Barony

Barony is a roguelike that, on the Intel Core i5-14400F + AMD Radeon RX 570 combo, demonstrates a clear GPU-bound profile at higher resolutions, though the CPU provides a solid foundation for high frame rates at 1080p. The measured data shows a dramatic performance cliff as resolution increases, with the Ultra preset becoming unplayable at 4K. This pairing ranks in the bottom 4% of tested configurations for this game, indicating that while it can handle the game at lower settings, it is far from a top-tier performer.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 88.4 at 1920x1080 to 58.4 at 2560x1440, a 34% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the frame rate plummets to 28 FPS, which is a 68% drop from the 1080p figure. This pattern shows that the GPU's 4 GB of VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain fluid performance at 4K.

The scaling behavior is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the combo achieves 139.4 FPS at 1080p, drops to 87.1 FPS at 1440p, and then falls to 44.9 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with the frame rate dropping from 60.9 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 1440p, and finally to an unplayable 19.5 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that the RX 570's 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is simply not enough to feed a 4K display in this title.

The fact that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is less severe than from 1440p to 4K suggests that the GPU is hitting a memory bandwidth wall at the highest resolution. The 256-bit memory bus and 7 Gbps effective memory speed are adequate for 1440p, but the 4K resolution demands more than the 224.0 GB/s can provide. Benchmark results indicate that for a consistent experience, users should target 1080p or 1440p with this hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Barony?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 139.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates that the CPU and GPU combination is capable of very high frame rates when graphical demands are reduced.

Q: Can this system run Barony at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but the experience is poor. At 3840x2160, the best result is 44.9 FPS on Low settings, while High settings yield 28 FPS and Ultra drops to 19.5 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is only viable on Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 38 FPS, while High settings average 58.4 FPS. This represents a 35% performance penalty for moving from High to Ultra, making Ultra a questionable choice unless visual fidelity is prioritized over smoothness.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 139.4 FPS, which is close to the CPU's practical limit for this game. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, are sufficient to drive the RX 570 to its maximum output at this resolution.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Medium settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 139.4 FPS, while Medium settings produce 104.5 FPS. This is a 25% reduction in frame rate for a modest increase in visual quality, suggesting that Medium offers a good balance for most users.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The comboRankInGame field shows a rank of 1638 out of 1702 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 4% of all configurations for Barony. This indicates that most other CPU and GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this hardware, the data strongly favors 1080p resolution. At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide 104.5 FPS, which is a smooth and responsive experience for a roguelike. This preset offers a substantial improvement over Low settings (139.4 FPS) in visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. High settings at 1080p still deliver a respectable 88.4 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High yields diminishing returns for the 15% performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to Low settings, which average 87.1 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution that consistently stays above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings at 1440p drop to 64.1 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High and Ultra at 1440p are not recommended, as they fall to 58.4 and 38 FPS respectively.

For 4K, the data shows that no preset provides a fully smooth experience. The best option is Low settings at 44.9 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target. Given the severe performance drop, users should avoid 4K entirely with this combo unless they are willing to accept a sub-30 FPS experience on High or Medium settings. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 19.5 FPS, is effectively unplayable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS ranges from a high of 139.4 on Low settings to a low of 60.9 on Ultra. Medium settings produce 104.5 FPS, while High settings produce 88.4 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 78.5 FPS, showing that the RX 570 has a wide performance envelope depending on the preset.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates compress significantly. Low settings average 87.1 FPS, Medium settings average 64.1 FPS, and High settings average 58.4 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 38 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 49.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary constraint.

At 3840x2160, the results are consistently low. Low settings average 44.9 FPS, Medium settings average 36.7 FPS, and High settings average 28 FPS. Ultra settings bottom out at 19.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 25.4 FPS, showing that even the lowest settings cannot escape the GPU's limitations at this resolution.

The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the FPS penalty for each settings tier becomes more pronounced in percentage terms. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra costs 56% of the frame rate. At 4K, the same move costs 57%, but the absolute numbers are much lower, making the impact feel more severe.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 1638 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the bottom 4% of all configurations. This is a poor ranking that reflects the GPU's age and limited VRAM. The RX 570's percentileVsAllGpus is 74, meaning it performs better than 74% of all GPUs in general benchmarks, but its specific performance in Barony is dragged down by the 4 GB VRAM ceiling.

The CPU, however, is a strong performer. The Intel Core i5-14400F has a percentileVsAllCpus of 88, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-12800H and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, with deltaPct values of 0 and 0.2 respectively. This indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The bottleneck is clearly the GPU, which has a lower relative standing.

Given that the combo ranks near the bottom, benchmark results indicate that users with this hardware will experience frame rates that are substantially lower than the majority of other tested systems. The 4K results, in particular, are below the minimum playable threshold for most users.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This Raptor Lake Refresh processor, built on a 10 nm process, has a 20 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and single-core score of 3093 demonstrate solid computational throughput.

In Barony, a roguelike that is not heavily multi-threaded, the CPU's single-core performance is more relevant than its multi-core capabilities. The Passmark single-thread score of 3723 is strong, and the data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 139.4 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at lower resolutions. The CPU's 16 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks, but they do not significantly impact this game's frame rates.

The CPU's 88th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508, places it in the upper tier of processors. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, has a nearly identical average score of 32513 with a deltaPct of 0, confirming that the i5-14400F is a high-performing chip. The data indicates that the CPU is not the source of the low frame rates in Barony.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is a Polaris 20 chip built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 5,700 million transistors. It has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. The GPU features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Barony, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The 4 GB VRAM is insufficient for high-resolution textures, and the 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 1440p or 4K. The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus is 74, and its average benchmark score of 30158 places it in the mid-range of graphics cards. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has a deltaPct of 0.2, showing that the RX 570 is competitive in synthetic benchmarks but falls short in this game's measured FPS.

The data shows that the GPU's limitations are most apparent at 4K, where even Low settings cannot reach 60 FPS. The 32 ROPs and 39.81 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for the pixel count at 3840x2160. The 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU indicate that this is a modest power draw, but the performance ceiling is clear. The GPU is end-of-life, with a successor in Vega, and its age is reflected in the measured FPS results.