Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i5-11400F + AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Barony, a roguelike where reaction time and visual clarity matter. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings are consistently high, placing this combo in a solid position among the 3,717 tested configurations. With a combo rank of 1,949, this pairing sits essentially in the middle of the pack, but the actual game performance suggests the ranking is conservative for a title of this genre.

How This Combo Ranks

At position 1,949 out of 3,717 tested combos, this configuration lands almost exactly at the median. That ranking, however, masks the true story. Barony is a roguelike with dated visuals by modern standards, and the data shows this combo delivers triple-digit FPS at nearly every setting below 4K. The percentile placement reflects the full spectrum of hardware tested, including far more expensive modern GPUs and CPUs, but within the context of what this pairing offers, it ranks as a highly capable mid-range setup.

The CPU itself sits at the 71st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 17,177. Its nearest rivals tell an interesting story about generational efficiency. The AMD EPYC 7H12, a server-class chip, scores 17,120, just 0.3% behind. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17,239, a mere 0.4% ahead. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U round out the comparison group with deltas of -0.6% and +0.6% respectively. The i5-11400F holds its own against this diverse field, suggesting that its 6-core, 12-thread configuration remains relevant.

The GPU side is equally competitive. The RX 6700 XT achieves the 72nd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 27,425. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, scores 27,435 — essentially identical. The RTX 3090 sits just 0.5% ahead at 27,565, while the RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell trails by 1.1%. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 leads by 1.5%. This clustering indicates the RX 6700 XT delivers desktop-class performance that rivals even some higher-tier mobile and workstation parts.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows that Medium settings provide the most balanced experience across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 256 FPS average with a minimum of 217 FPS, which is already far beyond what any display can show. At 1440p, Medium maintains 161 FPS average with a 137 FPS minimum, still comfortably above high-refresh-rate monitors. Even at 4K, Medium holds at 84 FPS average with a 72 FPS minimum, making it the only preset that remains playable at that resolution.

High settings are tempting but come with a steeper cost at higher resolutions. At 1080p, High drops to 219 FPS, still excellent. At 1440p, it falls to 138 FPS, which remains smooth. However, at 4K, High collapses to 72 FPS, which is borderline for fast-paced action. Ultra settings push the GPU harder: 157 FPS at 1080p, 99 FPS at 1440p, but only 52 FPS at 4K. The data suggests Ultra at 4K is not a viable choice for this combo.

Low settings offer the highest frame rates — 344 FPS at 1080p, 217 FPS at 1440p, and 113 FPS at 4K — but the visual trade-offs in a game where readability matters may not be worth it. Medium strikes the optimal balance, providing enough visual detail while maintaining frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of most displays at 1080p and 1440p.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important information about where the bottleneck lies. At Medium settings, the progression is 256 FPS at 1080p, 161 FPS at 1440p, and 84 FPS at 4K. That is a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K. This pattern indicates increasing GPU dependency as resolution rises, which is typical.

The scaling at Low settings is even more revealing. The RX 6700 XT produces 344 FPS at 1080p, 217 FPS at 1440p, and 113 FPS at 4K. The consistent halving of frame rates with each resolution step suggests the GPU is the primary constraint even at Low settings. If the CPU were limiting, the 1080p result would show diminishing returns relative to 1440p.

At High settings, the pattern continues: 219 FPS at 1080p, 138 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The ratio between 1080p and 1440p is nearly identical across all presets, which strongly implies the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears more than sufficient for this title, as evidenced by the very high frame rates at lower resolutions where CPU overhead would typically surface.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset shows a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce the highest measured average at 344 FPS. Medium follows at 256 FPS, with a documented range of 217 to 294 FPS. High delivers 219 FPS, while Ultra drops to 157 FPS. All of these numbers are far above what any standard 60Hz or 144Hz monitor can display, meaning the experience at 1080p is limited by display technology rather than hardware.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. Low settings achieve 217 FPS, Medium delivers 161 FPS with a range of 137 to 185 FPS, High reaches 138 FPS, and Ultra falls to 99 FPS. The 1440p results indicate this combo is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution, with even Ultra remaining above the 90 FPS threshold that most gamers consider smooth.

The 3840x2160 results show the limits of the hardware. Medium is the standout at 84 FPS average, with a measured range of 72 to 97 FPS. Low achieves 113 FPS, which is impressive for 4K but comes with reduced visual quality. High drops to 72 FPS, exactly at the edge of playability, while Ultra falls to 52 FPS, which many players would find too choppy for a game requiring quick reactions. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo is best reserved for Medium settings or below.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using a 7 nm process at TSMC. The chip, codenamed Navi 22, packs 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines. The 40 ray tracing cores provide hardware acceleration for titles that support it, though Barony's older engine likely does not leverage this capability.

The memory subsystem is substantial: 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2000 MHz, translating to 16 Gbps effective. For a roguelike like Barony, 12 GB is far more than the game requires, and the bandwidth ensures no memory-related stuttering even at 4K. The GPU clocks are aggressive: 2321 MHz base, 2424 MHz game, and 2581 MHz boost. These high clocks contribute to the strong performance seen in the measured results.

The GPU's pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s explain why the card handles resolution scaling so gracefully. The FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS is more than adequate for a game of this visual complexity. The 230 W TDP and dual-slot cooler suggest the card runs within reasonable thermal envelopes, though the 550 W recommended PSU indicates the system needs adequate power headroom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides the computational foundation for this combo. Built on the Rocket Lake architecture using Intel's 14 nm process, it offers 6 cores and 12 threads. The base clock of 2.60 GHz boosts up to 4.40 GHz, giving the processor solid single-threaded performance. The 65 W TDP keeps power consumption modest while still delivering competitive performance.

The cache hierarchy is generous: 80 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3. This configuration supports the high frame rates seen at lower resolutions where CPU performance matters most. The dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for gaming workloads, and the PCIe Gen 4 interface with 20 lanes ensures the GPU has full bandwidth available.

Benchmark data shows the CPU's strengths. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14,340 and single-core score of 2,024 indicate balanced performance. The Geekbench multicore score of 7,737 and single-core of 1,777 confirm this. The 3DMark results show scaling from 868 single-thread to 5,652 max-threads, demonstrating good multi-threading efficiency. In Barony, where the game logic and AI processing can be CPU-intensive, the 6-core configuration with 12 threads appears more than sufficient, as evidenced by the extremely high frame rates at 1080p.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 2560x1440 delivers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At Medium settings, the combo achieves 161 FPS average with a 137 FPS minimum, which exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. At 1080p, frame rates are even higher but the visual upgrade at 1440p is significant.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At Medium settings, 4K produces an 84 FPS average with a 72 FPS minimum, which is playable. At Low settings, it reaches 113 FPS. However, High settings drop to 72 FPS and Ultra falls to 52 FPS, making those presets less desirable at 4K.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6700 XT scores 27,425 on average benchmarks, placing it at the 72nd percentile. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile scores 27,435, a 0.0% difference. The RTX 3090 scores 27,565, just 0.5% higher. The RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell trails at 27,135, 1.1% behind.

Q: Is the Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RX 6700 XT?

A: The data suggests no. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 344 FPS, implying the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The CPU's 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a 4.40 GHz boost clock provides sufficient processing power for Barony's game logic at all tested resolutions.

Q: What settings preset offers the most consistent frame pacing?

A: Medium settings show the most consistent performance across all resolutions. The measured minimum and maximum values at 1080p (217 to 294 FPS), 1440p (137 to 185 FPS), and 4K (72 to 97 FPS) indicate stable frame delivery without major dips.

Q: How much faster is the CPU compared to its closest rival?

A: The i5-11400F scores 17,177 on average benchmarks. Its closest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, scores 17,120, putting the i5 0.3% ahead. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17,239, which is 0.4% faster than the i5-11400F.