Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a robust Barony experience across all tested configurations, with the data showing a combination that handles 1080p and 1440p gaming with considerable headroom while remaining playable at 4K on medium settings. This Alder Lake-S six-core processor with 12 threads, boosting to 4.40 GHz, combined with the Turing-based TU106 GPU featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, produces measured frame rates ranging from 43 FPS at 4K Ultra to 287 FPS at 1080p Low. The benchmark results indicate a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the limiting component shifting from the GPU at higher resolutions to a more balanced profile at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern at higher resolutions, with the RTX 2060 SUPER becoming the primary constraint as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 183 at 1920x1080 to 116 at 2560x1440, a 37% reduction, and then to 60 at 3840x2160, representing a 67% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline between 1440p and 4K — a 48% drop — strongly indicates that the GPU's 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being saturated at 4K, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom.

The Low settings curve tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers: 287 FPS at 1080p falls to 181 FPS at 1440p (37% reduction) and then to 95 FPS at 4K (67% reduction from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across different quality presets suggests that resolution scaling is governed primarily by pixel throughput rather than settings-specific effects. At 1080p Low, the 287 FPS result approaches the practical ceiling for many displays, and the fact that the i5-12400F's single-thread score of 909 in 3dmark can sustain such high frame rates indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution.

Medium settings provide the most complete data with min/max values, showing a 4K average of 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 and maximum of 81, compared to 135 FPS at 1440p (min 114, max 155) and 213 FPS at 1080p (min 181, max 245). The minimum frame rates at each resolution — 60 at 4K, 114 at 1440p, and 181 at 1080p — all remain above playable thresholds, but the 4K minimum of 60 FPS sits right at the edge of what many users consider acceptable. The Ultra preset, by contrast, produces 43 FPS at 4K, which falls below the 60 FPS target and suggests that this setting is not viable at 4K for this combination.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on optimal settings for each resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets deliver playable frame rates, with Ultra achieving 131 FPS average — well above the 60 FPS threshold and even sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 52 FPS (183 to 131), but the absolute performance remains strong, making Ultra the recommended choice for users prioritizing visual quality at this resolution. For those with 144 Hz or higher refresh monitors, High at 183 FPS or Medium at 213 FPS offer smoother motion, with Medium providing the best balance of quality and speed.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to High settings, which delivers 116 FPS average and remains comfortably above 100 FPS. Ultra drops to 83 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 28% performance hit over High. Medium at 135 FPS offers a smoother experience for competitive play, but the visual fidelity loss may not be justified given that High already exceeds 60 FPS by a wide margin. Low at 181 FPS is available for users who prioritize maximum frame rates above all else, but the quality trade-off is substantial.

For 3840x2160, Medium is the only advisable preset, delivering 70 FPS average with a 60 FPS minimum. High at 60 FPS average is technically playable but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes, as the data does not include min/max values for this configuration. Ultra at 43 FPS falls below the standard playability threshold and should be avoided. Low at 95 FPS is surprisingly strong at 4K, suggesting that users willing to sacrifice visual quality can achieve excellent performance even at this resolution. The data indicates that Medium at 4K provides the best experience per the measured rows, offering a 60 FPS floor with average performance that exceeds the 4K High result.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings six physical cores and 12 threads based on the Alder Lake-S architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. With a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, this processor achieves a single-thread score of 909 in 3dmark and 1680 in Cinebench R23 single-core, indicating strong per-core performance that is well-suited to Barony's roguelike gameplay. The 18 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data locality for the game's procedural generation and entity management systems.

The CPU's multithreaded capabilities, evidenced by a 3dmark max-threads score of 5912 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12380, suggest that Barony can utilize multiple cores for world generation, pathfinding, and AI computations. The 2-thread 3dmark score of 1699 versus the 4-thread score of 3067 shows near-linear scaling up to four threads, with diminishing returns beyond that point — the 8-thread score of 4779 and max-threads score of 5912 indicate that the game's workload benefits from additional cores but does not scale perfectly with all 12 threads.

At 1080p with Low settings, the 287 FPS average demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at high frame rates. The passmark single-thread score of 3481 and multithread score of 19433 place this processor in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS at a 0% delta. This competitive positioning means the i5-12400F provides sufficient processing power to avoid becoming the limiting factor in most Barony scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU dominates the frame time budget.

The processor's 65 W TDP and dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 offer flexibility, though the benchmark data does not specify memory configuration. The 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU ensure adequate bandwidth for the GPU's PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, and the lack of integrated graphics means the RTX 2060 SUPER handles all rendering duties exclusively.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2616th out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 30th percentile overall. This ranking reflects the mid-range positioning of both components — the CPU sits in the 73rd percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs. The combination's aggregate position in the lower third of tested systems suggests that while this hardware handles Barony competently, many other configurations deliver higher frame rates, particularly at 4K Ultra where the 43 FPS result drags down the overall ranking.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance class: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile scores 0.4% higher on average, the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 is 0.5% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 460 and Intel Arc A770M are 1.5% and 1.6% higher respectively. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER is closely matched with a broad range of contemporary GPUs, and its 62nd percentile ranking confirms it as a solid mid-range option. The CPU's nearest rivals — AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (0% delta), Intel Core 3 201E (-0.1%), Intel Core i5-1335U (0.3%), and AMD EPYC 7773X (0.3%) — show that the i5-12400F sits in a dense cluster of similarly performing processors.

The rank of 2616 out of 3717 combos means approximately 70% of tested configurations outperform this pairing in Barony. However, this ranking aggregates all resolutions and settings, and the data shows that this combo performs much better relative to the field at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Medium, the 213 FPS average and 181 FPS minimum would likely place this combo in a much higher percentile, while the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is below average for the field. Users primarily gaming at 1080p or 1440p will find this ranking more favorable than the aggregate number suggests.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, based on the TU106 chip manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm process, contains 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. With a base clock of 1470 MHz and boost clock of 1650 MHz, the GPU delivers 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is critical for Barony's texture-heavy environments and particle effects at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18093, places it in the mid-range segment. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, scores only 0.4% higher, indicating that the 2060 SUPER remains competitive with newer mobile parts. The 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 and passmark G3D score of 16462 provide additional evidence of its mid-range positioning, while the Geekbench OpenCL score of 76957 and Vulkan score of 77402 show balanced compute performance across APIs.

In Barony specifically, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the 287 FPS result suggests the GPU is not fully utilized, as the CPU's frame generation capability may cap performance. However, at 4K Ultra, the 43 FPS result indicates the GPU is the clear bottleneck — the 8 GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth are insufficient for ultra-quality textures and effects at this resolution. The 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores provide ray tracing and AI acceleration capabilities that Barony does not appear to leverage, as the game's roguelike genre typically prioritizes procedural generation over photorealistic rendering.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility with modern rendering techniques, while its 175 W TDP and single 8-pin power connector make it a manageable upgrade for systems with a 450 W power supply recommendation. The 229 mm length and dual-slot design fit most mid-tower cases, and the display outputs — 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C — provide flexible connectivity options.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 SUPER and i5-12400F combination delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 287 FPS, representing the highest measured frame rate in this dataset. Medium settings average 213 FPS with a minimum of 181 FPS and maximum of 245 FPS, providing a smooth experience even during intense gameplay sequences. High settings average 183 FPS, while Ultra settings average 131 FPS. All 1080p configurations exceed 60 FPS by a substantial margin, with even the most demanding Ultra preset maintaining an average above 120 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected decline from 1080p. Low settings average 181 FPS, a 37% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 135 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 155 FPS, maintaining playability even in demanding scenes. High settings average 116 FPS, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings drop to 83 FPS, still playable but approaching the point where frame pacing becomes noticeable on high-refresh-rate displays.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limitations. Low settings average 95 FPS, which is surprising given the 4K resolution and demonstrates the game's scalability when visual effects are minimized. Medium settings average 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 81 FPS, providing the best balance of quality and performance at this resolution. High settings average 60 FPS, sitting exactly at the standard playability threshold. Ultra settings average 43 FPS, falling below acceptable levels for most users and indicating that this preset should be avoided at 4K.

The Medium preset data, which includes min/max values at all three resolutions, provides the most complete picture of frame time consistency. At 1080p, the 181 FPS minimum and 245 FPS maximum show a 64 FPS range, indicating some variance but no problematic stuttering. At 1440p, the 114 FPS minimum and 155 FPS maximum show a 41 FPS range, tighter than at 1080p. At 4K, the 60 FPS minimum and 81 FPS maximum show a 21 FPS range, the narrowest of the three resolutions, suggesting that the GPU's consistent workload at 4K produces more stable frame times despite lower average performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combination in Barony?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings provides an excellent balance, achieving 116 FPS average. At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 130 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. 3840x2160 is viable only with Medium settings, which delivers 70 FPS average and 60 FPS minimum.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings in Barony?

A: Yes, but only at lower resolutions. Ultra settings produce 131 FPS at 1080p and 83 FPS at 1440p, both playable. At 4K, Ultra drops to 43 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold and is not recommended.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093, placing it in the 62nd percentile. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, scores 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 is 0.5% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 460 and Intel Arc A770M are 1.5% and 1.6% higher respectively.

Q: What is the processor's performance class relative to other CPUs?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F ranks in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 19039. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, shows a 0% delta, while the Intel Core 3 201E is 0.1% lower and the Intel Core i5-1335U is 0.3% higher.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combo?

A: Yes, but with significant caveats. Medium settings at 4K deliver 70 FPS average with a 60 FPS minimum, which is playable. Low settings achieve 95 FPS, while High reaches exactly 60 FPS. Ultra at 43 FPS is not recommended for 4K.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 183 at 1080p to 116 at 1440p (37% reduction) and then to 60 at 4K (67% reduction from 1080p). The pattern is consistent across Low and Medium presets, with approximately two-thirds of 1080p performance lost at 4K.