Barony

Barony is a roguelike title that, on the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combo, exhibits a clear GPU-bound scaling curve from 1080p to 4K, with the most significant performance drop occurring at the highest resolution. The measured data shows that at Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 138.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 87.2 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 51.3 FPS, and then further drops to 46.4 FPS at 3840x2160, a 40.8 FPS decline from the 1440p result. This pattern indicates that the graphics card is the primary limiting component as resolution increases, with the CPU having ample headroom to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a traditional rendering bottleneck. At Low settings, the combo achieves 299.3 FPS at 1920x1080, which is an exceptionally high frame rate for a roguelike, and scales down to 189.8 FPS at 2560x1440 and 96.6 FPS at 3840x2160. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 109.5 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 93.2 FPS. This near-linear decline in performance with pixel count demonstrates that the RX 6650 XT is fully engaged at all resolutions, and the i5-12400F is not holding back the frame rate.

At High settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers: 189.5 FPS at 1080p, 121.8 FPS at 1440p, and 61.2 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 67.7%, indicating that the GPU is being pushed hard at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the steepest relative decline, falling from 138.5 FPS at 1080p to 46.4 FPS at 4K, a 66.5% reduction. This suggests that the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects are disproportionately taxing the GPU at higher resolutions.

The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable at Low settings, where 96.6 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium and High settings at 4K (73.4 FPS and 61.2 FPS, respectively) remain playable but require compromise. At 1440p, all presets are playable, with Ultra still achieving 87.2 FPS, making it a strong resolution for this hardware. At 1080p, the combo is overkill for Barony, as even Ultra settings exceed 138 FPS, and Low settings approach 300 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus and 280.3 GB/s bandwidth, plays the dominant role in this game's performance. The GPU's 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs are the key architectural factors that determine frame rates, and the benchmark results show that the card is well-utilized across all tested configurations. The GPU's boost clock of 2635 MHz and game clock of 2410 MHz are consistent with the measured performance, as higher clock speeds allow for better throughput in pixel-heavy scenes.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is sufficient for Barony at all tested resolutions and settings, as the game does not appear to exceed this limit even at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate is 46.4 FPS. The memory bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s is also adequate, as the performance scaling with resolution aligns with the GPU's compute capabilities rather than showing signs of memory starvation. The RX 6650 XT's position in the benchmark database is notable: it has an average benchmark score of 29024 and a percentile ranking of 72 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (0.1% delta), meaning the RX 6650 XT performs essentially identically to these cards in synthetic tests.

The GPU's compute performance, measured at 10.79 TFLOPS FP32, is the theoretical peak, and the actual game frame rates are consistent with this level of compute power. The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 32 ray accelerators do not appear to be heavily utilized in Barony, which is a roguelike with a release date of 2015-06-22, but the rasterization performance is what drives the measured results.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 138.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The Medium preset at 223 FPS and High at 189.5 FPS are also excellent choices, but they do not offer a substantial improvement in frame rate over Ultra to justify the visual downgrade. The Low preset at 299.3 FPS is only necessary for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount, but for Barony's single-player roguelike gameplay, Ultra is the recommended preset.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves 87.2 FPS, which is still comfortably playable and offers the best visual experience. High at 121.8 FPS is a good alternative for users who prefer higher frame rates, but the difference between High and Ultra is only 34.6 FPS, making Ultra the better visual choice. Medium at 139.3 FPS and Low at 189.8 FPS are viable, but they reduce visual fidelity unnecessarily. At 3840x2160, the situation changes: Ultra at 46.4 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and may feel sluggish, while High at 61.2 FPS is barely above it. Medium at 73.4 FPS offers a more comfortable margin, and Low at 96.6 FPS is the only preset that provides a highly responsive experience. Therefore, at 4K, Medium is the recommended preset for a balance of visual quality and performance, with Low as a fallback for smoother gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1099 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high frame rates measured at 1080p and 1440p, but it likely reflects the fact that many other combos in the database feature more powerful GPUs that achieve higher scores at 4K. The combo's rank of 1099 out of 1702 means that approximately 64.6% of tested combinations outperform it, which is consistent with the RX 6650 XT being a mid-range GPU.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is close: the i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, with a percentile ranking of 77 among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, has a score of 19210 and a deltaPct of 0.1%, meaning the i5-12400F is essentially tied with the older i7. The AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS has a score of 19364 and a deltaPct of -0.7%, indicating the i5-12400F is slightly behind. This CPU is not a bottleneck in Barony, as the frame rate scaling with resolution clearly points to the GPU as the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F, with 6 cores and 12 threads, has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and its 18 MB of shared L3 cache provides adequate data for the game's logic. In Barony, the CPU's role is to handle game state calculations, entity updates, and physics, which are typically single-threaded or lightly threaded tasks. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 909 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 2332, is sufficient to maintain high frame rates, as evidenced by the 299.3 FPS at 1080p Low.

The multi-threaded performance is also strong, with a 3dmark_max_threads score of 5912 and a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 16518, but Barony does not heavily utilize multiple cores, so these scores are less relevant to the measured FPS. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node are not directly related to game performance, but they indicate that the processor is efficient and unlikely to throttle. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is the key factor for single-threaded game performance, and it delivers consistently high frame rates across all resolutions, with the CPU never appearing to be the limiting factor.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, with a dual-channel memory bus, is adequate for the game's requirements. The measured frame rates show that at 1080p Ultra, the CPU can push 138.5 FPS, which is a clear indication that the processor is not a bottleneck. Even at 4K Low, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU maintains 96.6 FPS, showing that it can handle the game's logic without issue.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Barony?

A: The highest average FPS is 299.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, at 4K with High settings, the average FPS is 61.2, and at Medium settings it is 73.4, both above 60 FPS. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 46.4, which is below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19364).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has a percentile ranking of 72, meaning it performs better than 72% of all GPUs in the database.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 138.5 at 1920x1080 to 46.4 at 3840x2160, a difference of 92.1 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank in Barony compared to all tested combos?

A: The combo ranks 1099 out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average FPS of 299.3 on Low settings, 223 on Medium, 189.5 on High, and 138.5 on Ultra. These results show a clear step-down in performance as settings increase, with the Low preset providing more than double the frame rate of Ultra. The differences between presets are 76.3 FPS from Low to Medium, 33.5 FPS from Medium to High, and 51 FPS from High to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 189.8 on Low, 139.3 on Medium, 121.8 on High, and 87.2 on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by approximately 36% for Low, 37% for Medium, 36% for High, and 37% for Ultra, indicating a consistent GPU-bound behavior. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 102.6 FPS, which is slightly smaller than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 96.6 on Low, 73.4 on Medium, 61.2 on High, and 46.4 on Ultra. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 93.2 FPS for Low, 65.9 FPS for Medium, 60.6 FPS for High, and 40.8 FPS for Ultra. The percentage reductions are 49.1% for Low, 47.3% for Medium, 49.8% for High, and 46.8% for Ultra, showing that the GPU's performance declines nearly proportionally with the increase in pixel count. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, making it the least playable option in the measured data.