Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing in Barony produces a massive performance envelope that shifts the bottleneck decisively based on resolution. The data shows a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 3 processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, paired with a 24 GB GDDR6X GPU running at a 2520 MHz boost clock. This combination yields frame rates that range from 626.3 FPS at 1080p Low to 101 FPS at 4K Ultra, demonstrating that the CPU is the primary driver at lower resolutions while the GPU takes over at 4K.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer) using a 7 nm process from TSMC. Its cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a 32 MB L3 cache, which is substantial for a mid-range desktop chip. In Barony, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where the average FPS reaches 626.3 on Low settings. This is a roguelike title with a release date of 2015-06-22, and its engine appears to scale well with the 5600X’s single-thread performance, as evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 917 and a passmark single-thread score of 3364.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are also relevant, with a cinebench r23 multicore score of 18578 and a passmark multithread score of 21858. However, the data suggests that Barony is not heavily multi-threaded; moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p drops FPS from 626.3 to 306.4, a reduction that is more attributable to GPU load than CPU limits. The 5600X sits at the 78th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20680, placing it within 0.5% of rivals like the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel Core i5-12490F. This indicates the CPU is a strong but not exceptional performer, and its 65 W TDP on the AM4 socket makes it a capable partner for the RTX 4090, though the GPU’s 450 W TDP dominates the power envelope.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5600X and RTX 4090 ranks 56th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 3.3% of all configurations. This high ranking is driven primarily by the RTX 4090’s raw power, which is in the 91st percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 66473. The CPU’s 78th percentile is above average, but the GPU’s performance is what pushes this combo into the upper echelon. Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 4090 is 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40 and 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P6000, though it trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 by 0.9%. These deltas are small, indicating that the RTX 4090 is a top-tier card, but the 5600X’s mid-range standing means the combo is not the absolute best.

The rank of 56 out of 1702 suggests that while this setup is fast, there are 55 other combos that achieve higher average FPS in Barony. Those are likely to feature newer, higher-core-count CPUs like the Ryzen 7000 series or Intel Core i9 parts, but the data does not specify which combos outrank this one. What is clear is that the 5600X does not bottleneck the RTX 4090 at 4K, where the GPU is the limiting factor, but it may hold back the GPU at 1080p, where CPU-bound scenarios could reduce the maximum achievable frame rate. The measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (306.4) versus 4K Ultra (101) shows a 3x difference, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear transition in the system’s bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 626.3 FPS, which drops to 421.2 FPS at 1440p Low and 218.9 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 65.1% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p Ultra, the FPS is 306.4, dropping to 193.3 at 1440p Ultra and 101 at 4K Ultra, a 67.0% reduction. The consistency of these drops across settings suggests that the RTX 4090’s rendering pipeline is the primary constraint at 4K, while the CPU is more influential at 1080p.

The data shows that at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 319.9 FPS (626.3 vs 306.4), which is a 51.1% reduction. This is a larger relative drop than at 4K, where the difference between Low and Ultra is 117.9 FPS (218.9 vs 101), a 53.9% reduction. This implies that at 1080p, the CPU has more headroom to feed the GPU, allowing the settings to scale more freely, whereas at 4K, the GPU is already saturated and the settings have a smaller absolute impact. The 1440p results sit in between, with Low at 421.2 FPS and Ultra at 193.3 FPS, showing that 1440p is a balanced resolution where neither component is fully saturated.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Barony with this combo?*

A: The 1440p High setting offers a strong balance, with 267.8 FPS average, which is above the 144Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors, while 4K High still delivers 139.1 FPS for those prioritizing visual fidelity.

*Q: Does the Ryzen 5 5600X bottleneck the RTX 4090 in Barony?*

A: At 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 626.3 FPS ceiling on Low settings, but at 4K, the GPU takes over, with the FPS dropping to 218.9 on Low, indicating the CPU has enough headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 66473, which is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P40, 0.9% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, and 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro P6000.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The measured data shows 626.3 FPS on Low and 306.4 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 319.9 FPS, which represents a 51.1% reduction in performance when enabling maximum settings.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600X a high-performing CPU relative to all others?

A: The CPU is in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20680, placing it just 0.3% behind both the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel Core i7-10700.

*Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested configurations in Barony?*

A: The combo ranks 56th out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the top 3.3% of all configurations, a strong result driven by the GPU’s high percentile ranking.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its AD102 chip on a 5 nm process from TSMC includes 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores. The GPU’s boost clock of 2520 MHz and memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) contribute to a passmark g3d score of 38194 and a passmark gpu compute score of 26613. In Barony, the RTX 4090’s role is most apparent at 4K, where it delivers 139.1 FPS on High and 101 FPS on Ultra, both well above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

The GPU’s 91st percentile ranking against all GPUs confirms its top-tier status, but its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (0.4% lower score) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (0.9% higher score). The RTX 4090’s 450 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate it is a power-hungry card, but the data shows it is not the bottleneck at 1080p, where the CPU limits performance. At 4K, the GPU’s rendering capacity is the primary constraint, with the FPS dropping from 218.9 on Low to 101 on Ultra, a 53.9% reduction that highlights the impact of graphics settings on the GPU’s workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows indicate that the High preset provides the best experience for this combo across all resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 425.7 FPS, which is 68.0% of the Low preset’s 626.3 FPS but still far above any display’s refresh rate. At 1440p, High achieves 267.8 FPS, which is 85.3% of the Low preset’s 421.2 FPS, and at 4K, High yields 139.1 FPS, which is 63.5% of the Low preset’s 218.9 FPS. The Ultra preset, while offering the best visual quality, drops performance significantly: 306.4 FPS at 1080p, 193.3 FPS at 1440p, and 101 FPS at 4K. These numbers show that Ultra is playable but not necessary, as High provides a substantial FPS advantage with minimal visual compromise.

The Medium preset sits between High and Ultra, with 494.2 FPS at 1080p, 314 FPS at 1440p, and 165.9 FPS at 4K. This makes Medium a viable option for 4K if a higher FPS is desired, but High is the recommended sweet spot because it maintains 139.1 FPS at 4K, which is above the 120 Hz threshold for many high-end monitors. For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset’s 626.3 FPS is the maximum measurable, but the difference from High (425.7 FPS) is unlikely to be perceptible. The data supports High as the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for this specific CPU-GPU combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 626.3 FPS on Low, 494.2 FPS on Medium, 425.7 FPS on High, and 306.4 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 51.1% drop from Low to Ultra, with the largest single-step decrease occurring from High to Ultra at 119.3 FPS. At 2560x1440, the results are 421.2 FPS on Low, 314 FPS on Medium, 267.8 FPS on High, and 193.3 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 54.1%, and the High-to-Ultra step is 74.5 FPS. At 3840x2160, the frame rates are 218.9 FPS on Low, 165.9 FPS on Medium, 139.1 FPS on High, and 101 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra drop is 53.9%, with the High-to-Ultra step being 38.1 FPS.

The data shows that the relative performance gap between settings remains consistent across resolutions, with Ultra always being the most demanding. However, the absolute FPS values at 4K are much lower, making the GPU the clear bottleneck. The 1080p results, with a peak of 626.3 FPS, suggest that the CPU can push frame rates far beyond typical display refresh rates, while the 4K Ultra result of 101 FPS is still above the 60 FPS standard. The 1440p numbers are the most balanced, with all settings above 193 FPS, indicating that this resolution is optimal for high-refresh-rate gaming without sacrificing visual quality.