suggest the RTX 4080 is competitively positioned within its performance class, though it is not the fastest GPU in its immediate neighborhood.

On the CPU side, the Core Ultra 7 265K's average benchmark score of 70,879 sits just 0.2% below the Intel Xeon 6511P (71,051) and 0.7% below the Xeon Platinum 8270 (71,370). It edges out the Core i7-14700KF by 1% (70,163) and the Ryzen 7 9700F by 1.3% (69,996). This CPU performance headroom is crucial for Barony, where high frame rates at 1080p demand strong single-thread performance — the 265K's 2,020 Cinebench R23 single-core score and 4,928 Passmark single-thread score support the 600 FPS Low result.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080's 16 GB GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 716.8 GB/s bandwidth, which directly supports the consistent resolution scaling observed in the measured data. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz (base 2205 MHz) enables the 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 throughput that drives Barony's rendering at high frame rates. With 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, the card processes the roguelike's geometry and effects efficiently, as evidenced by the 126 FPS average at 4K High.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with its 54,247 average benchmark score, indicates it sits just below the top-tier cards. The nearest rival data shows the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54,209 (0.1% ahead), meaning the non-SUPER variant delivers essentially identical performance in synthetic benchmarks — a fact that aligns with the measured Barony results where no rival-specific data is available to compare directly. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567 and Passmark G3D score of 34,457 provide additional context for its compute capabilities, though Barony's actual frame rates are more directly tied to the resolution scaling behavior.

At 4K Medium, the measured min FPS of 125 with a max of 169 shows the GPU maintains playable frame delivery even under load, while the 1080p Medium min of 379 and max of 513 demonstrates the card's ability to push well beyond typical 240 Hz display refresh rates. The RTX 4080's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are not specifically utilized by Barony's roguelike rendering, but the raw compute throughput they contribute to the GPU's overall architecture supports the high fill rates observed.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows 91 FPS average at 3840x2160 Ultra, with no min or max FPS recorded for that configuration.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54,247 on average, which is 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54,209. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% ahead at 54,828.

Q: What is the highest measured frame rate in this dataset?

A: The maximum average FPS recorded is 600 at 1920x1080 Low settings. The highest individual frame rate is 513 FPS max at 1080p Medium.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in Barony?

A: This combo ranks 244th out of 3,717 tested combinations, placing it in the top 7% of all systems.

Q: How much memory does the RTX 4080 have and what type?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the Core Ultra 7 265K's core and thread counts?

A: The CPU has 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K's 20 cores and 20 threads operate at a base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost to 5.50 GHz, providing substantial compute headroom for Barony's logic-driven gameplay. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 per core (192 KB L1 per core) support the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor. With a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35,850 and single-core score of 2,020, the 265K delivers the single-thread performance necessary for roguelike AI and game logic at frame rates exceeding 500 FPS.

The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 58,594 and single-thread score of 4,928, places it well above the vast majority of processors. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Xeon 6511P (71,051, 0.2% ahead), Xeon Platinum 8270 (71,370, 0.7% ahead), Core i7-14700KF (70,163, 1% behind), and Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996, 1.3% behind). The 265K's 3 nm process node from TSMC with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die enables the efficiency needed to sustain high clock speeds during extended gaming sessions.

At 1080p Low where the system reaches 600 FPS, the CPU's role becomes critical — the 5.50 GHz boost clock and 2,020 Cinebench R23 single-core score ensure that frame generation is not CPU-limited even at these extreme rates. The 265K's 102.4 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth and Gen 5 PCIe connectivity (20 CPU lanes) provide a robust platform for the RTX 4080, ensuring no data transfer bottlenecks between CPU and GPU. The CPU's 125 W TDP and ECC memory support round out a specification sheet that positions it as a high-end desktop part, though these figures are secondary to the measured gaming performance.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal preset depends on the target display refresh rate. For 4K displays, Ultra settings yield 91 FPS average — sufficient for 60 Hz panels but not for 120 Hz or higher. High settings at 4K produce 126 FPS, making it the best choice for 120 Hz 4K displays, while Medium at 147 FPS supports 144 Hz panels with a comfortable margin. The 4K Low preset at 198 FPS is unnecessary for most users, as the visual quality reduction does not justify the performance gain when High already exceeds 120 FPS.

At 1440p, the data shows Ultra at 173 FPS, High at 242 FPS, Medium at 281 FPS, and Low at 379 FPS. For 1440p 144 Hz displays, High settings provide 242 FPS with headroom for frame time variance, while Medium at 281 FPS suits 240 Hz panels. Ultra at 173 FPS is viable for 165 Hz displays, though the 91 FPS jump from Ultra to High (242 FPS) suggests High is the sweet spot for most 1440p users seeking both quality and performance.

For 1080p, all presets exceed 270 FPS, with Ultra at 274 FPS, High at 383 FPS, Medium at 446 FPS, and Low at 600 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset offers 446 FPS average with a minimum of 379 FPS and maximum of 513 FPS, making it the most balanced choice for high-refresh 1080p monitors (240 Hz and above). High settings at 383 FPS are nearly as fast and provide better visual fidelity, while Ultra's 274 FPS still comfortably exceeds 240 Hz refresh rates. Given the data, High at 1080p or 1440p delivers the best combination of visual quality and frame rate performance across all measured resolutions.