Barony

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a remarkably consistent frame rate curve in Barony, with the data indicating that the graphics card becomes the primary performance arbiter only at the highest resolutions. Across all tested settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p yields a substantial performance drop, while the jump to 4K imposes an even heavier load, clearly demonstrating a scaling pattern typical of a GPU-bound scenario at these higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern tied to resolution. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces an average of 230 FPS, which drops by approximately 37% to 145 FPS at 1440p, and then falls a further 48% to 76 FPS at 4K. This steep decline from 1080p to 4K indicates that the rendering workload expands dramatically with pixel count, placing increasing strain on the AMD Radeon RX 7700.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced in absolute terms. The system achieves 360 FPS at 1080p, which is a very high ceiling that suggests the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU efficiently at this low graphical load. Moving to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 227 FPS, a 37% reduction, and then to 119 FPS at 4K Low, another 48% decline. The consistency of these percentage drops across different quality presets strongly suggests that resolution, rather than the specific settings level, is the dominant factor in the performance deltas observed.

The Medium preset provides the most complete dataset, including minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 268 FPS with a minimum of 228 FPS and a maximum of 308 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 169 FPS, with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 194 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows an average of 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. The minimum frame rates at each resolution stay relatively close to the average, indicating that frame pacing remains stable even as the resolution increases, which is a sign of consistent performance without major hitches.

The most demanding scenario, 4K Ultra, yields an average of 54 FPS. This is a significant drop from the 4K High result of 76 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects are particularly taxing at this resolution. The data suggests that while the combo can handle 4K, it does so with a narrow margin for the most visually intensive settings. The scaling across all settings at 4K (119 FPS Low, 88 FPS Medium, 76 FPS High, 54 FPS Ultra) shows a clear hierarchy where each step up in quality costs a significant number of frames. This pattern indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the limiting component, as the performance ceiling is dictated by its ability to process the increased pixel throughput and shader complexity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides a solid foundation for Barony, with its 6 cores and 12 threads operating at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The processor's benchmark scores are respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and a single-core score of 2257, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. This level of single-threaded performance is often critical for game logic and physics, and the data shows that it is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at most settings.

The evidence for CPU sufficiency is strongest at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 360 FPS, which is an extremely high frame rate that indicates the CPU can process the game's simulation and draw calls quickly enough to feed the Radeon RX 7700. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 and the Passmark multithread score of 18747 further demonstrate that the i5-12400 has ample multi-threaded headroom for modern game engines. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide fast access to frequently used data, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame times.

However, the CPU's role becomes more complex when considering the entire range of results. The fact that performance scales so cleanly with resolution and settings indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. The CPU is not preventing the GPU from reaching its potential, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The data does not show any scenario where the CPU's limits are explicitly exposed, such as a frame rate plateau that remains constant across different resolutions. Instead, the frame rates consistently drop as resolution increases, which is a classic GPU-limited signature.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the i5-12400's average benchmark score of 18683 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores 18697, a negligible delta of -0.1%. It also performs within a narrow band of other processors, such as the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, -0.3% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811, -0.7% delta). The Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18519, a 0.9% delta, meaning the i5-12400 is slightly ahead. These comparisons show that the i5-12400 is a very capable mid-range processor that should not be a limiting factor in Barony, given the measured results.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset at 1440p offers the most balanced experience for this combo. The average of 145 FPS at 2560x1440 High is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay, and it provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset while maintaining a high frame rate. The 4K High preset, with an average of 76 FPS, is also a viable option for users who prioritize resolution over maximum frame rates, as it remains comfortably playable.

For users with a 1080p display, the Ultra preset is an excellent choice, delivering an average of 165 FPS. This demonstrates that the combo has enough headroom to run the most demanding settings at this resolution without compromising performance. The High preset at 1080p is also excellent, with 230 FPS, but the Ultra preset offers the full visual experience for only a 28% performance cost compared to High.

At 4K, the Medium preset (88 FPS) and High preset (76 FPS) are the most sensible options. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 54 FPS, which, while still playable, may not provide the consistent high-refresh experience that the other settings do. The Low preset at 4K provides 119 FPS, but this comes with a significant reduction in visual quality. The data suggests that the "sweet spot" for this combo is the High preset across all resolutions, as it provides a substantial improvement over Medium while maintaining frame rates that are considerably higher than the Ultra preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1336 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the 45th percentile of all tested combinations, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of systems in this specific game. This ranking is a reflection of the balanced nature of the components, where the CPU is strong enough to support the GPU, but the overall result is not in the top tier of performance.

The ranking is likely influenced by the GPU's performance characteristics. The Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852 and sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862, -0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16014, -1% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129, -1.7% delta). The Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679, a 1.1% delta, indicating the RX 7700 is slightly ahead of that professional card. These comparisons show that the RX 7700 is a competent mid-range GPU, but it is not positioned at the top of the performance hierarchy, which explains the combo's mid-pack ranking.

The i5-12400's performance in the 72nd percentile of CPUs does not translate into a top-tier ranking for this combo, highlighting that in Barony, the GPU's capabilities are the primary driver of overall system performance. The data shows that even a strong CPU like the i5-12400 cannot boost the combo's ranking significantly if the GPU is not among the fastest available. The 45th percentile ranking is a fair assessment of the system's capabilities in this game, indicating that it will deliver solid 1080p and 1440p performance, with playable 4K at medium to high settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the central component in determining this combo's performance in Barony, particularly at higher resolutions. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a substantial memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This large memory pool and high bandwidth are crucial for handling high-resolution textures and complex scenes, which is reflected in the FPS data.

The GPU's clock speeds also play a role in its performance. With a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz, the RX 7700 can dynamically adjust its performance based on the workload. The 2560 shading units and 160 texture mapping units provide the raw compute power needed for rendering, while the 96 ROPs handle the final pixel output. The GPU's 40 ray accelerators support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, although the impact of this feature on Barony's frame rates is not directly measured in the provided data.

The performance of the RX 7700 in synthetic benchmarks is notable. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865 and a Passmark G3D score of 20974. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 106028 further demonstrates its compute capabilities. In comparison to its rivals, the RX 7700's average score of 15852 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862, -0.1% delta) and slightly below the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16014, -1% delta) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129, -1.7% delta). It is slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679, 1.1% delta). These close margins indicate that the RX 7700 is a competitive mid-range card, but it does not offer a significant performance advantage over its direct predecessors or contemporaries.

The GPU's role as the primary bottleneck is clearly demonstrated by the FPS scaling. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a roughly 35-40% frame rate drop, and the transition from 1440p to 4K results in another 45-50% drop. This consistent scaling pattern is a direct result of the GPU's pixel processing capabilities. The data indicates that the RX 7700 is fully utilized at 4K, with frame rates dropping to 54 FPS at Ultra, while at 1080p, it has more headroom, allowing for frame rates of up to 360 FPS at Low settings. The GPU's 200 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its performance class, but the data shows that its performance in Barony is ultimately limited by its raw shading and ROP throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combo achieves an average of 230 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K on the Ultra preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 54 FPS, which is the lowest measured result for this system.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 1440p, as frame rates drop consistently from 1080p (e.g., 230 FPS to 145 FPS on High), showing a clear scaling pattern with resolution rather than a CPU-imposed plateau.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 75 FPS, with an average of 88 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to the Intel Core i3-14100F in average benchmark score?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which is 0.9% higher than the Intel Core i3-14100F's score of 18519.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combos in Barony?

A: This combo ranks 1336 out of 2935 tested combinations in Barony, placing it in the 45th percentile.