Barony

Barony, a roguelike from 2015, presents an interesting case for hardware analysis. The pairing of an Intel Core i5-11400F with an AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT produces a wide spread of frame rates that reveal a shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU depending on resolution and settings. The measured data indicates that this combination is capable of very high performance, but the nature of that performance changes dramatically as the rendering load increases.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about where the system's limits lie. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 301.7 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 96.6 FPS — a reduction to roughly 32% of the original performance. This is an enormous hit, but it is not linear across all settings. At High settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 190.6 FPS down to 60.6 FPS, again about a 68% reduction. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, falling from 134.9 FPS at 1080p to just 45.2 FPS at 4K.

This pattern strongly suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary limiter, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. The fact that Low settings at 4K still produce 96.6 FPS while Ultra at 1080p produces 134.9 FPS is telling. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a system transitioning from a CPU-bound state to a GPU-bound one. The data implies that this CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates, but the GPU's 16 GB of memory and 128-bit bus are being taxed heavily at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and carries 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs are paired with a boost clock of 2755 MHz. In this game, the GPU's role becomes increasingly critical as the resolution climbs. At 4K Ultra, the combo can only muster 45.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target that many users consider playable. This suggests that the GPU's raw compute power is being saturated by the combination of high resolution and high settings.

The benchmark results for the GPU show a Passmark G3D score of 17132, which places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Radeon RX 7600 (with a deltaPct of -0.6) and the GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (with a deltaPct of -1.9), indicating it sits in a specific performance band. The fact that the GPU is able to push 301.7 FPS at 1080p Low but only 134.9 FPS at 1080p Ultra shows that the settings are having a massive impact on the GPU load. The memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s appears sufficient for the lower resolutions, but the 128-bit bus may be a limiting factor at 4K, where the demand for texture data and framebuffer access increases significantly.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory. In Barony, the CPU appears to be the key enabler of high frame rates at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 301.7 FPS, which is an extremely high number that most likely is being capped or limited by the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls rather than by the GPU.

The CPU's benchmark results support this interpretation. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 14372, and its single-core score is 2029, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (deltaPct of 0) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (deltaPct of -0.2), showing it is competitive with those mobile parts. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and single-thread score of 868 suggest a processor that handles both multi-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads well. But the game's frame rate scaling from 134.9 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 86 FPS at 1440p Ultra indicates that the CPU is not the only factor; the GPU starts to take over as the primary limiter at higher resolutions, which means the CPU's headroom is only fully utilized at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptional across all presets. Low settings produce 301.7 FPS, Medium yields 220.2 FPS, High drops to 190.6 FPS, and Ultra still maintains a very playable 134.9 FPS. This resolution is clearly where the combo shines, with all presets remaining far above the 60 FPS threshold. The jump from Ultra to Low represents a 123% performance increase, which is substantial and indicates that the game's settings have a major impact on the GPU load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a clear step down. Low settings deliver 186.4 FPS, Medium drops to 140.6 FPS, High maintains 118.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 86 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is still wide, but the absolute numbers are lower. At 4K (3840x2160), the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings still produce 96.6 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 74.5 FPS, High to 60.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration in the dataset that falls below 60 FPS, which is a critical threshold for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Barony, this specific pairing of the i5-11400F and RX 7600 XT ranks 1133 out of 1702 combos. This rank places it in the lower-middle portion of the field, which is somewhat surprising given the high frame rates measured. The rank likely reflects the fact that many other combos in the database feature more powerful CPUs or GPUs, or perhaps more balanced pairings that perform better at higher resolutions. The comboRankInGame data shows that while this system achieves very high FPS at 1080p, its 4K performance is less competitive, which may drag down its overall ranking relative to combos that are optimized for higher resolutions.

The CPU's percentile rank of 75 and the GPU's percentile rank of 63 are both above average, but the combination's overall rank of 1133 out of 1702 suggests that the pairing is not perfectly balanced for this game. It is possible that the CPU is holding back the GPU at lower resolutions, or that the GPU is not powerful enough to handle 4K with high settings. The data implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, where it can fully utilize its capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 134.9 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate well above what most monitors can display. The High preset at 190.6 FPS and Medium at 220.2 FPS offer even higher frame rates, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it unless the user has a very high refresh rate display.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 118.9 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset at 86 FPS is also viable and provides the best image quality, but the drop from High is noticeable. The Medium preset at 140.6 FPS is a good alternative for those who prioritize frame rate over detail. For 3840x2160, the Low preset at 96.6 FPS is the only one that offers a clearly comfortable experience, while the Medium preset at 74.5 FPS is acceptable for those who can tolerate a lower frame rate. The High preset at 60.6 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 45.2 FPS is not recommended for smooth play.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 301.7, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K Low, it achieves 96.6 FPS, and at 4K Medium it hits 74.5 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to 45.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (deltaPct of 0) and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-1260P by 0.2%.

Q: What is the GPU's rank among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20146.

Q: Is there a specific resolution where this combo performs best?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the strongest resolution, with all presets exceeding 134 FPS, including Ultra at 134.9 FPS.

Q: How many combinations does this combo rank against?

A: This combo ranks 1133 out of 1702 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field.