Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing in Barony is a study in extreme bottlenecking, where the CPU is the definitive limiting factor. While the RTX 4090 is capable of immense frame rates, the data shows that the Ryzen 5 3600 holds performance back, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is underutilized. This combination ranks 111th out of 1702 tested combos in this game, which is a strong overall position, but the performance deltas between settings and resolutions reveal a system that is not scaling as the GPU alone would suggest.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in Barony?*

A: The combo ranks 111th out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the top 6.5% of all tested systems for this game.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4090 compared to its closest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 66473, while the Tesla T4 scores 66733. This means the RTX 4090 is actually 0.4% slower than the Tesla T4 in average benchmark scores.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Ryzen 5 3600 and its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 18129, while the Intel Core i5-11400 scores 18150. The Ryzen 5 3600 is 0.1% slower than the i5-11400, making them essentially equivalent in compute performance.

Q: What is the best frame rate achieved at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate at 1920x1080 is 479.1 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset.

Q: How much of a frame rate drop occurs when moving from 1080p High to 4K High?

A: The average frame rate drops from 404.1 FPS at 1920x1080 High to 140.1 FPS at 3840x2160 High, representing a 65.3% reduction in performance.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, indicating it is fully capable of running modern game engines.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a monstrous GPU with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its architecture is Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process, and it boasts 16384 shading units. The GPU's base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. This hardware foundation is more than sufficient for Barony, a roguelike that does not heavily tax GPU resources. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 479.1 FPS, and even at 4K Ultra, it still manages 100.2 FPS. The GPU's percentile ranking is 91, meaning it outperforms 91% of all GPUs in the database. In benchmark tests, the RTX 4090 scores 38194 in Passmark G3D and 9223 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

However, the GPU's role in this pairing is constrained. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is only 175.1 FPS (from 479.1 to 304.0). This is a relatively small gap compared to what the GPU could theoretically deliver. The RTX 4090 is so powerful that it is waiting for the CPU to feed it data, especially at 1080p. At 4K, the GPU becomes more of a factor, as the resolution increase demands more from the render pipeline. The 4K Ultra setting drops to 100.2 FPS, which is a significant reduction, but still far above playable thresholds. The GPU's 24 GB of VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor in a game like Barony, which is not known for massive texture requirements.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture (Matisse) on a 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a 32 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 15045 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2124 in single-core. Its average benchmark score is 18129, placing it in the 76th percentile of all CPUs. This is a solid mid-range processor, but it is clearly outclassed by the RTX 4090 in this pairing.

The CPU's role in Barony is critical, and the data shows it is the primary bottleneck. At 1080p, the frame rates are incredibly high, but they are capped by the CPU's single-thread performance. The jump from 1080p Low (479.1 FPS) to 1080p High (404.1 FPS) is only 75 FPS, which is a modest drop. This suggests that the CPU is struggling to keep up with the GPU's requests, regardless of the graphics settings. At 4K, the CPU bottleneck is less severe because the GPU is doing more work, but the frame rates are still lower than what the GPU alone could achieve. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score is 696, which is not particularly high. For a game like Barony, which likely has a single primary simulation thread, this is a limiting factor. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400, is 0.1% faster in average benchmark scores, indicating that this level of performance is typical for this class of processor.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 5 3600 and RTX 4090 ranks 111th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This is a high ranking, placing it in the top 6.5% of all systems. However, this ranking is misleading when considering the individual components. The RTX 4090 is in the 91st percentile of GPUs, while the Ryzen 5 3600 is only in the 76th percentile of CPUs. The ranking suggests that the combo is strong, but the performance is not what one would expect from a top-tier GPU paired with a mid-range CPU.

The data indicates that the combo is being held back by the CPU. For example, at 1080p Low, the system hits 479.1 FPS. This is an excellent frame rate, but it is likely that a stronger CPU would push this number higher. The ranking of 111th out of 1702 means there are 110 other combos that perform better. Given that the RTX 4090 is an end-of-life product with a launch MSRP of 1,599 USD, it is clear that the CPU is the weak link. The combo's performance in Barony is more indicative of the CPU's capabilities than the GPU's. The RTX 4090 is effectively idle in many scenarios, waiting for the Ryzen 5 3600 to provide instructions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience is achieved with the High settings preset at 1080p. This setting provides an average of 404.1 FPS, which is more than enough for any display. The High preset balances visual quality with performance, avoiding the excessive frame rates of Low (479.1 FPS) that offer no tangible benefit on most monitors. At 1440p, the High preset delivers 269.5 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth. At 4K, the High preset drops to 140.1 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS standard for most games.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo. At 1080p, it delivers 304.0 FPS, which is a significant drop from High. At 4K, it drops to 100.2 FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra in a roguelike like Barony is unlikely to justify the 25.7% performance penalty at 1080p (from 404.1 to 304.0 FPS). The Medium preset is a middle ground, but it does not offer a significant advantage over High. The Low preset is only useful for achieving maximum frame rates, which are beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. For a balanced experience, High is the clear choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low is 479.1 FPS, High is 404.1 FPS, Medium is 428.9 FPS, and Ultra is 304.0 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 175.1 FPS, which is a 36.5% reduction. This indicates that the settings are not heavily taxing the GPU, as the CPU is the primary constraint.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are: Low is 407.5 FPS, High is 269.5 FPS, Medium is 311.5 FPS, and Ultra is 190.7 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 216.8 FPS, which is a 53.2% reduction. The increased resolution begins to shift the bottleneck towards the GPU, but the CPU is still a significant factor.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are: Low is 223.1 FPS, High is 140.1 FPS, Medium is 165.3 FPS, and Ultra is 100.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 122.9 FPS, which is a 55.1% reduction. At 4K, the GPU is now the dominant bottleneck, as the resolution demands more from the render pipeline.

The data shows that the Medium setting is consistently close to High, with the difference being 24.8 FPS at 1080p (428.9 vs 404.1), 42.0 FPS at 1440p (311.5 vs 269.5), and 25.2 FPS at 4K (165.3 vs 140.1). This suggests that Medium is a viable alternative to High if slightly lower frame rates are acceptable.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck characteristics of this combo. At the High setting, the average FPS drops from 404.1 at 1080p to 269.5 at 1440p, a 33.3% reduction, and then to 140.1 at 4K, a further 48.0% reduction. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 65.3%. This is a steep decline, indicating that the system is not scaling linearly with resolution.

The limiting component shifts as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is the clear bottleneck. The frame rates are extremely high, but they are capped by the Ryzen 5 3600's single-thread performance. The GPU is barely working, as evidenced by the small difference between Low and Ultra settings (175.1 FPS). At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The frame rates drop significantly, but they are still high enough to be playable. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 122.9 FPS, which is a larger percentage drop than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is now the limiting factor.

This scaling pattern is classic for a system with a powerful GPU and a weaker CPU. The CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough at lower resolutions, but as resolution increases, the GPU's workload increases, and the CPU has more time to provide data. In this case, the Ryzen 5 3600 is the limiting factor at 1080p and 1440p, while the RTX 4090 becomes the limiting factor at 4K. The data shows that this combo is best utilized at 4K, where the GPU is more fully engaged, but the CPU still prevents the system from reaching its full potential.