Barony

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Barony, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling at 4K. The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates that while the GPU is the dominant force at lower resolutions, the combination becomes increasingly balanced—and ultimately GPU-limited—as pixel count rises. This is a high-refresh-rate machine for most settings, with only the Ultra preset at 4K dropping below the 60 FPS threshold.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 221.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 141.3 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36.3%. Pushing further to 3840x2160, the average dips to 70.7 FPS, which is exactly half of the 1440p figure. This steep decline—a 68% total reduction from 1080p to 4K—demonstrates that the Radeon RX 6700 XT's rendering throughput is the primary constraint as resolution increases.

The pattern repeats across all quality presets. On Low settings, performance scales from 343.6 FPS at 1080p down to 115.4 FPS at 4K, a 66.4% drop. The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory, falling from 253.4 FPS to 86 FPS, a 66.1% reduction. The Ultra preset presents the most dramatic scaling, with 157 FPS at 1080p collapsing to 52.2 FPS at 4K—a 66.8% decline. This consistent ~66% reduction across all settings strongly suggests that the RX 6700 XT's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are saturated at 4K, rather than any CPU bottleneck.

Notably, the scaling between 1080p and 1440p is less punishing than between 1440p and 4K. At High settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is 36.3%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 50%. This indicates that the i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, is still capable of feeding the GPU adequately at 1440p, but the sheer pixel workload at 4K overwhelms the graphics card.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is clearly the workhorse in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured results. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card offers 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for Barony at all tested resolutions, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset maintains 52.2 FPS. The GPU's 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s, which directly correlates with the high frame rates observed at 1080p and 1440p.

The boost clock of 2581 MHz and game clock of 2424 MHz are relatively high for the RDNA 2.0 architecture, allowing the card to maintain strong performance in a roguelike title that may not be heavily optimized. The FP32 compute throughput of 13.21 TFLOPS provides ample headroom for the game's effects. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K: the difference between Low (115.4 FPS) and Ultra (52.2 FPS) at 3840x2160 is 63.2 FPS, a 54.8% spread that highlights how much the card's shading and memory subsystems are taxed by higher quality settings.

At 1080p, the GPU is barely challenged. Even at Ultra settings, the card produces 157 FPS, and at Low it reaches 343.6 FPS. This suggests that the RX 6700 XT is overqualified for 1080p in this game, and the bottleneck likely shifts toward the CPU. The card's 77th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 33721 place it just ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (0.7% delta) and roughly 1% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7950 and RX 480, indicating it sits in a strong mid-to-high tier.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400, with 6 cores and 6 threads running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost of 4.10 GHz, plays a supporting role that becomes more critical at lower resolutions. The measured data shows that at 1080p Low, the combination achieves 343.6 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output. However, the game's roguelike nature, which often involves procedural generation and physics calculations, may benefit from the CPU's 9 MB of shared L3 cache.

The i5-9400's Coffee Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process, provides a solid foundation. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 place it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-9400 is effectively tied with the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (0.2% delta), while trailing the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%. This indicates that the CPU is not a standout performer, but it is adequate for this title.

The evidence for CPU involvement is visible in the scaling between 1080p and 1440p. At High settings, the drop from 221.7 FPS to 141.3 FPS is 80.4 FPS, which is a larger absolute reduction than the 70.6 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is partially limiting the frame rate, and as resolution increases, the GPU takes over as the primary bottleneck. The i5-9400's dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for feeding the GPU, but it does not have the headroom to push beyond the measured 343.6 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 950th out of 1702 combos for Barony. This places it in the 55.8th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of configurations but is far from the top tier. Given the GPU's strong 77th percentile ranking and the CPU's middling 50th percentile, the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the processor.

The rank suggests that while the RX 6700 XT is capable of high frame rates, the i5-9400 holds back the system in scenarios where CPU speed matters. At 4K, where the GPU is the bottleneck, the combo performs admirably, but the rank is based on overall performance across all settings and resolutions. The data shows that the combination is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it achieves 99 FPS at Ultra and 220.2 FPS at Low, providing a smooth experience without the CPU becoming a significant constraint.

Compared to other combos, this pairing sits in the middle of the pack. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the RX 6800, have similar average scores, but the CPU's performance relative to other processors in the database likely places this combo behind those with more powerful CPUs. The 950th rank out of 1702 combos indicates a balanced but not exceptional system, with the GPU offering headroom for future CPU upgrades.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver well above 60 FPS, with even Ultra hitting 157 FPS. For competitive play, Low settings provide 343.6 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, though High at 221.7 FPS offers a better visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. The Medium preset at 253.4 FPS strikes a good balance for most users.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 141.3 FPS is the recommended choice for a high-refresh experience, while Ultra at 99 FPS still clears the 60 FPS threshold comfortably. The Low preset at 220.2 FPS is excessive for most displays, but it demonstrates the system's headroom. For 4K gaming at 3840x2160, the High preset at 70.7 FPS is the best option, as it remains above 60 FPS while offering good visual quality. The Ultra preset at 52.2 FPS falls below this threshold and should be avoided for smooth gameplay, while Medium at 86 FPS is a viable alternative for those who prefer higher quality over maximum frame rate.

The data indicates that the High preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions, as it never drops below 70 FPS and provides a consistent experience. The jump from Medium to High is relatively small in terms of FPS at 1080p (253.4 to 221.7, a 12.5% loss) but yields significant visual improvements, making it the recommended setting for this hardware combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all presets. The Low setting averages 343.6 FPS, Medium averages 253.4 FPS, High averages 221.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 157 FPS. These figures indicate that the RX 6700 XT is not the limiting factor at this resolution, and the i5-9400 is capable of driving high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's influence. Low averages 220.2 FPS, Medium averages 161.4 FPS, High averages 141.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 99 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 36% across all presets, confirming that the GPU is starting to become the primary constraint.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is firmly in control. Low averages 115.4 FPS, Medium averages 86 FPS, High averages 70.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 52.2 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for most gaming scenarios. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 50% reduction in FPS across all presets, highlighting the significant performance cost of 4K rendering.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The maximum average FPS at 1920x1080 is 343.6, achieved with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 52.2, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 33721, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (33493) and 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A5000 (33294).

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 ranks at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 provides 141.3 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance, though Ultra at 99 FPS is also viable.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for Barony?

A: This pairing ranks 950th out of 1702 combos, placing it in the 55.8th percentile of tested systems.