Barony

Barony is a roguelike that does not demand a modern system, but the measured data for this Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combination shows a clear story of a GPU-bound experience at higher resolutions and a surprisingly capable setup at 1080p. The GTX 1650, with its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128-bit bus, is the limiting factor as resolution climbs, while the six-core i5-9400 provides enough headroom to keep frame rates playable at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across all four presets and three resolutions, ranks the combo against other tested systems, and offers practical settings advice based strictly on the data.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, highlighting the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 90.1 at 1920x1080 to 55.9 at 2560x1440, then plummets to 26.4 at 3840x2160. That is a 71% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a typical pattern for a GPU with a 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 896 shading units. The data shows that the GTX 1650 simply cannot feed enough pixels at 4K, even in a game with modest geometry like Barony.

The scaling curve is not linear, though. Moving from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 38% of the frame rate at High settings, but moving from 1440p to 4K costs another 53%. This suggests that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated well before 4K. At Low settings, the same pattern emerges: 136.3 FPS at 1080p drops to 87.6 at 1440p and then to 46 at 4K. The gap between Low and High settings narrows as resolution increases—at 1080p, Low is 51% faster than High (136.3 vs 90.1), but at 4K, Low is only 74% faster (46 vs 26.4)—which indicates that at 4K, even the lowest settings cannot overcome the GPU’s raw throughput limits.

The 1440p results are the most informative for understanding the bottleneck. At Medium settings, the combo hits 65.8 FPS, which is playable, but Ultra drops to 41.1 FPS, showing that the jump from Medium to Ultra is more expensive than from Low to Medium at this resolution. At 1080p, the CPU starts to matter more, as the i5-9400’s 6 cores and 6 threads can keep up with the GPU’s output at Low and Medium settings, but the Ultra preset still drags the average down to 65.7 FPS. The takeaway is clear: this combo is a 1080p machine for smooth play, a 1440p machine for medium presets, and a 4K machine only for low settings—and even then, 46 FPS is marginal.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Barony, this pairing ranks 1622 out of 1702 combinations. That places it in the bottom 5% of all tested systems, which is a stark reality check. The combo’s rank is driven primarily by the GPU’s low standing in the overall benchmark pool; the GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-9400 is at the 50th percentile of all CPUs. The data indicates that this is not a high-end pairing, but it is also not the absolute bottom—there are 80 combos that perform worse.

Comparing the components to their nearest rivals puts the performance in perspective. The i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, +0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, +0.2%), and it is barely ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295, +0.4%). It is slightly behind the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319, -0.6%). This means the CPU is effectively mid-pack, with no significant advantage over cheaper or more modern alternatives in synthetic tests. The GPU, with an average score of 8713, is similarly clustered with its rivals: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746, -0.4%), AMD Radeon 550X (8749, -0.4%), and AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8761, -0.5%) are all within half a percent, while the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (8671, +0.5%) is slightly slower.

The bottom-5% rank in Barony specifically suggests that the game’s roguelike nature—which often involves procedural generation and many on-screen entities—does not favor this hardware. However, the measured FPS data tells a more nuanced story: the combo can hit 136.3 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far from unplayable. The rank reflects the broader pool of tested systems, many of which likely use much newer GPUs with higher memory bandwidth. For a builder with this exact hardware, the rank is a warning that 4K Ultra is out of reach, but it does not condemn the system to poor performance at lower settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core, which places it exactly at the 50th percentile of all CPUs—a true middle-of-the-road result. The nearest rivals show that the i5-9400 is effectively interchangeable with several other mid-range chips, so the CPU is not a source of unique strength or weakness in Barony.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role becomes evident at 1080p Low, where the system reaches 136.3 FPS. At that frame rate, the GPU is still doing the heavy lifting, but the CPU must prepare draw calls and game logic fast enough to avoid stalling. The 6 threads are sufficient for Barony, which is not a heavily threaded title compared to modern AAA games. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz helps maintain responsiveness in single-threaded tasks, which is typical for roguelike games that rely on procedural generation. However, the data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution tested—the frame rate drops are far more dramatic when raising resolution than when raising settings, which points directly at the GPU.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is modest but adequate for the GTX 1650’s 128.1 GB/s, as the GPU has its own dedicated memory. The lack of hyper-threading (6 threads, not 12) could be a concern in more demanding titles, but Barony’s measured results do not show any CPU-related bottlenecks even at 4K Low, where the GPU is clearly the constraint. For this game, the i5-9400 is a quiet partner: it does its job without adding overhead, but it also does not rescue the GPU at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 136.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium settings drop to 104.3 FPS, still excellent. High settings yield 90.1 FPS, and even Ultra manages 65.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a 52% reduction, showing that the GPU’s shading units (896) and texture units (56) are taxed by higher presets, but the CPU keeps up fine.

At 2560x1440, the story changes. Low settings average 87.6 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 65.8 FPS, and High falls to 55.9 FPS. Ultra is the weakest link here, with an average of 41.1 FPS—noticeably below the 60 FPS target. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 53%, similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower because the GPU is rendering more pixels. The data suggests that 1440p is viable only for Low or Medium settings; High is borderline, and Ultra should be avoided for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the results are mostly unusable. Low settings average 46 FPS, which is the only preset that approaches playability, but it is still below 60 FPS. Medium drops to 32.5 FPS, High to 26.4 FPS, and Ultra to 22.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 52%, consistent with the other resolutions, but the baseline is so low that even the best case is marginal. The 4 GB GDDR5 memory and 128-bit bus are simply overwhelmed at this resolution, and the 53.28 GPixel/s pixel rate is insufficient for 8.3 million pixels at high quality.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Barony at 1080p with high settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows 90.1 FPS average at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this setup?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the sweet spot, with all presets except Ultra hitting at least 90.1 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium are consistently above 60 FPS (87.6 and 65.8 FPS respectively).

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average is 46 FPS. Medium (32.5 FPS), High (26.4 FPS), and Ultra (22.1 FPS) are all below playable thresholds.

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

A: The i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i3-10305 and i3-1125G4, and 0.4% faster than the Xeon E-2134, but 0.6% slower than the Core i7-8809G.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1650’s average score of 8713 is 0.4% slower than the RTX 3050 A Mobile and Radeon 550X, 0.5% slower than the Radeon Pro WX 5100, but 0.5% faster than the Quadro P2200.

Q: What is the biggest performance bottleneck?

A: The GPU, as shown by the steep FPS drops from 1080p to 4K (e.g., 90.1 to 26.4 FPS at High settings), while the CPU remains a non-factor at all tested resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, the data points to 1920x1080 with High settings as the best balance. The 90.1 FPS average is well above 60 FPS, and the visual quality gain over Medium (which hits 104.3 FPS) is worth the 14 FPS trade-off. If you prefer maximum frame rates, 1080p Low delivers 136.3 FPS, which is ideal for fast-refresh monitors or competitive play, but the visual downgrade is noticeable.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation is Medium settings, which average 65.8 FPS—just above the 60 FPS target. Low settings at 1440p (87.6 FPS) are a viable alternative if you want more headroom, but Medium offers a better visual experience without dropping below playable levels. Avoid High (55.9 FPS) and Ultra (41.1 FPS) at this resolution, as they fall short of the smoothness threshold.

At 3840x2160, the only recommendation is Low settings, which average 46 FPS. This is playable for a roguelike where reaction time is less critical, but it is not ideal. Medium, High, and Ultra are all below 33 FPS, which will feel stuttery and are not recommended. If 4K is a priority, the data suggests that this combo is not suitable, and you would need a more powerful GPU to achieve acceptable frame rates. For most users, sticking to 1080p High or 1440p Medium will provide the best experience based on the measured results.