Barony

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers a fascinating performance profile in Barony, a roguelike that proves surprisingly demanding on high-refresh-rate displays. The dataset shows a combination that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at 4K, but shifts into a more balanced territory as resolution drops, where the CPU’s limitations become more apparent. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) across three resolutions and four quality presets, interpreting what the numbers reveal about the hardware’s strengths and bottlenecks.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the performance ceiling lies for this combo. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 474 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same preset drops the average to 347 FPS, a reduction of 127 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 181 FPS. This pattern—a significant but not catastrophic drop at each step—indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti is still providing substantial headroom even at higher resolutions, while the CPU is keeping pace enough to avoid a hard stall.

The scaling is more dramatic when examining the High preset. At 1080p High, the average is 351 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 222 FPS, and at 4K High, it settles at 116 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 37%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is about 48%. This steepening curve suggests that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are becoming the primary limiting factors as pixel count increases, which is expected given the 4K resolution’s demand on the render pipeline.

The Ultra preset shows the tightest scaling, with averages of 252 FPS at 1080p, 159 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, representing a 67% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score. This indicates that at maximum quality settings, the combination is fully GPU-limited; the CPU has ample headroom to feed the graphics card, but the RTX 4070 Ti’s compute units are saturated. The data suggests that for players targeting 4K, the GPU is the definitive bottleneck, while at 1080p, the system has enough power to push frame rates well beyond typical high-refresh display capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates observed. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is particularly relevant for Barony, which appears to benefit from high throughput given the consistent performance across settings. The GPU’s boost clock of 2610 MHz, combined with its 7680 shading units, provides the raw compute power necessary for the high average FPS figures.

Benchmark data for the GPU shows a strong standing relative to its peers. The RTX 4070 Ti scores 31,624 in Passmark G3D, placing it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 44,795, which puts it in close competition with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (scoring 45,152, a delta of -0.8%) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (scoring 45,384, a delta of -1.3%). The GPU also trails the Intel Arc A730M (45,592, delta -1.7%) but leads the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (44,075, delta 1.6%). This proximity in synthetic scores suggests the RTX 4070 Ti is a well-balanced card for its class, though the measured FPS in Barony shows it excels in real-world gaming loads.

The GPU’s memory clock is listed at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed, which supports the high bandwidth figure. This is crucial for the 4K results, where the 116 FPS average at High settings indicates the card can handle demanding resolutions without memory starvation. The 60 RT cores and 240 Tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this roguelike, which appears to favor traditional rasterization performance based on the FPS data. The GPU’s 285 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it is a power-hungry part, but the performance metrics justify the configuration.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F serves as the supporting actor, and its role becomes more critical at lower resolutions. This processor features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It belongs to the Comet Lake architecture on a 14 nm process, which is older than the GPU’s 5 nm node, but it still provides adequate performance for gaming. The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are sufficient for feeding the GPU in most scenarios.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-10400F shows a modest standing. It scores 10,283 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1,451 in single-core, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 14,185, which puts it in a tight race with rivals like the Intel Xeon 6756E (14,163, delta 0.2%), Intel Core 7 160UL (14,232, delta -0.3%), AMD EPYC 7552 (14,115, delta 0.5%), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14,277, delta -0.6%). These deltas are all within 0.6%, indicating the CPU is competitively positioned for its generation, though not a standout performer.

The CPU’s impact on Barony is most evident when comparing the 1080p Low and 4K Low results. At 1080p Low, the 474 FPS average suggests the CPU is working hard to maintain such high frame rates, as the GPU is not fully taxed at that resolution and settings combination. The boost clock of 4.30 GHz is what allows the processor to keep up with the GPU’s output. However, the data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck the system severely; even at 1080p Ultra, the average of 252 FPS indicates the processor can handle the game’s logic and draw calls without causing a significant frame rate collapse. The 12 threads provide enough parallelism for the game’s background tasks, though Barony likely benefits more from single-thread performance, which is reflected in the 1,451 Cinebench R23 single-core score.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-10400F and RTX 4070 Ti ranks 617th out of 3,717 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the top 17% of all systems, which is a strong showing given the CPU’s age and mid-range positioning. The rank is likely buoyed by the GPU’s high percentile standing (84th), which dominates the overall score. The CPU’s 68th percentile is lower, but it does not drag the combo down significantly because the game’s performance is heavily weighted toward the graphics card.

This ranking makes sense when considering the benchmark data. The GPU’s average score of 44,795 is substantially higher than the CPU’s 14,185, and in a game like Barony, the GPU does most of the heavy lifting. The combo’s rank suggests it outperforms many systems with more balanced but lower-end components. For instance, a system with a top-tier CPU but a weaker GPU would likely rank lower because the FPS would be capped by the graphics card. Conversely, this combo’s high GPU ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains a playable 83 FPS average, which confirms the pairing’s overall capability.

The delta between this combo and others in the rankings is not provided, but the percentile data for each component gives a clear picture. The GPU is in the top 16% of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the top 32%. The combination ranks in the top 17% of combos, indicating that the GPU’s strength compensates for the CPU’s relative weakness. This is a classic example of a GPU-forward build, where the graphics card is the primary investment and the processor is chosen to provide adequate support without breaking the bank.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings offer the best experience. For 1080p users, the High preset at 351 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a massive frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. The Ultra preset at 252 FPS is also excellent, but the 99 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not be worth the marginal visual gains in a roguelike where fast-paced action benefits from higher frames. The Low preset at 474 FPS is overkill for any display, and the Medium preset at 409 FPS sits between the two, but High provides the best balance of fidelity and speed.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 222 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors (144Hz or 165Hz). The Ultra preset at 159 FPS is still smooth and would be suitable for a 144Hz display, but the 63 FPS drop from High might be noticeable in fast-moving scenes. The Medium preset at 258 FPS is slightly higher than High, but the visual quality difference is minimal. For 1440p, High is the recommended setting, as it provides a significant frame rate buffer above 144 FPS while maintaining good image quality.

For 4K, the High preset at 116 FPS is the best choice, as it is the only setting that comfortably exceeds 100 FPS. The Medium preset at 135 FPS is also viable, but the 19 FPS difference is minor, and High offers better visuals. The Ultra preset at 83 FPS is playable but falls below the 100 FPS threshold that many gamers prefer, and the Low preset at 181 FPS sacrifices too much visual fidelity. The data suggests that 4K High is the optimal configuration, delivering a smooth experience without pushing the GPU to its limits. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset shows consistent min FPS values (348 at 1080p, 219 at 1440p, 115 at 4K), indicating stable frame pacing, but High offers better visuals with only a modest FPS penalty.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The detailed FPS measurements reveal a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 474 FPS, Medium averages 409 FPS with a min of 348 and max of 470, High averages 351 FPS, and Ultra averages 252 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 222 FPS, showing a substantial impact from quality settings. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 348 is notably close to the High average, suggesting that frame pacing is consistent even when the average is lower.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 347 FPS for Low, 258 FPS for Medium (min 219, max 297), 222 FPS for High, and 159 FPS for Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant across all settings, with the Low preset losing 127 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 93 FPS. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 219 is still well above 144, making it a viable option for high-refresh gaming.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 181 FPS for Low, 135 FPS for Medium (min 115, max 155), 116 FPS for High, and 83 FPS for Ultra. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset drops below 100 FPS, and it also shows the largest relative drop from High (33 FPS). The Medium preset’s min FPS of 115 is above the 60 FPS standard, ensuring smooth gameplay, but the High preset’s 116 FPS average is the best compromise for 4K. The data across all resolutions shows that the RTX 4070 Ti is capable of driving Barony at high frame rates, with the CPU providing sufficient support to avoid major bottlenecks, particularly at lower resolutions where the processor’s 4.30 GHz boost clock comes into play.