Barony

Barony is a roguelike that, on paper, should not stress a modern flagship GPU, yet the measured data for the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination reveals a fascinating bottleneck dynamic. The RTX 4090 is an absolute monster, but the Core i5-10400F, while competent, shows its limits at lower resolutions where the CPU must feed frames as fast as possible. This pairing produces a wide spectrum of performance, from over 470 FPS at 1080p Low to just over 100 FPS at 4K Ultra, making it a prime example of how resolution and settings shift the workload between the processor and the graphics card.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average is 471.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: The Core i5-10400F's average benchmark score of 14,168 is statistically tied with its closest rivals. It is 0.4% faster than the AMD EPYC 7552, 0.8% slower than the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, 1.1% slower than the Intel Core i5-8500, and 1.2% slower than the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546.

Q: What is the performance gap between 4K Ultra and 4K Low settings?

A: The difference is substantial. The average frame rate at 4K Ultra is 102.1 FPS, while at 4K Low it rises to 218.2 FPS, representing a significant increase of over 114% in performance.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's performance in line with its peers?

A: The data indicates it is highly competitive. The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 66,473. It is 0.4% slower than the NVIDIA Tesla T4, 0.5% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla P40, 0.9% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, and 1.3% slower than the NVIDIA Quadro P6000.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 have enough memory for this game?

A: Yes. The RTX 4090 is equipped with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory. Barony, being a roguelike, does not have demanding texture requirements, so even at 4K Ultra settings, the memory capacity is far beyond what is necessary.

Q: How does the frame rate scale when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 269.5 FPS at 2560x1440 to 142.3 FPS at 3840x2160. This is a reduction of approximately 47%, showing a heavy load shift onto the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed powerhouse in this configuration. The data shows it is a top-tier card, sitting in the 91st percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 66,473. Its specifications are immense: 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, all built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. Memory bandwidth is a staggering 1.01 TB/s, fed by a 384-bit bus and 24 GB of GDDR6X memory running at 21 Gbps effective.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes increasingly critical as resolution and settings rise. The measured FPS data shows a clear division of labor. At 1080p Low, the GPU is barely breaking a sweat, producing 471.8 FPS. However, when you push to 4K Ultra, the average frame rate plummets to 102.1 FPS. This drop is a direct consequence of the GPU's workload. The pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are being taxed heavily at 4K with Ultra settings. The data shows this is a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, as the raw graphical processing power becomes the limiting factor. The RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is being utilized to its fullest extent at 4K Ultra, where it still manages to deliver a very playable 102.1 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. With a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, it is a solid mid-range CPU, landing in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. Its synthetic benchmark scores, such as 10,297 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,453 in single-core, show it is a capable processor, but it is clearly outclassed by the RTX 4090. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for most games, but they represent a potential bottleneck for a card of this caliber.

The CPU's role in Barony is most evident at lower resolutions. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p, the FPS is exceptionally high across all settings, with the Low preset hitting 471.8 FPS. However, the gap between 1080p Low (471.8 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (303.8 FPS) is 168 FPS. This is a substantial difference that is not purely GPU-related. At 1080p Low, the GPU is rendering frames so quickly that the CPU must process the game logic and draw calls at an incredibly fast rate, and the i5-10400F's performance ceiling is being approached. This is where the 6-core/12-thread configuration and 4.30 GHz boost clock are the primary drivers. The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 12,115 and single-thread score of 2,541 are the metrics that dictate this upper limit, and the data suggests that at 1080p, the i5-10400F is the primary limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the system is clearly CPU-bound. The Low preset averages 471.8 FPS, but stepping up to Medium only drops the average to 424.8 FPS. High settings yield 400.3 FPS, and Ultra is the most demanding, averaging 303.8 FPS. The variance between Low and Ultra is 168 FPS, showing that even at this resolution, the graphics settings have a significant impact, but the absolute numbers are all extremely high.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility. The Low preset average is 408.9 FPS, which is still remarkably high. Medium settings drop to 310.5 FPS, and High comes in at 269.5 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 192.5 FPS. The scaling is more pronounced here; the gap between Low and Ultra is 216.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU's workload is increasing, but the CPU is still able to keep up with the frame delivery.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4090 takes center stage. The Low preset averages 218.2 FPS, which is still a phenomenal result. Medium settings drop to 161 FPS, and High settings further reduce the average to 142.3 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, yields an average of 102.1 FPS. This is the only resolution where the frame rates dip below the 144 Hz threshold on Ultra, highlighting the immense graphical load at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is a textbook example of shifting bottlenecks. Looking at the High settings preset, the average FPS at 1080p is 400.3. Moving to 1440p, the FPS drops by 130.8 to 269.5, a reduction of about 33%. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the FPS drops by 127.2 to 142.3, a further reduction of about 47%. This pattern shows that the scaling is not linear; the performance penalty becomes more severe at higher resolutions.

This is because the GPU is responsible for rendering the additional pixels. At 4K, there are over four times as many pixels as at 1080p. The RTX 4090's raw power is enough to handle this, but the data shows that the i5-10400F is not the limiting factor at 4K. The proof is in the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system hits 471.8 FPS. At 4K Low, it drops to 218.2 FPS. This 253.6 FPS drop is almost entirely due to the GPU's rendering workload, as the CPU is likely not being tasked much harder. The conclusion is clear: at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting component, especially on higher presets.

Settings Recommendations

For players with a high refresh rate 1080p or 1440p monitor, the data supports using the Ultra preset. At 1080p, the average of 303.8 FPS still far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. At 1440p, the 192.5 FPS average is exceptionally high, and the visual fidelity gains from Ultra settings are well worth the performance cost. The system has enough headroom in both scenarios to maintain a smooth experience.

For those gaming at 4K, the recommendation is more nuanced. The High preset offers an average of 142.3 FPS, which is an excellent balance for a 120Hz or 144Hz display. It provides a significant visual improvement over the Medium preset (161 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that is well above 100 FPS. The Ultra preset, while delivering the best image quality, drops the average to 102.1 FPS. This is still playable, but it is a noticeable step down from High. The data suggests that for 4K, the High preset is the sweet spot, offering a substantial performance advantage over Ultra with only a marginal loss in visual quality. The Low preset at 4K (218.2 FPS) is only advisable for competitive play where frame rate is the absolute priority, as the visual compromise is significant.