Barony

Barony is a roguelike that scales impressively across resolutions, and the Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a wide performance envelope. The measured data shows this combination moves from a staggering 395 FPS average at 1080p Low to a still-playable 60 FPS average at 4K Ultra, indicating that the game’s demands grow substantially with resolution and preset. This analysis examines how the FPS drops across resolution steps, what the GPU’s specifications mean for these results, how this pairing ranks among tested combos, and which settings provide the best experience based solely on the measured rows.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling, but with some interesting nuances. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves a 395 FPS average, which drops to 249 FPS at 1440p Low — a reduction to roughly 63% of the 1080p figure. Moving to 4K Low, the average falls to 130 FPS, which is about 33% of the 1080p Low score. This steep decline suggests that at lower presets, the rendering resolution dominates the workload, and the RX 7700 XT’s compute resources are the primary limiter. The data implies that at 1080p Low, the CPU may be approaching its ceiling, as the FPS is extremely high, but the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is not perfectly linear — a 1.78x pixel increase results in a 1.59x FPS drop, hinting that some other bottleneck appears at lower resolutions.

For Medium settings, the pattern continues. At 1080p, the average is 294 FPS with a minimum of 250 FPS and a maximum of 338 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 185 FPS (min 157, max 213), and at 4K it falls to 97 FPS (min 82, max 111). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 37% reduction in FPS, while from 1440p to 4K it is a 48% reduction. This accelerating decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the pixel throughput requirements of 4K (3840x2160) overwhelm the shader and memory resources more quickly than the step from 1080p to 1440p. The min-to-max range also tightens at higher resolutions, suggesting more consistent frame delivery when the GPU is fully saturated.

High settings show a similar trend: 252 FPS at 1080p, 159 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is less than half the 1440p High result, which again points to the GPU being the limiting component. Ultra settings provide the most dramatic scaling: 181 FPS at 1080p, 114 FPS at 1440p, and just 60 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is exactly one-third of the 1080p Ultra figure, a clear sign that the RX 7700 XT’s 12 GB memory buffer and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are meeting their match at the highest preset. The data strongly suggests that for 4K gaming, the GPU is the bottleneck, while at 1080p, the i5-10400F’s six cores and 12 threads may start to limit the absolute ceiling, especially at Low settings where the GPU has less work per frame.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the Navi 32 chip using RDNA 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical factor for Barony’s 4K performance. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (60 FPS average) aligns with a scenario where memory bandwidth and capacity are heavily taxed, as the game’s textures and geometry at Ultra settings likely consume a significant portion of the 12 GB buffer. The GPU’s boost clock of 2544 MHz and game clock of 2171 MHz contribute to its raw compute power, with an FP32 throughput of 35.17 TFLOPS. This compute capability is what allows the combo to reach 249 FPS at 1440p Low, where the pixel fill rate is less demanding.

The GPU’s 96 ROPs and 549.5 GTexel/s texture rate explain the High preset performance. At 1080p High, the combo maintains 252 FPS, suggesting that the ROPs can handle the pixel output efficiently at that resolution. However, when resolution increases to 4K, the pixel rate requirement quadruples, and the 244.2 GPixel/s peak becomes the limiting factor, dropping High preset FPS to 83. The 3456 shading units are also relevant — Barony appears to scale well with these units at lower presets, but the 4K Ultra result indicates that the game’s shader complexity at Ultra, combined with the 4K pixel count, exceeds what this GPU can sustain at high frame rates.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the RX 7700 XT scores 22547 in the GPU average benchmark, which is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile and 0.8% lower than the RTX 4060 Mobile. It is 1.5% behind the RTX 2080 and 1.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700. This places the GPU in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it performs better than most, but the 4K Ultra result of 60 FPS is exactly at the edge of playability. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is sufficient for Barony at 4K, as the game does not appear to exceed it, but the bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is likely the more important spec — the gap between 4K High (83 FPS) and 4K Medium (97 FPS) suggests that texture compression and memory traffic are significant factors.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F + AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination ranks 1388 out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 37% of all pairings. This rank is notable because the CPU itself is in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 67th percentile, yet the combo rank is slightly lower than either component’s individual percentile. This suggests that Barony’s performance is not perfectly correlated with raw component scores — the game’s engine may have specific bottlenecks that make this pairing slightly less effective than its parts would imply.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% higher average score), Intel Core 7 160UL (0.3% lower), AMD EPYC 7552 (0.5% higher), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.6% lower). These rivals have similar average benchmark scores, but the i5-10400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads at up to 4.30 GHz boost clock are what matter for Barony. The combo’s rank of 1388 out of 3717 means it outperforms 2329 other combinations, which is a strong showing for a mid-range pairing. However, the data indicates that higher-ranked combos likely feature more powerful GPUs, as the 4K Ultra result of 60 FPS is the weakest measured point and would be improved with a higher-tier GPU.

The GPU’s rivals — RTX 5060 Mobile, RTX 4060 Mobile, RTX 2080, and RX 5700 — all have average scores within 1.7% of the RX 7700 XT. This tight grouping suggests that in Barony, the GPU’s performance is close to these alternatives, but the measured FPS data for this specific combo shows that the RX 7700 XT can deliver 395 FPS at 1080p Low, which is likely near the top of what any of these rivals could achieve at that resolution. The combo rank being 1388 out of 3717 implies that there are many combinations with better overall performance, but for a 1080p or 1440p gaming focus, this pairing is competitive.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the target resolution and frame rate priority. At 1080p, all presets are playable, but the Ultra preset (181 FPS average) offers the highest visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate far above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most monitors. The Low preset at 1080p (395 FPS) is excessive for any display, making Medium (294 FPS) or High (252 FPS) more sensible choices for balancing quality and speed. For 1440p, the High preset (159 FPS) is the sweet spot — it provides a 159 FPS average, which is above 144 Hz, and the Ultra preset (114 FPS) is also viable for 120 Hz displays. The Medium preset (185 FPS) is even faster, but the visual difference between Medium and High may justify the slight FPS drop.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. The Ultra preset (60 FPS average) is exactly at the threshold of smooth playability, but the High preset (83 FPS) offers a better margin. The Medium preset (97 FPS) is the best balance for 4K, as it stays above 60 FPS with a comfortable buffer, while the Low preset (130 FPS) sacrifices too much visual quality for a roguelike where readability matters. The data shows that 4K Ultra is the only preset that dips to 60 FPS, so for players with a 60 Hz 4K display, that is acceptable, but for anyone with a higher refresh rate 4K monitor, Medium or High is preferable. The measured min FPS values — 82 FPS at 4K Medium and 157 FPS at 1440p Medium — indicate that Medium settings provide stable frame delivery, with the 4K Medium min FPS (82) being much higher than the 4K Ultra average (60), reinforcing that Medium is the recommended 4K preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide spread of results. Low settings produce a 395 FPS average, which is the highest measured value across all resolutions and presets. Medium settings yield a 294 FPS average, with a minimum of 250 FPS and a maximum of 338 FPS. High settings drop to a 252 FPS average, and Ultra settings come in at 181 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54% reduction in FPS, which is a significant hit but leaves all presets well above 144 FPS. The 1080p results indicate that the CPU and GPU are both capable of pushing frame rates that exceed most display refresh rates, making this resolution the least demanding on the hardware.

At 2560x1440, the FPS figures are lower but still robust. Low settings achieve a 249 FPS average, Medium produces 185 FPS (min 157, max 213), High reaches 159 FPS, and Ultra settles at 114 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets — approximately 37-40% reduction — which is expected given the pixel count increase. The 1440p Medium minimum of 157 FPS is notable, as it confirms that even the lowest 1% frames stay above the 144 Hz threshold. Ultra at 1440p (114 FPS) is the first preset where the average dips below 120 FPS, but it remains playable on most high-refresh monitors.

At 3840x2160, the performance ceiling is reached. Low settings give a 130 FPS average, Medium provides 97 FPS (min 82, max 111), High produces 83 FPS, and Ultra drops to 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 54%, identical to the 1080p percentage, but the absolute values are much lower. The 4K Medium result of 97 FPS is the highest 4K average above 60 FPS, and its minimum of 82 FPS ensures smooth gameplay. The 4K Ultra result of 60 FPS is the only measured point at exactly 60 FPS, making it the borderline case for V-sync or 60 Hz displays. The data shows that the RX 7700 XT’s 12 GB VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K Medium, but Ultra pushes the GPU to its limit.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest FPS this combo achieves in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 395, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only preset and resolution combination that exceeds 300 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, but only at Medium or High settings for a comfortable experience. The 4K Medium average is 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS, while 4K High drops to 83 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset averages exactly 60 FPS, which is at the edge of playability.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for Barony?

A: The combo ranks 1388 out of 3717 tested combinations, placing it in the top 37% of all systems. This rank reflects a solid mid-range pairing that performs well in this roguelike.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 provide a 159 FPS average, which is above 144 Hz. Medium settings are even faster at 185 FPS, but High offers a better visual quality-to-performance trade-off.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: The data suggests the CPU may be limiting at 1080p Low, as the 395 FPS average is extremely high, and the scaling from 1080p to 1440p Low (395 to 249 FPS) is not proportional to the pixel increase. The i5-10400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads at up to 4.30 GHz are likely near their maximum frame delivery capability.

Q: What are the GPU’s closest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 7700 XT’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (0.5% higher score), RTX 4060 Mobile (0.8% higher), RTX 2080 (1.5% higher), and AMD Radeon RX 5700 (1.7% lower). These rivals are all within 1.7% of the RX 7700 XT’s average benchmark score.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Core 10th Gen series, based on the Comet Lake architecture and manufactured on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, and it has 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores show a significant scaling from 2 threads (1350 in 3dmark) to 8 threads (3929) and max threads (4735), indicating that Barony can utilize multiple cores, but the single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark is relatively modest. This single-thread performance is likely why the combo’s 1080p Low result (395 FPS) is the ceiling — the game’s main thread may not be able to push beyond that frame rate, even with a more powerful GPU.

The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10283 and single-core score of 1451 place it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, which is respectable but not exceptional. In Barony, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and presets, where the GPU is less stressed. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the FPS is 395, but at 1440p Low it drops to 249 — a 37% reduction for a 78% increase in pixels. This suggests that the CPU can still feed frames at 1440p Low, but the GPU becomes the limiter as resolution rises. At 4K Low, the FPS drops to 130, which is a 48% reduction from 1440p, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s (dual-channel DDR4) is unlikely to be a limiting factor in Barony, as the game’s requirements are modest compared to larger open-world titles. The 12 MB L3 cache is shared across all six cores, which helps with the game’s procedural generation and entity management, but the measured data does not show any CPU-related stuttering or frame drops — the min FPS values at Medium settings (250 FPS at 1080p, 157 FPS at 1440p, 82 FPS at 4K) are all proportional to the averages. The CPU’s nearest rivals — Intel Xeon 6756E, Intel Core 7 160UL, AMD EPYC 7552, and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C — all have similar average benchmark scores within 0.6%, but the i5-10400F’s boost clock of 4.30 GHz gives it an advantage in lightly-threaded workloads, which is crucial for Barony’s frame pacing. The data implies that for this game, the CPU is sufficient to support the RX 7700 XT at all resolutions, but it would not be able to push significantly beyond 395 FPS regardless of the GPU installed.