Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and Intel Arc B570 pairing in Barony presents a fascinating study in how a modest older CPU and a modern mid-range GPU interact in a roguelike title. The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a combination that is surprisingly capable at 1080p but shows clear signs of strain as pixel count increases, with the data suggesting a shifting bottleneck that defines the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about system balance. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 156 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 99 FPS, a reduction of 57 FPS, and then 3840x2160 falls further to 52 FPS, another 47 FPS lower. This scaling pattern is steep and consistent, indicating that the rendering workload per pixel is the dominant factor.

The Low settings row confirms this trend with even more dramatic numbers. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 245 FPS, which is a very high ceiling. At 1440p Low, it drops to 154 FPS, and at 4K Low, it hits 81 FPS. The ratio from 1080p to 4K here is roughly 3:1 (245 to 81), which aligns closely with the pure pixel count difference, suggesting that at Low settings, the GPU is the primary limiter across all resolutions.

However, the High and Ultra settings tell a slightly different story. The drop from 1080p High (156 FPS) to 1440p High (99 FPS) is a 36.5% decrease, while the drop from 1440p High to 4K High (52 FPS) is a 47.5% decrease. This non-linear scaling, where the penalty for moving to 4K is disproportionately large, hints that the CPU might be starting to struggle with the increased draw calls and game logic at higher resolutions, even though the GPU is working harder.

The data implies that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 2600 has enough headroom to keep the Arc B570 well-fed, but as resolution climbs, the CPU's six cores and 12 threads become a more significant factor. The 4K numbers, especially the 37 FPS at Ultra, are low enough to suggest that neither component is fully saturating the other, and the system is falling into a less efficient operating zone. The game becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution rises, but the CPU's older Zen architecture limits how high the GPU can push its performance.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides a superb balance, yielding 182 FPS with a minimum of 155 FPS. This is well above the threshold for smooth, high-refresh-rate play on most displays and offers a significant jump from the 156 FPS of High while still maintaining a solid visual quality. Choosing High at 1080p sacrifices 26 FPS for presumably marginal visual gains, making Medium the more sensible choice for competitive or fast-paced play.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 99 FPS is the standout option. It delivers a playable frame rate that is close to the 100 FPS mark, which is ideal for most gaming monitors. The Medium preset at 115 FPS is also viable, but High provides a better visual experience for a relatively small performance cost. The Ultra preset at 71 FPS is playable but drops below the 75 FPS threshold that some players consider smooth, making it a less attractive option unless visual fidelity is the absolute priority.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more challenging. The High preset at 52 FPS is borderline for smooth gameplay, and the Medium preset at 60 FPS is a more stable choice, even though it still falls below the 60 FPS target. The Low preset at 81 FPS is the only 4K option that provides a comfortable frame rate, but it necessitates significant visual compromises. The data suggests that 4K gaming on this combo is a trade-off; players will likely need to choose between the visual quality of Medium/High and the fluidity of Low. The Ultra preset at 37 FPS is not recommended for any practical use case.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, with its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, provides a 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and a 2500 MHz boost clock. These specifications are crucial for Barony's performance. The benchmark results show a GPU that is capable of high frame rates at lower resolutions, with the 1080p Low score of 245 FPS indicating that the card can handle simple scenes with ease.

However, the GPU's role becomes more complex at higher resolutions. The VRAM capacity of 10 GB is likely sufficient for this roguelike, as the game's textures and assets are not typically massive. The data does not show a hard wall that would indicate a VRAM capacity limit; instead, the performance drop is more consistent with a raw compute and fill-rate limitation. The pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are the likely bottlenecks when the resolution increases.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 11.52 TFLOPS is a moderate figure, and the benchmark results from 3DMark Steel Nomad (2649) and Passmark G3D (14195) reflect its mid-range positioning. The Arc B570 sits at the 65th percentile against all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the Intel Arc A750, from which it is nearly identical in average benchmark score (20556 vs 20582, a -0.1% delta). This suggests the B570 is a capable performer, but in Barony, its performance is clearly tied to the resolution, and it cannot overcome the CPU's limitations at 4K.

The clock speed of 2500 MHz is consistent, and the card does not appear to be thermally throttling, as the frame rates scale predictably with settings. The GPU is the dominant component in this pairing, but its performance ceiling is capped by the Ryzen 5 2600 in lower-resolution scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a detailed picture of performance across all tested configurations.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high. Low settings produce an average of 245 FPS. Medium settings yield 182 FPS, with a minimum of 155 FPS and a maximum of 209 FPS. High settings produce 156 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 112 FPS. This shows a clear and predictable hierarchy, with a 133 FPS difference between the lowest and highest presets.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings average 154 FPS. Medium settings average 115 FPS, with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. High settings average 99 FPS. Ultra settings average 71 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 83 FPS, which is a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more demanding. Low settings average 81 FPS. Medium settings average 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. High settings average 52 FPS. Ultra settings average 37 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 44 FPS, the smallest absolute difference of any resolution, which strongly suggests that the system is hitting a performance ceiling that is not solely defined by the GPU's shader work.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. This data point is useful, as it shows that at 1080p Medium, the frame time consistency is good, with a minimum of 155 FPS ensuring no significant stutters. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 98 FPS keeps the experience smooth. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 51 FPS means the experience will have occasional dips below 60 FPS, which can be noticeable in a fast-paced roguelike.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Barony, this particular combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2344 out of 2935 tested combos. This places it in the lower 20th percentile of all tested configurations, which is a significant finding. Despite the Arc B570 being a modern GPU, the older CPU holds the overall system back.

The context of the CPU's rivals puts this into perspective. The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21484, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (21440, a 0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i9-11900H (21367, a 0.5% delta). This means the CPU is performing as expected for its class, but that class is not a top-tier performer. The GPU's rivals are similarly matched, with the Arc B570's average score of 20556 being almost exactly the same as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, a 0.1% delta).

The low combo rank implies that Barony is a game that benefits heavily from CPU performance. The data suggests that while the GPU is capable of high frame rates, the Ryzen 5 2600's single-thread performance and older architecture prevent it from fully utilizing the GPU's potential, especially at higher resolutions. The 2344th rank out of 2935 indicates that many other CPU and GPU pairings can outperform this one in this specific title, likely due to having a more modern or higher-clocked processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 100+ FPS?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves 99 FPS, which is just below 100. To consistently exceed 100 FPS, playing at 1920x1080 with any preset from Low to High will deliver an average frame rate above 112 FPS, with Low hitting 245 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 60, which is technically playable. However, the minimum FPS is 51, which could lead to stutters. For a more stable 4K experience, Low settings provide 81 FPS, but visual quality is reduced.

*Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 or the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 more important for performance in Barony?*

A: The data indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU is able to produce 245 FPS on Low settings. However, the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the gap between Low and Ultra settings shrinks, suggesting the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough to maintain its performance scaling.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its closest rival, the Arc A750, based on the data?

A: The average benchmark scores are nearly identical. The Arc B570 has an average score of 20556, while the Arc A750 has a score of 20582. This represents a delta of only -0.1%, meaning their overall performance in synthetic tests is virtually indistinguishable.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever worth using with this setup?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra yields 112 FPS, which is usable. At 2560x1440, it drops to 71 FPS, which is borderline. At 3840x2160, it falls to 37 FPS, which is not a playable frame rate. The data suggests Ultra is only viable at 1080p.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for this CPU, and how does it rank?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21484. It is ranked in the 75th percentile against all CPUs, indicating it is a better-than-average performer in general, but its age shows in this specific game's ranking.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600, a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Zen+ architecture, has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. These specifications, combined with its 16 MB of shared L3 cache, define its performance profile in Barony. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by a Geekbench single-core score of 1154 and a Passmark single-thread score of 2239, is a critical factor for a roguelike game, which often has complex game logic and AI calculations that are not easily parallelized.

The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 1248 and a Passmark multithread score of 13160, show it is a capable multi-threaded processor. However, its age is evident when looking at the overall combo rank. The data suggests that while the CPU has enough cores to handle the game's background tasks, its single-threaded performance is not high enough to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions when the GPU is also under heavy load.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s for DDR4 dual-channel memory is another potential bottleneck. As the resolution increases, the amount of data that needs to be transferred between the CPU, memory, and GPU increases. The Ryzen 5 2600's PCIe Gen 3 interface, with 16 lanes, is also a generation behind modern standards. While this may not be a direct bottleneck in a game like Barony, it is a sign of the platform's age.

The data implies that the Ryzen 5 2600 is the primary reason this combo ranks 2344th out of 2935. The GPU is capable of much higher performance, as evidenced by its 1080p Low score of 245 FPS, but the CPU cannot keep up with the GPU's demands as the resolution increases. The 37 FPS at 4K Ultra is a clear indicator that the system's performance is being constrained by the processor's ability to issue draw calls and handle game logic, rather than the graphics card's raw rendering power. The CPU's 75th percentile ranking against all CPUs is respectable, but in a game that appears to be sensitive to CPU performance, it is not enough to boost the overall system to a higher tier.