Barony

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable experience in Barony, but the data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions. The combo ranks in the 1370th position out of 1702 tested configurations, placing it in the lower half of the database. While the CPU provides ample headroom, the GPU’s performance ceiling becomes the defining factor in determining frame rates across the tested settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases, which directly indicates where the bottleneck lies. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 260.8 FPS, which drops to 164.7 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 83.9 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 67.8% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the same Low preset. The pattern holds across all settings, with the gap between 1080p and 4K widening as graphical load increases.

For the Ultra preset, the system produces 120.6 FPS at 1080p, 78 FPS at 1440p, and only 42 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 46.2% performance drop, suggesting that the RTX 2060’s 6 GB of VRAM and its memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s become increasingly insufficient as pixel count rises. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but by 4K, the GPU’s compute resources—1920 shading units and 48 ROPs—are the limiting component. The 4K Ultra result of 42 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold, confirming that this resolution is only viable on lower presets.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 1370 out of 1702 combos, this configuration sits in the 19.5th percentile of all tested systems for Barony. This places it behind the majority of pairings in the database, which is consistent with the RTX 2060’s overall GPU percentile of 58, meaning it outperforms only 58% of all graphics cards. The CPU, by contrast, is in the 90th percentile of all processors, highlighting a significant mismatch in capability.

The Ryzen 9 5900X’s nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 4245P, which scores 39383 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core i7-13700, which scores 39857 (1% higher). These differences are negligible, confirming that the 5900X is not the performance limiter. For the GPU, the RTX 2060’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which scores 15996 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, which scores 16351 (1.7% higher). The combo’s low rank in Barony is therefore attributable to the GPU’s mid-range standing rather than any CPU deficiency.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Barony at 4K with acceptable performance?*

A: At 4K with High settings, the average FPS is 56.7, which is below the 60 FPS ideal. Lowering to Medium yields 65.8 FPS, while Low provides 83.9 FPS. Ultra at 4K drops to 42 FPS, so High or Medium are the practical choices.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play?

A: At 1080p, the system produces over 120 FPS on every preset, with Low reaching 260.8 FPS. The 1440p resolution also exceeds 100 FPS on High (102.9 FPS) and Medium (124.9 FPS), making it viable for fast-paced action.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5900X bottlenecking the RTX 2060 in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as the Cinebench R23 multicore result of 33150, place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a typical GPU-bound pattern, so the 5900X is not the limiting factor.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060’s average benchmark score is 16074, which is 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996) and 1.7% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (16351). These are marginal differences in synthetic tests.

Q: What settings provide the smoothest experience at 1440p?

A: Medium at 1440p delivers 124.9 FPS, while High provides 102.9 FPS. Both are above 100 FPS, so the choice depends on visual preference. Low at 1440p reaches 164.7 FPS, but Ultra drops to 78 FPS.

Q: Does the combo’s rank improve at lower resolutions?

A: The rank of 1370 out of 1702 is a single global metric. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p, the system is highly capable, but the rank reflects overall performance across all tested conditions, which include the 4K results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 260.8 FPS on Low, 195.3 FPS on Medium, 168.4 FPS on High, and 120.6 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear 46.2% drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p, indicating that even at the lowest resolution, the Ultra preset imposes a significant load on the GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers are 164.7 FPS on Low, 124.9 FPS on Medium, 102.9 FPS on High, and 78 FPS on Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 52.6%, slightly larger than at 1080p. At 3840x2160, the results are 83.9 FPS on Low, 65.8 FPS on Medium, 56.7 FPS on High, and 42 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 49.9%, but the absolute values are much lower, showing that the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at this resolution.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K on Medium settings shows a 66.3% reduction (195.3 to 65.8 FPS), while on Ultra the reduction is 65.2% (120.6 to 42 FPS). These consistent drops confirm that the RTX 2060’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, not the CPU or game engine.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide substantial bandwidth for game logic. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 33150 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 4680 in single-core, both excellent results that place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs.

For Barony, a roguelike that typically relies on single-threaded performance for game logic, the 5900X’s single-core boost of 4.80 GHz is more than sufficient. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 260.8 FPS, which is near the practical limit for many displays. The CPU’s performance here is not a limiting factor; the frame rate is capped by the GPU’s ability to render frames, especially as resolution increases. The 3DMark single-thread score of 941 and the PassMark single-thread score of 3469 both indicate strong per-core capability, ensuring that the CPU can keep up with the GPU at all tested settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 120.6 FPS, which is above the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh monitors. This makes Ultra the recommended choice for 1080p, as it provides the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 260.8 FPS is available, but the visual compromise is steep.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset offers 124.9 FPS, which is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The High preset at 102.9 FPS is also viable, but Ultra at 78 FPS may feel less responsive. For 3840x2160, the Low preset at 83.9 FPS is the only option that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 65.8 FPS is playable but close to the limit, while High at 56.7 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay. In summary, the data suggests using Ultra at 1080p, Medium at 1440p, and Low at 4K to maximize the experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture GPU with 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 16074, placing it in the 58th percentile of all graphics cards.

In Barony, the GPU’s role becomes dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p, the 2060 can produce over 120 FPS on all presets, with the Low setting reaching 260.8 FPS. However, the 4K results show a clear limitation: the Ultra preset only manages 42 FPS, and even High struggles at 56.7 FPS. This is consistent with the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, which is insufficient for the pixel throughput required at 4K. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is also a factor, as higher resolutions and settings demand more memory. The GPU’s performance in DirectX 12 benchmarks (a score of 53 in PassMark) and its overall compute score of 5488 suggest that it is a mid-range part that excels at 1080p but is outclassed at 4K. The data confirms that the RTX 2060 is the primary bottleneck in this combo, as the CPU’s benchmarks indicate it could support much higher frame rates if paired with a more powerful GPU.