Barony

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable experience in Barony, but the data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the GPU at higher resolutions while showing strong CPU headroom at 1080p. The measured frame rates demonstrate a clear scaling pattern: dropping from 1080p to 4K at High settings cuts performance from 152.4 FPS to 46.3 FPS, a reduction of roughly 70%. This steep decline indicates that the GTX 1070 becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises, while the i5-10400F’s six cores and twelve threads are sufficient to keep feeding the GPU at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, confirming that Barony’s rendering load scales aggressively with resolution. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 237.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 80.6 FPS at 3840x2160, a 66% decrease. At Medium settings, the decline is from 172.6 FPS to 58.6 FPS, a 66% reduction as well. High settings show the same pattern: 152.4 FPS down to 46.3 FPS, a 70% drop. Even at Ultra, the system goes from 106.3 FPS at 1080p to 32.4 FPS at 4K, a 70% loss.

This uniform scaling behavior points to the GPU as the limiting component at higher resolutions. The GTX 1070’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus provide 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 3840x2160 overwhelms its 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The fact that Low settings at 4K (80.6 FPS) still fall short of Ultra at 1080p (106.3 FPS) underscores that resolution is the dominant cost factor, not graphical fidelity. For players targeting 4K, even the lowest preset cannot maintain the frame rates achievable at 1440p with higher quality settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F brings six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark results show a single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark and 1453 in Cinebench R23 single-core, while multi-thread performance reaches 10297 in Cinebench R23. These figures indicate a processor that is well-suited for Barony’s workload, which does not appear to be CPU-bound in this configuration. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 237.2 FPS, a level that suggests the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates.

The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) provide ample data throughput for a roguelike title. The CPU’s 73rd percentile ranking among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 14168, places it comfortably above mid-range. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, scores 14115 (0.4% slower), while the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277 (0.8% faster). This tight grouping suggests the i5-10400F is not a performance outlier, but its 12 threads handle Barony’s logic without becoming a bottleneck at any resolution tested.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the i5-10400F and GTX 1070 ranks 1430 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the lower 16% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU’s age more than the CPU’s capability. The GTX 1070’s percentile versus all GPUs is 51, meaning it sits near the median, but its average benchmark score of 12331 is only 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 and 1.3% behind the GeForce GTX 880M. The combo’s low rank is driven by the fact that many newer GPUs far exceed the GTX 1070’s rasterization throughput, particularly at 4K where the data shows sub-60 FPS performance on High and Ultra presets.

However, the rank is not a condemnation of the entire experience. At 1080p, this combo delivers excellent results, with all presets exceeding 106 FPS. The 1430th rank out of 1702 combos must be interpreted with the resolution in mind: at 1920x1080, this system outperforms many higher-ranked combinations that are tested at 4K. The data suggests that for 1080p gaming, this pair is competitive, but for 4K, it falls far behind the top quartile of tested systems.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the GTX 1070 and i5-10400F produce outstanding frame rates across all settings. Low averages 237.2 FPS, Medium 172.6 FPS, High 152.4 FPS, and Ultra 106.3 FPS. This shows that even the most demanding preset at 1080p remains highly playable, with the Ultra setting still delivering over 100 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 64.6 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 46.1 FPS, indicating diminishing returns as quality increases.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but drops noticeably. Low averages 149.5 FPS, Medium 111.6 FPS, High 93.2 FPS, and Ultra 71 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GPU is starting to feel the load, with Ultra falling below the 75 FPS threshold that many players consider ideal. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 37.9 FPS, while High to Ultra is 22.2 FPS, suggesting that the visual quality gains from Medium to High are relatively cheaper in performance terms.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low averages 80.6 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 58.6 FPS, High to 46.3 FPS, and Ultra to 32.4 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS standard and approaches the 30 FPS minimum for acceptable motion. The data shows a clear recommendation: 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, while 1440p can handle High settings with 93.2 FPS, and 1080p can run Ultra at 106.3 FPS without compromise.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is built on the Pascal architecture with a 16 nm process from TSMC. Its GP104 chip contains 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, with 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The base clock runs at 1506 MHz with a boost of 1683 MHz, and the 8 GB of GDDR5 memory operates at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications place the card at the 51st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12331.

The GPU’s pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are the key metrics for Barony’s rendering workload. At 4K, the 32.4 FPS Ultra result is directly tied to these rates being insufficient for the pixel density. The 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results show that the card is operating beyond its comfortable range. The nearest rivals — the Quadro K4200 (0.7% slower), GTX 880M (1.3% faster), and GTX 1650 SUPER (1.4% faster) — all exhibit similar limitations at high resolutions, confirming that the GTX 1070 is a mid-tier card by modern standards.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Barony at 4K 60 FPS?

A: No. The data shows that at 3840x2160, even Low settings only reach 80.6 FPS, but High and Ultra fall to 46.3 and 32.4 FPS respectively. Medium hits 58.6 FPS, so 60 FPS at 4K is only achievable with Low settings.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system in Barony?

A: 2560x1440 offers the best balance, with High settings achieving 93.2 FPS and Ultra at 71 FPS. This resolution provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining playable frame rates.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor even at 1920x1080. The i5-10400F’s multi-thread score of 10297 in Cinebench R23 appears sufficient, as the system reaches 237.2 FPS on Low, suggesting the CPU has headroom that the GTX 1070 cannot fully utilize at higher settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to others in Barony?

A: It ranks 1430 out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the lower 16%. This is primarily due to the GTX 1070’s mid-tier standing (51st percentile) rather than the CPU, which sits at the 73rd percentile.

Q: What settings should be used for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 deliver 111.6 FPS, which is close to 144Hz, but to fully utilize a 144Hz display, Low settings at 149.5 FPS would be required. High settings at 93.2 FPS would not saturate the refresh rate.

Q: Does the GTX 1070’s VRAM affect Barony performance?

A: The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory appears adequate, as the memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s is sufficient for the tested resolutions. The performance drops at 4K are more attributable to compute and pixel fill rates than memory capacity.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience based on measured FPS, 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is the clear choice, delivering 106.3 FPS while providing maximum visual quality. This exceeds the 60 FPS standard and remains smooth on most displays. If a higher refresh rate is the priority, dropping to High at 152.4 FPS or Low at 237.2 FPS offers increasingly responsive gameplay without sacrificing playability.

For 2560x1440, High settings at 93.2 FPS provide the best visual-to-performance ratio, as Medium at 111.6 FPS does not offer a dramatic quality boost, and Ultra at 71 FPS sacrifices too much smoothness. For 4K, Low settings at 80.6 FPS are the only viable option, as Medium at 58.6 FPS and High at 46.3 FPS fall below the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra at 32.4 FPS approaches console-level frame rates that are detrimental to a roguelike’s fast-paced gameplay.

The data supports a tiered approach: 1080p users should enable Ultra without concern, 1440p users should settle on High, and 4K users must accept Low settings. This combination’s strength lies in its 1080p performance, where it ranks among faster systems, but its 4K capability is limited. Players prioritizing visual fidelity at 1440p may find the 71 FPS Ultra result acceptable, but the 22 FPS penalty over High makes the latter the more prudent choice for consistent responsiveness.