Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers extraordinary frame rates in Barony, a roguelike title from 2015. This combination sits at the 77th percentile of all tested combos, placing it in the top 2% of the 3,717 configurations evaluated. The data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but demonstrates remarkable CPU headroom at 1080p, where frame rates approach the limits of what most displays can show.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the system produces 679 FPS at 1920x1080, dropping to 428 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 224 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K, a pattern typical of GPU-limited scenarios where pixel count outpaces shading capability.

The scaling behavior shifts noticeably with higher quality presets. At Ultra settings, the frame rate falls from 311 FPS at 1080p to 196 FPS at 1440p, then to 102 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 48%. This steeper decline at higher resolutions indicates that the RTX 5090's raw compute power is being increasingly taxed by the additional pixel workload, though the absolute numbers remain exceptionally high.

Medium settings show the most consistent scaling pattern: 505 FPS at 1080p, 319 FPS at 1440p, and 167 FPS at 4K. The step-down between each resolution is roughly 37% and 48% respectively, mirroring the Ultra preset's behavior. High settings follow a similar trajectory with 433 FPS at 1080p, 273 FPS at 1440p, and 143 FPS at 4K.

The 1080p results are particularly revealing. Even at Ultra settings, the system maintains 311 FPS, suggesting that the Ryzen 5 8400F's six Zen 4 cores are sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 at this resolution. The 679 FPS at Low settings approaches the practical ceiling for most gaming displays and indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor until frame rates reach extreme levels.

At 4K, the scaling pattern shows a clear GPU bottleneck. The difference between Low and Ultra settings is 122 FPS (224 versus 102), which is proportionally larger than the 368 FPS gap at 1080p (679 versus 311). This suggests that at 4K, the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth become the primary constraints, while at 1080p, the system has enough headroom to let either component become the limiting factor depending on settings.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 167 FPS average provides the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom. The Ultra preset drops to 102 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less margin for demanding scenes. The High preset at 143 FPS sits between these extremes, though the Medium preset's minimum of 142 FPS suggests more consistent frame pacing than the Low preset's higher average but potentially larger variance.

At 1440p, the High preset at 273 FPS is the sweet spot. The Ultra preset at 196 FPS remains well above refresh rate thresholds for most monitors, but the Medium preset at 319 FPS offers diminishing returns in visual fidelity for the additional frame rate. The 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum of 271 FPS, indicating excellent frame consistency even during intense moments.

For 1080p users, the Ultra preset at 311 FPS is recommended for maximum visual quality. The frame rate remains far above any current display refresh rate, and the additional graphical features will be more noticeable than the extra frames from lower presets. The Low preset at 679 FPS is only useful for competitive play at extreme refresh rates, which is not practical for most users.

The data shows that Barony scales well with settings across all resolutions. The gap between Low and Ultra is consistent at each resolution, suggesting that the game's visual presets primarily affect GPU load without introducing CPU-side bottlenecks. The Medium preset consistently provides the best frame time consistency, with measurable minimum and maximum values that show tighter distribution than other presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 serves as the primary performance driver in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for maintaining high frame rates at 4K where texture and geometry data demands are substantial. The GPU's 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs deliver the raw throughput needed for Barony's roguelike rendering.

Clock speeds play a significant role in the observed scaling. The GPU's base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz allow it to adapt to varying workloads. At 1080p, the GPU likely operates at higher sustained clocks due to lower thermal load, contributing to the exceptional frame rates. At 4K, sustained boost clocks may be lower, but the 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput still delivers 102 FPS at Ultra settings.

The RTX 5090's memory configuration is particularly relevant for Barony's procedural generation. The game creates new environments and item combinations with each run, and the 32 GB VRAM ensures that texture data and generated content remain resident without stutter from memory swapping. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth prevents memory bandwidth from becoming a bottleneck even at 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,842. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe variants and AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, but the RTX 5090 outperforms them by 0.3% to 1.1%. The PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and DirectX 12 score of 185 support the high frame rates observed in Barony.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 679 FPS average, Medium produces 505 FPS with a minimum of 429 and maximum of 580, High produces 433 FPS, and Ultra produces 311 FPS. These numbers indicate that even at the highest quality preset, the system has substantial headroom above typical display refresh rates.

The 1440p results show a predictable step down. Low settings yield 428 FPS, Medium yields 319 FPS with a minimum of 271 and maximum of 366, High yields 273 FPS, and Ultra yields 196 FPS. The Medium preset's frame range of 271-366 FPS demonstrates consistent performance that would suit high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors.

At 4K, the system remains highly playable. Low settings deliver 224 FPS, Medium delivers 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 and maximum of 191, High delivers 143 FPS, and Ultra delivers 102 FPS. Even at the most demanding settings, the system maintains triple-digit frame rates, which is remarkable for a roguelike title.

The progression from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent pattern across settings. The Low preset drops from 679 to 428 to 224 FPS, representing 63% and 52% reductions respectively. The Ultra preset drops from 311 to 196 to 102 FPS, representing 63% and 52% reductions as well. This consistent scaling suggests that the game's rendering pipeline scales predictably with resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 77th out of 3,717 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.1% of all configurations. The rank reflects the RTX 5090's position as a top-tier GPU combined with the Ryzen 5 8400F's capable mid-range performance. The CPU itself ranks in the 77th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 25,005.

The Ryzen 5 8400F's nearest rivals show how close the mid-range CPU market is. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24,964, just 0.2% lower. The Intel Core i7-11850H and i7-13620H score 24,935 and 24,911 respectively, within 0.4% of the 8400F. The AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25,103, only 0.4% higher. This tight grouping means the CPU choice has minimal impact on overall ranking when paired with a high-end GPU.

The RTX 5090's nearest rivals highlight its position in the GPU hierarchy. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605, just 0.3% lower. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396, 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, 1.1% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80,959, 1.4% higher. These margins are small, indicating that the RTX 5090 sits at the top of the performance curve.

The combination's rank of 77 suggests that while the GPU is near the top of its class, the CPU prevents it from reaching the absolute highest positions. The data shows that Barony is more GPU-dependent at 4K, so the ranking improves at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, potentially lowering the relative ranking compared to systems with faster processors.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination in Barony?

A: The data shows that 1440p at High settings provides 273 FPS average, which offers an excellent balance between visual quality and performance. At 4K, the Medium preset provides 167 FPS average, which is also very playable.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its closest competitor?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F scores 25,005 on average benchmarks, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F at 24,964 and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i7-13620H at 24,911.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low settings, the system produces 679 FPS, which suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at extreme frame rates. At 1080p Ultra, the 311 FPS result indicates the GPU is handling the workload without CPU constraints.

Q: What settings should I use for 4K gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 167 FPS average with a minimum of 142 FPS provides the best frame time consistency. The Ultra preset at 102 FPS is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

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

A: This combination ranks 77th out of 3,717 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.1% of all configurations tested.

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

A: At 1440p, the Low preset produces 428 FPS while the Ultra preset produces 196 FPS, a difference of 232 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra settings.