Barony

The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination ranks 1360th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This places the pairing in the lower half of the database, indicating that while it can run the game, it is not positioned among the top performers for this specific title. The rank reflects the combined capability of the six-core Comet Lake processor and the RDNA 2.0 graphics card, with the data suggesting that the system is more than adequate for the roguelike genre but leaves headroom compared to more powerful configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s 1360th place out of 1702 tested configurations puts it in the 20th percentile of all pairings, a modest standing that aligns with the mid-range nature of both components. The CPU, with an average benchmark score of 14168, sits at the 73rd percentile among all processors, placing it near rivals like the AMD EPYC 7552, which scores 14115 (0.4% behind), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, which scores 14277 (0.8% ahead). The GPU, averaging 25235, holds the 69th percentile, with its closest competitor, the AMD Radeon 890M, matching its score exactly at 25246 (0% delta). This tight clustering around both components’ average scores suggests the combo’s rank is not due to a single weak link but rather a balanced, mid-tier pairing. In Barony specifically, the measured FPS results show the system can exceed 120 FPS at most settings below 4K, yet the rank indicates that many other combos deliver higher frame rates, likely due to stronger CPUs or GPUs that push the game’s procedural generation and physics calculations further.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 6600 provides 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, with base and boost clocks of 1626 MHz and 2491 MHz respectively. In Barony, a roguelike that relies heavily on tile-based rendering and particle effects, this memory configuration proves sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, where the frame rates are consistently high. The GPU’s 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs drive the pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s, which is ample for the game’s 2D-centric visuals. At 4K, however, the 8 GB capacity and 128-bit bus become more strained, as evidenced by the FPS drop from 86.9 at Low to 39 at Ultra, indicating the GPU’s memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor when resolution scales up. The card’s 132 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest thermal headroom is not an issue, and the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface provides sufficient bandwidth for this title, though the CPU’s Gen 3 lanes cap the link speed, a minor bottleneck that does not significantly impact the measured results.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution, but the data points to a clear sweet spot at 1440p Medium, which delivers 124.5 FPS. This strikes a balance between visual fidelity and performance, as Ultra at this resolution drops to 76.5 FPS, still playable but with diminishing returns given the roguelike’s fast-paced nature. At 1080p, High settings yield 167.8 FPS, nearly matching the 194 FPS of Medium while offering better visuals; this makes High the recommended preset for 1080p users seeking a smooth experience without sacrificing quality. For 4K, Medium is the best choice, providing 64.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, whereas High drops to 57.7 FPS and Ultra falls below playable at 39 FPS. Low settings are unnecessary at any resolution except 4K, where the 86.9 FPS result shows the GPU can handle the load but with reduced detail that may hinder visibility of enemy attacks in a game where reaction time is critical.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo demonstrates strong performance across all settings. Low settings produce 265.3 FPS, Medium yields 194 FPS, High delivers 167.8 FPS, and Ultra still achieves 122.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that even at the highest preset, the system maintains over double the refresh rate of a standard 60 Hz monitor, making the CPU and GPU well-matched for this resolution. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain high but show a more pronounced scaling: Low hits 163.4 FPS, Medium drops to 124.5 FPS, High manages 104.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 76.5 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is notable as it is the first setting where the FPS drops below 100, suggesting the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth start to feel pressure. At 4K, the performance cliff is evident: Low produces 86.9 FPS, Medium 64.6 FPS, High 57.7 FPS, and Ultra 39 FPS. The Ultra figure at 4K is the only measured result below 40 FPS, indicating that the RX 6600 is not suited for maximum settings at this resolution. Across all resolutions, the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases: at 1080p, the difference is 142.6 FPS, at 1440p it is 86.9 FPS, and at 4K it narrows to 47.9 FPS, showing that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how the system scales with resolution and where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 265.3 at 1080p to 86.9 at 4K, a reduction of 67.3%. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the CPU’s six cores and 12 threads can handle the game’s logic at any resolution, but the RX 6600’s 224.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain the four-fold increase in pixel count. At Ultra settings, the drop is more severe in relative terms: from 122.7 FPS at 1080p to 39 FPS at 4K, a 68.2% reduction, confirming that the GPU’s memory subsystem and compute units are saturated. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is more moderate, with High settings falling from 167.8 to 104.2 FPS (a 37.9% drop), which suggests the system is well-balanced at these resolutions, with neither component fully maxed out. The data indicates that the i5-10400F, with its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth, provides enough headroom to feed the GPU at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU’s 128-bit bus becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the consistent FPS degradation across all settings. The CPU’s benchmark percentile of 73 versus the GPU’s 69 further supports this, showing the processor is slightly more capable relative to its peers, allowing the GPU to hit its limits first.