Barony

Barony is a roguelike that clearly favors high refresh rates, and the Intel Core i5-12400 + AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination delivers exceptional performance across all tested resolutions. The data shows this combo ranks in the 66th percentile of all tested configurations in this game, placing it at rank 572 out of 1702 combos. This is a strong result that speaks to a well-balanced pairing, though the scaling patterns reveal where each component's influence is most pronounced.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but not catastrophic, indicating a system that remains playable at the highest resolution while being supremely fast at lower ones. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 202.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 126.2 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 37.6%. Moving to 3840x2160 drops the average further to 64.7 FPS, which is 68% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline points to the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor at 4K, as the RX 9070's rendering load grows exponentially with pixel count.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic. The 444.4 FPS at 1080p drops to 276.9 FPS at 1440p and then to 145.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is 67.2% lower than 1080p, nearly identical to the Ultra scaling percentage. This consistency across settings suggests that resolution, rather than graphical complexity, is the dominant variable in frame rate reduction. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 242.1 FPS, while at 4K the same settings gap is 80.8 FPS, showing that the GPU's headroom at lower resolutions is where the RX 9070's power is most visible.

The Medium settings results reinforce this pattern: 326.7 FPS at 1080p, 208.8 FPS at 1440p, and 111.3 FPS at 4K. The ratio between 1080p and 1440p is 1.56x, while 1440p to 4K is 1.88x, aligning with the pixel count increases of 1.78x and 2.25x respectively. This near-linear relationship indicates the game is not heavily CPU-bound at these settings, as the Intel Core i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads appear sufficient to feed the GPU even at high frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 572 out of 1702 tested configurations, this pairing sits solidly in the upper third of all results for Barony. The percentile placement suggests that while not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it outperforms the majority of combinations tested in this game. The CPU's own benchmark percentile of 77 places it above most processors, and its average benchmark score of 19850 is remarkably close to its nearest rivals, with a delta of only 0.1% from the Intel Core i7-9700 and -0.2% from the Intel Core i7-8700.

The GPU's percentile of 79 is similarly strong, and its average benchmark score of 34780 places it within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400. The combination of two components that each rank near the 80th percentile in their respective categories yields a combo rank that is slightly lower, at the 66th percentile. This suggests that Barony's specific engine characteristics may not fully leverage the strengths of either component, or that other combos with higher-ranked CPUs or GPUs achieve better results in this title.

The delta between the CPU's rivals is minimal, with the Threadripper PRO 5995WX scoring only 0.4% higher and the Core i5-11600K 0.4% lower. This tight grouping indicates that the i5-12400 is well-matched to its peers, and the performance in Barony is unlikely to be bottlenecked by the processor. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA A2 at -0.2% and the Quadro GV100 at 0.3%, showing that the RX 9070's raw compute is competitive with a wide range of hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 444.4 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, while Ultra settings at the same resolution still delivers 202.3 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware in Barony?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Ultra the average is 64.7 FPS, which is playable, while dropping to High settings raises it to 91.8 FPS and Medium achieves 111.3 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-11600K, but 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-8700.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. This large capacity and high bandwidth support the high frame rates seen at 1440p and 4K.

Q: Does the CPU's core count limit performance at any resolution?

A: The data does not indicate CPU limitation, as the 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz deliver strong results even at 1080p Low where the GPU is less stressed.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in Barony?

A: It ranks 572 out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the upper 66th percentile of all configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings. Low settings produce 444.4 FPS, Medium delivers 326.7 FPS, High achieves 284.5 FPS, and Ultra rounds out at 202.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 54.5% reduction, but even the lowest result is far above any display refresh rate. This resolution is clearly where the RX 9070's 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 compute is most fully utilized, as the CPU can keep up with the rendering demands.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results remain very strong. Low settings average 276.9 FPS, Medium reaches 208.8 FPS, High hits 179.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 126.2 FPS. The reduction from 1080p is consistent, with Low falling 37.7%, Medium 36.1%, High 36.9%, and Ultra 37.6%. This uniformity suggests that the game's rendering pipeline scales predictably with resolution, and the GPU remains the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still respectable but shows the GPU's limits. Low settings deliver 145.5 FPS, Medium achieves 111.3 FPS, High manages 91.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 64.7 FPS. The drop from 1440p is more pronounced: Low falls 47.5%, Medium 46.7%, High 48.9%, and Ultra 48.7%. This larger percentage drop at 4K indicates that the RX 9070's 16 GB of VRAM and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed, though the results remain playable for most users.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the primary driver of frame rates in Barony, especially as resolution increases. With a boost clock of 2520 MHz and a game clock of 2070 MHz, the GPU sustains high frequencies that contribute to the impressive 1080p and 1440p results. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's textures and effects at 4K Ultra without apparent memory limitations.

The GPU's 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s. These specifications align with the measured performance, as the 4K Ultra result of 64.7 FPS corresponds to roughly 248 million pixels per second, well within the GPU's theoretical pixel throughput. The FP32 compute of 36.13 TFLOPS supports the high frame rates at lower resolutions, where the GPU is not bottlenecked by memory bandwidth.

The benchmark data for the GPU shows a PassMark G3D score of 25381 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 34780 is within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400, indicating that its performance is consistent across different workloads. In Barony, the GPU's role becomes more critical at 4K, where the frame rate drops by roughly half from 1440p, consistent with the doubling of pixel count.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 plays a supporting role in Barony, providing enough processing power to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at most settings. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, the CPU delivers strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. Its PassMark single-thread score of 3456 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 indicate a capable processor for game logic and AI calculations.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for a roguelike that may involve complex procedural generation and entity management. The 3DMark scores show a progression from 910 in single-thread to 5890 in max-threads, demonstrating good scaling across core counts. The 77th percentile ranking versus all CPUs confirms that the i5-12400 is a solid mid-range performer.

The nearest rivals for the CPU are tightly clustered, with the Core i7-9700 at 0.1% higher, the Core i7-8700 at 0.2% higher, and the Core i5-11600K at 0.4% lower. This indicates that the i5-12400's performance is well within the expected range for its class. In Barony, the CPU's influence is most evident at 1080p Low, where the 444.4 FPS result suggests the CPU can sustain very high frame rates without becoming a limiting factor. The consistent scaling across resolutions further confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combination.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing high refresh rates, Low settings at 1080p deliver 444.4 FPS, which is far beyond any display's capabilities but useful for competitive play or minimizing input latency. Medium settings at 1080p still provide 326.7 FPS, offering a better visual experience without sacrificing speed. High settings at 1080p achieve 284.5 FPS, a balanced choice for most users with 240Hz monitors.

At 1440p, Medium settings at 208.8 FPS provide an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, while High settings at 179.6 FPS are also well above 144Hz thresholds. Ultra settings at 1440p yield 126.2 FPS, which is still smooth on high-refresh displays but shows the first signs of GPU limitation. For 4K gaming, Medium settings at 111.3 FPS offer the best experience, as High drops to 91.8 FPS and Ultra falls to 64.7 FPS, which may be too low for fast-paced roguelike gameplay.

Based on the measured data, the recommended settings are Medium at 4K for a smooth experience, High at 1440p for a balance of quality and speed, and Ultra at 1080p for maximum visual fidelity while still exceeding 200 FPS. The Low settings are only recommended for extreme frame rate targets, as the visual trade-off is significant given the GPU's capability at higher presets.