Barony

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a highly playable experience in Barony, with benchmark data showing a clear progression of performance across resolutions and settings. The measured frame rates indicate that this combination is well-balanced for the game, though the data reveals distinct bottlenecks depending on the resolution and quality preset chosen. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS results, the roles of the CPU and GPU, and provides recommendations based strictly on the provided metrics.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and follows an expected pattern for a mid-range GPU. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 261 FPS, which drops to 165 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 86 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 36.8% performance reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47.9% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is likely not fully GPU-bound, as the frame rates are exceptionally high. The jump from 261 FPS at 1080p Low to 165 FPS at 1440p Low shows a significant drop, but the 4K Low result of 86 FPS is still respectable. For High settings, the progression is 167 FPS at 1080p, 105 FPS at 1440p, and 55 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings is a 47.6% reduction, which is nearly identical to the percentage drop seen at Low settings.

This pattern indicates that the RTX 2060 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, appears sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, as evidenced by the very high frame rates. However, at 4K, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth constraints become the dominant factor, capping performance at levels that are still playable but far from the high refresh rate territory seen at 1080p. The measured data shows that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that dips below 40 FPS, suggesting that this resolution is only viable for lower settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the 12 nm Turing architecture and features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. These specifications directly correlate with the measured performance in Barony. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor at any of the tested settings, as the game is a roguelike and does not appear to require massive texture pools. The benchmark data does not show any signs of VRAM-related stuttering, as the minimum FPS for Medium settings at each resolution is consistent with the average.

The GPU's raw compute power, rated at 6.451 TFLOPS for FP32, is the key driver of the frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 261 FPS average shows that the GPU is not fully saturated, but as resolution increases, the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become more critical. The texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s are sufficient for the game's visual style, but the 4K Ultra preset, which likely increases shadow quality and post-processing effects, pushes the GPU to its limits, resulting in a 39 FPS average.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283, deltaPct 0.0). It is also closely matched with the AMD Radeon 680M (15270, deltaPct 0.1) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199, deltaPct 0.6). This places the RTX 2060 in a solid mid-range position, and the measured FPS in Barony confirms that it can handle the game well at most settings, with 4K Ultra being the only exception.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance is achieved at High settings for 1080p and 1440p. At 1920x1080 High, the combo delivers an average of 167 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides headroom for high refresh rate monitors. At 2560x1440 High, the average drops to 105 FPS, which is still excellent for a 1440p panel. The Medium preset at these resolutions offers higher frame rates—194 FPS at 1080p and 123 FPS at 1440p—but the visual uplift from Medium to High is generally worth the modest FPS cost.

For 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. The measured data shows an average of 64 FPS at 3840x2160 Medium, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 74 FPS. This provides a playable experience without dropping below the 60 FPS average. The High preset at 4K yields 55 FPS, which is borderline playable but may be less consistent. The Low preset at 4K reaches 86 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is likely too significant for most users.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for any resolution based on the data. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 120, which is acceptable, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 47 FPS (a 28.1% reduction). At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 76 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 39 FPS, which is not smooth. The performance cost of Ultra settings is high, and the data suggests that the visual improvements do not justify the frame rate losses for this hardware combination.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2937 out of 3717 tested combos for Barony. This places the combo in the lower half of all configurations, which is somewhat surprising given the high frame rates measured. This ranking indicates that while the combo performs well in absolute terms, many other tested systems achieve higher frame rates, likely due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs.

The rank of 2937 out of 3717 means that approximately 78.9% of tested combos perform better in this game. This is a reflection of the game's age and the fact that Barony is a roguelike title that may be less demanding than modern AAA games. The RTX 2060 is an end-of-life product, and the i5-9400 is also end-of-life, so newer hardware with higher clock speeds and more cores will naturally score higher.

Despite the low percentile rank, the measured FPS data shows that this combo is more than capable of running Barony smoothly at most settings. The ranking is relative to all other combos in the database, which includes high-end systems with significantly more expensive components. For its intended market segment, the combo delivers solid performance, but it is not a top-tier configuration in the broader context of the database.

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. Its benchmark scores—668 in Cinebench R15 multicore, 2784 in R20 multicore, and 6629 in R23 multicore—indicate that it is a capable mid-range CPU. The single-core scores (94 in R15, 392 in R20, 935 in R23) are modest but sufficient for gaming.

In Barony, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (261 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution, as the frame rate is extremely high. However, at 4K, the frame rates drop significantly, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads are adequate for this game, which is not heavily multithreaded, and the boost clock of 4.10 GHz provides good single-thread performance.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 47 places it in the middle of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average score of 2259 (deltaPct -0.2), the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 (deltaPct 0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (deltaPct 0.4). This indicates that the i5-9400 is a solid performer for its class, and the benchmark results in Barony confirm that it does not hold back the RTX 2060 in most scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all resolutions and settings. The details are as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 261 FPS
• Medium: Average 194 FPS (minimum 165 FPS, maximum 224 FPS)
• High: Average 167 FPS
• Ultra: Average 120 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 165 FPS
• Medium: Average 123 FPS (minimum 104 FPS, maximum 141 FPS)
• High: Average 105 FPS
• Ultra: Average 76 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 86 FPS
• Medium: Average 64 FPS (minimum 55 FPS, maximum 74 FPS)
• High: Average 55 FPS
• Ultra: Average 39 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS drops, and the impact of settings becomes more pronounced. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 141 FPS, while at 4K, the difference is 47 FPS. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU and GPU have more headroom to render additional effects, while at 4K, the GPU is saturated and the settings have a smaller relative impact.

The Medium settings at each resolution are the only ones with min/max data. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS of 165 ensures that the game never drops below a playable threshold. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 104 FPS is still excellent, and at 4K Medium, the minimum of 55 FPS is acceptable, though it shows that the game can dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. These minimums provide confidence that the Medium preset is the safest choice for consistent performance.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Barony?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 261 at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 in this game?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the combo achieves up to 261 FPS. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as the FPS drops significantly.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 provides an average of 64 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS, making it the best choice for a playable 4K experience.

*Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combos in Barony?*

A: This combo ranks 2937 out of 3717 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of tested configurations.

*Q: Does the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM cause any issues in Barony?*

A: No, the measured data does not indicate any VRAM-related performance issues, as the minimum FPS values for Medium settings are consistent across resolutions.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 167, while at 4K High, it drops to 55 FPS, representing a 67.1% decrease in performance.