Barony

The benchmark data for Barony on the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination reveals a configuration that is heavily front-loaded for high refresh rates at standard resolutions, but which encounters predictable limits as pixel counts rise. The measured frames per second across the resolution and settings matrix shows a system whose performance curve is dictated primarily by the graphics processor, with the central processor providing ample headroom to avoid becoming a constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic and consistent drop in frame rate across all quality presets, confirming that the rendering load scales steeply with pixel count. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 168.3 FPS at 1080p to 108.2 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 54 FPS at 4K. This represents a reduction of roughly 36% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 50% drop when stepping up to 4K. The pattern is not linear, indicating that the GPU is approaching its fill-rate and shading limits at higher resolutions.

The Low preset shows a similar trajectory but with higher absolute values: 266.1 FPS at 1080p, 164.6 FPS at 1440p, and 86.4 FPS at 4K. The scaling factor from 1080p to 4K is approximately 3.1x, which is close to the theoretical pixel-count difference, suggesting that at Low settings the workload is almost purely pixel-bound. In contrast, the Ultra preset exhibits the steepest relative decline, going from 120 FPS at 1080p to 78.9 FPS at 1440p and then to 40.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is the lowest recorded in the dataset, indicating that this configuration is not suited for maximum quality at 4K.

The data suggests that the limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU. The Radeon RX 6600, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus, is positioned in the mid-range segment, and the measured results align with that classification. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU could theoretically become a factor, but the consistent scaling pattern suggests that even at the lowest resolution, the GPU remains the primary driver of performance. The jump between Medium and High at 1080p (193.9 FPS to 168.3 FPS) is smaller than the jump between Low and Medium (266.1 FPS to 193.9 FPS), which hints at a diminishing return on GPU work as settings increase, but no single resolution shows a plateau that would indicate CPU saturation.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. Its specifications include 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, which collectively drive its measured performance. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1626 MHz and a boost clock of 2491 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2044 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. This bandwidth figure is modest by modern standards, and it becomes a limiting factor when resolution increases and the demand for texture data and frame buffer access grows.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25235. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 890M with a delta of 0%, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP with a delta of -0.2%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6700M with a delta of 0.2%. The tight clustering of these scores, all within a half-percentage point, indicates that the RX 6600 sits at a performance parity point with these other cards. In Barony, this translates to a GPU that can handle 1080p gaming with ease, delivering over 120 FPS even at Ultra settings, but which struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K on High settings.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is relevant for Barony, a roguelike that may not demand extensive texture assets, but the data shows that the memory bandwidth and fill rate are the more pressing constraints. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 40.8 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The GPU's pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s provide a theoretical ceiling, and the measured results suggest that the card is operating near these limits at 4K. The boost clock of 2491 MHz is respectable, but the architecture's reliance on a 128-bit memory interface is a clear bottleneck when pushing high pixel counts.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake-S architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It features a hybrid design with a 20 MB shared L3 cache and per-core L2 caches of 1.25 MB. The processor's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21279 and a Passmark multithread score of 25032. Its single-thread performance is also solid, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2301 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3634.

In Barony, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU across all measured configurations. The frame rates at 1080p Low reach 266.1 FPS, which is high enough that a weaker processor might introduce stutters or frame pacing issues, but the i5-13400F's single-thread capabilities appear sufficient to avoid such problems. The processor's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 82, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13620H with a delta of 0.1% and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D with a delta of -0.5%. These close margins suggest that the i5-13400F is a well-balanced processor for gaming workloads.

The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for a roguelike title like Barony, which likely does not scale beyond a handful of threads. The data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking, as the frame rate continues to scale with GPU workload reduction when lowering settings. At 4K Low, the frame rate of 86.4 FPS is still well above playable thresholds, and the consistent scaling between resolutions indicates that the CPU is not holding back the GPU. The processor's 65 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a flexible choice, but in this specific pairing, its performance headroom is evident.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 168.3 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 120 FPS, still excellent, but the incremental gain in visual fidelity may not justify the 29% reduction in frame rate compared to High. For competitive play or smooth motion, the Medium preset at 193.9 FPS offers a good balance of visual quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, the High preset yields 108.2 FPS, which is a strong result for this resolution and provides a fluid experience. The Medium preset at 124.5 FPS is even better, and given that the difference between Medium and High at this resolution is only 16.3 FPS, the Medium preset is arguably the sweet spot for maintaining high frame rates without sacrificing too much visual detail. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 78.9 FPS, which is playable but less optimal for fast-paced action.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes significantly. The High preset averages 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and the Ultra preset falls to 40.8 FPS. The Low preset at 86.4 FPS is the only option that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. For 4K gaming, the recommendation is to use the Low preset or to consider lowering the resolution, as the visual gains from higher settings are outweighed by the frame rate penalty. The Medium preset at 62.4 FPS is borderline, and users with adaptive sync displays might find it acceptable, but the data suggests that Low is the safer choice for consistent performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 1357 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the lower half of the database. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range status rather than any deficiency in the CPU, as the processor's benchmark scores are competitive with its peers. The combo's position indicates that while it is capable of delivering high frame rates at 1080p, it is outclassed by configurations with more powerful GPUs when handling higher resolutions and settings.

The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6700M and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0.2% and 0.5% respectively. This suggests that the RX 6600 performs on par with these cards in synthetic tests, but in Barony, the measured frame rates show that the combo's overall rank is influenced by the GPU's memory bandwidth limitations at 4K. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-13620H and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, also have negligible performance differences, confirming that the processor is not the weak link.

The rank of 1357 out of 1702 means that approximately 20% of tested combos perform worse than this configuration, while the majority perform better. This is a reasonable outcome for a mid-range GPU paired with a capable mid-range CPU. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, and that users seeking 4K performance should look at alternatives with higher VRAM and wider memory buses. The benchmark results show a balanced system that excels at its intended resolution class but does not push beyond it.