Barony

Barony is a 2015 roguelike that, despite its age, proves to be remarkably demanding when paired with an AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D. The measured results show a system capable of extreme frame rates, yet the data reveals a significant bottleneck: the CPU struggles to keep pace with the GPU's raw power, especially at lower resolutions. The combination ranks 137th out of 2935 tested combos, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations, but the performance profile is far from balanced. This analysis breaks down the roles of each component, how resolution scaling exposes their limits, and what settings deliver the optimal experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Renoir. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. This CPU features an 8 MB shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core, along with 64 KB of L1 cache per core. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, offering 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The processor is built on a 7 nm process node from TSMC, with 9,800 million transistors on a 156 mm² die. It also includes integrated Radeon Vega 7 graphics, though its role in this test is secondary given the dedicated GPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU shows a clear profile. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 13,593, while the single-core score is 1,919. The Geekbench multicore result is 6,637, and the single-core is 1,460. Passmark's multithread score is 15,992, with a single-thread score of 2,653. The 3DMark results show a significant scaling pattern: 2-thread score is 1,430, 4-thread is 2,732, 8-thread is 4,138, and max-thread is 4,889. This indicates that the CPU gains performance with more threads, but the gains diminish beyond 8 threads, suggesting that its 6 physical cores are the primary workhorses. The CPU's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 71, meaning it outperforms 71% of processors in the database. Its average benchmark score is 17,507.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database provide context for its performance. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE scores 17,482, which is 0.1% higher than the 4600G. The AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE scores 17,614, which is 0.6% higher. The Intel Core 7 150U scores 17,395, which is 0.6% lower. The Intel Core i3-14100T scores 17,648, which is 0.8% higher. These deltas are all within 1%, indicating that the 4600G is a mid-pack performer among its immediate peers.

In the context of Barony's measured FPS, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the frame rates at 1080p. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 494 FPS, and at 1080p High, it achieves 420 FPS. These numbers are exceptionally high, but they are not as high as the GPU's theoretical capability would suggest. The CPU's single-thread performance, as indicated by its 3DMark single-thread score of 726, is likely the limiting factor. Barony, as a roguelike, often relies on game logic and AI calculations that are heavily single-threaded. The data shows that the CPU can push frame rates well above 400 FPS at 1080p, but the bottleneck is the gap between the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with data and the GPU's ability to render frames. The CPU's Cinebench R15 single-core score of 193 and R20 single-core score of 805 further illustrate its modest per-core capability, which is a known limitation of the Zen 2 architecture compared to newer designs.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a flagship graphics card from the GeForce 50-series, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture. It is based on the GB202 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The card has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. Memory runs at 1750 MHz, effective 28 Gbps, with 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU features 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 176 render output units (ROPs). It also includes 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. The card's compute power is rated at 104.8 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16 (1:1) operations. Its pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The TDP is 575 W, requiring a suggested 950 W power supply and a single 16-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5090 D is a dominant force. Its Passmark G3D score is 44,065, and its GPU compute score is 28,396. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 14,326. Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 310,674 and 376,915, respectively. The GPU's percentile ranking against all GPUs is 92, meaning it is in the top 8% of all graphics cards. Its average benchmark score is 77,712.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database show its standing. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76,904, which is 1.1% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, which is 1.6% lower. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396, which is 2.1% lower. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605, which is 2.4% lower. These rivals are all within a few percentage points, indicating that the 5090 D is a high-performance card, but its synthetic scores are not drastically ahead of some mobile and workstation parts.

In Barony, the GPU's role is most apparent at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra settings, the system achieves 109 FPS, which is still a high frame rate. At 4K High, it achieves 152 FPS. The GPU's massive memory bandwidth (1.79 TB/s) and 32 GB of VRAM are more than sufficient for Barony's textures and effects. The card's 176 ROPs and high pixel rate ensure that it can handle the resolution scaling without a significant drop in performance. However, the data suggests that the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the FPS is 494, which is likely near the CPU's limit for frame generation. The GPU's raw power is being underutilized at 1080p, as the CPU cannot provide enough instructions to keep the GPU fully occupied. At 4K, the GPU's workload increases, and the FPS drops to 239 at Low settings and 152 at High, showing that the GPU is now the limiting factor. The GPU's percentile ranking of 92 confirms that it is a top-tier card, but in this specific pairing, its potential is capped by the CPU's performance.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a classic CPU-bound versus GPU-bound scenario. Starting at 1080p, the system delivers extremely high frame rates: 494 FPS on Low, 443 FPS on Medium, 420 FPS on High, and 331 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop to 423 FPS on Low, 340 FPS on Medium, 292 FPS on High, and 209 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, the numbers fall further to 239 FPS on Low, 178 FPS on Medium, 152 FPS on High, and 109 FPS on Ultra.

The percentage drops from 1080p to 4K are telling. For Low settings, the drop is from 494 FPS to 239 FPS, a reduction of approximately 52%. For Medium, the drop is from 443 FPS to 178 FPS, a reduction of 60%. For High, the drop is from 420 FPS to 152 FPS, a reduction of 64%. For Ultra, the drop is from 331 FPS to 109 FPS, a reduction of 67%. The increasing percentage drop as settings increase indicates that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at higher settings and resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the FPS is 494, which is extraordinarily high. The fact that it does not exceed 500 FPS suggests a CPU limit, as the GPU is likely capable of rendering more frames if given the data. The CPU's single-thread performance, as shown by its 3DMark single-thread score of 726, is the likely barrier. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the FPS drops proportionally more, indicating that the GPU is now the bottleneck. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 109, which is a substantial decrease from the 1080p High of 420. This scaling pattern is typical of a system where the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, and the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The Medium settings at each resolution provide the most complete data, with min and max FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 443 FPS, with a min of 376 and max of 509. At 1440p Medium, the average is 340 FPS, with a min of 289 and max of 391. At 4K Medium, the average is 178 FPS, with a min of 151 and max of 204. The min FPS values are notably lower than the averages, indicating that there are occasional frame drops, likely due to CPU spikes in game logic. The delta between min and max is around 130 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. This tightening of the range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU's consistent rendering smooths out the CPU-induced fluctuations.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 137th out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the top 4.7% of all configurations tested. This rank is impressive, but it is important to note that the combo's performance is heavily skewed by the GPU's strength. The CPU's percentile rank is 71, while the GPU's is 92. The combo rank of 137 is better than the CPU's individual rank would suggest, but worse than what the GPU alone could achieve with a stronger processor.

The rank of 137 out of 2935 means that there are 136 other combos that perform better. These are likely to feature more powerful CPUs paired with similar or slightly weaker GPUs. The data indicates that the 4600G is a bottleneck, as the combo's rank is lower than what a top-tier GPU like the RTX 5090 D would typically achieve. For context, the GPU's average benchmark score is 77,712, which is 92nd percentile, but the combo only achieves 137th place, suggesting that the CPU is holding back the overall performance.

The nearest rivals for the CPU, such as the Intel Core i3-14100T, have slightly higher average scores, and pairing the 5090 D with such a CPU would likely result in a better combo rank. The data shows that the combo is still highly capable, but it is not maximizing the GPU's potential. In a game like Barony, which is CPU-intensive due to its roguelike nature, the CPU's single-thread performance is critical. The 4600G's single-thread score of 726 in 3DMark is a limiting factor that prevents the combo from ranking higher.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's priority: maximizing frame rate or ensuring a stable experience. At 1080p, all settings are playable, but the data suggests that High settings offer the best balance. The average FPS at 1080p High is 420, which is more than enough for any display. Moving to Ultra only drops the FPS to 331, which is still high, but the visual improvement may not be worth the performance cost. For a roguelike where reaction time matters, a higher frame rate is beneficial, but the difference between 420 and 331 FPS is negligible on most monitors.

At 1440p, the Medium settings provide a strong experience with an average of 340 FPS and a min of 289 FPS. High settings at 1440p average 292 FPS, which is also excellent. The Ultra setting at 1440p drops to 209 FPS, which is still smooth but represents a significant performance hit. Given the data, 1440p High is the recommended setting for this resolution, as it delivers 292 FPS average with no recorded min FPS, indicating consistent performance.

At 4K, the choice is more nuanced. Ultra settings average 109 FPS, which is above the standard 60 FPS target but may not be ideal for high-refresh-rate 4K displays. High settings at 4K average 152 FPS, which is a substantial improvement and is likely the best choice for a 4K experience. Medium settings at 4K average 178 FPS, with a min of 151 FPS, which is also a viable option if the user prefers higher frame rates over visual fidelity. Low settings at 4K average 239 FPS, but the visual quality is likely too poor for a game like Barony, which may rely on atmospheric details.

Overall, the data suggests that High settings provide the best experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, High offers 420 FPS; at 1440p, High offers 292 FPS; and at 4K, High offers 152 FPS. These frame rates are all smooth and provide a visual quality that is likely superior to Low or Medium. The Ultra settings offer diminishing returns, with a 64% drop from High at 1080p and a 67% drop at 4K, which is not justified by the marginal visual improvements in a roguelike genre.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p High settings for this combo?

A: The average FPS at 1080p High is 420, with no recorded min or max FPS in the data.

Q: How does the combo's rank in Barony compare to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 137th out of 2935 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.7% of all configurations.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 4K Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 151, with an average of 178 and a maximum of 204.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p Low, as the FPS of 494 is likely limited by the processor's single-thread performance rather than the GPU's capability.

Q: What is the GPU's average benchmark score and percentile ranking?

A: The GPU has an average benchmark score of 77,712 and ranks in the 92nd percentile against all GPUs.

Q: How much does the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K on Ultra settings?

A: The FPS drops from 331 at 1080p Ultra to 109 at 4K Ultra, a reduction of approximately 67%.