Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers a playable experience in Barony, but the data reveals a pairing that is heavily influenced by the GPU at higher resolutions and the CPU at lower ones. The combo ranks in the 1339th position out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the lower third of all tested hardware pairings, which indicates that while this setup is functional, it is not optimized for pushing maximum frame rates in this roguelike title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly shows where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces 124.7 FPS, but this falls to 80.8 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 40.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction in performance from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra, which is a massive hit that points directly at the GPU struggling to fill the additional pixels.

The scaling pattern is telling because the performance loss is not linear. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings costs 43.9 FPS, while moving from 1440p to 4K costs another 40.0 FPS. The fact that the 1440p-to-4K drop is almost identical to the 1080p-to-1440p drop suggests the Arc B580 is being pushed to its limits as resolution increases, with the 12 GB frame buffer and 192-bit memory bus becoming increasingly taxed at higher pixel counts.

At Low settings, the picture changes significantly. The 1080p Low result of 272.8 FPS is more than double the 4K Low result of 94.1 FPS. This wide gap indicates that when graphical load is reduced, the CPU becomes more relevant at lower resolutions, but the GPU still dominates at 4K. The 178.7 FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low is the largest single jump in the entire dataset, confirming that resolution scaling is the primary performance variable for this combination.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is clearly the limiting factor at 4K resolution. With a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz and 2560 shading units, the card produces 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 4K Ultra average of 40.8 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold that most users consider smooth, while even 4K High only reaches 58.8 FPS — barely playable.

The GPU's memory configuration plays a notable role in these results. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial but not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra. The data shows that 4K Medium (66.9 FPS) is only 8.1 FPS faster than 4K High (58.8 FPS), suggesting that the game's memory access patterns at 4K are hitting the bandwidth ceiling regardless of the specific settings preset.

The Arc B580's performance relative to its peers is modest. Its average benchmark score of 23021 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, and it sits within 1.3% of the AMD Radeon 760M, NVIDIA P106-100, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile. However, the nearest rival with a desktop pedigree, the RTX 4060, is only 0.7% faster on average, which means this Intel card is competitive in synthetic tests but still cannot overcome the resolution scaling demands of Barony at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 2600 and Arc B580 ranks 1339 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the 21.4th percentile of all tested hardware pairings, which is a low standing that reflects the age of the CPU more than the capability of the GPU. The data indicates that this pairing is not well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming, as the rank suggests most other combinations deliver higher average frame rates.

The CPU's synthetic benchmarks reinforce this position. The Ryzen 5 2600 achieves an average benchmark score of 19616, which puts it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs — a respectable figure for a processor from 2018. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-1345U (0.4% faster), AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (0.6% slower), Intel Core i5-11600KF (0.6% faster), and Intel Core i7-10700F (0.7% slower). These deltas are tiny, meaning the 2600 performs essentially on par with much newer mobile and desktop chips in synthetic workloads.

However, the combo rank in Barony tells a more specific story. Being in the bottom 21% of all tested combos suggests that the game's engine does not scale well with this particular processor architecture, or that the 6-core/12-thread configuration is insufficient for the game's demands when paired with a GPU that can push high frame rates at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers strong results across all settings. Low settings produce 272.8 FPS, Medium drops to 206.3 FPS, High reaches 173.4 FPS, and Ultra still manages 124.7 FPS. All four presets exceed the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin, and even the Ultra preset leaves headroom for a 120 Hz display.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains solid but the gaps between presets widen. Low hits 172.6 FPS, Medium achieves 130.2 FPS, High settles at 108.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 80.8 FPS. The 1440p results show a 91.8 FPS difference between Low and Ultra, which is a larger spread than at 1080p but still keeps every preset above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low produces 94.1 FPS, Medium drops to 66.9 FPS, High falls to 58.8 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 40.8 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-60 FPS figure in the entire dataset, and even 4K High fails to hit the 60 FPS mark. The 53.3 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest absolute spread of any resolution, but it represents a 56.6% performance penalty from the lowest to highest preset.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 2600 provides 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 scores of 11186 multi-core and 1579 single-core indicate a capable but aging processor. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 46.9 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for most games, but Barony's results suggest the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

The CPU's role becomes clear when examining the 1080p to 4K scaling. At 1080p Low, the system produces 272.8 FPS, which is well beyond what most displays can show. This high result indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU enough data at lower resolutions, but the 178.7 FPS drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low shows that the GPU is the limiting factor as pixel count increases. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking and near-parity with newer chips like the Core i5-1345U and Ryzen 5 7530U suggest it is not the weak link in most scenarios.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 13160 and single-thread score of 2239 provide context for the CPU's gaming performance. The single-thread score, which is often critical for game logic, is modest and likely explains why the combo ranks in the bottom third overall. The 1080p Ultra result of 124.7 FPS may be limited by the CPU's single-core performance, as the GPU has been shown to deliver much higher frame rates at lower settings.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combination run Barony at 4K smoothly?*

A: The data shows that 4K Low produces 94.1 FPS, but 4K High drops to 58.8 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 40.8 FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, 4K Medium at 66.9 FPS is the highest viable setting.

Q: Which preset gives the best balance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 108.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 80.8 FPS also remains playable, so users can choose based on visual preference.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 272.8 FPS, which is extremely high. The CPU's single-thread score of 2239 in PassMark suggests it may limit maximum frame rates, but the 124.7 FPS at 1080p Ultra indicates the GPU is still handling the load effectively.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1339 out of 1702 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 21.4% of all pairings. This is a low ranking, but the GPU's 66th percentile and CPU's 77th percentile scores show each component is average individually.

Q: What is the best resolution for this setup?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution offers the best balance, with all four presets exceeding 80 FPS. The 1080p results are higher, but 1440p provides more detail without dropping below 60 FPS on any preset.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM help at 4K?

A: The 12 GB frame buffer and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are substantial, but the 4K results show that even with this memory, the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates at Ultra settings. The 4K Ultra average of 40.8 FPS indicates memory bandwidth is insufficient for the game's demands at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting 60 FPS, the data supports specific settings choices. At 4K, the Medium preset at 66.9 FPS is the only configuration that clears the 60 FPS bar while providing reasonable visual quality. The High preset at 58.8 FPS falls just short, and Ultra at 40.8 FPS is not recommended for this resolution.

At 1440p, the High preset at 108.5 FPS offers the best experience, as it balances visual fidelity with a frame rate that supports high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 80.8 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize image quality over raw speed. The Medium preset at 130.2 FPS is excessive for most displays and does not provide a meaningful visual improvement over High.

For 1080p, all presets deliver above 120 FPS, so the choice depends on display capabilities. The High preset at 173.4 FPS and Ultra at 124.7 FPS both exceed 120 Hz, making either suitable for competitive play. The Low preset at 272.8 FPS is only useful for users with 240 Hz displays or those seeking maximum frame pacing, as the visual quality sacrifice is significant. Overall, the 1440p High preset represents the sweet spot for this hardware combination in Barony.