Barony

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT secures the 743rd position out of 1,702 tested combinations for Barony. That places this setup in the upper-middle tier of all tested hardware pairings, meaning it outperforms more than half of the field while still leaving substantial headroom above the top-tier configurations. The rank is a composite reflection of both components, but the data suggests the CPU is the more dominant factor in this particular roguelike. The i5-12400F sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the RX 7700 XT trails slightly at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs. This disparity hints that the processor's strong single-thread performance is doing the heavy lifting in a game that does not heavily tax the graphics card.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7700 XT brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its clock speeds are notable: a base of 1435 MHz, a game clock of 2171 MHz, and a boost of 2544 MHz. For Barony, these specifications are more than adequate, as the game's visual demands are modest by modern standards. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,316 and PassMark G3D score of 22,547 place it in the 73rd percentile, but in this game, the card rarely becomes the limiting factor.

The benchmark results reveal that the RX 7700 XT is effectively overqualified for Barony at most settings. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 391.3 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can show. Even at 4K Ultra, the card manages 58.1 FPS, indicating it can handle the game's maximum visual load. The GPU's compute performance, measured at 12,912 in PassMark GPU Compute, shows it has ample headroom for any physics or particle effects Barony might throw at it. The card's 2,544 MHz boost clock is likely never sustained under this game's load, as the framerate caps at 391.3 FPS suggest the engine or CPU is reaching its limit long before the GPU does.

Resolution Scaling

The framerate scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about which component is in charge. At High settings, the combo delivers 249.2 FPS at 1080p, drops to 155.8 FPS at 1440p, and falls to 85 FPS at 4K. That is a 65.9% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a significant penalty but still leaves the game playable at high refresh rates. The pattern shifts at Low settings: 391.3 FPS at 1080p, 247 FPS at 1440p, and 130.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is 66.7% lower than 1080p Low, showing that even at the lowest settings, resolution scaling remains steep.

This behavior indicates that while the GPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions, it becomes increasingly relevant as pixel count rises. At 1080p, the CPU is almost certainly the limiting factor, as the framerates far exceed what the GPU's raw compute would suggest for a typical modern game. At 4K, the GPU's workload increases enough to bring the framerate down to more conventional territory. The fact that Ultra settings at 4K produce 58.1 FPS while High at 4K produces 85 FPS shows that the gap between settings grows larger at higher resolutions, confirming that the GPU is being pushed harder at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured results provide a comprehensive picture across all three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo starts at 391.3 FPS on Low, drops to 291.7 FPS on Medium, 249.2 FPS on High, and bottoms out at 180.7 FPS on Ultra. These numbers are consistently above the refresh rate of any mainstream monitor, making 1080p a non-issue for this hardware. The spread from Low to Ultra is 210.6 FPS, indicating that the CPU is the primary constraint at this resolution, as the GPU would normally show a wider variance across presets.

At 2560x1440, the results are 247 FPS on Low, 183.5 FPS on Medium, 155.8 FPS on High, and 114.7 FPS on Ultra. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by roughly 37% across all settings, a consistent scaling that points to the GPU beginning to take on more responsibility. The Ultra preset at 1440p still clears 114.7 FPS, which is excellent for a fast-paced roguelike. At 3840x2160, the numbers become 130.2 FPS on Low, 98.6 FPS on Medium, 85 FPS on High, and 58.1 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only one that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that this preset is the edge of the combo's capability.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Barony at 4K?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High, the combo produces 85 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 98.6 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset drops to 58.1 FPS, which is playable but below the 60 FPS mark.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play?

A: At 1080p, the combo never drops below 180.7 FPS even on Ultra, and reaches 391.3 FPS on Low. This makes 1080p the ideal choice for maximum responsiveness, though 1440p also stays above 114.7 FPS across all presets.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19,221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K and 1.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 7773X. It is 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U.

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

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 30,097, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 0% delta. It is 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile and 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M60.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: No, at most settings and resolutions the GPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 391.3 FPS, which far exceeds what the GPU's compute would suggest. The GPU only becomes a factor at 4K Ultra, where it produces 58.1 FPS.

Q: What is the framerate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset produces 247 FPS while Ultra produces 114.7 FPS. That is a 132.3 FPS difference, or a 53.6% reduction from Low to Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It is built on Intel's Alder Lake architecture using a 10 nm process, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. Its benchmark scores are impressive for a mid-range chip: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16,518 and a single-core score of 2,332, along with a Geekbench single-core score of 2,221. The PassMark single-thread score of 3,481 is particularly relevant for Barony, as roguelikes often rely on single-thread performance for game logic and procedural generation.

The CPU's 3DMark scores show a clear scaling pattern: 909 in single-thread, 1,699 in 2-thread, 3,067 in 4-thread, 4,779 in 8-thread, and 5,895 in 16-thread. This indicates that the processor scales well with additional threads, but the single-thread score is the most telling for this game. The 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that this is a solid performer, but the 0.1% delta from the Intel Core i7-8700K suggests that older high-end chips are still competitive. The CPU's 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support make it a versatile choice, though the data does not show memory bandwidth figures.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the High preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 155.8 FPS, it provides a smooth experience well above the 144 Hz threshold, while still delivering the visual enhancements over Medium. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 183.5 FPS, which is also excellent, but the jump to High is worth the slight framerate cost for improved visuals. At 4K, the High preset at 85 FPS is the recommended choice for those prioritizing resolution over framerate, as it stays comfortably above 60 FPS while offering better detail than Medium.

For players with 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at 180.7 FPS is the clear recommendation. It delivers the maximum visual fidelity while still maintaining framerates that exceed most high-refresh monitors. The Low preset at 1080p produces 391.3 FPS, but this is unnecessary for any practical display and sacrifices visual clarity. The Ultra preset at 1440p at 114.7 FPS is also a viable option for those who want the best visuals at that resolution, though it comes with a noticeable drop from High. The 4K Ultra preset at 58.1 FPS is borderline, and the data suggests that High is the safer choice for a consistent experience at that resolution.