Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Barony, with the measured data showing that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance stability across all tested resolutions. At 1080p, the Medium preset averages 213 FPS with a minimum of 181 FPS, providing a significant cushion above high-refresh-rate displays while maintaining a more demanding visual load than the Low preset. At 1440p, Medium still delivers 135 FPS average with a 114 FPS minimum, comfortably exceeding the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Even at 4K, the Medium preset holds a 70 FPS average with a 60 FPS floor, making it the only preset that remains fully playable at the maximum resolution without dipping below 60 FPS. While the High preset at 4K averages exactly 60 FPS, the lack of a recorded minimum makes Medium the safer recommendation for guaranteed frame pacing. The Ultra preset, conversely, pushes the system too hard at higher resolutions, dropping to 43 FPS at 4K, which is below the playability threshold.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, manufactured on a 7 nm process. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with a 32 MB shared L3 cache, provide the computational headroom needed for Barony's procedural generation and entity simulation. The CPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 74th percentile of all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 20,468. In multi-threaded workloads, the processor scores 18,309 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, while single-core performance reaches 2,584 in the same test. This single-thread strength is particularly relevant for a roguelike, where game logic and AI routines often rely on a limited number of heavily utilized threads.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this configuration, especially at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 287 FPS average, which is a strong indicator that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to saturate even a high-refresh-rate monitor. The Ryzen 5 5600’s 12 threads provide ample parallel capacity for background tasks and game engine threads, but the game’s performance scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (from 287 FPS down to 131 FPS) shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as graphical load increases. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V and AMD Ryzen 5 8500G, are within 0.2% of its average score, indicating that this processor is competitively positioned in the mid-range segment without being an outlier in either direction.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture using the TU106 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock is 1650 MHz, with a base clock of 1470 MHz, and its 2176 shading units deliver a FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 18,093, placing it in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (0.4% lower) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (0.5% lower), showing that this desktop card performs slightly above these comparable mobile and workstation parts.

The RTX 2060 SUPER’s 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Barony at all tested settings and resolutions, as the measured FPS does not indicate any memory-related stuttering or capacity-induced frame drops. The GPU’s role as the primary performance limiter is evident in the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Ultra, the card produces 131 FPS average, which is respectable but shows a clear drop from the Medium preset’s 213 FPS. Moving to 1440p Ultra, the average falls to 83 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 43 FPS. This consistent degradation with increasing resolution and settings is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 2060 SUPER’s raw compute throughput and memory bandwidth are the determining factors. The GPU’s 64 ROPs and 224.4 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for the game’s visual complexity, but the 12 nm Turing architecture lacks the efficiency of newer designs, which becomes apparent at higher loads.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Barony, this combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2,616 out of 3,717 tested combinations. This places it in the 30th percentile of all combos, meaning roughly 70% of tested systems outperform it. The rank reflects the mid-range nature of both components; while the CPU sits in the 74th percentile and the GPU in the 62nd percentile individually, their combined performance is dragged down by the GPU’s relative weakness in this specific game. The data shows that the combo is not optimized for maximum frame rates at high settings, but rather for consistent playability across a range of resolutions.

The rank of 2,616 out of 3,717 indicates that there are many systems with either a stronger GPU or a more balanced pairing that achieve higher frame rates in Barony. However, this combo still delivers excellent real-world performance, as evidenced by the measured FPS data. At 1080p Medium, it produces 213 FPS, which is higher than what many lower-ranked combos would achieve. The ranking is a relative measure, and the absolute performance numbers show that this system is more than capable for the game’s requirements. The gap between the combo’s individual component percentiles and its combined rank suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor, as a more powerful GPU paired with the same CPU would likely push the combo significantly higher in the rankings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 287 at 1080p to 181 at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and then to 95 at 4K (a 67% reduction from 1080p). This scaling indicates that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance does not change with resolution, and the frame rate drop is directly proportional to the increase in pixel count. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions, which is expected given the increased memory pressure.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar but with slightly different magnitudes: 213 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop), and 70 FPS at 4K (a 67% drop). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest that the game’s rendering load scales uniformly with resolution, and the GPU’s compute units are the limiting factor. At High settings, the pattern continues: 183 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop), and 60 FPS at 4K (a 67% drop). The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling: 131 FPS at 1080p, 83 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop), and 43 FPS at 4K (a 67% drop). This consistent 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 67% drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings is a strong indicator that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, rather than any CPU-side limitation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 287 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all resolutions and settings. The Medium preset averages 213 FPS, with a minimum of 181 FPS and a maximum of 245 FPS, providing a wide safety margin for competitive play. The High preset averages 183 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 131 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU combination is well-balanced, with the GPU able to handle even the highest settings at frame rates above 120 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. The Low preset averages 181 FPS, which is still very high. The Medium preset averages 135 FPS, with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay on 1440p monitors with refresh rates up to 144 Hz. The High preset averages 116 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 83 FPS. At this resolution, the Medium preset is the sweet spot for maintaining high frame rates while keeping visual quality reasonable.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles with the highest settings. The Low preset averages 95 FPS, which is playable but requires a significant graphical compromise. The Medium preset averages 70 FPS, with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS, making it the only preset that guarantees a 60 FPS minimum at 4K. The High preset averages exactly 60 FPS, but without a recorded minimum, it may dip below the playability threshold. The Ultra preset averages 43 FPS, which is not recommended for smooth gameplay. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires either Low or Medium settings, with Medium offering the best balance of performance and visual quality.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset offers the best experience at 1080p, with an average of 213 FPS and a minimum of 181 FPS. This provides a substantial frame rate buffer for high-refresh-rate displays while maintaining higher visual quality than Low. The Ultra preset is also playable at 131 FPS average, but Medium provides a better frame time consistency.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K, the Medium preset averages 70 FPS with a 60 FPS minimum, which is playable. The High preset averages exactly 60 FPS, but without a recorded minimum, it carries risk. The Low preset averages 95 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 43 FPS, which is below the playability threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 has an average benchmark score of 20,468, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (20,454) and 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G (20,425). The CPU is within 0.5% of the AMD EPYC 7713 (20,363), showing it is competitively positioned among its peers.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. This is evident from the resolution scaling: FPS drops by 37% from 1080p to 1440p and by 67% from 1080p to 4K across all settings. This consistent degradation pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU’s performance is resolution-independent.

Q: What is the framerate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 181 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in average FPS when moving from Low to Ultra, showing the significant performance cost of maximum settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 2,616 out of 3,717 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the 30th percentile. While the individual components are in the 74th percentile (CPU) and 62nd percentile (GPU), the combined rank is lower due to the GPU being the limiting factor in this game.