Barony

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a decisive performance curve in Barony, with the GPU clearly dominating the workload across all tested settings. The measured frame rates reveal that this is a system built for high-refresh-rate play at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K remains a heavily playable but more demanding scenario.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across every preset, which is exactly what you expect when a powerful GPU is feeding a mid-range CPU. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 444.4 at 1920x1080 to 279.8 at 2560x1440 — a 37% reduction — and then to 148.9 at 3840x2160, which is a 66% drop from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the RX 9070 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions; the CPU is not holding things back because the absolute frame rates remain extremely high even at 4K.

Moving to High settings, the trend continues. The average at 1080p is 282 FPS, falling to 178.9 at 1440p and 92.4 at 4K. The 4K result is 67% lower than the 1080p result, showing that the pixel-pushing workload scales almost linearly with the resolution increase. The Ultra preset shows the same behavior: 205.1 FPS at 1080p, 128.3 at 1440p, and 67.7 at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is 67% lower than the 1080p Ultra figure, mirroring the High preset’s scaling almost exactly.

The data suggests that between 1080p and 1440p, the GPU still has massive headroom. At 1440p High, the system produces 178.9 FPS, which is more than enough for any high-refresh monitor. The 4K results, while lower, are still well above playable thresholds: 92.4 FPS at High and 67.7 FPS at Ultra. This indicates that the RX 9070’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus are not bottlenecks at 4K; the frame rate drop is purely a function of the rendering load. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is roughly a 48% reduction in FPS across Low, Medium, and High presets, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake generation, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. In Barony, a roguelike title that is not known for heavy multi-threaded demands, this configuration is more than sufficient. The CPU’s benchmark scores reinforce this: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125. Its average benchmark score of 2305 places it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it is a perfectly average modern desktop part.

The nearest rivals to the i5-9400 are the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% faster), the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (0.2% faster), and the Intel Xeon E-2134 (0.4% faster). The Intel Core i7-8809G is 0.6% faster. These are all closely matched parts, and the deltas are so small that they are negligible in gaming. What matters here is that the i5-9400 has enough single-thread performance to feed the RX 9070 at high frame rates. The measured 444.4 FPS at 1080p Low proves that the CPU is not a limiting factor at that resolution; the GPU is still the one doing the heavy lifting.

The CPU’s 65W TDP and 9 MB of shared L3 cache are modest, but Barony does not appear to require large caches or many threads. The fact that the FPS scales down smoothly from 1080p to 4K indicates that the i5-9400 is not introducing stutter or frame pacing issues. The 6-core, 6-thread layout is adequate for this game, and the lack of hyper-threading does not appear to hurt performance in the measured data. The CPU’s 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is also sufficient, as the game’s frame rates do not show any signs of memory bandwidth saturation.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the clear star of this combo. Built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture and the Navi 48 chip, it features 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. Its boost clock of 2520 MHz and game clock of 2070 MHz allow it to push a massive amount of geometry and pixels. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s, which is more than enough for a roguelike’s textures and effects.

The GPU’s benchmark results are impressive. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 6290, and its Passmark G3D score is 25381. Its average benchmark score of 34780 places it at the 79th percentile among all GPUs, which is a strong result. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA A2 (0.2% slower), the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (0.3% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (0.7% faster). The AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 0.8% faster. These deltas are tiny, meaning the RX 9070 sits in a very tight performance band with these other cards.

In Barony, the GPU’s role is dominant. The frame rate differences between presets are significant: at 1080p, Low produces 444.4 FPS, Medium produces 329 FPS, High produces 282 FPS, and Ultra produces 205.1 FPS. This shows that the game’s visual effects are heavily GPU-dependent, as lowering the preset from Ultra to Low nearly doubles the frame rate. The RX 9070’s 128 ROPs and 564.5 GTexel/s texture rate are clearly being utilized to their full extent.

At 4K, the GPU’s memory capacity becomes an asset. The 16 GB frame buffer ensures that there is no texture thrashing, and the 67.7 FPS at Ultra is a solid result for a demanding resolution. The FP32 performance of 36.13 TFLOPS indicates that the card has ample compute power for this game’s pixel shaders. The GPU’s 220W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for a high-end card, and its PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures it is not bandwidth-limited.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo hit 144 FPS in Barony at 1440p?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, the measured average FPS is 178.9 on High settings and 211.2 on Medium settings. Even at Ultra, it produces 128.3 FPS, which is close to 144 but not quite there.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RX 9070’s average benchmark score is 34780. The NVIDIA A2 is 0.2% slower, the Quadro GV100 is 0.3% faster, and the AMD Radeon HD 7970 is 0.7% faster. The Radeon PRO W6400 is 0.8% faster.

Q: Is the i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RX 9070 in this game?

A: No. The data shows that the i5-9400 can push 444.4 FPS at 1080p Low and 282 FPS at 1080p High. The frame rates scale down smoothly with resolution, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain over 100 FPS?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 108 on Medium and 92.4 on High. At 2560x1440, every preset except Ultra stays above 178 FPS. So 1440p is the sweet spot for consistently high frame rates.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-core performance compare to its multi-core performance in this game’s context?

A: The i5-9400’s Cinebench R23 single-core score is 1125, while its multi-core score is 7969. In Barony, the single-core performance is more relevant, and it is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU.

Q: Does the RX 9070’s 16 GB VRAM matter for Barony?

A: The 16 GB VRAM ensures there are no texture loading issues even at 4K Ultra. The high frame rates at all resolutions suggest that the memory capacity is not a limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 549th out of 1702 tested combinations in Barony. That places it in the upper third of all systems in the database. The rank reflects the strong GPU performance paired with a competent but not exceptional CPU. The 50th percentile CPU and 79th percentile GPU combine to produce a system that is well above average for this game.

The ranking is likely held back by the CPU’s modest single-thread performance compared to newer parts. However, the measured data shows that this does not translate to poor frame rates in Barony. The combo outperforms many systems with newer CPUs but weaker GPUs, as the RX 9070’s raw power carries the load. The 549th rank out of 1702 is a solid result, indicating that this is a reliable setup for high-refresh gaming at 1440p and playable 4K.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits in a comfortable middle-to-upper tier. The delta between the CPU and its rivals is small (less than 1% in all cases), so the GPU is the primary differentiator. The RX 9070’s nearest rivals are also very close in score, meaning that swapping the GPU for a comparable card would not dramatically change the combo’s rank.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the best settings for this combo. At 1920x1080, even the Ultra preset delivers 205.1 FPS, which is far beyond what any standard monitor can display. The Low preset at 444.4 FPS is unnecessary unless you are chasing absolute maximum refresh rates on a 360 Hz display. For most users, High settings at 1080p are the best balance, offering 282 FPS with improved visuals over Low.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice. It produces 178.9 FPS, which is excellent for 144 Hz and 165 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset drops to 128.3 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset at 211.2 FPS is a good alternative if you want to guarantee a rock-solid frame rate on a 240 Hz panel, but the visual upgrade from Medium to High is worth the small FPS cost.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the best overall experience. It delivers 108 FPS, which is smooth on a 120 Hz display, and it avoids the significant visual downgrade of Low. The High preset at 92.4 FPS is also viable if you prioritize image quality over frame rate, but it is not quite as smooth. The Ultra preset at 67.7 FPS should be avoided for competitive play, as the frame rate is noticeably lower, but it is acceptable for slower-paced sessions.

Overall, the data suggests that High settings at 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a 178.9 FPS average that balances visual fidelity with high responsiveness. If you prefer 4K, Medium settings at 108 FPS is the most practical choice. Avoid Low settings at any resolution unless you are specifically testing frame rate limits, as the visual hit is substantial for minimal practical benefit at these already-high frame rates.