Barony

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT produces a combination that ranks 920th out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 25% of all configurations evaluated. This ranking reflects a system that is heavily skewed toward graphics throughput, as the GPU’s benchmark percentile (55th) is notably lower than the CPU’s (73rd), yet the measured frame rates in this roguelike suggest the pairing is well-balanced for the specific demands of the title. The data indicates that this is a high-performance setup capable of exceeding 200 FPS at most settings below 4K, with the primary bottleneck emerging only at the most demanding resolution and preset combinations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 920 out of 3717 tested combinations places it comfortably in the upper quartile of all systems benchmarked for Barony. Benchmark results show that this position is driven by the GPU’s substantial raw throughput, as evidenced by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260, rather than by the CPU’s moderate standing. The i5-12400F achieves an average benchmark score of 19039, which puts it at the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, while the RX 9070 XT’s average score of 13543 places it at only the 55th percentile of all GPUs—yet the frame rates in Barony tell a different story. The measured FPS at 1080p with Low settings reaches 469, which is more than double the frame rate of the same resolution at Ultra settings (214), indicating that the game is far more sensitive to graphical settings than to the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities.

Relative to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the i5-12400F is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, showing a deltaPct of 0, and sits just 0.1% behind the Intel Core 3 201E. This suggests that the processor’s 6 cores and 12 threads, running at base and boost clocks of 2.50 GHz and 4.40 GHz respectively, deliver performance that is on par with other mid-range parts, but the combination’s in-game ranking benefits far more from the GPU. The RX 9070 XT, despite its 55th percentile ranking, shows a deltaPct of only 0.1% against the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and 0.2% against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, which are far older parts—indicating that the benchmark averages are skewed by different workloads, while Barony’s specific rendering path favors the newer architecture’s 4096 shading units and 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. The overall ranking of 920 out of 3717 is thus a signal of how well this specific game leverages the GPU’s capabilities, even when the component’s general-purpose benchmark scores are unremarkable.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this combination. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 469 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can refresh, while the High preset still achieves 299 FPS—both are effectively unlimited by the game’s rendering. The Medium preset at 1080p produces 348 FPS with a minimum of 296 and a maximum of 401, which is still exceptionally smooth. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 214 FPS, which remains playable but represents a significant 37% reduction from High settings. Given that the game is a roguelike where quick reaction times matter, the High preset at 1080p offers the best balance, providing 299 FPS—a 40% improvement over Ultra while maintaining visual fidelity that is likely indistinguishable in fast-paced gameplay.

At 1440p, the High preset yields 189 FPS, which is still far above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors, while Medium delivers 220 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 296 FPS, but the visual downgrade is unnecessary given that High already exceeds 180 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 135 FPS, which is borderline for high-refresh displays but still playable. For 4K, the High preset produces 99 FPS, which is just under the 100 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay on many high-end displays, while Medium hits 115 FPS with a minimum of 98—this is the only 4K setting that maintains a frame rate above 100 on average without dropping below 90. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 71 FPS, which is below the 75 FPS threshold for many 4K monitors, making it less ideal. The data suggests that the Medium preset at 4K is the optimal choice for this combination, as it provides the highest average FPS (115) with a minimum of 98, avoiding the frame rate drop seen at High (99 average) and Ultra (71 average).

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is primarily GPU-bound, with the CPU providing ample headroom. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 299 at 1080p to 189 at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and then to 99 at 4K (a 67% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-limited scenario, where the RX 9070 XT’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factors as pixel count increases. The Low preset shows a similar trend, falling from 469 FPS at 1080p to 296 at 1440p (37% drop) and 155 at 4K (67% drop), which is consistent across all settings—indicating that the CPU is not the bottleneck even at the lowest graphical load.

The Medium preset provides the most complete data, with minimum and maximum FPS values that show the variance increasing with resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset ranges from 296 to 401 FPS (a 35% spread), while at 1440p it ranges from 187 to 253 (a 35% spread), and at 4K from 98 to 132 (a 35% spread). This consistent relative variance suggests that the game’s frame pacing remains stable, but the absolute drop from 1080p to 4K is 67%, which is nearly identical to the drop seen at High and Low settings. The fact that the percentage drop is uniform across all presets strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 469 FPS—a level that would tax most CPUs but shows no sign of bottlenecking here.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain above 200 FPS?

A: At 1080p, all presets except Ultra exceed 200 FPS, with Low at 469, High at 299, and Medium at 348. At 1440p, only the Low preset (296 FPS) and Medium preset (220 FPS) achieve above 200 FPS, while High drops to 189 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400F’s average benchmark score of 19039 is within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047) and Intel Core 3 201E (19056), and 0.3% ahead of both the Intel Core i5-1335U and AMD EPYC 7773X.

Q: Does the GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM provide any advantage in Barony?

A: The data shows that the RX 9070 XT’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is more than sufficient for this game, as even at 4K Ultra the average FPS is 71, indicating that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor given the game’s release date and visual complexity.

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

A: The average FPS drops from 299 at 1080p to 99 at 4K, a 67% reduction, which is consistent with the drop observed at Low settings (from 469 to 155, also 67%).

Q: Which preset provides the highest minimum FPS at 4K?

A: The Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 98 at 4K, which is the only 4K setting with a recorded minimum above 90, while High and Ultra have no recorded minimum values but average 99 and 71 respectively.

Q: How does the combo rank relative to all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 920th out of 3717 tested combinations, placing it in the top 25% of all systems evaluated for Barony.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling and the GPU’s specifications. The card’s 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units are backed by a boost clock of 2970 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz, which translate to a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s. The memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for maintaining the high frame rates observed at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS is substantial, and its DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) aligns with the game’s rendering requirements, as shown by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260.

However, the GPU’s benchmark percentile of 55th and its average score of 13543 are surprisingly low, which is explained by its nearest rivals being significantly older parts like the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, with deltaPct values of 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. This discrepancy suggests that the RX 9070 XT’s architecture (RDNA 4.0 on a 4 nm process) is optimized for modern workloads that may not be well-represented in the passmark and geekbench tests, yet in Barony the GPU excels. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (469) demonstrates that the GPU is capable of extremely high output, and the fact that the frame rate drops by 67% at 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are the limiting factors, not the CPU. The GPU’s 64 RT cores and 128 ROPs are more than adequate for this roguelike, which does not appear to use ray tracing, but the raw shading power is what drives the high frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides a solid foundation for the RX 9070 XT, with its 6 cores and 12 threads running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The CPU’s cache hierarchy—80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 18 MB shared L3—is typical for a mid-range desktop part, and its 65 W TDP indicates efficient power draw. The processor’s benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance (1680 in Cinebench R23 single-core) and respectable multi-thread results (12380 in Cinebench R23 multi-core), but its average benchmark score of 19039 places it at the 73rd percentile, with nearest rivals being the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047) and Intel Core 3 201E (19056), both within 0.1% deltaPct.

In Barony, the CPU’s role is clearly secondary, as the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a consistent 67% drop across all settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s 12 threads are sufficient to keep the GPU fed even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 469 FPS—a level that would expose any CPU limitation. The fact that the frame rate at 4K Ultra is 71 FPS, which is only 15% of the 1080p Low frame rate, further confirms that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor. The CPU’s 3DMark 16-thread score of 5895 and single-thread score of 909 suggest that it has enough headroom for this game’s logic, which is likely single-threaded given the roguelike genre, but the consistent frame rates across settings indicate that the CPU is not a constraint in any scenario tested.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 469 FPS, the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 348 FPS with a minimum of 296 and a maximum of 401, while High averages 299 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 214 FPS, which is still above 200 but represents a 54% reduction from Low. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 255 FPS, indicating that the game’s settings have a massive impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a consistent reduction from 1080p. Low averages 296 FPS, which is 37% lower than the 1080p Low score. Medium averages 220 FPS with a minimum of 187 and a maximum of 253, while High averages 189 FPS. Ultra at 1440p averages 135 FPS, which is the first setting to drop below 150 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is uniform at 37% across all settings, confirming the GPU-bound nature of the game.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates fall significantly, with the Medium preset providing the most complete data. Medium averages 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 and a maximum of 132, making it the only 4K setting with a recorded minimum above 90. High averages 99 FPS, just below the 100 FPS threshold, while Low averages 155 FPS, still playable but 67% lower than the 1080p Low score. Ultra at 4K averages 71 FPS, which is below the 75 FPS threshold for many monitors. The data shows that the Medium preset at 4K is the best choice for maintaining smooth gameplay, as it offers a higher average FPS (115) than High (99) and a much higher minimum (98) than what would be expected from Ultra (71 average).