Barony

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for the Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B390 in Barony shows a wide spread of performance depending on resolution and quality preset. At 1920x1080, the combination is clearly capable of high frame rates across all settings. The Low preset delivers an average of 159 FPS, which is the highest recorded number for this combo at any resolution. Moving up the preset ladder, Medium averages 118 FPS with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 136 FPS. High settings still produce a strong 102 FPS average, while the Ultra preset drops to an average of 73 FPS. Notably, the database only records average FPS for Low, High, and Ultra at 1080p, while Medium includes full min and max figures.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower headroom. Low settings average 100 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium averages 75 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS. High settings average 64 FPS, which is exactly at the playable threshold but still qualifies as playable according to the verdict data. Ultra settings fall to an average of 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. For 1440p, only Medium includes min and max values, while the other presets report only averages.

At 3840x2160, performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the 60 FPS playability threshold, and the verdict data confirms that no settings are playable at this resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 29 FPS, while at 1080p the gap is 86 FPS, showing that resolution scaling heavily compresses the preset differences.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the Intel Arc B390 is the primary performance limiter in this system for Barony, especially at higher resolutions. The GPU's benchmark profile places it in the 9th percentile of all tested GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463 (1.3% higher), the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% higher), the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% higher), and the GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% higher). This places the Arc B390 at the very bottom of the GPU performance spectrum, which strongly correlates with the steep FPS drops seen when moving from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K.

The Intel Core i5-9400, by contrast, is a mid-range desktop processor. Its average benchmark score is 2254, placing it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (score 2259, delta -0.2%), the Intel Core i7-10710U (score 2248, delta 0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (score 2246, delta 0.4%), and the Intel Core i3-10305 (score 2264, delta -0.4%). These deltas are all within half a percentage point, meaning the i5-9400 is effectively on par with those chips. With 6 cores and 6 threads, a base clock of 2.90 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, this CPU should be more than sufficient for a roguelike title like Barony, which is not known for heavy multi-threaded workloads.

The scaling between resolutions tells the story clearly. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 159 FPS, but at 1440p Low it drops to 100 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 53 FPS, another 47% reduction from 1440p. This pattern is consistent with GPU-bound performance, where the rendering load grows with pixel count. The CPU's role becomes less relevant as resolution increases because the GPU takes longer to render each frame. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 73 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra it is 46 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it is 24 FPS. The consistent halving of frame rates as resolution quadruples from 1080p to 4K points squarely at GPU limitations.

The Medium preset data also supports this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the average is 118 FPS with a minimum of 101 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS. The minimum FPS values scale similarly to averages, indicating that frame time variance is consistent across resolutions, which is typical of a GPU that is consistently saturated rather than a CPU that occasionally stalls. If the CPU were the bottleneck, one would expect larger minimum FPS drops relative to averages at lower resolutions, but the data does not show that pattern.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 73 FPS. This is noteworthy because the verdict data lists all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) as playable at this resolution. The Ultra preset also has the lowest average of the four, but it still clears the 60 FPS threshold by 13 frames. Since the database measures playability at 60 FPS, the recommendation for 1080p is to use Ultra settings for the best visual quality while maintaining a playable frame rate. The Low preset at 159 FPS and Medium at 118 FPS offer much higher headroom, but they sacrifice visual fidelity for performance that exceeds what the display likely needs.

For 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 64 FPS. The verdict data lists High, Low, and Medium as playable, but High is the most demanding of those three. The Ultra preset averages 46 FPS, which falls short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 75 FPS, which is actually higher than High, but the database's bestSettings field identifies High as the optimal choice because it provides the highest visual quality among playable options. The 64 FPS average for High is only 4 frames above the threshold, so players who want more headroom could drop to Medium for 75 FPS, but High remains the recommended setting per the recorded data.

For 3840x2160, the data shows no playable settings. The verdictByResolution field for 4K lists an empty playableSettings array and a null bestSettings value. The highest average FPS at 4K is 53 FPS on Low, which is 7 frames short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. Since none of these meet the playability threshold, there is no best setting to recommend at 4K. The database records no min or max FPS values for Low, High, or Ultra at 4K, only for Medium, which further emphasizes that this resolution is not viable for this hardware combination.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Barony? The answer depends entirely on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the combination of Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 runs the game at playable frame rates on every preset. The Ultra preset averages 73 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare. Low averages 159 FPS, Medium averages 118 FPS, and High averages 102 FPS. All four presets are listed as playable in the verdict data, and the best settings are Ultra at 73 FPS. This makes 1080p the clear choice for this hardware, as it allows the highest visual quality while maintaining smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the verdict is more conditional. The playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best at 64 FPS. This is exactly at the threshold, so players will see playable performance but with limited headroom. The Ultra preset is not playable at 46 FPS. The data suggests that 1440p is viable for Barony, but only if the player is willing to accept High settings or lower. The 64 FPS average for High could potentially dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes, but the recorded data does not include min or max values for High at 1440p, so the average is the only metric available.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is a clear no. No preset achieves 60 FPS. The best result is Low at 53 FPS, which is below the threshold. Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. The verdictByResolution field explicitly lists no playable settings for 4K. Players who want to run Barony at 4K with this hardware will need to accept sub-60 FPS performance, likely with significant stutter in fast-paced roguelike scenarios, or they will need to lower the resolution to 1440p or 1080p.

Overall, the verdict is that this PC runs Barony well at 1080p with maximum settings, adequately at 1440p with High settings, and not acceptably at 4K. The 60 FPS threshold is the benchmark used throughout, and the data shows that this combination only crosses it at resolutions below 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Barony?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 159 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the peak performance for this combination across all tested resolutions and presets.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 2560x1440?

A: No. The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The playable settings at this resolution are High (64 FPS), Low (100 FPS), and Medium (75 FPS).

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS at 1080p Medium?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the recorded minimum is 101 FPS and the maximum is 136 FPS, with an average of 118 FPS. This is the only 1080p preset for which the database includes full min and max data.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. All deltas are within 0.4 percentage points.

Q: Which GPU is the closest competitor to the Intel Arc B390?

A: The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, just 1.3% higher than the Arc B390's 1482. Other close rivals include the GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% higher), the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% higher), and the GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% higher).

Q: Can this system run Barony at 4K with Low settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 53, which is 7 frames below the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict data confirms that no settings are playable at 4K for this combo.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 plus Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 3300 out of 3717 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the bottom 11.2% of all tested systems, which is consistent with the GPU's very low percentile ranking. The Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all budget or legacy NVIDIA parts from the GT 7xx and 8xx series. The CPU, by contrast, is more mainstream at the 47th percentile, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations in a game like Barony where frame rates scale heavily with resolution.

The ranking of 3300 out of 3717 means that roughly 417 combos perform worse than this one, while 3299 perform better. This is not a flattering position, but it is not the absolute bottom either. The combination is clearly held back by the GPU, as evidenced by the fact that the CPU's nearest rivals all have very similar average scores (within 0.4%), yet the overall combo rank is driven by the GPU's poor showing. The data shows that this system is suitable for 1080p gaming in Barony with high frame rates, but it struggles at 1440p and fails at 4K. Players with this hardware should target 1080p for the best experience, as the Ultra preset at 73 FPS offers both visual quality and smooth performance, while higher resolutions require significant compromises that ultimately fall below the playability threshold.