Barony

The Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT pairing delivers a surprisingly wide performance envelope in Barony, a 2015 roguelike. The data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings but shows remarkable headroom at lower presets, making it a versatile choice for players who prioritize frame rate over graphical fidelity. This analysis examines how the measured FPS scales across resolutions and settings, what the hardware characteristics imply, and where the combo stands among the 1,702 tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, pointing to a clear GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 183.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 112.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a 38.5% reduction, and then further to 61.4 FPS at 3840x2160, which is 66.5% below the 1080p figure. This pattern—where the 1440p result sits roughly midway between the two extremes—indicates that the RX 5700 XT's rendering throughput is the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The Low settings row shows the same trend but with a different magnitude. At 1920x1080, the combo reaches 284.9 FPS, which is exceptional for this game. Dropping to 2560x1440 brings that down to 179.4 FPS, and at 4K it lands at 93.2 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 67.3%, nearly identical to the High preset's 66.5% decline. This consistency suggests that the scaling penalty is primarily a function of resolution, not the complexity of the graphics pipeline at each preset.

At Ultra settings, the situation becomes more extreme. The 4K average of 44.5 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered smooth, and the 1440p result of 80.7 FPS is the lowest among all 1440p presets. The jump from Medium to Ultra at 4K costs 24.9 FPS, or 35.9% of the Medium score, which is a substantial penalty for the visual upgrade. The data implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for Low or Medium settings if playable frame rates are the goal.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, provides the graphical horsepower for these results. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus yields 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is likely sufficient for Barony's textures at any resolution tested. The GPU's boost clock of 1905 MHz and game clock of 1755 MHz are modest by modern standards, but they are clearly capable of driving high frame rates at 1080p, where the 284.9 FPS Low result is among the strongest in this dataset.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2134 is a synthetic measure, but the PassMark G3D score of 16277 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 73091 offer a broader view. The GPU's percentile rank of 68 puts it above the median of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 24731 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, which sits just 0.1% ahead. This near-parity with a mobile workstation GPU is notable, suggesting the RX 5700 XT still holds its own in older titles like Barony.

The 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs are likely the key spec for this game, as Barony appears to be rasterization-bound. The pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s directly influence how quickly the GPU can fill the screen at higher resolutions, which explains the steep FPS drops observed when moving from 1440p to 4K. The GPU's 225 W TDP and dual-slot cooler are typical for its era, and the PCIe 4.0 x16 interface ensures no bandwidth bottleneck on modern platforms.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 1,702 tested combos for Barony, this pairing holds the 1275th position. That places it in the lower third of the field, which is a somewhat surprising outcome given the high frame rates measured at 1080p. The ranking likely reflects the fact that many other combos feature more powerful GPUs or newer CPUs, even if they do not achieve drastically higher FPS in this specific game. The rank of 1275 out of 1702 means roughly 25% of tested configurations are slower, while 75% are faster.

This rank is not a measure of playability—the measured FPS at 1080p High is 183.2, which is far above any practical need—but rather a comparative metric against all other hardware pairings. The CPU's percentile rank of 77 against all CPUs is higher than the GPU's 68 percentile, suggesting the processor is relatively stronger in this pairing. The combo's rank in game, however, is likely dragged down by the GPU's position, as the RX 5700 XT is an end-of-life product with a successor in Navi II.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals are all within 1.3% of its average benchmark score, indicating that the i5-12400F is in a tightly clustered performance tier. The GPU's rivals are similarly close, with the RTX A5000 Mobile just 0.1% ahead. This tight clustering means that small hardware differences can shift the combo rank significantly, but the overall position in Barony is more likely determined by the GPU's raw rasterization power than by these marginal CPU differences.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides 12 measured points, covering three resolutions and four settings each. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 284.9 at Low to 129.7 at Ultra, with Medium at 210.6 and High at 183.2. The spread of 155.2 FPS between Low and Ultra is the largest of any resolution, indicating that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution and the GPU has ample headroom to scale with settings.

At 2560x1440, the results are 179.4 FPS (Low), 135.8 FPS (Medium), 112.7 FPS (High), and 80.7 FPS (Ultra). The relative penalty for Ultra over Low is 55.0%, which is slightly less than the 54.5% penalty at 1080p, suggesting a minor shift toward GPU saturation. The 1440p Ultra result of 80.7 FPS is still smooth, but it is the only 1440p preset that drops below 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 93.2 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 69.4 FPS and High falls to 61.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 44.5 FPS is the only measured result below 60 FPS, making it a poor choice for this combo at 4K. The gradient from Low to Ultra at 4K is 48.7 FPS, which is a 52.2% reduction, showing that the GPU is fully saturated at this resolution and settings have a pronounced effect on performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support provide a solid foundation for gaming. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong for its class: the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and single-core score of 2332 are respectable, while the Geekbench multicore score of 9138 and single-core score of 2221 confirm its balance.

The CPU's percentile rank of 77 versus all CPUs indicates it is well above average, and its average benchmark score of 19221 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-8700K, which is just 0.1% ahead. The nearest rivals also include the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS at 0.3% ahead and the AMD EPYC 7773X at 1.3% behind, showing that the i5-12400F sits in a very competitive performance band. For Barony, a game that likely does not stress multi-threading heavily, the 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient, and the single-thread performance of 909 in 3DMark Single Thread is key for maintaining high FPS at 1080p.

The CPU's passmark single-thread score of 3481 and the 3DMark 2-thread score of 1699 suggest that the processor can keep up with the GPU's output even at the highest frame rates measured. The data shows no evidence of a CPU bottleneck at any setting or resolution, as the FPS scales consistently with GPU load. This is expected for a roguelike, which typically has modest CPU demands compared to large open-world titles.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 1080p, the Ultra preset at 129.7 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate well above 120. The High preset at 183.2 FPS is also excellent, and it offers a 41.3% improvement over Ultra, but the visual difference may be minimal in a game like Barony. Medium at 210.6 FPS is overkill for most displays, and Low at 284.9 FPS is only useful for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors above 240 Hz.

At 1440p, the High preset at 112.7 FPS is the sweet spot, offering smooth gameplay with good visuals. Medium at 135.8 FPS is a viable alternative for those who prefer higher frame rates, and Ultra at 80.7 FPS is still playable but is the first preset to dip below 100 FPS. Low at 179.4 FPS is excessive for most users, but it demonstrates the combo's headroom at this resolution.

At 4K, the Low preset at 93.2 FPS is the only setting that guarantees a smooth experience, while Medium at 69.4 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced play. High at 61.4 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 44.5 FPS should be avoided. The data suggests that 4K is not this combo's primary target, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for the best balance of quality and performance.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Barony?*

A: The 2560x1440 High preset at 112.7 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 129.7 FPS is also excellent, but the higher resolution provides more detail.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Barony?*

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. The 4K Low preset achieves 93.2 FPS, and Medium drops to 69.4 FPS. High and Ultra are not recommended, with 61.4 FPS and 44.5 FPS respectively.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-8700K and 0.3% behind the Intel Core i5-1335U. It is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS and 1.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7773X.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24731. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, which is just 0.1% faster.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at any settings?

A: No. The FPS scales consistently with GPU load across all resolutions and settings, indicating that the i5-12400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Barony's demands.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The High preset drops from 183.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 61.4 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 121.8 FPS or 66.5%. This indicates a significant GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions.