Barony

Barony, a roguelike title from 2015, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a component pairing that is well-balanced for this title, though the data indicates specific bottlenecks emerge depending on the configuration chosen. This analysis breaks down the measured performance metrics to understand how this combo behaves.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 168 FPS at 1080p to 105.8 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 53.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a substantial 68% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to the highest resolution tested. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is particularly steep, with a 37% performance hit, while the jump from 1440p to 4K incurs a further 49% loss.

This pattern strongly suggests that at 1080p, the system is not purely GPU-limited. The frame rates here are exceptionally high, reaching 264.5 FPS on Low settings and 168 FPS on High. Such numbers indicate that the CPU and GPU are both contributing to the output, but the GPU is not yet saturated. As resolution climbs to 1440p and 4K, the rendering load on the RTX 2060 increases significantly, and the frame rate drops become more pronounced, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The data for the Low preset reinforces this; at 4K Low, the system still manages 84.2 FPS, showing that even when graphical demands are reduced, the higher pixel count remains a significant hurdle for this GPU.

The implication is that for users targeting high refresh rate monitors at 1080p, this combo is highly capable. However, the data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this pairing will require compromises in settings to maintain playable frame rates. The transition from 1440p to 4K is where the RTX 2060's limitations become most evident, as the pixel throughput demand outpaces the GPU's raw processing power.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture and features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its core clocks are listed with a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1680 MHz. These specifications are directly relevant to the measured performance in Barony. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this title, as the game's visual complexity and texture sizes are modest given its 2015 release. The data shows no anomalous frame drops or stuttering that would suggest memory swapping.

The GPU's performance metrics, such as its Passmark G3D score of 14111, place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. This is a mid-range standing, which aligns with the observed frame rates. The RTX 2060's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S with a score of 15996 (0.5% higher) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 with a score of 16351 (1.7% higher). These deltas are minimal, indicating that the RTX 2060 is competitive with these counterparts in raw compute benchmarks.

In practice, the GPU's role becomes dominant at higher resolutions. The benchmark results indicate that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 40.5, which is a demanding scenario. This shows the GPU's compute resources are fully engaged. The boost clock of 1680 MHz is the key driver here, as it determines the sustained performance under load. The data does not include specific clock measurements during gameplay, but the frame rate scaling suggests the GPU is operating at its intended performance envelope. The RTX 2060's 1920 shading units and 120 texture mapping units are sufficient for Barony's graphical workload, but they are not excessive, leading to the observed performance ceiling at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, boosting up to 4.70 GHz. The CPU has a 20 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In the context of Barony, the CPU's role is less about raw multi-threaded power and more about single-core performance and the ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic.

The CPU's benchmark results are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093. Its Passmark single-thread score is 3723. These numbers place the i5-14400F in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, indicating high overall performance. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-12800H with an average score of 32513 (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 with a score of 32446 (0.2% delta). The i5-14400F's average benchmark score is 32508, showing it is virtually identical in performance to these competitors.

The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested. Even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 264.5 FPS, the CPU manages to maintain that output. The high boost clock of 4.70 GHz is critical for this, as Barony's game logic likely relies on a few heavily utilized threads. The 10-core configuration provides ample headroom for background tasks and modern operating system demands without interfering with game performance. The fact that frame rates scale down so predictably with resolution, rather than plateauing due to CPU limits, confirms that the GPU is the primary limiting factor in this pairing, especially beyond 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 168 FPS, which is an excellent experience for most displays. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 195.7 FPS, and Low yields 264.5 FPS. Given the diminishing returns in visual quality, the High preset is the best recommendation for 1080p as it provides a high frame rate without sacrificing significant graphical fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the High preset produces 105.8 FPS, which is still very smooth and suitable for 144Hz monitors. The Ultra preset drops to 76.8 FPS, which is playable but less ideal for competitive play. The Medium preset offers 121.3 FPS, which could be a better choice for users who prioritize higher refresh rates over maximum visual detail. For 1440p, the High preset strikes the best balance between performance and image quality, as the data shows it is only 15% slower than Medium but likely offers a more substantial visual upgrade.

For 3840x2160, the situation changes considerably. The High preset averages 53.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset at 67 FPS is a better option for a smoother experience, while the Ultra preset at 40.5 FPS is only viable for slower-paced content. The Low preset at 84.2 FPS is the only setting that provides a consistently high frame rate at 4K. For 4K gaming, the recommendation is to use the Medium preset as a baseline, as it offers a solid compromise between the visual jump from Low and the performance hit from High. Users seeking maximum fluidity should consider Low, while those who prioritize visuals can accept the lower frame rates of High.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination holds a rank of 1382 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the lower half of all possible configurations, which is a significant finding given the individual component benchmarks. The CPU ranks in the 88th percentile, and the GPU in the 58th percentile, yet their combined performance in this specific game is relatively low.

This ranking suggests that Barony is a title that does not scale particularly well with the high-end CPU power of the i5-14400F. The game's roguelike nature, with its procedural generation and less complex 3D rendering, likely places a higher relative load on the GPU than on the CPU. The data supports this; while the CPU is extremely capable, the GPU's mid-range standing holds the combo back in the overall ranking. The combo's rank indicates that many other pairings, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher average frame rates across the tested settings.

However, the ranking does not tell the whole story. The measured FPS data shows that this combo is actually quite strong at 1080p, achieving frame rates that would satisfy most users. The lower combo rank is likely influenced by the 4K results, where the RTX 2060 struggles. This highlights that the ranking is a composite measure across all resolutions and settings, and the combo's real-world performance is heavily dependent on the user's display and performance targets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides 12 distinct measured average frame rates across four resolutions and three settings each. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 264.5 FPS, Medium averages 195.7 FPS, High averages 168 FPS, and Ultra averages 121 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a clear performance cost for each tier of visual quality, with Ultra being 54% slower than Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the measured averages are: Low at 162.6 FPS, Medium at 121.3 FPS, High at 105.8 FPS, and Ultra at 76.8 FPS. The relative performance gap between settings narrows slightly compared to 1080p, but the same ordering is maintained. The jump from High to Ultra at this resolution is a 27% performance reduction, which is significant.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 84.2 FPS, Medium at 67 FPS, High at 53.7 FPS, and Ultra at 40.5 FPS. This is the only resolution where Low settings drop below the 100 FPS mark, and Ultra drops below 60 FPS. The data shows that the RTX 2060's performance ceiling is clearly defined at 4K. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is a 20% frame rate loss, making the Medium preset the most reasonable choice for maintaining a playable frame rate. The Ultra preset, at 40.5 FPS, is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in most scenarios. These numbers provide a definitive guide for users, showing exactly what to expect from this hardware pairing at each resolution and quality level.