Barony

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread desktop processor built on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 1.25 MB provide the memory hierarchy needed for both lightly-threaded and fully-loaded workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU posts a single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark and a max-thread score of 7307, with Cinebench R23 results of 3191 single-core and 22604 multi-core. These numbers place the i5-13400F in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292.

Barony is a roguelike, a genre that typically places more emphasis on game logic, procedural generation, and simulation than on raw graphical fidelity. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, this combo achieves 600 FPS average, which is the highest recorded figure in the dataset. Such a result indicates the CPU is capable of feeding frames far beyond what any standard display can show, but it also reveals how the processor scales with reduced GPU load. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and the 8-thread score of 5591 suggest that Barony's workload, which likely uses only a handful of threads for its simulation, is well within the i5-13400F's capabilities. The gap between the 2-thread score of 1880 and the 4-thread score of 3459 shows that scaling is not perfectly linear, but the CPU has enough headroom to handle the game's logic without becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

At higher settings and resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, but the CPU still matters for maintaining minimum frame times. The measured FPS at 1080p Ultra is 274 average, which is still extremely high and demonstrates that the i5-13400F does not constrain the RTX 4080 even under maximum settings. The processor's 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node (per the fact pack) indicate an efficient design, though the fact pack does not specify how this translates to thermal headroom in prolonged gaming sessions. The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (deltaPct 0), the Intel Core 5 120 (deltaPct -0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (deltaPct -0.3), placing it in a tightly contested performance band.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-13400F compare to its closest CPU rivals in aggregate performance?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, deltaPct 0). It is 0.3% ahead of both the Intel Core 5 120 (25362) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365), and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25201). These differences are within measurement noise, indicating comparable overall CPU capability.

Q: What is the best measured FPS result for this combo in Barony?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 600 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best is 446 at 1080p Medium, followed by 383 at 1080p High, and 274 at 1080p Ultra. At 1440p, the Low preset yields 379 FPS, while at 4K, the Low preset drops to 198 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 bottleneck the i5-13400F at any resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p, where the GPU is fully utilized to produce 600 FPS on Low. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 91, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component due to the increased pixel workload. The CPU's single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark and Cinebench R23 single-core of 3191 are sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4080's frame output.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for Barony?

A: This specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 244th out of 3717 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 6.6% of all configurations. This high rank reflects the strength of both the i5-13400F and the RTX 4080, though the game's low system requirements mean many combinations achieve playable frame rates.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo delivers an average of 281 FPS, with a minimum of 239 and a maximum of 324. This indicates a smooth experience even in demanding scenes, as the minimum FPS remains well above typical display refresh rates.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: Yes, the gap is substantial. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 198, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 91 — a reduction of 107 FPS (54%). The Medium preset at 4K averages 147 FPS, and High averages 126 FPS, showing a clear progression of GPU load as settings increase.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 600 FPS average, but at 1440p Low, it falls to 379 FPS — a 36.8% drop. Moving to 4K Low, the average is 198 FPS, which is a 67% reduction from the 1080p Low figure. These drops are proportionally larger than the pixel count increases (1080p to 1440p is 78% more pixels, but FPS only drops 36.8%), indicating that the GPU is not fully saturated at lower resolutions and the CPU is providing frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher pixel counts.

For Medium settings, the scaling is more linear: 1080p Medium averages 446 FPS, 1440p Medium averages 281 FPS (37% drop), and 4K Medium averages 147 FPS (67% drop from 1080p). The High preset shows a similar pattern: 383 FPS at 1080p, 242 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 126 FPS at 4K (67% drop). This consistency across presets suggests that the performance scaling is driven primarily by resolution rather than by settings complexity, which is typical for a game where pixel shading dominates the GPU workload.

The Ultra preset shows the most pronounced drop: 274 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 91 FPS at 4K (67% drop). The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across all four settings presets (roughly 37% from 1080p to 1440p, and 67% from 1080p to 4K) strongly indicates that the RTX 4080's rendering throughput is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain more constant across resolutions, especially at lower settings where the GPU has less work. The data shows no such plateau — FPS scales inversely with pixel count, confirming a GPU-limited scenario at 1440p and 4K.

At 1080p, however, the situation is different. The 600 FPS at Low settings approaches the theoretical limit of what the i5-13400F can feed, given its 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and Cinebench R23 single-core of 3191. The CPU's max-thread score of 7307 and passmark single-thread score of 3634 indicate that the processor has enough single-core headroom to handle Barony's simulation at 1080p without bottlenecking, but the 600 FPS ceiling suggests a soft limit imposed by the CPU's frame generation capability. This is not a problem in practice, as 600 FPS far exceeds any display's refresh rate, but it does explain why the FPS does not scale linearly with resolution at the lowest settings.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 446, with a minimum of 379 and maximum of 513. This provides a buttery-smooth experience with headroom for any display, and the minimum FPS is still higher than the 1080p Ultra average of 274. At 1440p Medium, the average is 281 FPS with a minimum of 239, which is well above the 240 Hz refresh rate many high-end monitors offer. Even at 4K Medium, the average of 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 ensures a highly playable experience, and the minimum is still above the 120 FPS threshold that many 4K displays support.

The High preset is a reasonable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rates. At 1080p High, the average is 383 FPS, which is still extremely smooth, and at 1440p High, the average of 242 FPS is sufficient for most high-refresh displays. However, at 4K High, the average drops to 126 FPS, which is playable but not as comfortable as Medium's 147 FPS. The Ultra preset, while offering the best visuals, pushes 4K down to 91 FPS average, which may cause noticeable stutter on 120 Hz displays. For competitive play or maximum smoothness, the Low preset at 1080p yields 600 FPS, but this sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily given the GPU's capabilities.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo. The 1080p Medium minimum FPS of 379 is higher than the 1080p High average of 383, meaning that even the worst-case frame times at Medium are comparable to the average at High. At 1440p, the Medium minimum of 239 FPS is only marginally below the High average of 242 FPS, but the Medium average of 281 FPS provides more headroom. At 4K, the Medium minimum of 125 FPS is above the 4K High average of 126 FPS, and the Medium average of 147 FPS is 17% higher than High's 126 FPS. This consistency across resolutions makes Medium the most predictable and reliable preset for this hardware combination.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 244th out of 3717 tested combos for Barony. This places it in the top 6.6% of all configurations tested, which is an exceptional result given the game's relatively low system requirements. The high rank is driven primarily by the RTX 4080's raw rendering power — its passmark G3D score of 34457 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 indicate a GPU that excels at high-resolution rendering. However, the CPU's contribution should not be underestimated; the i5-13400F's passmark multithread score of 25032 and Cinebench R23 multi-core of 22604 ensure that the processor does not drag down the combo's overall rank.

The RTX 4080 itself ranks in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 SUPER (deltaPct 0.1), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (deltaPct -1.1), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (deltaPct -2.6). These deltas are small, meaning the RTX 4080 is closely matched with its immediate competitors, but the fact that this combo still ranks 244th out of 3717 indicates that the i5-13400F does not hold the GPU back in Barony. If the CPU were a significant limiting factor, the combo would rank lower relative to combos with more powerful processors.

The rank of 244 out of 3717 also reflects the game's scalability. Barony's roguelike nature means it can run on very modest hardware, so many lower-end combos achieve playable frame rates. The fact that this high-end combo only reaches the 244th spot suggests that there are many other configurations with similar or better performance, likely including combos with more powerful CPUs paired with the same RTX 4080, or configurations with the RTX 4090. The data does not specify which combos rank above this one, but the percentile position (top 6.6%) indicates that the i5-13400F + RTX 4080 is a strong pairing for Barony, delivering frame rates that are far beyond what the game requires for a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 600 average FPS
• Medium: 446 average FPS, 379 minimum, 513 maximum
• High: 383 average FPS
• Ultra: 274 average FPS

At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all settings. The Low preset's 600 FPS average is the maximum recorded in the dataset, indicating a CPU-limited ceiling. The Medium preset's minimum of 379 FPS is higher than the High preset's average of 383 FPS, showing that Medium provides a more consistent experience. The Ultra preset's 274 FPS average is still far above any display's refresh rate, making 1080p a resolution where settings can be maxed without concern.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 379 average FPS
• Medium: 281 average FPS, 239 minimum, 324 maximum
• High: 242 average FPS
• Ultra: 173 average FPS

At 1440p, the frame rates remain very high, but the scaling from settings is more pronounced. The Low preset's 379 FPS is a 37% drop from 1080p Low, while the Ultra preset's 173 FPS is a 37% drop from 1080p Ultra — this consistent percentage drop across settings reinforces that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution. The Medium preset's minimum of 239 FPS is above the 240 Hz refresh rate, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh 1440p monitors.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 198 average FPS
• Medium: 147 average FPS, 125 minimum, 169 maximum
• High: 126 average FPS
• Ultra: 91 average FPS

At 4K, the RTX 4080 begins to show its limits. The Low preset's 198 FPS is still very smooth, but the Ultra preset's 91 FPS average is the lowest recorded figure in the dataset. The Medium preset provides a comfortable 147 FPS average with a 125 FPS minimum, which is above the 120 Hz threshold for most 4K displays. The High preset's 126 FPS average is only slightly below Medium's average, but the Medium preset's higher minimum (125 vs. no min data for High) suggests better frame pacing. The Ultra preset's 91 FPS average is below 100 FPS, which may be noticeable on high-refresh displays, making it the only preset where the game's performance could be considered suboptimal.