Barony

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 sits at rank 22 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. That places this pairing in the top 1.3% of all configurations measured, which is an exceptional result for a game that is primarily CPU-bound in its simulation logic. The ranking reflects the combination of a mid-range 5000-series processor with the flagship Blackwell GPU, and the data shows the RTX 5090 is doing the heavy lifting to push this combo into the upper echelon. However, the rank also hints at a notable imbalance: the CPU is holding back what the GPU could deliver at lower resolutions, while the GPU still dominates at 4K.

To contextualize the CPU side, the Ryzen 5 5600GT scores an average benchmark of 20740, which places it in the 78th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-10700 at an average score of 20746 (a delta of 0%), the Intel Core i5-12490F at 20794 (delta -0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X at 20680 (delta 0.3%). These deltas are minuscule, meaning the 5600GT is effectively performance-equivalent to those chips in general compute. But in Barony specifically, the measured FPS reveals that the CPU becomes a bottleneck at 1080p, where the GPU is otherwise capable of far higher frame rates. The combo rank of 22 is still strong, but it is not the top spot, and the gap between this pairing and the very best combos likely comes down to the CPU's single-thread and multi-thread limits in a game that relies on rapid state updates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing. It carries 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 28 Gbps effective. The GPU's base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and it has 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. These specifications are far beyond what Barony needs from a graphics standpoint, as the game is a roguelike with relatively simple visuals. The RTX 5090's percentile rank of 94 among all GPUs confirms its position near the top of the performance hierarchy, and its average benchmark score of 84306 is vastly higher than the CPU's 20740.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes evident when looking at the 4K results. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves 103.1 FPS, which is still very playable but shows the GPU is being stressed. At 4K High, the average jumps to 145.1 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 169.1 FPS. The 4K Low setting produces 228 FPS. This scaling indicates that the RTX 5090's raw compute power is sufficient to handle even 4K resolution with headroom, but the frame rates are not as high as they are at lower resolutions because the GPU is now the limiting factor. The GPU's 32 GB of VRAM is more than enough for Barony's texture and geometry needs, so memory capacity is not a constraint in any of the measured scenarios. The GDDR7 memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that data transfer never becomes a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra where the GPU is most active.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, but the degree of scaling reveals the CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 624.8 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 432.8 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls to 228 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 30.7% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a 47.3% reduction. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is limiting the frame rate, because the GPU is capable of far more than 624.8 FPS, but the Ryzen 5 5600GT cannot feed the RTX 5090 fast enough.

Looking at High settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers. At 1080p High, the combo produces 439.6 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 279 FPS (a 36.5% reduction), and at 4K High it falls to 145.1 FPS (a 48.0% reduction from 1440p). The consistent pattern of approximately one-third to one-half reductions per resolution step indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more involved as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rate is already very high but not scaling proportionally with the GPU's capabilities. At 4K, the GPU takes over as the limiting component, and the frame rates reflect the GPU's actual rendering performance rather than the CPU's ability to issue draw calls.

The Ultra settings show the most significant scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 314.4 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 198.9 FPS (a 36.7% reduction), and at 4K Ultra it falls to 103.1 FPS (a 48.2% reduction from 1440p). This near-constant reduction percentage across settings suggests that the rendering load scales predictably with resolution, and the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K while the CPU remains the bottleneck at 1080p. The data indicates that the sweet spot for this pairing is 1440p, where the CPU and GPU are more balanced, and the frame rates are still high enough to take advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this combo. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is substantial: Low averages 228 FPS, Medium averages 169.1 FPS, High averages 145.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 103.1 FPS. The jump from Ultra to High is a 40.7% increase in frame rate, while the jump from High to Medium is a 16.6% increase. For a roguelike like Barony, where reaction time matters but the visuals are not demanding, the High preset at 4K offers the best balance. It maintains 145.1 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most high-end monitors, and the visual difference between High and Ultra is unlikely to be noticeable given the game's art style.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. High produces 279 FPS, while Ultra produces 198.9 FPS. The 40.2% reduction from High to Ultra is significant, but both are above 144 FPS. If the monitor is 144 Hz, the High preset is the safer choice because it provides more headroom for frame time spikes. At 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck, so the settings preset has less impact than at higher resolutions. Low produces 624.8 FPS, Medium produces 509.9 FPS, High produces 439.6 FPS, and Ultra produces 314.4 FPS. All of these are far beyond any monitor's refresh rate, so the choice at 1080p is purely about visual quality. Ultra at 314.4 FPS is still so fast that it is the obvious pick, since there is no performance penalty that matters at that level.

The best overall experience depends on the display. For a 4K 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitor, the High preset is ideal. For 1440p 144 Hz, the High preset also works well, but Ultra is viable if visual fidelity is the priority. For 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation because the frame rates are so high that no preset choice will cause perceptible stutter. The data shows that the GPU is overkill for Barony at 1080p, and the CPU is the limiting factor, so the settings have minimal impact on the experience.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate at 1080p Low (624.8 FPS) seem disproportionate to the GPU's capabilities?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600GT is the limiting component at 1080p. The CPU's average benchmark score of 20740 and its 6 cores and 12 threads cannot feed the RTX 5090 fast enough to reach the GPU's maximum potential. The GPU is capable of far higher frame rates, but the CPU's single-thread and multi-thread performance becomes the bottleneck at low resolutions where the GPU is underutilized.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM necessary for Barony?

A: No, 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is far more than Barony requires. The game is a roguelike with relatively simple textures and geometry, and the measured FPS at all resolutions and settings shows no signs of VRAM limitations. The memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s and the 512-bit bus are overkill for this title, but they ensure that the GPU never experiences a memory-related bottleneck.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600GT compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The 5600GT has an average benchmark score of 20740, which is within 0.3% of the Intel Core i5-12490F (20794) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (20680). It is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-10700 (20746, 0% delta). This means that in most compute tasks, these CPUs are interchangeable, but in Barony, the CPU's performance is still the limiting factor at 1080p.

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for Barony?

A: The data suggests 1440p is the sweet spot. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 279 FPS, which is well above any monitor's refresh rate, and the CPU and GPU are more balanced than at 1080p. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, but the frame rates are still high enough for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the Ultra preset at 4K provide a better experience than High?

A: No, the data shows that Ultra at 4K averages 103.1 FPS, while High averages 145.1 FPS. The 40.7% reduction in frame rate from High to Ultra is not justified by the visual improvements in a roguelike with simple graphics. High is the better choice for a consistent experience.

Q: Is the combo rank of 22 out of 1702 a good result?

A: Yes, rank 22 out of 1702 places the combo in the top 1.3% of all tested configurations. This is an excellent result, but it also indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU is a flagship model. The rank would likely be higher if the CPU were faster, but the current pairing still delivers very high frame rates at all resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Cezanne, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU's cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it uses PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes. The processor also includes Radeon Vega 7 integrated graphics, although those are irrelevant in this pairing with a discrete GPU.

In Barony, the CPU's role is to manage the game's simulation logic, which includes procedural dungeon generation, entity state updates, and pathfinding. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, where the frame rates are extremely high but not scaling with the GPU's capabilities. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 624.8 FPS, but this is likely the CPU's maximum throughput in this scenario. The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce this: its 3DMark single-thread score is 913, and its Cinebench R23 single-core score is 2438. These are solid numbers for a 5000-series chip, but they are not top-tier, and the 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that there are faster processors available.

The CPU's multi-thread performance is also a factor. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 17272, and its 3DMark max-threads score is 5554. In Barony, which may not scale perfectly across all 12 threads, the single-thread performance is more critical. The 5600GT's single-thread scores are adequate for the game, but they limit the minimum frame rate potential when paired with a GPU as fast as the RTX 5090. The nearest rival data shows that the 5600GT is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-10700 (0% delta) and slightly behind the Intel Core i5-12490F (-0.3% delta), but these differences are negligible in practice. The real limitation is that no mid-range CPU can fully utilize the RTX 5090 at 1080p, and the measured FPS reflects that CPU-bound scenario. At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's role diminishes, and the GPU takes over as the primary performance driver.