Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i5-12600KF + AMD Radeon RX 7700

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a striking performance profile in Barony, a roguelike title from 2015. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but transitions into a CPU-limited regime at 1080p, where frame rates soar to levels that most displays cannot even refresh. This combination ranks in the 54th percentile of all tested combos for this game, placing it in the upper half of configurations, though its behavior across settings and resolutions tells a nuanced story about where the bottleneck shifts.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 230 FPS at 1080p to 145 FPS at 1440p, then further down to 76 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The scaling is even more pronounced at Low settings, where the average falls from 360 FPS at 1080p to 227 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 119 FPS at 4K — a 67% decline overall.

The pattern strongly suggests that the GPU becomes the limiting component as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU's single-thread performance, which scores 1016 in 3dmark_single_thread and 3302 in cinebench_r23_singlecore, is likely the ceiling. The RX 7700, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth, has ample headroom at lower resolutions. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings shows a 48% drop (169 to 88 FPS), while the 1440p to 4K gap at Ultra is 48% as well (104 to 54 FPS). This consistent percentage drop across settings indicates that resolution scaling is primarily a GPU workload increase, with the CPU contribution remaining relatively constant.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings shows only a 37% reduction (268 to 169 FPS), which is less severe than the drop from 1440p to 4K. This suggests that at 1440p, the system still has some CPU headroom left, but at 4K, the GPU is fully saturated. The data implies that for competitive play where high refresh rates matter, 1080p is the sweet spot, while 4K is viable for slower, more methodical roguelike sessions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a game like Barony that likely benefits from fast texture streaming in procedurally generated dungeons. The GPU's boost clock of 2459 MHz and game clock of 2041 MHz, with a base clock of 1900 MHz, provide the compute throughput needed to maintain high frame rates.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 16129, which is 1.7% higher. The RX 7700's passmark_g3d score of 20974 and 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 2865 indicate solid DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant since Barony's genre typically relies on efficient draw calls.

In this game, the GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K resolution. At Ultra settings and 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 54, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider smooth. The GPU's 40 ray tracing cores and 96 ROPs are present, but Barony is not a ray tracing title, so those resources likely go unused. The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s suggest the card can handle high-resolution textures, which is evidenced by the 4K Medium result of 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 FPS.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is more than sufficient for a 2015 roguelike, even at 4K with Ultra settings. The data shows that the GPU does not run out of memory in any measured configuration, as the frame rates scale smoothly with resolution rather than collapsing due to memory swapping. The GPU's 200 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this performance class, and its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface ensures sufficient bandwidth to the CPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is critical for roguelike games that often rely on complex game logic and procedural generation. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core help reduce memory latency in scenarios where the game's state changes rapidly.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a clear strength in multi-threaded workloads. Its cinebench_r23_multicore score of 23391 and geekbench_multicore score of 12137 are impressive, but its single-thread scores are equally notable: cinebench_r23_singlecore at 3302 and 3dmark_single_thread at 1016. The CPU's percentile rank of 79 among all CPUs indicates it outperforms the vast majority of processors, with its average benchmark score of 27799 being nearly identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K (27872, -0.3% delta) and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896, -0.3% delta).

In Barony, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p resolution, where the frame rates hit 360 FPS at Low settings. This extreme value suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates faster than the GPU can render at lower resolutions. However, the data also shows that at 4K, the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the frame rates drop proportionally with resolution increases. The CPU's 125 W TDP and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory give it flexibility, but the socket 1700 platform is a mature ecosystem.

The passmark_physics score of 1539 and passmark_single_thread score of 3925 indicate strong physics and AI processing capabilities, which are relevant for Barony's enemy behavior and environmental interactions. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads (6 performance and 4 efficiency cores, though the efficiency cores are not explicitly listed) provide ample parallel processing for any background tasks while gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings. Low settings produce 360 FPS, Medium produces 268 FPS with a minimum of 228 and maximum of 308, High produces 230 FPS, and Ultra produces 165 FPS. This represents a 54% drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p, which is significant but still leaves all settings well above 144 FPS, making any preset viable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 227 FPS for Low, 169 FPS for Medium (with a minimum of 144 and maximum of 194), 145 FPS for High, and 104 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 54%, matching the 1080p pattern. This consistency suggests that the settings scale uniformly regardless of resolution, with the GPU handling the increased pixel count without changing the relative cost of each setting tier.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 119 FPS for Low, 88 FPS for Medium (with a minimum of 75 and maximum of 102), 76 FPS for High, and 54 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 55%, again consistent. However, the absolute values at 4K are substantially lower, with only Low settings crossing the 100 FPS threshold. Ultra at 4K dips below 60 FPS, which may be noticeable on standard 60 Hz displays but is still playable for a turn-based roguelike.

The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings across all resolutions: 228 at 1080p, 144 at 1440p, and 75 at 4K. These minimums indicate that the frame time consistency is acceptable, with the 4K Medium result being the most stable relative to its average. The lack of min/max data for other settings means that frame pacing cannot be fully assessed, but the available data suggests no catastrophic drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1336 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the 54.5th percentile of all configurations. This is a solid mid-pack ranking, indicating that while this combo is not in the top tier, it outperforms the majority of systems tested for this game.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is nearly identical. The Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872 in average benchmark score, which is only 0.3% higher than the i5-12600KF's 27799. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896, also 0.3% higher. This means the i5-12600KF is effectively on par with these older high-end processors, despite being a mid-range chip from a newer generation. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, which is 0.3% lower, showing that the i5-12600KF is slightly ahead of this newer budget chip.

The GPU's ranking is more varied. The RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15852 is 1.7% lower than the RTX 3060 Ti's 16129, placing it slightly behind a previous-generation mid-range card. It is 1% ahead of the RX 9060 (16014) and 1.1% behind the Pro W5500 (15679). The R9 370X scores 15862, essentially matching the RX 7700 within 0.1%. This indicates that the GPU is competitively positioned within its price tier, though not a standout performer.

In-game, the combo's rank of 1336 out of 2935 suggests that the CPU's strong single-thread performance compensates for the GPU's average positioning, resulting in a balanced system that performs well in Barony's specific workload.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, all settings produce averages above 165 FPS, so players with 144 Hz monitors can comfortably use Ultra settings for the best visual quality. For 240 Hz monitors, High settings at 230 FPS is the better choice, as Ultra at 165 FPS would not fully utilize the display's refresh rate. Low settings at 360 FPS are unnecessary for most displays but would suit extreme high-refresh-rate panels.

At 2560x1440, High settings at 145 FPS is the best balance for 144 Hz displays, providing near-maximum refresh rate utilization with good visual fidelity. Ultra at 104 FPS is still smooth for 100 Hz displays but falls short of 144 Hz. Medium at 169 FPS is excellent for 165 Hz monitors, while Low at 227 FPS is overkill for most displays. The minimum FPS of 144 at Medium settings ensures consistent frame delivery.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. For 60 Hz displays, High settings at 76 FPS is the recommended choice, providing a comfortable margin above the refresh rate and better visuals than Medium's 88 FPS (which is also viable). Ultra at 54 FPS is not recommended for 60 Hz displays, as it falls below the refresh threshold and may introduce judder. Low at 119 FPS is an option for competitive play, but the visual sacrifice is substantial for a game where dungeon detail matters.

Overall, Medium settings offer the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions, with the measured minimum FPS data showing stable frame delivery. For players seeking maximum quality without sacrificing smoothness, High settings at 1440p is the sweet spot.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly desired for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the Intel Core i9-10900K in average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF scores 27799, which is 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i9-10900K's 27872 average benchmark score.

Q: What is the highest measured average FPS in any configuration?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 360, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the GPU's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K gaming in Barony?

A: Yes, the measured data shows smooth performance at 4K across all settings, with no indication of VRAM limitations, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution.

Q: What settings provide the best experience at 2560x1440 on a 144 Hz monitor?

A: High settings at 1440p produce an average of 145 FPS, which is ideal for 144 Hz displays, while Medium settings at 169 FPS also work well if slightly lower visual quality is acceptable.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Barony?

A: This combo ranks 1336 out of 2935 tested combos, placing it in the 54.5th percentile of all tested systems for this game.