Barony

The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT pairing in Barony presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics, particularly since this is a roguelike title where frame rates are already exceptionally high. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but begins to show the influence of the CPU only when the resolution drops and the GPU workload lightens. This combination ranks at 615 out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the top 36% of all systems, a solid position that reflects the strength of the RX 6800 XT in a game that is not particularly demanding on the processor.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly demonstrates the shifting balance of power. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 435.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 277.3 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 144.6 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 66.8% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings: at High settings, the drop is from 275.4 FPS to 172.4 FPS to 91.7 FPS, a 66.7% reduction. At Ultra, it goes from 200 FPS to 128.8 FPS to 64.4 FPS, a 67.8% reduction.

The nearly uniform percentage drop across all settings is a key indicator. It suggests that the scaling penalty is almost entirely a function of pixel count rather than shader complexity. The RX 6800 XT, with its 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 performance, is being fed increasingly heavy pixel workloads as resolution climbs. The fact that the frame rate halves when going from 1440p to 4K (e.g., 172.4 FPS to 91.7 FPS at High) shows that the GPU is the primary limiting component at 4K. The 4K Ultra score of 64.4 FPS is the only point where the system dips below the 90 FPS mark, indicating that this is the only configuration where the GPU is truly saturated and struggling to maintain high refresh rates.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 615 out of 1702 combos, this pairing sits comfortably in the upper-middle tier. The percentile placement suggests that while it is not an elite, top-1% configuration, it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested in Barony. The ranking is likely buoyed by the GPU's strength, as the RX 6800 XT's benchmark percentile of 87 puts it well above average, while the CPU's percentile of 73 is more modest.

The combo rank can be interpreted in light of the game's nature. As a roguelike, Barony may not feature the most complex 3D scenes, so the GPU is not always the sole deciding factor. The fact that this combo is not ranked higher, despite the GPU's high percentile, hints that the CPU's performance at lower resolutions may be holding back what could otherwise be an even stronger showing. The data suggests that at 1080p, where the CPU has more influence, the i5-10400F is the weaker link, preventing the system from reaching the absolute top of the leaderboards.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, running on a 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz are respectable for its generation. The CPU's benchmark results show a significant gap between single-threaded and multi-threaded performance: its 3dmark_single_thread score is 688, while its 3dmark_max_threads score is 4735. This indicates that the processor scales well with additional threads, but its single-core performance is not exceptional.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most apparent at the lowest resolution. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 435.2 FPS. This is an extremely high frame rate, but it is also where the gap between this combo and the theoretical maximum would be most visible. The fact that the frame rate at 1080p Low (435.2 FPS) is more than three times the 4K Ultra score (64.4 FPS) suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU frames much faster than the GPU can render them at high resolutions. The processor's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this game, as the data does not show any signs of stuttering or frame pacing issues, only raw FPS limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across 12 different configurations. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high: Low settings yield 435.2 FPS, Medium yields 324.4 FPS, High yields 275.4 FPS, and Ultra yields 200 FPS. This shows a clear linear scaling with settings, where each step up in quality costs roughly 50-70 FPS. The 1080p Ultra score of 200 FPS is still exceptionally smooth for any display.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but begin to show the GPU's workload. Low settings produce 277.3 FPS, Medium produces 201.8 FPS, High produces 172.4 FPS, and Ultra produces 128.8 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 36% across all settings, which is a typical penalty for the 78% increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low settings still manage a playable 144.6 FPS, but Medium drops to 104.9 FPS, High to 91.7 FPS, and Ultra to 64.4 FPS. The 4K Ultra configuration is the only one that fails to maintain a 100+ FPS average, showing that the RX 6800 XT's 16 GB of VRAM and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth are being fully utilized. The difference between 1080p Low (435.2) and 4K Ultra (64.4) is a 85.2% reduction in performance, highlighting the massive computational cost of 4K rendering.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a high-end graphics card built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, using a 7 nm process at TSMC. It features 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2250 MHz. Its memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing a substantial 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's compute capabilities are strong, with 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 41.47 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1).

In Barony, the GPU's dominance is clear from the resolution scaling data. The fact that frame rates at 4K are roughly half of those at 1440p across all settings shows that the card is fully saturated at 4K. The Ultra preset at 4K (64.4 FPS) is the only configuration where the GPU cannot maintain a high refresh rate, suggesting that this is the limit of the card's capabilities in this title. The GPU's benchmark percentile of 87 versus all other GPUs is high, and its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A550M, is only 0.5% behind in average score, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is 2.6% ahead. This places the RX 6800 XT in a competitive position, but the data shows it is not the absolute fastest option.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 144+ FPS with this combo?

A: Both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 maintain average frame rates above 144 FPS across all settings. The lowest score in this range is 128.8 FPS at 1440p Ultra, which is still very close to the 144 FPS target.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming on this title?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Low, the system averages 144.6 FPS, and at 4K High it averages 91.7 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to 64.4 FPS, which may not be smooth enough for fast-paced gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in performance?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, scores 14115, which is only 0.4% behind. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C is 0.8% ahead, and the Intel Core i5-8500 is 1.1% ahead.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in performance?

A: The RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score of 49982. The Intel Arc A550M is 0.5% behind, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX is 1.9% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is 2.6% ahead.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings yield 435.2 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 200 FPS. This is a difference of 235.2 FPS, or a 54% reduction in performance when moving to Ultra.

Q: Is the system more CPU-bound or GPU-bound?

A: The data indicates it is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rates scale almost perfectly with resolution, indicating GPU limits. At 1080p, the extremely high frame rates suggest the CPU is still capable of keeping up, but the resolution scaling shows the GPU is the main limiter.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 offers an excellent balance, delivering 201.8 FPS. This is more than enough for any high refresh rate monitor and maintains a substantial margin above the 144 FPS threshold. If you are using a 4K display, the Low preset at 144.6 FPS is the only viable option for high refresh rates, while the High preset at 91.7 FPS is still playable on a 60 Hz display.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 200 FPS is recommended for the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness, as it still easily exceeds 144 FPS. The data shows that the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 110.8 FPS, but the jump from High to Ultra only costs 75.4 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the higher end. For competitive play, the Low preset at 435.2 FPS at 1080p or 277.3 FPS at 1440p provides the absolute highest frame rates, but the visual compromise may not be worth it for most players given that even Ultra at 1440p remains above 120 FPS.