Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i5-12400F + AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a surprisingly strong showing in Barony, a roguelike title that places modest demands on modern hardware. The measured data reveals a combination that handles this game with considerable headroom across most resolutions and settings, though the Ultra preset at 4K exposes clear limitations. This pairing ranks at 1280 out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, yet the actual frame rates tell a more nuanced story—one where the game's age and the hardware's capabilities intersect in interesting ways.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1280 out of 1702 tested combinations might initially suggest a middling performer, but context matters. Barony is not a graphically demanding title, and the database includes many combinations with far more expensive components. The ranking reflects the entire spectrum of tested hardware, and this pairing sits comfortably within the range where playable performance is the norm rather than the exception. The data shows that at 1080p, this combo achieves frame rates well above what most displays can show, and even at 1440p, the experience remains fluid across all settings. The ranking position becomes less meaningful when considering that the measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 284.8, a figure that would be competitive even among top-tier combinations. The 1280th position likely reflects the aggregate score across multiple games, not just Barony, where this pairing demonstrates clear strengths.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings six cores and twelve threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture processor, built on Intel's 10 nm process, offers a substantial 18 MB of shared L3 cache. For Barony, a roguelike that primarily relies on single-threaded performance for game logic and entity updates, the i5-12400F's single-core capabilities prove more than adequate. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332 indicate strong per-core performance. Multi-threaded workloads see the processor achieve a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518, showing that even when Barony's procedural generation or pathfinding routines leverage additional threads, the CPU has ample headroom. The 65 W TDP suggests efficient operation, and the processor's percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs confirms it sits above the majority of tested processors. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures that Barony's logic-heavy scenes, such as dungeon generation or large enemy groups, receive responsive single-thread performance without bottlenecking the GPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units provide solid rasterization throughput. Clock speeds reach 1968 MHz base and 2589 MHz boost, with a game clock of 2359 MHz. For Barony, which features blocky voxel-style graphics and relatively simple lighting, the RX 6600 XT's 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance proves more than sufficient. The GPU's percentile rank of 71 among all GPUs places it above the median, and its PassMark G3D score of 16461 reflects strong DirectX performance. The 8 GB VRAM capacity easily accommodates Barony's texture and geometry requirements at any resolution tested, as evidenced by the measured frame rates. The GPU's RDNA 2.0 architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which Barony can leverage for efficient draw calls, though the game's older engine likely benefits more from raw rasterization speed than advanced features.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates: Low settings produce 284.8 FPS, Medium reaches 210.9 FPS, High achieves 181.6 FPS, and Ultra still maintains 131.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the numbers remain strong: Low hits 178.9 FPS, Medium reaches 135.4 FPS, High sustains 115.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 81.1 FPS. At 4K, the performance becomes more moderate: Low manages 92.9 FPS, Medium achieves 70 FPS, High maintains 58.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS. These figures show that at 1080p, every setting exceeds 130 FPS, making the combo suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. At 1440p, even Ultra maintains above 80 FPS, which remains smooth for most gaming scenarios. The 4K results are more varied, with Low settings providing a comfortable 92.9 FPS, but Ultra dipping below the 60 FPS threshold at 42 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about which component limits performance. At Low settings, scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by approximately 37% (from 284.8 to 178.9 FPS), and from 1080p to 4K reduces performance by about 67% (from 284.8 to 92.9 FPS). At Ultra settings, the same resolution transitions show a 38% drop from 1080p to 1440p (from 131.6 to 81.1 FPS) and a 68% drop from 1080p to 4K (from 131.6 to 42 FPS). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that resolution scaling affects performance uniformly, regardless of graphical load. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component when resolution increases, as the CPU's performance remains constant across resolutions. The RX 6600 XT's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 128-bit bus become increasingly strained at higher pixel counts, particularly at 4K where the fill rate demands exceed what the GPU can comfortably provide at Ultra settings. The 1080p to 1440p scaling shows less severe drops, suggesting the GPU still has adequate bandwidth for mid-range resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports different optimal settings depending on the target resolution. At 1080p, High settings at 181.6 FPS offer the best balance of visual quality and performance, as the difference between High and Ultra (131.6 FPS) costs 50 FPS for what is likely minimal visual improvement in a roguelike. At 1440p, High settings at 115.2 FPS provide a smooth experience, while Ultra at 81.1 FPS remains playable but approaches the threshold where frame drops become noticeable. For 4K gaming, Medium settings at 70 FPS represent the sweet spot, as High (58.8 FPS) dips below the 60 FPS target, and Ultra (42 FPS) becomes too demanding for consistent fluidity. Low settings at any resolution provide the highest frame rates but sacrifice visual fidelity, which may be acceptable for competitive play or when maximizing performance is the priority. The data suggests that High settings are the default recommendation for most scenarios, with Medium being a viable alternative at 4K for those who prioritize frame rate stability over graphical detail.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 131.6, which remains well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience even on high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Is the RX 6600 XT sufficient for 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Medium settings, the combo achieves 70 FPS, and at High settings it reaches 58.8 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 42 FPS, which may feel less fluid.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p?

A: High settings at 1440p deliver 115.2 FPS, offering the best combination of visual quality and performance. Ultra settings at 81.1 FPS remain playable but provide diminishing returns.

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

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, placing it 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% (19364).

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

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 27985, roughly 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (27883). It sits 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (28238).

Q: What is the largest FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The most significant drop occurs at Low settings, where frame rates fall from 284.8 FPS at 1080p to 92.9 FPS at 4K, a reduction of approximately 67%. Ultra settings show a similar 68% drop from 131.6 to 42 FPS.