Barony

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 pairing delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Barony, a 2015 roguelike that clearly favors high frame rates over raw graphical fidelity. The measured data shows this combo is capable of pushing well past 100 FPS at standard resolutions, though 4K Ultra demands more than this hardware can comfortably provide. This analysis breaks down exactly what the numbers mean for your build.

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

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boosts up to 4.10 GHz, which is sufficient for the workload Barony presents. The CPU's 9 MB of shared L3 cache (with 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core) helps keep frequently accessed game data close at hand. In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400 scores 803 in Cinebench R15 multi-core, 3346 in R20 multi-core, and 7969 in R23 multi-core, with single-core scores of 113, 472, and 1125 respectively. Its average benchmark score of 2305 places it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it sits exactly in the middle of the pack.

The CPU's performance relative to its closest rivals is telling. The i5-9400 is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 (score 2300) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (score 2299), and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (score 2295). It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G (score 2319) by 0.6%. These deltas are negligible, meaning the i5-9400 is effectively tied with these alternatives in raw CPU throughput. For Barony, a game that doesn't appear to stress many threads, the 6-core/6-thread configuration is more than adequate. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz ensures that single-threaded game logic runs smoothly, which is likely why we see such high frame rates at lower resolutions where the GPU isn't the bottleneck.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

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

A: At 4K (3840x2160), the data shows playable but not ideal results. High settings yield 49.8 FPS, Medium 58.3 FPS, and Low 79.9 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 33.6 FPS, which is below the smooth threshold for most players.

Q: What is the best resolution to run this game at for maximum frame rates?

A: 1080p (1920x1080) is clearly the sweet spot. Even at Ultra settings, the combo produces 110.8 FPS. Dropping to Low settings at 1080p yields a massive 233.7 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest hardware rivals?

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score is 12331, which is 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (score 12241). It is 1.3% behind the GeForce GTX 880M (score 12490), 1.4% behind the GTX 1650 SUPER (score 12504), and 1.7% behind the Tesla K20Xm (score 12547). These are very tight margins.

Q: Is the i5-9400 a bottleneck for the GTX 1070 in this game?

A: The data suggests not. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 233.7 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames to avoid becoming a limiting factor at standard resolutions. The CPU's 50th percentile ranking supports this.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 147.4 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 69 FPS. This is a massive 78.4 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset heavily taxes the GPU.

Q: Is this a good combination for high-refresh-rate 1440p displays?

A: Yes, for most settings. At 1440p, High settings produce 96.6 FPS, which is close to 100 FPS. Medium settings yield 112.1 FPS, and Low settings hit 147.4 FPS. Only Ultra settings fall below 100 FPS at 69 FPS.

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

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 152.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 96.6 FPS (a 36.7% reduction), and then to 4K High, it falls to 49.8 FPS (a 67.4% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline as pixel count increases is the signature of a graphics card struggling to keep up with the rendering load.

Looking at the Low settings row makes this even clearer. At 1080p Low, the system produces 233.7 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 147.4 FPS, and at 4K Low, it hits 79.9 FPS. The consistent ~50% frame rate drop when doubling the resolution from 1080p to 4K (233.7 to 79.9 FPS, a 65.8% reduction) indicates that the GTX 1070's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth (256.3 GB/s) are the limiting factors at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the frame rates to stay more flat across resolutions, as the CPU workload doesn't change with resolution. The data shows this is not the case; the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, and it runs out of steam as the pixel count rises.

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

For a smooth and visually appealing experience, the High preset at 1440p is the strongest recommendation. It produces 96.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and close to 100 FPS for most displays. The step down to Medium at 1440p only adds 15.5 FPS (112.1 FPS total) but likely sacrifices some visual fidelity. The jump from High to Ultra at 1440p is a massive penalty, dropping from 96.6 FPS to 69 FPS, which is a 28.6% performance loss for what is typically a marginal visual gain in a roguelike.

At 1080p, the High preset is excellent at 152.6 FPS, but if you have a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor, the Low preset at 233.7 FPS is the only way to fully utilize that refresh rate. For 4K displays, the situation is less ideal. The Medium preset at 58.3 FPS is the best balance, as it stays above 50 FPS, but High at 49.8 FPS is also playable if you prefer better shadows and textures. The Ultra preset at 4K (33.6 FPS) should be avoided unless you are comfortable with sub-40 FPS gameplay. The data suggests sticking to Medium or High at 4K is the practical choice.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Out of a total of 1702 tested combinations, the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 pairing ranks 1416th in Barony. This places it in the bottom 16.8% of all tested combos, which is a surprisingly low ranking given the frame rates we see in the measured data. This ranking reflects the overall performance of the combo relative to much more powerful, modern hardware that has been tested in the database, which includes high-end CPUs and GPUs that can easily triple these frame rates at 4K.

However, the ranking doesn't tell the whole story. The percentile data for the individual components shows they are middling: the i5-9400 is at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, and the GTX 1070 is at the 51st percentile of all GPUs. The combo rank of 1416th suggests that Barony is particularly sensitive to GPU power, and the GTX 1070, while competent, is outpaced by the vast majority of newer cards in the database. For a game from 2015, this hardware is still very relevant for 1080p and 1440p play, but the rank reflects that it is far from the top of the heap in absolute terms.

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

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 233.7 FPS
• Medium: 177.1 FPS
• High: 152.6 FPS
• Ultra: 110.8 FPS

The 1080p results are uniformly excellent. Even the most demanding Ultra preset clears 110 FPS, ensuring a fluid experience on any standard monitor. The gap between Low and Ultra is 122.9 FPS, showing the wide performance headroom available at this resolution.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 147.4 FPS
• Medium: 112.1 FPS
• High: 96.6 FPS
• Ultra: 69 FPS

At 1440p, the combo remains strong. Low settings are still above 140 FPS, and Medium stays above 110 FPS. High settings dip just under the 100 FPS mark at 96.6 FPS, while Ultra is the first preset to fall below 70 FPS, hitting exactly 69 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 78.4 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 79.9 FPS
• Medium: 58.3 FPS
• High: 49.8 FPS
• Ultra: 33.6 FPS

4K is where the GTX 1070 starts to struggle. Only the Low preset remains above 60 FPS (79.9 FPS). Medium is playable at 58.3 FPS, but High drops to 49.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to a slideshow-like 33.6 FPS. The performance cliff from Low to Ultra at 4K is 46.3 FPS, confirming that this resolution is best reserved for lower graphical presets with this hardware. The data clearly shows that this CPU/GPU combo is a 1080p and 1440p champion, with 4K being a compromise at best.