Barony

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a highly variable experience in Barony, one that depends almost entirely on the settings and resolution you choose. The measured data shows a system that can deliver smooth, high-refresh-rate gameplay at 1080p but struggles significantly at 4K. This combination is best treated as a 1080p performer, where the RX 580's capabilities align with the CPU's substantial headroom.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that Low settings provide the best experience for this specific combo, particularly if you are targeting high refresh rates. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 154.8 FPS, which is a 36.8% improvement over the High preset's 97.9 FPS and more than double the 70.1 FPS seen at Ultra. This makes Low the clear choice for competitive or fast-paced play where frame rate is paramount.

For users with 1440p monitors, the Low preset remains the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, producing 95.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 73.9 FPS is playable, but High (63.4 FPS) and Ultra (42.1 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold that most players prefer. The data shows a clear pattern: as settings increase, the RX 580 becomes the limiting factor, and the frame rate drops disproportionately.

At 4K, no setting is truly comfortable. The Low preset yields 48.8 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches playability, but it still falls short of a locked 60 FPS. High (34.4 FPS) and Medium (39.5 FPS) are marginal, while Ultra (21.1 FPS) is effectively unplayable. If you must run at 4K, Low is the only recommendation, but the analysis strongly suggests sticking to 1080p or 1440p for this pairing.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 580 capable of running Barony at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data shows strong performance at 1920x1080. The average frame rates range from 70.1 FPS at Ultra settings to 154.8 FPS at Low settings, indicating that the GPU can handle all presets at this resolution, though lower settings provide a significant margin for smoother gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X influence performance in Barony?

A: The CPU has 12 cores and 24 threads with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and a single-core score of 6555, suggest it has ample processing power. In this game, the data indicates that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU effectively, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combination?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. It is the only resolution where every settings preset achieves a frame rate above 70 FPS, with Low reaching 154.8 FPS. 2560x1440 is acceptable with Low or Medium settings, but 3840x2160 is not recommended for a smooth experience.

Q: Should I use Ultra settings for the best visual quality?

A: Only if you are playing at 1080p and prioritize visuals over frame rate. At 1920x1080, Ultra produces an average of 70.1 FPS, which is playable. However, at 1440p, this drops to 42.1 FPS, and at 4K, it plummets to 21.1 FPS, making it unsuitable for those resolutions.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its direct rivals?

A: The RX 580’s average benchmark score is 13559, placing it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. It performs nearly identically to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, with a delta of 0%, and is only 0.1% ahead of the GTX 950. This indicates it is a mid-range card that will struggle with demanding loads like 4K Ultra.

Q: Is this a good pairing for modern gaming?

A: For a game like Barony, the pairing works well at 1080p. However, the overall system combination ranks 1592 out of 1702 tested combos for this game, suggesting that while it is functional, there are many other pairings that deliver better performance, particularly at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X and the RX 580 ranks 1592 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This position in the bottom 7% of all pairings is a direct result of the GPU's limitations. The CPU is a top-tier performer, sitting in the 94th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 54450, while the GPU is in the 53rd percentile with an average score of 13559. The massive disparity in their respective performance tiers means that the RX 580 holds the entire system back.

When looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 9900X is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (0.4% slower), the Intel Core i7-14700F (0.7% faster), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (1.5% slower). This confirms that the CPU is not the source of the low ranking. Instead, the GPU's performance, which is statistically identical to the GTX 570 and GTX 950, dictates the overall system capability. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield a dramatic improvement in the combo's rank, while the CPU has headroom to support a much faster graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates reveal a consistent pattern across all resolutions: performance scales inversely with both resolution and graphical fidelity.

At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 154.8 FPS
• Medium: 112.3 FPS
• High: 97.9 FPS
• Ultra: 70.1 FPS

The transition from Low to Medium costs 42.5 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 27.8 FPS. This shows that the most significant performance hit occurs when moving from Low to Medium, making Low the most efficient setting for maximizing frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the results drop considerably:

• Low: 95.8 FPS
• Medium: 73.9 FPS
• High: 63.4 FPS
• Ultra: 42.1 FPS

Here, the delta between Low and Medium is 21.9 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 21.3 FPS. The system begins to show strain, with only Low and Medium providing frame rates above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed:

• Low: 48.8 FPS
• Medium: 39.5 FPS
• High: 34.4 FPS
• Ultra: 21.1 FPS

No setting achieves 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset is less than half the speed of the Low preset. The data shows a drop of 9.3 FPS from Low to Medium, and a further 13.3 FPS drop from High to Ultra, highlighting the GPU's inability to handle the pixel count at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a severe frame rate penalty as resolution increases. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings reduces the average FPS from 154.8 to 95.8, a 38% drop. At High settings, the drop is from 97.9 to 63.4, a 35% decrease. When scaling from 1440p to 4K, the drops are even more pronounced: at Low settings, FPS falls from 95.8 to 48.8 (a 49% reduction), and at High settings, from 63.4 to 34.4 (a 46% reduction).

This scaling pattern is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound system. The Ryzen 9 9900X has more than enough processing power to handle the game's logic at any resolution. The RX 580, with its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, simply cannot push the additional pixels required at higher resolutions. The 4K results are particularly telling: even the Low preset struggles to maintain 50 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the sole limiting component. The CPU's performance is essentially constant across these tests, meaning the frame rate is dictated entirely by the graphics card's fill rate and memory bandwidth.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a total of 64 MB of shared L3 cache. Its synthetic benchmarks are exceptional: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and a single-core score of 6555 place it firmly in the high-end desktop segment.

In Barony, a roguelike game that typically does not require excessive multi-threading, the CPU's raw single-core performance is what matters most. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and the Passmark single-thread score of 4672 indicate strong per-core performance. However, the measured FPS data shows that this CPU power is largely untapped. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 154.8 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine limit or the GPU's maximum output. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate collapses to 21.1 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU is the bottleneck.

The CPU's 24 threads and 12 cores are overkill for this title, but they do ensure that there is no CPU-induced stuttering or frame pacing issues. The data shows that the Ryzen 9 9900X provides a stable platform, but its capabilities are wasted when paired with the RX 580. This is a pairing where the CPU is preparing for future upgrades, but the current graphics card holds the system firmly in the entry-level performance tier.