Barony

# Barony with AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers exceptional frame rates in Barony, a roguelike that clearly favors high-refresh-rate displays. At 1080p, this pairing produces triple-digit averages across every settings preset, with the Low preset exceeding 500 FPS. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops, making the Ryzen 5 5500's six cores and twelve threads the limiting factor at 1080p. This combo ranks 359th out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21% of all tested pairings for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that shifts the bottleneck between components. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 76.2 FPS, which is fully playable but represents the lowest performance tier in this dataset. Dropping to 4K High raises the average to 105.8 FPS, a gain of roughly 39% over Ultra. The 4K Medium preset hits 127 FPS, while 4K Low reaches 169.7 FPS. This progression from Ultra to Low at 4K shows a 93.5 FPS spread, indicating that the RTX 5070's rendering load dominates at this resolution.

Moving to 1440p, the same preset ladder shows significantly higher numbers. The 1440p Ultra average is 148.2 FPS, which is 72 FPS higher than 4K Ultra. The 1440p High preset delivers 202.1 FPS, while Medium reaches 237.8 FPS. At 1440p Low, the average jumps to 320.4 FPS. The gap between 4K and 1440p at each setting grows as presets decrease: 72 FPS at Ultra, 96.3 FPS at High, 110.8 FPS at Medium, and 150.7 FPS at Low. This widening delta suggests the CPU begins to assert itself more at lower resolutions.

At 1080p, the scaling continues but with diminishing returns compared to 1440p. The 1080p Ultra average is 230.2 FPS, which is 82 FPS above 1440p Ultra. The 1080p High preset reaches 322 FPS, a 119.9 FPS improvement over 1440p High. Medium at 1080p delivers 374.3 FPS, while Low reaches 509.8 FPS. The jump from 1440p Low to 1080p Low is 189.4 FPS, the largest single-step gain in the dataset. This pattern strongly indicates that at 1080p Low, the Ryzen 5 5500's single-thread performance becomes the primary constraint, as the RTX 5070 has ample headroom to render far more frames than the CPU can feed.

The relative FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are telling. At Ultra settings, 4K performance is 66.9% lower than 1080p. At High settings, the drop is 67.1%. Medium sees a 66.1% reduction, and Low drops 66.7%. These consistent percentages across presets indicate that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, with the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth being the primary limitations at 4K. The RTX 5070's 672.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are the hardware specifications that directly govern this scaling behavior.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the High preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users. At 1440p High, the combo averages 202.1 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all mainstream monitors while maintaining higher visual fidelity than Medium. The step from Medium to High at 1440p costs 35.7 FPS but likely provides meaningful visual improvements in a roguelike where readability matters for gameplay.

For 4K displays, the High preset at 105.8 FPS is the recommended starting point. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K costs 29.6 FPS, a 28% reduction, which is substantial for what may be marginal visual gains in this genre. The 4K Medium preset at 127 FPS is also viable if you prefer smoother motion over higher fidelity. The Low preset at 4K (169.7 FPS) is only recommended for competitive play, as the visual downgrade may obscure important game elements.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 230.2 FPS is the sensible choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, as it still delivers well above 144Hz. The 1080p High preset at 322 FPS is overkill for most displays, though it could benefit 360Hz panels. The Low preset at 509.8 FPS is purely for esports-style play where maximum frame rate trumps all other considerations. Given that Barony is a roguelike where visual clarity helps with pattern recognition, the Medium preset at 374.3 FPS might offer the best balance for 240Hz displays.

The data suggests that the RTX 5070 is powerful enough to run Barony at maximum settings at 1440p without compromise, and at High settings for 4K. The Ultra preset at 1440p (148.2 FPS) is also excellent for 144Hz monitors, making it a valid alternative if you prioritize visual quality over raw frame rate. The key insight is that this combo never drops below 76 FPS even at the most demanding settings, which means every preset is playable, but the High preset consistently offers the best performance-per-visual-quality tradeoff across resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 359th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 79th percentile of all tested pairings. This rank reflects the combination's ability to deliver high frame rates across all resolutions and settings, but also shows that there are faster combinations available. The Ryzen 5 5500's percentile rank of 79 among all CPUs indicates it is a mid-to-upper-range processor, while the RTX 5070's percentile rank of 83 among all GPUs shows slightly stronger relative performance on the graphics side.

The combo rank of 359 out of 1702 suggests that in Barony, this pairing is better than roughly 79% of tested combinations. This is a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The rank also implies that upgrading the CPU would yield meaningful gains, particularly at 1080p where the processor becomes the bottleneck. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (509.8 FPS) versus 4K Low (169.7 FPS) demonstrates that the CPU is holding back the GPU at lower resolutions, so a faster processor could push those numbers higher.

The RTX 5070's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 with a delta of 0.6%, meaning the RTX 5070 scores 0.6% higher on average. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 is 0.2% behind, while the NVIDIA Tesla M40 is 0.5% behind. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 5070's raw compute performance is competitive with the previous generation's flagship, which explains why the combo ranks so highly despite the mid-range CPU. The Ryzen 5 5500's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12500, is only 0.1% behind in average benchmark score, showing that this processor is well-positioned in its price-performance tier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the combo delivers an average of 76.2 FPS on Ultra, 105.8 FPS on High, 127 FPS on Medium, and 169.7 FPS on Low. These numbers confirm that 4K gaming is viable with this pairing, though the Ultra preset may not satisfy users with 144Hz 4K displays.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 148.2 FPS on Ultra, 202.1 FPS on High, 237.8 FPS on Medium, and 320.4 FPS on Low. The 1440p results show that this combo can drive high-refresh-rate monitors at nearly any settings level, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 144 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the averages are 230.2 FPS on Ultra, 322 FPS on High, 374.3 FPS on Medium, and 509.8 FPS on Low. The 1080p Low result of 509.8 FPS approaches the limits of what the Ryzen 5 5500 can deliver, as the CPU's single-thread score of 836 in 3DMark and 2319 in Cinebench R23 set the ceiling for frame generation in this scenario.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, the measured data shows 4K averages of 76.2 FPS on Ultra and 105.8 FPS on High, both of which are playable. The 4K Medium preset reaches 127 FPS, and Low hits 169.7 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: The High preset at 202.1 FPS offers the best balance, but Ultra at 148.2 FPS is also excellent for 144Hz monitors. Medium delivers 237.8 FPS if you prefer higher frame rates.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the Ryzen 5 5500 becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, especially at Low settings where the average is 509.8 FPS. The GPU has more headroom than the CPU can utilize at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to the RTX 3090 in benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070 scores 0.6% higher than the RTX 3090 in average benchmark score, making them effectively equivalent in raw performance for this game.

Q: What is the lowest FPS this combo produces?

A: The lowest measured average is 76.2 FPS at 4K Ultra settings, which remains above 60 FPS and is fully playable for a roguelike.

Q: Should I use the Low preset for competitive play?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 509.8 FPS, which is ideal for maximum responsiveness. At 1440p Low, it reaches 320.4 FPS, and at 4K Low, 169.7 FPS, all of which are excellent for competitive scenarios.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm process node. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with 16 MB of L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores show a single-thread performance of 836 in 3DMark and 2319 in Cinebench R23, while multi-thread scores reach 5411 in 3DMark and 16429 in Cinebench R23. These numbers place the CPU in the 79th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 20875.

In Barony, the CPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution decreases. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, with the RTX 5070's rendering workload dominating performance. At 1080p, however, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the limiting factor, particularly at Low settings where the average FPS reaches 509.8. The 3DMark single-thread score of 836 and PassMark single-thread score of 3058 indicate that while the Ryzen 5 5500 is capable, it lacks the raw single-core speed of higher-tier processors, which is why the combo doesn't rank higher at 1080p.

The CPU's 16 MB L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this game, but the PCIe Gen 3 interface may slightly limit data transfer rates compared to newer platforms. The 65 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make this an efficient and overclockable processor, though the stock boost clock of 4.20 GHz is what the measured results reflect. The nearest rival, Intel Core i5-12500, scores within 0.1% of the Ryzen 5 5500 on average, confirming that this CPU is well-matched to its competition in this workload.