Barony

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a robust experience in Barony, a roguelike where frame rates are already high across most configurations. The measured data shows this combo ranks 1405th out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet the actual FPS results are far from disappointing. The combination of a six-core Comet Lake processor and a Turing-generation GPU provides a balanced platform, though the specific settings chosen will significantly alter the experience. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance data to determine the optimal configuration, the roles of the CPU and GPU, and how this pairing compares to other tested systems.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across three resolutions and four quality presets reveals a clear hierarchy. For 1920x1080, the most demanding Ultra preset still achieves an average of 119.6 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. However, the data shows that the Low preset at this resolution produces an average of 262 FPS, while Medium delivers 193.5 FPS and High produces 166.1 FPS. Given that the Ultra preset is playable, but the High preset offers a substantial 46.5 FPS advantage while likely maintaining most visual fidelity, High is the recommended starting point for 1080p users who want to preserve visual quality without sacrificing frame rate headroom.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 76.7 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the lower bounds of high-refresh-rate displays. The High preset, however, maintains a strong 106.2 FPS average, representing a 29.5 FPS improvement over Ultra. For 1440p, the data suggests that High is the optimal balance, as it keeps the frame rate comfortably above 100 FPS while the Medium preset only offers a marginal 16.4 FPS increase over High. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 165.1 FPS, which is useful for competitive play but sacrifices too much visual detail for most roguelike sessions.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 begins to show its limits. The High preset averages 53.4 FPS, which is just barely playable. The Ultra preset falls to 40 FPS, which is not recommended for a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 64.1 FPS provides a more comfortable margin, while the Low preset reaches 84.5 FPS. For 4K, the data indicates that Medium is the best experience, as it provides a playable frame rate above 60 FPS while retaining more visual detail than the Low preset. Pushing higher settings at this resolution introduces noticeable stutter and frame drops. The overall recommendation is to use High settings for both 1080p and 1440p, and Medium for 4K, to maximize the balance between image quality and performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the primary driver of frame rate in Barony, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU is built on the Turing architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process, and features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. It also includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, though these are unlikely to be heavily utilized in a roguelike title. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, providing the raw compute power necessary for the measured results.

Memory configuration plays a significant role in the performance scaling. The RTX 2060 is equipped with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, or 14 Gbps effective. This bandwidth is sufficient for Barony at the tested resolutions, as the frame rates do not show signs of memory starvation even at 4K. The data shows a consistent scaling pattern: at 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 119.6 FPS, which drops to 76.7 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 40 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 47.8% performance reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 66.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating a compute-bound scenario rather than a memory bottleneck.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 16074, with a percentile rank of 58 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S with an average score of 15996 (a 0.5% difference), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with a score of 16351 (1.7% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 with a score of 15786 (1.8% lower). These comparisons suggest the RTX 2060 is a mid-range performer, consistent with its measured performance in Barony. The pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s are adequate for the geometric complexity of the game, and the FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS provides the arithmetic throughput needed for the game's logic and rendering. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which ensures compatibility with modern rendering paths, though the game's age means it likely relies on simpler APIs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F serves as the supporting component in this combo, and its influence is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the limiting factor. The CPU is a 10th Generation Comet Lake part with 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has a 12 MB shared L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core. The processor supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, which is sufficient for feeding the GPU.

In Barony, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, entity updates, and draw calls. The measured FPS data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 262 FPS, which is the highest in the dataset. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain very high frame rates. The CPU's multi-threaded performance is demonstrated by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297, which is a strong result for a six-core part. Its single-core score of 1453 in the same test is also respectable, ensuring that the game's primary thread does not become a bottleneck.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 14168, with a percentile rank of 73 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7552 with an average score of 14115 (0.4% lower), the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C with a score of 14277 (0.8% higher), and the Intel Core i5-8500 with a score of 14332 (1.1% higher). These close scores suggest the i5-10400F is a solid mid-range performer. The CPU's TDP of 65 W is modest, and it uses the Intel Socket 1200 interface. While the game is not particularly CPU-intensive, the 12 threads help maintain consistent frame times, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from Low to Ultra settings. At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes because the GPU becomes the primary limiter, but at 1080p, the CPU ensures that frame rates can exceed 200 FPS when the GPU is not stressed.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1405th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This ranking places it in the 82.5th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 82.5% of other combos deliver higher frame rates in this specific game. This may seem low, but it is important to interpret this in the context of the measured FPS data. The rank is based on the overall performance across all tested settings and resolutions, and Barony is a game where many high-end systems can achieve extremely high frame rates, pushing this mid-range combo down in the rankings.

Despite the rank, the actual gameplay experience is strong. The combo achieves over 100 FPS in the High preset at both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, and it maintains playable frame rates at 4K. The ranking reflects the presence of many more powerful combinations in the database, not a deficiency in this specific pairing. The CPU and GPU are well-matched for this game, with neither component causing a severe bottleneck. The GPU's percentile rank of 58 and the CPU's percentile rank of 73 suggest that the CPU is relatively stronger than the GPU, which is typical for a mid-range pairing. The combo's rank of 1405 indicates that users with this setup will have a solid experience but will not be at the top of the performance charts. The data shows that the combo is more capable at lower resolutions, where the CPU can leverage its multi-threading to push frame rates higher, and less capable at higher resolutions, where the GPU's limitations become more apparent.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Barony?*

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 2560x1440 with High settings provides the best balance, achieving an average of 106.2 FPS. For 1920x1080, High settings also work well at 166.1 FPS, while 3840x2160 requires Medium settings to stay above 60 FPS at 64.1 FPS.

Q: How does this combo's performance compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, scores 15996, which is 0.5% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351, which is 1.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15786, which is 1.8% lower.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests no significant bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 262 FPS, indicating the CPU can keep up with the GPU. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 show it has sufficient headroom for the game's demands.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 106.2 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 76.7 FPS. This represents a 29.5 FPS difference, making High the recommended choice for smoother gameplay.

*Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Barony?*

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 64.1 FPS, which is playable. The High preset drops to 53.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 40 FPS, so Medium is the highest playable setting at 4K.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C has an average score of 14277, which is 0.8% higher, indicating the Ryzen part has a slight performance edge in general benchmarks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves an average of 262 FPS on Low settings, 193.5 FPS on Medium, 166.1 FPS on High, and 119.6 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 54.6% reduction from Low to Ultra, showing a smooth scaling curve. The Low setting at 1080p is the highest frame rate in the entire dataset, demonstrating the CPU's ability to drive very high frame rates when the GPU is not under heavy load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 165.1 FPS on Low, 122.6 FPS on Medium, 106.2 FPS on High, and 76.7 FPS on Ultra. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across all settings: Low drops by 96.9 FPS, Medium by 70.9 FPS, High by 59.9 FPS, and Ultra by 42.9 FPS. This indicates that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at 1440p, but the frame rates remain highly playable.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 84.5 FPS on Low, 64.1 FPS on Medium, 53.4 FPS on High, and 40 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show a steeper performance cliff, with the Ultra setting falling below the 60 FPS threshold. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 44.5 FPS, which is a significant reduction. The data indicates that the RTX 2060's 6 GB of VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game, but the compute power of the GPU limits high-settings performance at this resolution. Overall, the measured FPS breakdown confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being playable only at lower settings.