Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces an exceptional Barony experience, with the data showing this combo ranks 38th out of 1,702 tested combinations. This is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from Intel's Core 14th Gen family, built on Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process. Its base clock runs at 2.50 GHz and boosts to 4.70 GHz, with 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU benchmarks place it at the 88th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 32,508. This places it virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H (32,513, 0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32,446, 0.2% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 7 250 (32,584, -0.2% delta). For a roguelike like Barony, where procedural generation and game logic can create CPU-bound scenarios, the 10-core configuration ensures that even complex dungeon states are processed without bottlenecking the frame rate. The single-thread performance, measured at 3,723 in PassMark's single-thread test, matters for game logic that often runs on one primary thread, while the multi-thread score of 25,783 handles background tasks and physics. The processor's 65 W TDP means it runs cool enough for a standard air cooler in most builds.

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

Barony is a roguelike, a genre that typically relies heavily on single-threaded CPU performance for game logic, pathfinding, and procedural level generation. The Core i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom, but the key metric here is the 4.70 GHz boost clock. This high clock speed directly translates to responsive frame times in CPU-limited sections. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 666.9 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed frames far faster than most displays can show. The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 3,723 and Geekbench single-core score of 2,333 confirm strong per-core performance. In multi-threaded workloads, the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,914 demonstrates that the CPU can manage simultaneous tasks without causing frame drops. The L3 cache of 20 MB shared helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing memory latency. Notably, the CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, scores essentially identically (32,513 vs. 32,508), so users upgrading from that mobile chip would see no meaningful CPU-driven performance change in Barony. The 10 nm process node and Raptor Lake architecture contribute to efficient power delivery, though the specific impact on Barony is indirect — the measured FPS numbers are what matter most.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the flagship Ada Lovelace GPU, built on a 5 nm TSMC process with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. For Barony, which is not a graphically demanding game by modern standards, this GPU is massively overprovisioned. The boost clock of 2520 MHz and base clock of 2235 MHz, combined with 16,384 shading units, produce 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The GPU's percentile rank of 91 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473, puts it ahead of rivals like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733, -0.4% delta) and NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66,127, 0.5% delta). In Barony, the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM is never a limiting factor — even at 4K Ultra, the game likely uses a fraction of that capacity. The memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s ensures that texture streaming and asset loading are instantaneous. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and DirectX 12 score of 150 indicate strong API performance, though Barony's simple geometry and textures mean the GPU spends most of its time waiting on the CPU to generate frames. This is why we see diminishing returns from 1080p to 4K: the GPU is so fast that the CPU becomes the bottleneck at lower resolutions.

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

The measured data shows that the best experience depends on your display's refresh rate. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 302.9 FPS, which is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate monitor. However, the jump from High (422.1 FPS) to Ultra (302.9 FPS) represents a 28% performance cost for presumably minor visual gains in a roguelike with simple graphics. At 1440p, the High preset at 269.1 FPS is the sweet spot — it's 29% faster than Ultra (191.4 FPS) while still offering full visual fidelity. For 4K, the High preset at 139.3 FPS is the recommended choice because it stays above 120 FPS, while Ultra drops to 98.7 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth 120 Hz displays. The Low preset at 4K (220.4 FPS) and Medium (163.5 FPS) are viable but unnecessary for a game like Barony where the graphical differences between Low and High are likely minimal given the art style. The data suggests that High settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions: it maintains 139.3 FPS at 4K, 269.1 FPS at 1440p, and 422.1 FPS at 1080p. Users with 240 Hz monitors at 1080p could justify the Medium preset (495.3 FPS) for extra smoothness, but the Ultra preset's 302.9 FPS at 1080p still exceeds most display capabilities.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Barony at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, but barely. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 98.7 FPS. This is playable but falls short of 120 FPS. The High preset at 4K achieves 139.3 FPS, which is the better choice for smooth 4K gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i5-14400F scores 32,508 in average benchmark score, putting it at the 88th percentile. It is virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H (32,513, 0% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32,446, 0.2% delta), and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 250 (32,584, -0.2% delta).

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM necessary for Barony?

A: No. Barony is a roguelike with simple graphics, so the 24 GB of GDDR6X memory is far more than needed. The GPU's 1.01 TB/s bandwidth and 82.58 TFLOPS compute are similarly overkill, but they ensure the GPU never becomes a bottleneck at any resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 421.9 FPS, while Ultra produces 191.4 FPS. That's a 230.5 FPS difference, meaning Ultra is about 55% slower than Low. The High preset (269.1 FPS) sits between them and is the recommended balance.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Barony?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 38th out of 1,702 tested combos. This places it in the top 2.2% of all configurations, indicating excellent performance for this game.

Q: Does the GPU's benchmark score indicate it will bottleneck the CPU in Barony?

A: No. The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 66,473, which is 91st percentile. Its nearest rivals (Tesla T4, Tesla P40) score similarly, but in Barony, the GPU is so fast that the CPU limits performance at lower resolutions, as shown by the 1080p Low score of 666.9 FPS.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 666.9 FPS at 1080p to 421.9 FPS at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and further to 220.4 FPS at 4K (a 67% reduction from 1080p). This scaling indicates that at 1080p Low, the CPU is the primary limiter — the GPU is so fast that it's waiting for the processor to generate frames. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes more engaged. At High settings, the drop is from 422.1 FPS at 1080p to 269.1 FPS at 1440p (36% reduction) and 139.3 FPS at 4K (67% reduction from 1080p). The consistent ~36-37% drop from 1080p to 1440p across Low and High suggests that the GPU is taking on more work as resolution climbs, but the CPU still manages to keep up. The Ultra preset shows a different pattern: 302.9 FPS at 1080p, 191.4 FPS at 1440p (37% reduction), and 98.7 FPS at 4K (67% reduction from 1080p). The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across all presets — roughly 37% from 1080p to 1440p and 67% from 1080p to 4K — indicates that the limiting factor shifts smoothly from CPU to GPU as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the CPU's 10 cores and 4.70 GHz boost clock are the ceiling; at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload becomes the constraint, but the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth keep it from becoming a hard bottleneck.

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

1920x1080: The Low preset achieves 666.9 FPS average, which is the highest of any configuration tested. Medium yields 495.3 FPS, High produces 422.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 302.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 364 FPS, representing a 55% performance hit for maximum visual fidelity. Even at Ultra, the frame rate is well above any consumer display's refresh rate, so users with 360 Hz monitors can still take advantage of the headroom.

2560x1440: At 1440p, Low settings deliver 421.9 FPS, Medium produces 311.6 FPS, High reaches 269.1 FPS, and Ultra manages 191.4 FPS. The scaling from 1080p shows a 37% drop at Low (from 666.9 to 421.9), a 37% drop at Medium (from 495.3 to 311.6), a 36% drop at High (from 422.1 to 269.1), and a 37% drop at Ultra (from 302.9 to 191.4). This consistency indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, but the CPU still has sufficient headroom to avoid being the limiting factor.

3840x2160: At 4K, the Low preset produces 220.4 FPS, Medium yields 163.5 FPS, High achieves 139.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 98.7 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is substantial: Low falls 48%, Medium falls 48%, High falls 48%, and Ultra falls 48%. This uniform 48% reduction across all presets clearly shows that the GPU's rendering workload is now the dominant constraint. The RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of compute and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are being fully utilized at this resolution, but the card still manages to keep all presets above 90 FPS, making 4K gaming entirely viable even at Ultra settings. For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 4K (220.4 FPS) exceeds the refresh rate of most 4K monitors, which typically cap at 144 Hz or 160 Hz.