Barony

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT paired with the Intel Core i5-12400 delivers extraordinary performance in Barony, a roguelike title that is clearly not bound by typical rendering limits. The measured data shows this combination ranks 393rd out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the top quarter of all systems. Across all resolutions and settings, the average frame rates are exceptionally high, indicating that this hardware configuration is far more capable than what this game demands, making it an ideal match for high-refresh-rate displays or for users who prioritize absolute fluidity in a fast-paced dungeon crawler.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 505 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the peak performance number in the dataset, showing the system is capable of extreme frame rates at the most common resolution.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 393rd out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs and the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, indicating a top-tier configuration for this specific title.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 High, the average frame rate is 323.7 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160 High, the average drops to 104.4 FPS. This represents a significant reduction of roughly 68% in frame rate, which is typical when increasing resolution by four times the pixel count.

Q: Is the RX 7900 XT a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is not the limiting factor. The GPU's average benchmark score is 38358, with rivals like the RTX 5080 Mobile scoring 38349 (a 0% delta). Given the massive frame rates measured in Barony, the graphics card is more than sufficient, and the performance ceiling is likely defined by the game's engine or CPU at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield 317.5 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 146.1 FPS. The difference between the two presets is 171.4 FPS, or roughly 54% lower performance when using Ultra compared to Low.

Q: Does the CPU hold back performance at 1080p?

A: The data shows high frame rates at 1080p, such as 505 FPS at Low, which is well above 240 Hz. The Intel Core i5-12400 has a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249, indicating strong processing power that keeps up with the GPU in this scenario, though the CPU is ranked 77th percentile vs all CPUs.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a high-end graphics card built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a chip codenamed Plum Bonito. It features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1387 MHz, a game clock of 2025 MHz, and a boost clock of 2394 MHz. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s, which are substantial figures for handling detailed scenes.

In Barony, the GPU's role is evident in the scaling of frame rates with settings. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate moves from 164.7 FPS at Low to 123.3 FPS at Medium, then to 104.4 FPS at High, and finally to 77.4 FPS at Ultra. This progression shows a clear, incremental impact on performance as graphical fidelity increases, with Ultra settings demanding significantly more from the GPU than Low. The card's passmark G3D score of 29009 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623 confirm its strong compute capabilities, which are reflected in the playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's benchmark percentile is 82, meaning it outperforms most other graphics cards in the database. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, has an average score of 38349 with a delta of 0%, indicating they are statistically tied in general compute performance. However, in Barony, the RX 7900 XT's high memory bandwidth and pixel throughput allow it to maintain high average FPS figures across all tested presets, showcasing its ability to handle both geometric complexity and texture fill rates efficiently.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT holds a rank of 393 out of 1702 combos in Barony. This places it in the upper echelon of tested systems, roughly in the top 23% of all configurations. The rank is a composite measure that considers the synergy between the CPU and GPU in this specific game, and the data shows that this pairing is effective, though not the absolute best, likely due to the CPU being a mid-range part rather than a flagship.

To contextualize this rank, the CPU is positioned against close rivals in general benchmarks. The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831) and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-11600K (19771). It is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-8700 (19894) and 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (19928). These deltas are minimal, showing the i5-12400 is competitive with older high-end and newer mid-range parts.

For the GPU, the RX 7900 XT has an average score of 38358. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, scores 38349 with a delta of 0%, meaning they are nearly identical in raw compute. The NVIDIA CMP 70HX is 0.3% slower, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 is 0.4% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 0.6% slower. These tight margins indicate that the RX 7900 XT is a well-balanced card in its tier, and its rank in Barony reflects the combination's ability to deliver high frame rates without significant bottlenecks.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the data shows that High settings offer the best balance, with an average of 323.7 FPS. While Low yields 505 FPS and Medium yields 378.2 FPS, the jump to High provides a more visually polished experience without sacrificing the ability to use high-refresh-rate monitors, as 323.7 FPS still exceeds most display capabilities. Ultra settings at 1080p drop to 232.5 FPS, which is still excellent but shows diminishing returns for the visual uplift.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is again the sweet spot, achieving 201.5 FPS. This is comfortably above 144 Hz, making it ideal for smooth gameplay on common gaming monitors. Medium settings provide 235.6 FPS, while Low offers 317.5 FPS, but these come with reduced visual quality. Ultra at 1440p yields 146.1 FPS, which is still very playable, but the performance difference between High and Ultra is significant enough that High is recommended for maintaining higher headroom.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. High settings produce 104.4 FPS, which is suitable for 60 Hz displays but not for high-refresh 4K panels. Medium settings offer 123.3 FPS, and Low jumps to 164.7 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 77.4 FPS, which is still playable but on the edge for smoothness. For 4K, the recommendation is to use Medium or High, depending on whether the user prioritizes visual fidelity or frame rate stability, as both provide playable experiences without significant compromise.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates show a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo delivers staggering numbers. Low settings hit an average of 505 FPS, Medium reaches 378.2 FPS, High achieves 323.7 FPS, and Ultra settles at 232.5 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a drop of 272.5 FPS, indicating that graphical effects have a substantial impact even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but scale down proportionally. Low settings average 317.5 FPS, Medium averages 235.6 FPS, High averages 201.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 146.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 171.4 FPS, which is a smaller absolute drop than at 1080p but still represents a 54% reduction in performance when using the highest preset.

At 3840x2160, the resolution demands more from the GPU, and the data reflects this. Low settings yield 164.7 FPS, Medium yields 123.3 FPS, High yields 104.4 FPS, and Ultra yields 77.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 87.3 FPS, which is the smallest absolute difference across all resolutions, but the relative drop is similar. The data shows that this combo is capable of maintaining over 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a strong result for a demanding resolution, though lower settings are needed for higher refresh rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU features 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores show strong single-threaded performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249, which are critical for games like Barony that often rely on a few primary threads.

In multithreaded tasks, the i5-12400 achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a Passmark multithread score of 18747. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 and max-thread score of 5890 indicate that the CPU scales well with additional threads, though the data shows that its performance is only slightly above its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-9700 (0.1% delta) and Intel Core i5-11600K (0.4% delta). This suggests that the CPU is a capable partner for the RX 7900 XT, providing enough processing power to avoid being a major bottleneck in Barony.

The CPU's percentile of 77 vs all CPUs indicates it is better than most processors on the market. In the context of Barony, the high frame rates at 1080p, such as 505 FPS at Low, suggest that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output, as the game is likely not heavily multithreaded. The single-thread performance, evidenced by the Passmark single-thread score of 3456, is solid, ensuring that the game logic and physics calculations are processed quickly, which is essential for a roguelike with complex procedural generation and entity management.