Barony

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti lands at rank 1188 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This rank reflects the game's roguelike nature, which tends to favor raw single-thread performance and memory latency over massive multi-core throughput, and the combo's position suggests that while the parts are competent, they are not optimized for this specific title's demands. The measured data confirms the system can deliver playable frame rates across most settings, but the ranking implies that many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher average performance in this game, likely due to stronger per-core CPU capabilities or more balanced memory subsystems.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 1188 of 1702 combos, this pairing sits in the 30th percentile of all tested configurations for Barony. The CPU itself holds a 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs in the database, while the GPU sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, indicating both components are mid-pack performers individually. Yet the combo rank is notably lower than either component's individual percentile, which signals a bottleneck or inefficiency specific to this game. Barony's procedural dungeon generation and entity tracking are largely single-threaded workloads, and the i5-10400F's single-core benchmark scores—688 in 3DMark single-thread, 1453 in Cinebench R23 single-core, and 2541 in PassMark single-thread—are modest for a modern desktop CPU. The data suggests that in Barony, the CPU's single-thread strength limits overall combo performance more than the GPU's raw capabilities, dragging the combined rank below what either part achieves in isolation.

GPU Role

The RTX 3060 Ti brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, with a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. Its memory runs at 1750 MHz, or 14 Gbps effective. These specifications place it at the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25120. In Barony, the GPU's role becomes apparent when examining the frame rate scaling across settings at each resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 130.5 FPS, but dropping to Low settings more than doubles that to 287.5 FPS, showing the GPU has headroom when the CPU is less stressed. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25180 (a 0.2% delta), while the RX 6600 scores 25235 (0.5% higher), meaning the 3060 Ti is effectively tied with these parts in synthetic benchmarks. In Barony, the GPU's 4864 shading units and 80 ROPs handle the game's sprite-based rendering and particle effects without issue, but the 8 GB VRAM is never a limiting factor at these resolutions, as the game's texture loads are modest.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution climbs. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 287.5 FPS, which drops to 182.1 FPS at 1440p Low (a 63% retention), and further to 97.6 FPS at 4K Low (a 34% retention from 1080p). For High settings, the scaling is 180.7 FPS at 1080p, 118.3 FPS at 1440p, and 60.7 FPS at 4K. The most telling data point is at 4K Ultra, where the combo manages only 41.3 FPS, while 1080p Ultra hits 130.5 FPS—a 68% drop. This steep decline indicates the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K, where the 3060 Ti's 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is insufficient to maintain high frame rates with Ultra settings. Conversely, at 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance likely caps the ceiling, as evidenced by the relatively small gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p (287.5 vs 130.5 FPS) compared to the larger relative gaps at 4K. The data suggests that for 1080p and 1440p gaming, the CPU is the bottleneck, while at 4K, the GPU takes over as the limiting component.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to run this combo for Barony?

A: At 1440p High, the combo delivers 118.3 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while 4K High drops to 60.7 FPS—just barely playable. For a balance of visual quality and frame rate, 1440p with High settings is the sweet spot, as it maintains over 100 FPS while still benefiting from the GPU's capabilities.

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

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168, sitting 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115) and 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277). It trails the Intel Core i5-8500 by 1.1% (14332) and the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 by 1.2% (14336), placing it in a tight cluster of similar-performing CPUs.

Q: Does the GPU's 8 GB VRAM cause any issues in Barony?

A: The measured data shows no VRAM-related performance drops at any resolution or settings combination. Even at 4K Ultra, which shows 41.3 FPS, the limiting factor is compute throughput rather than memory capacity, as the game's art style does not require large texture pools. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for this title.

Q: What settings preset gives the highest frame rate at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo produces 287.5 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this resolution. Medium achieves 215.9 FPS, High reaches 180.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 130.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 157 FPS, suggesting that even at Low settings, the CPU is likely the limiting factor.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic scores?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti scores 25120 in average benchmark scores, which is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180), 0.5% below the RX 6600 (25235), and 0.5% below the Radeon 890M (25246). It outperforms the RX 580 2048SP by 0.7% (25287 is the rival's score, meaning the 3060 Ti is lower by that margin). These deltas are negligible, indicating near-identical synthetic performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, built on Intel's 14 nm Comet Lake architecture. Its cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 256 KB L2 per core, and 12 MB shared L3, with dual-channel DDR4 memory support providing 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's percentile rank of 73 and average benchmark score of 14168 indicate it is a solid mid-range part, but its single-thread performance is the key factor in Barony. The 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1453 are below many newer CPUs, and since Barony's gameplay loop—procedural floor generation, enemy AI, and inventory management—relies heavily on single-thread execution, the CPU becomes the bottleneck at lower resolutions. The data supports this: at 1080p, the difference between Low (287.5 FPS) and Ultra (130.5 FPS) is significant, but both are high enough that the GPU is not fully utilized, whereas at 4K, the GPU's limits dominate. The CPU's multi-thread scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core 10297, PassMark multi-thread 12115) are respectable for a 6-core part, but Barony does not scale well with additional threads, so those capabilities go largely unused.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimal settings. At 1080p, High settings (180.7 FPS) offer a strong balance, as Medium (215.9 FPS) and Low (287.5 FPS) deliver higher frame rates but with diminishing visual returns, and Ultra (130.5 FPS) still exceeds 120 FPS but adds minimal visual improvement for a 28% frame rate penalty compared to High. At 1440p, High (118.3 FPS) is the recommended preset, as it stays above 100 FPS and provides a clear step up from Medium (134.3 FPS) in visual quality, while Ultra (82.1 FPS) drops below the 90 FPS threshold many players prefer. For 4K, the situation changes: High (60.7 FPS) is just at the playable threshold, while Medium (72.5 FPS) offers more headroom and Low (97.6 FPS) is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS with substantial margin. Given that Barony is a roguelike where reaction time matters less than strategic planning, the best experience per the measured rows is 1440p High for most users, delivering 118.3 FPS without sacrificing visual fidelity. For those prioritizing frame rate over graphics, 1080p Medium (215.9 FPS) provides a massive cushion, and 4K should only be attempted with Low or Medium settings unless the user accepts sub-60 FPS performance at High or Ultra.