Barony

Barony, a roguelike released in 2015, presents an interesting testbed for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580. The measured data reveals a system that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but shows its architectural age as the pixel count climbs. This analysis breaks down the performance characteristics of this specific combination, interpreting the benchmark results to understand where the bottlenecks lie and what settings provide the optimal experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about the limiting component in this system. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 95.8 FPS, a very playable figure. Moving to 1440p, that number falls to 63.6 FPS, a 34% reduction. The jump to 4K is even more punishing, with the average FPS collapsing to 30.2, representing a 68% loss from the 1080p baseline. This dramatic scaling curve is a classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

The data strongly implies that the AMD Radeon RX 580 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The GPU's architecture, based on GCN 4.0 with a 256-bit memory bus and 8 GB of GDDR5, provides a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. While respectable for its era, this bandwidth is insufficient to feed the massive pixel throughput required at 4K. The benchmark results indicate that the RX 580 simply runs out of computational and memory bandwidth headroom when asked to render at 3840x2160, regardless of the settings preset.

Conversely, the CPU's role appears to diminish as resolution increases. The Intel Core i5-14400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is more than capable of keeping up with the GPU's frame generation at 1080p. The fact that the FPS drops so precipitously as resolution increases indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor; if it were, we would see a much flatter performance curve across resolutions. The CPU is likely idling, waiting for the GPU to finish its work, especially at 4K where the frame rate is low.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows across the four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) provide a comprehensive view of the scaling. At 1080p, the "High" preset at 95.8 FPS offers an excellent sweet spot, delivering a smooth experience while presumably maintaining visual fidelity. Dropping to "Medium" yields 117.2 FPS, a significant 22% performance bump, which could be preferable for players prioritizing high refresh rates. "Low" at 155.6 FPS is exceptionally fast, but the visual compromise is likely too great for a game like Barony, where readability of the dungeon is key.

For 1440p, the "High" preset at 63.6 FPS is the clear recommendation. It stays above the 60 FPS threshold, offering a great balance between visual quality and performance. The "Medium" preset at 73.5 FPS is a viable alternative for those wanting a larger performance cushion. The "Ultra" preset at 45.4 FPS is not recommended, as it dips below the playable threshold and the visual gains over "High" are likely marginal. At 4K, the situation becomes a compromise. "Low" at 49.1 FPS is the only preset that approaches playability, while "Medium" at 40.6 FPS and "High" at 30.2 FPS are too sluggish for a game requiring quick reactions. "Ultra" at 24.6 FPS is essentially a slideshow.

The data suggests that the "High" preset is the intended performance target for this hardware, and users should use resolution scaling to maintain that preset's performance level. The jump from "High" to "Ultra" is consistently the most expensive in terms of FPS, costing roughly 28% of performance at both 1080p and 1440p, while offering diminishing returns in visual quality.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Barony with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the optimal resolution. It delivers an average of 95.8 FPS on High settings, ensuring a fluid and responsive experience. 1440p on High is also viable at 63.6 FPS, but 4K is not recommended for serious play.

Q: How much of a performance hit comes from enabling Ultra settings instead of High?

A: The penalty is significant. At 1080p, choosing Ultra over High drops the average frame rate from 95.8 FPS to 69 FPS, a reduction of 28%. A similar percentage drop is observed at 1440p, going from 63.6 FPS to 45.4 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data clearly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The frame rate falls from 95.8 FPS at 1080p to 30.2 FPS at 4K on High settings. This massive drop, despite the CPU's consistent performance headroom, shows that the AMD Radeon RX 580 cannot process the increased pixel load.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, but only on specific presets. The "High" preset achieves 63.6 FPS, and "Medium" achieves 73.5 FPS. The "Ultra" preset falls short at 45.4 FPS, so users should avoid it at this resolution.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its closest rivals in terms of raw compute?

A: The RX 580's average benchmark score of 13559 is virtually identical to its nearest rivals. It sits 0% from the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and 0.1% from the GTX 950. This indicates its overall compute power is on par with those older cards.

Q: What is the most demanding preset for this combo?

A: The "Ultra" preset at 4K is the most demanding, yielding an average of 24.6 FPS. This is the lowest measured frame rate and represents a worst-case scenario for this hardware combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset combination.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 155.6 FPS
• Medium: 117.2 FPS
• High: 95.8 FPS
• Ultra: 69 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 97.1 FPS
• Medium: 73.5 FPS
• High: 63.6 FPS
• Ultra: 45.4 FPS

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 49.1 FPS
• Medium: 40.6 FPS
• High: 30.2 FPS
• Ultra: 24.6 FPS

The 1080p results show a clear hierarchy, with the system capable of high refresh rates on lower presets. The 1440p results show a more balanced curve, with playable performance on Medium and High. The 4K results are uniformly low, indicating that the GPU is out of its depth at this resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the defining component in this system's gaming performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but inadequate for the demands of 4K. The GPU's compute power, rated at 6.175 TFLOPS, is its primary asset, but its pixel fill rate of 42.88 GPixel/s is a limiting factor at high resolutions.

The benchmark results show that the GPU's performance scales poorly with resolution. While it can handle 1080p with ease, the frame rate drops by more than half when moving to 4K on the same settings. This is a classic sign of a GPU that has hit its memory bandwidth and shading unit limits. The RX 580's percentile rank of 53 among all GPUs suggests it is an average performer in the current landscape, and its nearest rivals in performance are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 950.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1257 MHz and a boost of 1340 MHz, are modest by modern standards. The data indicates that overclocking or relying on boost clocks will not solve the fundamental performance deficit at 4K. The bottleneck is architectural; the GCN 4.0 design, while efficient for its time, cannot match the throughput of newer architectures.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F serves as a robust foundation for this system, ensuring that the GPU is the primary performance limiter. With 10 cores and 16 threads, and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, the CPU provides ample processing power for the game's logic and physics. Its single-threaded performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093, is more than sufficient for Barony's requirements.

The data suggests that the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU at any resolution. The consistent FPS drop as resolution increases proves that the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates at 1080p would be lower, and the scaling to higher resolutions would be less dramatic. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain low latency, which is crucial for a smooth frame delivery.

The CPU's synthetic benchmarks, such as a Passmark multi-thread score of 25783 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 11209, place it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. This high percentile confirms that the i5-14400F is a high-performing processor that won't hold back modern games, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU takes on the majority of the work. Its nearest rivals, like the Intel Core i7-12800H, have nearly identical average scores, showing this CPU is well-positioned in its performance class.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for Barony, this system holds a rank of 1578 out of 1702 combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, which seems counterintuitive given its smooth 1080p performance. This low ranking is likely due to the inclusion of much more powerful, modern GPUs in the database that can handle 4K Ultra settings with ease, while this combo struggles to do so.

The ranking highlights that while this combo is excellent for 1080p and decent for 1440p gaming, it is not a high-end performer in the current hardware landscape. The GPU's age is the primary reason for this low rank; its performance is comparable to that of a GTX 570, which is a much older card. The CPU, however, is a modern and capable part, ranking in the 88th percentile, but its strength is negated by the GPU's limitations in this specific game's benchmark.

The data shows a clear disparity. The CPU is a top-tier performer relative to its peers, while the GPU is an average-to-low performer. This combination results in a system that is well-balanced for 1080p gaming but falls behind more modern, GPU-heavy builds at higher resolutions. The rank of 1578 of 1702 is a direct reflection of the GPU's inability to push high frame rates at 4K, which is a critical metric for overall ranking in this database.