Barony

Barony is a 2015 roguelike that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware, yet the measured FPS data for the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination reveals a surprisingly wide performance envelope. The dataset shows a system capable of triple-digit frame rates at mainstream resolutions, but one that also exhibits a sharp drop-off when pushed to 4K with maximum settings. This analysis breaks down the measured results, focusing on resolution scaling, settings recommendations, and how this specific pairing ranks against other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate cost of moving from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the magnitude of the drop depends heavily on the graphics preset. At the "Ultra" setting, the average FPS falls from 158.9 at 1920x1080 to 101.1 at 2560x1440, and finally to 49.9 at 3840x2160. That represents a 68.6% reduction in average frame rate from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the Radeon RX 6700 XT is the primary limiting factor at the highest settings. The GPU is being asked to render significantly more pixels, and the data shows it cannot maintain the high frame rates seen at lower resolutions.

Conversely, the scaling pattern at the "Low" preset tells a different story. Here, the average FPS at 1080p is 344.8, which drops to 216.7 at 1440p and 116.1 at 4K. While the absolute drop is still large, the system remains playable at 4K even on Low, suggesting that the CPU (Intel Core i5-12400) is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to sustain high frame rates when the graphical load is light. The 4K Low result is actually higher than the 1080p Ultra result (116.1 vs 158.9), which highlights that the settings choice has a more profound impact on performance than the resolution itself in this title.

The data also shows that the gap between the "Medium" and "High" presets narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 31.7 FPS (254.4 vs 222.7). At 1440p, the difference shrinks to 26.1 FPS (163.4 vs 137.3). At 4K, the difference is just 8.3 FPS (83.4 vs 75.1). This convergence suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck for both presets, and the incremental cost of "High" over "Medium" becomes less punishing. The "Ultra" preset, however, remains an outlier, with a 4K score of 49.9 that is significantly lower than the 75.1 achieved on "High", indicating a steep performance cliff for the highest quality settings.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing smooth gameplay on a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor, the "High" preset at 1920x1080 delivers an average of 222.7 FPS, which is more than sufficient for even the fastest displays. The "Medium" preset at 254.4 FPS is also viable, but the visual fidelity gain from "High" is likely worth the slight performance trade-off, as the frame rate remains well above the 144Hz threshold. The "Ultra" preset at 1080p, with an average of 158.9 FPS, is also playable and offers the best image quality, but the data shows it is nearly 30% slower than "High".

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. The "High" preset achieves 137.3 FPS, which is excellent for 1440p gaming, while "Medium" provides a higher headroom at 163.4 FPS. The "Ultra" preset drops to 101.1 FPS, which is still smooth but may not fully utilize a 144Hz panel. For a balanced experience at 1440p, the "High" preset appears to be the sweet spot, offering a significant visual upgrade over "Medium" while remaining comfortably above the 100 FPS mark.

The 4K resolution presents a challenge for this combination. The only preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS is "Low" at 116.1 FPS, followed by "Medium" at 83.4 FPS and "High" at 75.1 FPS. The "Ultra" preset, at 49.9 FPS, falls below the 60 FPS standard many players consider the minimum for a smooth experience. Therefore, for 4K gameplay, the "High" preset is the highest quality option that remains playable, but users seeking a locked 60 FPS or higher should consider "Medium" for more consistent performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The highest average frame rate is 344.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the "Low" settings preset.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K, the "Low" preset achieves 116.1 FPS, "Medium" achieves 83.4 FPS, and "High" achieves 75.1 FPS. The "Ultra" preset drops to 49.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the "Ultra" preset compare to "High" at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the "High" preset averages 137.3 FPS, while the "Ultra" preset averages 101.1 FPS. This represents a 26.4% performance decrease when moving from "High" to "Ultra".

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the bottleneck even at 1080p. The frame rate scales significantly with the graphics preset (from 344.8 FPS on Low to 158.9 FPS on Ultra), indicating that the GPU workload is the primary factor limiting performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between the "Medium" and "High" presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the "Medium" preset averages 83.4 FPS, while the "High" preset averages 75.1 FPS. The difference is 8.3 FPS, or approximately 10%.

Q: Does the system ever drop below 60 FPS in the measured data?

A: Yes, only at 3840x2160 with the "Ultra" preset, where the average FPS is 49.9. All other tested settings and resolutions maintain an average above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: "Low" leads with 344.8 FPS, followed by "Medium" at 254.4 FPS, "High" at 222.7 FPS, and "Ultra" at 158.9 FPS. The progression shows a clear hierarchy where each higher preset costs a significant number of frames, with a 121.8 FPS difference between "Low" and "Ultra".

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 216.7 FPS on "Low", 163.4 FPS on "Medium", 137.3 FPS on "High", and 101.1 FPS on "Ultra". The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across all presets, with the "Low" preset experiencing the largest absolute reduction of 128.1 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 116.1 FPS on "Low", 83.4 FPS on "Medium", 75.1 FPS on "High", and 49.9 FPS on "Ultra". The "Ultra" preset is the only configuration in the entire dataset that fails to reach a 60 FPS average. The 4K results demonstrate that while the system is capable of high refresh rates at lower resolutions, it is best suited for 1440p or 1080p gaming with this specific title.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination ranks 941st out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the middle of the pack, which is a somewhat surprising result given the high frame rates recorded. The rank position suggests that many other hardware combinations, likely featuring more powerful CPUs or GPUs, can achieve even higher performance in this specific game, despite the already impressive numbers from this pairing.

Looking at the individual components, the CPU's average benchmark score is 19850, which places it at the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with a nearest rival being the Intel Core i5-11600K at a 0.4% higher score. The GPU's average benchmark score is 33721, also at the 77th percentile of all GPUs, with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 performing 0.7% better. The benchmark data indicates that neither component is a top-tier performer, but they are both well above average. The measured FPS in Barony, however, shows a system that can deliver very high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, suggesting that the game is not particularly demanding on the CPU, and the GPU is the main driver of these results. The mid-pack ranking is likely due to other combos with stronger GPUs achieving even higher frame rates, especially at higher resolutions and settings.