Barony

The pairing of Intel’s six-core Core i5-9400 with NVIDIA’s flagship-class RTX 4080 SUPER produces a fascinating study in bottleneck behavior within Barony, a roguelike that is not typically associated with demanding graphics. The measured frame rates across resolutions and presets tell a clear story: this is a combination where the CPU’s age becomes increasingly irrelevant as resolution climbs, and where the GPU’s raw power is frequently left waiting for instructions. The data reveals a system that is capable of extraordinary frame rates, yet the scaling patterns hint at a ceiling imposed by the processor.

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

The frame rate trajectory from 1080p to 4K is a textbook example of GPU load transfer, but with an unusual twist at the top end. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 453.8 FPS, yet moving to 1440p Low drops that to 379.1 FPS, a 16.5% reduction. The decline continues to 4K Low, where the average settles at 200 FPS, representing a 55.9% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline at Low settings suggests that even at 4K, the GPU is not being pushed to its absolute limit; the 200 FPS result is still exceptionally high, indicating that the RTX 4080 SUPER has ample headroom.

The scaling pattern shifts dramatically when examining Ultra settings. Here, the 1080p result of 270.5 FPS falls to 172.3 FPS at 1440p (a 36.3% decrease) and then to 91.3 FPS at 4K (a further 47% drop from 1440p). The 4K Ultra figure of 91.3 FPS is the only result in the entire dataset that approaches a typical 60 FPS target from a distance, but it still clears it comfortably. The fact that 4K Ultra is nearly half the speed of 1440p Ultra indicates that the GPU is finally becoming the primary constraint at that extreme configuration. Conversely, the relatively small gap between 1080p High (380.5 FPS) and 1080p Medium (407.5 FPS) suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the GPU is capable of far more than the processor can feed it.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Within the broader database of tested combinations, this specific pairing holds a position that reflects its mixed heritage. The combo ranks 186th out of 1702 tested combinations for Barony, placing it in the top 10.9% of all systems. This is a strong showing, but it is not the top-tier result that the GPU’s standalone percentile (88th among all GPUs) might suggest on its own. The ranking implies that while the RTX 4080 SUPER is a formidable component, the Core i5-9400—which sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs—pulls the overall combo down from the absolute pinnacle.

The discrepancy between the GPU’s high percentile and the combo’s middling rank is the key insight here. In a game like Barony, which appears to be heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions based on the scaling data, the processor’s 50th percentile standing becomes a bottleneck. The rank of 186 suggests that many other combinations, likely those with newer or higher-core-count processors paired with slightly less powerful GPUs, achieve better overall performance in this specific title. The data indicates that for Barony, the CPU choice matters more than the GPU’s raw benchmark score would imply.

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

The Intel Core i5-9400 brings six physical cores and six threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This is a Coffee Lake architecture part from the 14 nm process node, and its benchmark scores—a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125—place it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs. These numbers are competent for general use, but they are not exceptional for a modern gaming rig. The 9 MB of shared L3 cache is also a modest amount by today’s standards.

In Barony, the impact of this CPU is most visible in the 1080p results. The jump from Low (453.8 FPS) to Ultra (270.5 FPS) at 1080p is a massive 40.4% performance hit, which is far larger than the GPU’s workload increase should dictate. This suggests that the CPU is struggling to maintain the frame pacing required for the higher settings, likely due to the increased draw calls and physics calculations that Ultra presets introduce. The 6-thread limitation means that background tasks or complex game logic could starve the main render thread, capping performance. The data strongly implies that a processor with more threads or higher single-core performance would push the 1080p numbers higher.

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

The complete set of measured results provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s behavior. At 3840x2160, the frame rates are: Low 200 FPS, Medium 148 FPS, High 128.1 FPS, and Ultra 91.3 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a steady decline, with Ultra being 54.35% slower than Low. At 2560x1440, the results are substantially higher: Low 379.1 FPS, Medium 279.5 FPS, High 241.4 FPS, and Ultra 172.3 FPS. The 1440p Ultra figure is 54.55% faster than the 4K Ultra figure, highlighting the resolution’s significant impact.

At 1920x1080, the results enter the range of extreme high refresh rates: Low 453.8 FPS, Medium 407.5 FPS, High 380.5 FPS, and Ultra 270.5 FPS. The 1080p Low result is the highest in the entire dataset, and it is 127% faster than the 4K Ultra result. The difference between 1080p Medium (407.5 FPS) and 1080p High (380.5 FPS) is a relatively small 6.6% gap, suggesting that the CPU overhead for High settings is manageable. However, the jump from High to Ultra at 1080p (380.5 to 270.5 FPS) represents a 28.9% drop, indicating that Ultra settings introduce a computational burden that the i5-9400 cannot fully hide.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a behemoth, built on the 5 nm Ada Lovelace architecture with a die size of 379 mm² and 45,900 million transistors. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, and its boost clock of 2550 MHz drives 10240 shading units. The GPU’s benchmark scores are impressive, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 and a PassMark G3D score of 34245, placing it at the 88th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU’s role in Barony is paradoxical. At 4K Ultra, the 91.3 FPS result shows that the GPU is finally being taxed, but even then, it is not fully saturated, as the score is still above 90 FPS. The 16 GB VRAM is far more than Barony would require, even at 4K with Ultra textures, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor. The GPU’s immense compute power is the reason the 4K Low result of 200 FPS is achievable, but the CPU’s inability to feed it faster at lower resolutions means the GPU’s 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is often idle. The data suggests that Barony is not a GPU-bound title for this combo until the resolution and settings are maxed out.

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

For users targeting a 144 Hz or 165 Hz display, the 1440p High preset (241.4 FPS) is the sweet spot, as it clears those refresh rates with a comfortable margin while providing better visual fidelity than Medium (279.5 FPS). The 1440p Ultra preset at 172.3 FPS is still viable for 144 Hz displays, but the 40% drop from High to Ultra may not be worth the visual gains. At 4K, the Medium preset (148 FPS) is the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, as it nearly doubles the Ultra preset’s 91.3 FPS while still providing a substantial graphical upgrade over Low (200 FPS).

For 1080p users, the High preset (380.5 FPS) is the recommended choice, as it is only 6.6% slower than Medium (407.5 FPS) but offers significantly better visuals. The Ultra preset (270.5 FPS) is still exceptionally fast, but the 28.9% drop from High suggests that the extra settings are not efficiently implemented in this game’s engine. Players with 240 Hz monitors at 1080p can use Ultra and still have 30 FPS of headroom, but the High preset provides a more stable frame pacing experience per the data.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data (format: Q:... A:...)

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER bottlenecked by the Core i5-9400 in Barony?

A: Yes, particularly at 1080p and 1440p. The 1080p Low result of 453.8 FPS is far below what the GPU’s 88th percentile ranking suggests it could achieve, and the 40.4% drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p indicates a CPU-side limitation.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve over 200 FPS consistently?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset (379.1 FPS), Medium preset (279.5 FPS), and High preset (241.4 FPS) all exceed 200 FPS. At 4K, only the Low preset (200 FPS) achieves exactly 200 FPS, while Medium (148 FPS) falls short.

Q: How does this combo’s rank compare to its individual component percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 186th out of 1702 combinations, placing it in the top 10.9%. The GPU is at the 88th percentile, but the CPU is at the 50th percentile, and the combo’s rank reflects the CPU’s weaker standing in this game.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM of the RTX 4080 SUPER ever become a limiting factor?

A: No, the measured FPS data shows no evidence of VRAM-related stutters or caps. The 16 GB capacity is far more than Barony requires, as even the 4K Ultra preset (91.3 FPS) maintains a playable frame rate.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between settings at any single resolution?

A: At 4K, the gap between Low (200 FPS) and Ultra (91.3 FPS) is 108.7 FPS, representing a 54.35% reduction. This is the largest absolute drop in the dataset.

Q: Can this combo achieve 4K 120 FPS in Barony?

A: No, the 4K High preset (128.1 FPS) exceeds 120 FPS, but the 4K Ultra preset (91.3 FPS) does not. For 120 FPS at 4K, the High preset is the highest setting that meets the target.