Barony

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Barony, a roguelike title that clearly favors the GPU at higher resolutions. The measured data shows this combination is far more capable than the game's demands, with performance scaling that reveals a system limited primarily by the graphics card at 4K, while the processor holds the reins at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but follows a predictable curve, indicating a shift in the bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 299 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average falls to 189 FPS, a reduction of approximately 37%. At 3840x2160, the average drops further to 99 FPS, which is about 48% lower than the 1440p result and 67% lower than the 1080p figure.

This scaling pattern is telling. The 67% performance loss from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the absolute numbers remain high enough to suggest that neither component is being pushed to its absolute limit. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames far faster than the processor can feed it. This is evident in the Low settings results: at 1080p Low, the average skyrockets to 469 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 155 FPS. The 1080p Low figure is likely close to the CPU's maximum throughput in this game, while the 4K Low result shows the GPU starting to take over as the main constraint.

At 4K, the GPU's workload becomes the dominant factor. The gap between Low and High settings at 4K is 56 FPS (155 vs 99), which is a 36% performance hit for higher visual fidelity. This is a larger percentage drop than the 34% gap seen at 1440p (296 vs 189) and the 36% gap at 1080p (469 vs 299). The consistency of this percentage across resolutions suggests that the game's settings have a uniform impact on GPU load, but the absolute frame rates at 4K are low enough to make the GPU the clear bottleneck. The data strongly suggests that for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming, the RTX 4070 is the component to watch, while at 1080p, the i5-12400's six cores are the ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores place it at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683. In synthetic tests, it achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and a single-core score of 2257, which are indicative of solid mid-range performance.

In Barony, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low setting result of 469 FPS is a clear indicator that the processor can handle a very high number of draw calls and game logic updates per second. However, the game's roguelike nature, with its procedurally generated dungeons and many on-screen entities, may not be heavily multithreaded. The CPU's 3DMark scores show a significant jump from 2 threads (1692) to 4 threads (3012) and 8 threads (4745), but the gain from 8 threads to max threads (5890) is smaller, suggesting diminishing returns beyond 8 threads.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmark scores include the AMD EPYC 7643 (deltaPct -0.1%), which has a nearly identical average score of 18697, and the Intel Core i7-1355U (deltaPct -0.3%). These comparisons show that the i5-12400's raw compute power is competitive with much more expensive server and mobile parts, but in Barony specifically, the single-thread performance matters more for achieving those high 1080p frame rates. The CPU's single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark is below its multicore scores, but it is sufficient to drive the GPU to its limits at lower resolutions. The data indicates that the CPU is not a weak link in this pairing; it provides enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking the GPU until the resolution drops to 1080p, where the GPU's immense speed exposes the CPU's limitations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and features 5888 shading units. It has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 37648. In PassMark G3D, it scores 26927, and in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 3854.

The GPU's role in Barony becomes dominant as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 71, which is the lowest measured result for this combo. This shows that the RTX 4070's 12 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are sufficient for the game's textures and effects at 4K, but the raw compute power is taxed heavily. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is 16 FPS (115 vs 99), while the difference between High and Ultra is 28 FPS (99 vs 71). This suggests that the Ultra preset includes effects that disproportionately impact the GPU's fill rate and shader throughput.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (deltaPct 0.1%), which has a nearly identical average score of 37628, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (deltaPct 0.4%). The RTX 4070's performance in Barony is far above these rivals in absolute frame rates, but the comparison highlights that the GPU is in a performance class that can handle 4K gaming, albeit not at the highest refresh rates. The data shows that the GPU is the component that determines the quality ceiling at 4K, and the measured FPS at High settings (99 FPS) is just shy of the 100 FPS mark, suggesting that a slight reduction in settings would yield a smoother experience.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 883rd out of 3717 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the top 24% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing given the game's relatively modest requirements. The rank reflects the balance between the two components: the CPU is in the 72nd percentile, and the GPU is in the 81st percentile, and together they produce frame rates that are higher than the vast majority of systems.

The rank also indicates that many other combinations, likely with higher-end CPUs and GPUs, can achieve even higher frame rates. However, the measured FPS data shows that this combo is not struggling. At 1080p, the average FPS is above 215 even on Ultra settings, which is far beyond what most displays can show. At 1440p, the average FPS is above 135 on Ultra, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K, the average FPS is above 71 on Ultra, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The rank of 883 out of 3717 confirms the fact that this combo is well above average, but it is not at the very top, as there are combos that can push 4K Ultra past the 144 Hz mark. The data suggests that this pairing is best suited for 1440p high-refresh-rate gaming, where it excels, and is capable of 4K at lower settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which settings deliver the best experience. For a target of 60 FPS at 4K, the High preset (99 FPS) is more than sufficient, and even Ultra (71 FPS) provides a playable frame rate. However, for a smoother experience at 4K, the Medium preset (115 FPS) offers a significant boost over High without a massive visual downgrade, as the gap between High and Medium is 16 FPS, while the gap between Medium and Low is 40 FPS (115 vs 155).

At 1440p, the data shows that the Ultra preset (135 FPS) is the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, as it provides a frame rate that is well above the 120 Hz threshold. The High preset (189 FPS) is also excellent, but the visual fidelity gains from Ultra are worth the 54 FPS reduction, as the absolute number is still very high. The Medium preset (220 FPS) is unnecessary unless the user has a 240 Hz display, but the difference between Medium and Low (296 FPS) is so large that Low is not recommended.

At 1080p, the story is different. The Ultra preset (215 FPS) is the only setting that makes sense, as it provides the best visual quality while still exceeding the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. The High preset (299 FPS) is only marginally faster and does not offer a meaningful advantage, while the Medium (349 FPS) and Low (469 FPS) presets are overkill. The recommendation is to prioritize the Ultra preset at 1080p and 1440p, and to use the Medium or High preset at 4K, depending on whether the user prefers higher frame rates or higher visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full set of measured results for this combo is as follows:

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 155 FPS average
• Medium: 115 FPS average, with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS
• High: 99 FPS average
• Ultra: 71 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 296 FPS average
• Medium: 220 FPS average, with a minimum of 187 FPS and a maximum of 253 FPS
• High: 189 FPS average
• Ultra: 135 FPS average

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 469 FPS average
• Medium: 349 FPS average, with a minimum of 296 FPS and a maximum of 401 FPS
• High: 299 FPS average
• Ultra: 215 FPS average

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, and they show a consistent spread of roughly 30% between the minimum and maximum, which indicates some frame pacing variability. The 4K Medium minimum of 98 FPS is close to the 4K High average of 99 FPS, suggesting that the Medium preset's frame time consistency is on par with the High preset's average performance. Overall, the data shows a well-behaved system with no major frame rate dips, and the FPS figures are high enough that even the lowest measured value (4K Ultra at 71 FPS) is comfortably playable.