Barony

Barony is a 2015 roguelike that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware. The data for the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination, however, tells a more nuanced story about where the bottlenecks lie. This pairing delivers playable framerates across the board, but the scaling patterns reveal that the RX 6600 is the primary driver of performance, with the i5-9400 providing sufficient, if not exceptional, support.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the rate of that decline is telling. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 168 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 106 FPS, a reduction of 62 FPS or roughly 37%. The jump to 4K at High settings yields 55 FPS, which is a further 51 FPS drop from 1440p. This steep curve—from 168 to 106 to 55—indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel throughput demand scales exponentially.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 262 FPS at 1080p to 166 FPS at 1440p (a 96 FPS drop) and then to 87 FPS at 4K (a 79 FPS drop). This is a classic GPU-bound scenario where the RX 6600's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated. The 128-bit memory bus width is a constraining factor here, particularly at 4K where the framerate at Ultra settings falls to just 40 FPS.

The data suggests that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, with all settings achieving well above 60 FPS. At 1440p, the combo remains highly capable, but the gap between Low (166 FPS) and Ultra (76 FPS) widens, showing that the GPU's compute units are working harder. At 4K, the system is firmly GPU-limited; even Low settings only produce 87 FPS, indicating that the RX 6600 cannot fully feed high-refresh-rate 4K displays in this title. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads are not the bottleneck here, as the consistent scaling pattern across resolutions points directly at the graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance is the Medium preset. At 1080p, Medium delivers 195 FPS, which is a 27 FPS improvement over High and only 67 FPS less than Low. The minimum FPS recorded at this setting is 166, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. At 1440p, Medium produces 123 FPS with a minimum of 105 FPS, which is still well above the threshold for competitive play and provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low's 166 FPS.

For users with 4K displays, the choice is more constrained. Medium at 4K yields 64 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. High settings at 4K drop to 55 FPS, and Ultra falls to 40 FPS, which is likely too low for a roguelike where quick reactions matter. The data indicates that Low settings at 4K (87 FPS) are the only option for a consistently smooth experience, but this defeats the purpose of high-resolution gaming. The recommendation is to stick with Medium at 1440p as the best overall experience, offering a 123 FPS average that balances detail and fluidity.

Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where the 120 FPS average is still respectable. However, the 27 FPS penalty from High to Ultra at 1080p is significant, and the visual difference in a roguelike is often minimal. The data supports Medium as the default choice, with High as a viable alternative for those who prioritize visuals over raw framerate. The RX 6600's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for all settings at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result of 40 FPS suggests the card is at its limits.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RX 6600 in Barony?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent and proportional to resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads are sufficient to keep up with the RX 6600's output in this title.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: At 4K, the combo produces 87 FPS on Low, 64 FPS on Medium, and 55 FPS on High. Ultra settings drop to 40 FPS. While 4K is technically playable on Medium with a 64 FPS average, it is not ideal. The GPU's 128-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth limit high-resolution performance.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: Medium settings at 1440p provide the best balance, with an average of 123 FPS and a minimum of 105 FPS. This is a 17 FPS improvement over High and a 47 FPS improvement over Ultra, while still offering better visuals than Low's 166 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RX 6600 has an average benchmark score of 19036. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro K6000, scores 19030 (a 0% delta). The GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049 (-0.1%), and the Tesla K20m scores 19089 (-0.3%). The performance is effectively identical among these cards.

Q: Why does the 1080p Low setting achieve 262 FPS?

A: At 1080p Low, the GPU is not stressed, and the framerate is likely capped by the CPU's ability to process draw calls. The i5-9400's 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock provide solid single-threaded performance, but the 262 FPS figure represents the practical ceiling for this CPU-GPU pairing at minimal graphical load.

Q: Is the i5-9400 a good match for the RX 6600's performance tier?

A: The i5-9400's average benchmark score is 2254, placing it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259 (-0.2% delta). This CPU is a mid-range part, and the data shows it does not hold back the RX 6600 in Barony at standard resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across resolutions and presets.

1920x1080:

• Low: 262 FPS average
• Medium: 195 FPS average, with a minimum of 166 FPS and maximum of 224 FPS
• High: 168 FPS average
• Ultra: 120 FPS average

At 1080p, the RX 6600 is under minimal load. The jump from Low to Medium is a 67 FPS drop, indicating that the Medium preset introduces significant shading and texture work. The drop from Medium to High is 27 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 48 FPS. The 120 FPS at Ultra is still smooth, but the data shows diminishing returns.

2560x1440:

• Low: 166 FPS average
• Medium: 123 FPS average, with a minimum of 105 FPS and maximum of 142 FPS
• High: 106 FPS average
• Ultra: 76 FPS average

1440p shows the GPU starting to work harder. The Low setting drops 96 FPS from 1080p, and the Medium setting drops 72 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (105) is still above 60, ensuring a stable experience. Ultra at 76 FPS is the lowest acceptable result, but the 30 FPS gap between High and Ultra suggests the Ultra preset is not optimized for this card.

3840x2160:

• Low: 87 FPS average
• Medium: 64 FPS average, with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 74 FPS
• High: 55 FPS average
• Ultra: 40 FPS average

4K is the most demanding scenario. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium dips to 55 FPS at minimum, which is borderline. High and Ultra are not recommended for competitive play, as the 55 FPS and 40 FPS averages introduce noticeable input latency in a fast-paced roguelike.

How This Combo Ranks

The Core i5-9400 and RX 6600 combo ranks 2885 out of 3717 tested combinations for Barony. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, which is somewhat surprising given the individual components' benchmark scores. The RX 6600 sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-9400 is in the 47th percentile of CPUs. The combo's rank suggests that Barony is more sensitive to GPU performance than raw CPU power, but the specific combination of this mid-range CPU and GPU does not boost it above the pack.

The rank of 2885 out of 3717 means that roughly 78% of tested combos perform better in this game. This is a sobering statistic for a system with a capable GPU. The data indicates that while the RX 6600 is a solid performer in synthetic benchmarks (its avg score of 19036 is nearly identical to the Quadro K6000's 19030), the in-game results are hampered by the i5-9400's limitations in certain scenarios, or the game's engine is not fully utilizing the GPU's capabilities.

The delta between the CPU's nearest rivals is minimal (all within 0.4%), so the CPU is not a statistical outlier. The GPU's nearest rivals also show near-identical benchmark scores, suggesting that the RX 6600 is not uniquely fast or slow. The combination rank is therefore a function of how these two mid-range parts interact in Barony specifically, and the result is a system that is adequate but not outstanding.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The CPU has a 9 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. Its benchmark scores include a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935.

In Barony, the CPU's role is to process game logic, AI, and draw calls. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 262 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game. The 4.10 GHz boost clock helps maintain high single-threaded performance, which is critical for a roguelike where the entire game state must be processed each frame.

The i5-9400's 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it is an average performer. Its nearest rivals, such as the Core i7-10710U (delta +0.3%) and the Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (delta +0.4%), show that it is statistically tied with other mid-range parts. The absence of hyper-threading (6 cores, 6 threads) could be a limiting factor in heavily multithreaded scenes, but the data does not show this manifesting as a bottleneck at standard resolutions.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as the FPS drops are proportional to resolution increases. The CPU's 2.90 GHz base clock is sufficient to feed the GPU's frame buffer at lower resolutions, but the 262 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor at minimal graphical settings. For most players using Medium or High presets, the i5-9400 provides adequate support, but it does not offer the headroom that a higher-tier CPU would. The data confirms that this is a balanced, if unremarkable, pairing for Barony.