Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 pairing delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Barony, with performance scaling predictably across resolution and settings. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but reveals interesting CPU headroom at 1080p, making this combo a versatile option for both high-refresh-rate and high-fidelity play.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear and expected trend: performance degrades as resolution increases, but the rate of that degradation varies significantly by settings preset. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 360 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 227 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 119 FPS, which is a 67% reduction from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The pattern shifts when examining High settings. At 1080p High, the average is 230 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 145 FPS (a 37% decrease), and at 4K High, it reaches 76 FPS (a 67% decrease from 1080p). The percentage drops are nearly identical to the Low settings, reinforcing that the RX 7700's rendering workload scales directly with resolution regardless of the quality preset. This is a sign of a well-balanced system where the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset provides the most detailed data, including minimum and maximum FPS readings. At 1080p Medium, the average is 268 FPS with a minimum of 228 FPS and a maximum of 308 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 169 FPS, with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 194 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. The scaling here shows a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K, matching the other presets. This consistency suggests the game's rendering engine applies resolution scaling uniformly across quality levels.

The Ultra preset shows the most significant performance hit. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 165 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 104 FPS (a 37% drop), and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 54 FPS (a 67% drop from 1080p). The 4K Ultra figure of 54 FPS is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, indicating that this is the most demanding configuration for the combo. The fact that the percentage scaling remains constant across all four presets strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU, as the CPU's workload does not change with resolution.

The data indicates that the RX 7700 is the definitive bottleneck at 4K, where even Low settings only yield 119 FPS. At 1080p, the story is different. The jump from 230 FPS at High to 360 FPS at Low suggests that the CPU can push significantly more frames when the GPU load is lightened. This implies that at 1080p Low, the system is approaching a CPU-bound state, though the Ryzen 5 7400F still manages to feed the GPU enough data to produce very high frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Barony?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 360, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the measured data to exceed 300 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 54. This is the lowest average in the dataset and suggests that this configuration is best suited for 1440p or 1080p gaming if high frame rates are desired.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 227 FPS, while Ultra settings produce an average of 104 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset?

A: For the Medium preset, the minimum FPS values are 228 at 1080p, 144 at 1440p, and 75 at 4K. These figures indicate that the combo maintains playable frame rates even in demanding scenes, with the 4K minimum of 75 FPS being notably high for a roguelike title.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1336 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, indicating solid performance but not top-tier dominance.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the data suggests the GPU becomes less of a limiting factor as settings drop. The substantial jump from 165 FPS at Ultra to 360 FPS at Low indicates that the CPU has headroom to deliver more frames when the GPU's workload is reduced, but the GPU still caps performance at higher settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture with a 5 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, which are solid figures for a desktop CPU. The processor features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

In Barony, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but it becomes more relevant at 1080p. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 360 FPS, which is a substantial increase over the 230 FPS at 1080p High. This suggests that the CPU is capable of handling the game's logic and draw calls at very high frame rates, but the GPU's rendering workload limits performance at higher quality settings. The 12 threads of the 7400F are likely sufficient for Barony's roguelike mechanics, which typically involve complex procedural generation and AI calculations.

Looking at the CPU's synthetic benchmarks, it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and a single-core score of 3072. The single-core score is particularly relevant for gaming, as many titles rely heavily on single-threaded performance. The PassMark single-thread score of 3689 and multi-thread score of 25645 further indicate a balanced processor. The CPU's percentile ranking of 83 against all CPUs means it outperforms 83% of processors on the market, placing it in a strong position for gaming workloads.

The nearest rivals to the 7400F in terms of average benchmark score include the Intel Core i5-14600T with a delta of 0.1%, the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with a delta of 0.2%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H with a delta of -0.2%. These rivals are all within a fraction of a percent of the 7400F's average score, indicating that the CPU is competitively positioned. For Barony, the 7400F's strong single-thread performance is likely a key factor in achieving the high frame rates seen at 1080p Low, where the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combo ranks 1336 out of 2935 tested combinations in Barony. This places it in the 45th percentile of all tested combos, meaning it outperforms 45% of systems while being outperformed by 55%. This is a mid-pack ranking that suggests the combo is competent but not exceptional for this specific game.

Given the game's release date of 2015, Barony is not a particularly demanding title by modern standards. The combo's rank of 1336 indicates that many other systems, likely featuring higher-end GPUs or more optimized pairings, can achieve better performance. However, the measured FPS data shows that this combo still delivers excellent playable frame rates across all tested configurations, even at 4K Ultra with 54 FPS.

The ranking is likely influenced by the fact that the RX 7700, while a capable GPU, is not at the top of the performance hierarchy. Its percentile ranking of 58 against all GPUs means it outperforms 58% of graphics cards. When paired with a CPU that ranks in the 83rd percentile, the combination is solid but not top-tier. The combo's rank of 1336 out of 2935 suggests that there are over 1,300 other combos that perform better in Barony, which is a significant number but not surprising given the wide range of hardware available.

The average benchmark score for the GPU is 15852, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 370X with a delta of -0.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 with a delta of -1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with a delta of -1.7%. The RTX 3060 Ti, a popular previous-generation card, is only 1.7% faster on average, indicating that the RX 7700 is closely matched with well-known competitors. This suggests that the combo's mid-pack ranking in Barony is more a reflection of the game's age and the availability of higher-performing hardware than a deficiency in this specific pairing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node and features the Navi 32 chip. It has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. The memory operates at 2438 MHz, translating to 19.5 Gbps effective. With 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, the RX 7700 offers a solid balance of compute and rasterization power. It also includes 40 ray tracing cores, though Barony is unlikely to leverage these heavily given its 2015 release.

In Barony, the GPU is the dominant factor in performance scaling. The data shows consistent percentage drops in FPS as resolution increases across all settings presets, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound scenarios. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, with even Low settings yielding only 119 FPS. This is a significant drop from the 360 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating that the RX 7700's rendering capabilities are stretched at higher pixel counts.

The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Barony, which is a roguelike with relatively simple textures and geometry. The memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s ensures that data can be fed to the GPU cores quickly, which is evident in the high frame rates at 1080p. The GPU's FP32 performance of 25.18 TFLOPS provides ample compute power for the game's rendering tasks, though the 4K Ultra result of 54 FPS indicates that the GPU is saturated under maximum load.

The RX 7700's PassMark G3D score of 20974 and its percentile ranking of 58 against all GPUs place it in the mid-range of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 370X, which is only 0.1% slower on average, and the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which is 1% faster. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is 1.7% faster, showing that the RX 7700 competes well with established cards. For Barony, the GPU's performance is more than adequate for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, but it shows its limits at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo provides a detailed look at performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 360 FPS on Low settings, 268 FPS on Medium, 230 FPS on High, and 165 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 228 and a maximum of 308, showing a tight frame time distribution. This resolution is clearly where the combo excels, with all presets exceeding 165 FPS and Low settings reaching a level that is suitable for the fastest displays.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops predictably. Low settings produce an average of 227 FPS, Medium produces 169 FPS, High produces 145 FPS, and Ultra produces 104 FPS. The Medium preset has a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 194 FPS. These figures show that 1440p is a sweet spot for this combo, with even Ultra settings maintaining an average above 100 FPS. The minimum FPS of 144 at Medium indicates that the system can sustain high frame rates without significant dips.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle under the load. Low settings yield an average of 119 FPS, Medium yields 88 FPS, High yields 76 FPS, and Ultra yields 54 FPS. The Medium preset has a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. While 4K is playable at all settings, the Ultra preset's 54 FPS average is the only figure in the entire dataset that falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many gamers consider the minimum for smooth play. The 4K Medium preset, with its 88 FPS average and 75 FPS minimum, offers a better balance of visual quality and performance for users with 4K displays.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern of approximately 37% performance reduction from 1080p to 1440p and 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K, regardless of settings. This uniformity underscores the GPU-bound nature of Barony at higher resolutions. The combo's best performance is undeniably at 1080p, where it can drive very high refresh rates, while 1440p offers a strong compromise between visual fidelity and speed. For 4K gaming, users will need to select Medium or High settings to maintain frame rates above 75 FPS, as the Ultra preset drops to 54 FPS.