Barony

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 16th out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the top 1% of all configurations measured. This is an exceptional result that reflects the raw horsepower of the RTX 5090, which sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, combined with a CPU that outperforms 82% of all processors tested. The combination produces frame rates that are not merely playable but overwhelmingly excessive for a roguelike title, with even the most demanding preset at 4K delivering triple-digit averages. The ranking gap between this combo and the rest of the field is substantial; the data indicates that only 15 other system pairings managed to exceed its measured performance in this specific game.

The CPU's benchmark profile shows a balanced performer: its 3DMark max-thread score of 7307 and single-thread score of 960 demonstrate that it handles both multi-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads competently. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13620H, scores nearly identically at 25201 with a delta of just 0.1%, meaning the 13400F delivers effectively the same compute performance as that mobile part. Against the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, the 13400F trails by 0.5%, a negligible margin that has no practical impact on Barony's frame rates given the game's modest CPU demands.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy across presets, and the optimal choice depends heavily on the target display resolution. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 678.9 FPS, but this is far beyond any display's refresh rate capability, making it a meaningless target. The Ultra preset at 1080p still delivers 313.8 FPS, which is more than sufficient for even the fastest high-refresh monitors. The data suggests that Ultra is the recommended setting at 1080p, as the GPU has enormous headroom and the visual fidelity gains come at no practical cost to playability.

Moving to 1440p, the Ultra preset delivers 197 FPS, which remains well above the 144Hz threshold that most high-end monitors support. The High preset at 274.9 FPS offers additional margin, but the difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is likely imperceptible in actual gameplay. At 4K, the calculus changes: Ultra drops to 105.3 FPS, which is still smooth but below the 144Hz mark. The High preset at 146.9 FPS provides a better balance for 4K high-refresh displays, while Medium at 170.8 FPS offers even more headroom if visual quality can be slightly compromised. For 4K, the data supports High as the sweet spot, as it maintains triple-digit frame rates while preserving most of the visual features that Ultra provides.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions and progressively more balanced as resolution increases. At Ultra settings, the drop from 313.8 FPS at 1080p to 197 FPS at 1440p represents a 37.2% reduction, while the further drop to 105.3 FPS at 4K is another 46.5% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 5090 is the dominant factor at 1080p and 1440p, where the CPU is capable of feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher resolutions.

The Low preset tells a similar story with even more extreme numbers: 678.9 FPS at 1080p, 436.8 FPS at 1440p, and 224.6 FPS at 4K. The fact that 4K Low still produces over 200 FPS demonstrates that the GPU has massive compute reserves, but the scaling factor from 1080p to 4K (approximately 3x resolution increase yielding a 3x FPS reduction) suggests that pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor at 4K. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, does not appear to bottleneck this game at any resolution, as even the maximum frame rates at 1080p Low exceed what most displays can show.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a complete range of performance: Low produces 678.9 FPS, Medium reaches 510.4 FPS, High achieves 441 FPS, and Ultra still delivers 313.8 FPS. These numbers are all extraordinarily high, and the spread between Low and Ultra (approximately 54% reduction) reflects the increasing GPU workload from more demanding visual effects. The 1080p results confirm that Barony is not a demanding title for this hardware, as even the most punishing preset leaves massive performance on the table.

At 2560x1440, the measurements show: Low at 436.8 FPS, Medium at 322.2 FPS, High at 274.9 FPS, and Ultra at 197 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by roughly 35-37% across all presets, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. The Ultra preset at 1440p remains above 190 FPS, making it a viable choice for high-refresh 1440p monitors. At 3840x2160, the figures are: Low at 224.6 FPS, Medium at 170.8 FPS, High at 146.9 FPS, and Ultra at 105.3 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measurement that dips into triple-digit territory below 110 FPS, but it remains perfectly playable for a roguelike where twitch reactions are less critical than strategic decision-making.

# FAQ

Q: Is this combo overkill for Barony?

A: Yes, the data strongly indicates overkill. Even at 4K Ultra, the system produces 105.3 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most displays. At 1080p, frame rates range from 313.8 FPS to 678.9 FPS, far beyond any monitor's capability.

Q: What preset should I use for 4K gaming?

A: The High preset at 146.9 FPS offers the best balance for 4K. Ultra at 105.3 FPS is also viable, but High provides a 39.5% performance increase while likely showing minimal visual differences in a roguelike.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The 13400F's 3DMark max-thread score of 7307 and single-thread score of 960, combined with its 82nd percentile ranking, suggest it keeps up easily. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K follows GPU-bound patterns.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 16th out of 1702 combos, placing it in the top 1%. This is an elite result, with only 15 other system pairings achieving higher frame rates in Barony.

Q: Can I use this system with a high-refresh 1440p monitor?

A: Absolutely. At 1440p Ultra, the system delivers 197 FPS, which exceeds 144Hz and 165Hz monitors. Even 240Hz monitors can be satisfied with the High preset at 274.9 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's 32GB VRAM relevant for this game?

A: For Barony specifically, the VRAM is far beyond what the game requires, as the GPU's 94th percentile ranking and the measured frame rates demonstrate. The 32GB capacity is more relevant for future titles.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark results show a strong multi-threaded capability: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 21279, while single-core reaches 3004. The 3DMark results further illustrate its character: 2-thread at 1880, 4-thread at 3459, 8-thread at 5591, and max-thread at 7307. The scaling from 2 to 8 threads is nearly linear, but the jump to max-thread (16 threads) adds only 23.5% over the 8-thread score, indicating diminishing returns beyond 8 threads for this workload.

In Barony, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The data shows that the 13400F does this without becoming a bottleneck, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 678.9 FPS. This figure represents the absolute ceiling of what this CPU can push in this game, and it is far beyond any display's refresh rate. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache likely help maintain consistent frame delivery in a roguelike where procedural generation creates unpredictable workloads. Its 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is a top-tier performer, though the 16th place combo ranking suggests that higher-end CPUs might extract even more frame rate from the RTX 5090 in this title.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a massive GPU: 32GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, with 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. Its boost clock of 2407 MHz and base clock of 2017 MHz drive a 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411 and Passmark G3D score of 39650 place it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 84306 is only 0.1% from the nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D.

In Barony, the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rates at higher resolutions, as the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows. The 4K Ultra result of 105.3 FPS is the only measurement below 140 FPS, and even that is a highly playable frame rate. The GPU's immense compute resources mean that the Low preset at 1080p produces 678.9 FPS, a figure that is essentially academic since no display can show it. The 32GB VRAM is far more than Barony needs, but it ensures that texture-heavy roguelike environments load without any memory pressure. The GPU's 94th percentile ranking and its position as the top consumer GPU in the benchmark database make it the clear performance driver in this combination, with the CPU playing a supporting role that never limits the GPU's output.