Barony

Barony, a 2015 roguelike, presents an interesting case for hardware analysis because its low system requirements mean that even mid-range components can deliver extremely high frame rates. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and the Intel Arc B580 produces a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions but can push into the hundreds of frames per second at 1080p. The data shows a configuration that is more than capable of handling this title, with the primary bottleneck shifting depending on the resolution and quality settings selected.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, indicating a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 178.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 109.7 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 57.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 67.7% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K, a significant reduction that underscores how the Intel Arc B580's rendering workload scales with pixel count.

The scaling pattern suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The jump from 178.5 FPS at 1080p High to 276.4 FPS at 1080p Low shows that the Ryzen 5 5600 can feed the GPU with enough data to allow it to reach very high frame rates when the graphical load is light. However, the fact that the 1080p Ultra setting still yields 124.1 FPS indicates that even with maximum settings, the GPU is not completely overwhelmed at this resolution, leaving headroom for the CPU to do its work.

At 4K, the situation is reversed. The difference between Low (89.1 FPS) and Ultra (41.4 FPS) is more than double, a 53.5% drop in performance. This steep penalty shows that the Arc B580's compute units and memory bandwidth are being fully saturated at this resolution. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's data, but the raw shading power of 13.67 TFLOPS is the limiting factor when pushing 3840x2160 pixels.

The data indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo. At High settings, 109.7 FPS is achieved, which is a smooth experience, and even Ultra settings manage 81.3 FPS. This suggests that the system can comfortably handle high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p without compromising on visual quality, whereas at 4K, users would need to drop to Medium settings (69.7 FPS) to maintain playable frame rates.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, plays a dominant role in determining the final frame rates in Barony. With a boost clock of 2670 MHz and a memory speed of 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), the GPU's performance is consistent across the board. The benchmark results show that the GPU's average score of 23021 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a solid mid-range performer.

The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor in this game, as Barony is not a VRAM-intensive title. However, the memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s is crucial for maintaining high fill rates, especially at 4K. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are directly relevant to how the game renders its scenes, and these specifications align with the measured performance drops when moving from 1080p to 4K.

The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is noteworthy. The data shows that the Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon 760M (22999, deltaPct 0.1) and the NVIDIA P106-100 (22950, deltaPct 0.3). It is also within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (23181), which is a strong showing for the Intel part. This parity in synthetic benchmarks translates to the measured FPS data, where the GPU's limitations become apparent at 4K but are less of a concern at 1080p.

The GPU's 190 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it is a power-hungry part, but the data does not indicate any thermal throttling issues in these benchmark runs. The fact that the 1080p Low setting achieves 276.4 FPS shows that the GPU is capable of very high throughput when the shading load is minimal, and the bottleneck shifts entirely to the CPU's ability to process the game's logic.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo can achieve in Barony?

A: The highest measured average is 276.4 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average frame rate is 41.4 FPS, which is the lowest measured result. This indicates the Intel Arc B580 is the primary bottleneck, as its rendering capabilities are saturated at this resolution and settings level.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, while the RTX 4060 has an average score of 23181. The deltaPct is -0.7, meaning the Arc B580 is 0.7% behind the RTX 4060 in these tests.

Q: Can this system maintain over 100 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with High settings, the average frame rate is 109.7 FPS. Even at Medium settings, it achieves 130.5 FPS, which is well above the 100 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 276.4 at Low settings to 124.1 at Ultra settings, a decrease of 55.1%.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600 has an average benchmark score of 21765. It is 0.6% ahead of the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635) and 0.6% behind the AMD EPYC 9554P (21899), showing it is competitively positioned.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured performance data provides a clear picture of how the system scales across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are exceptionally high, starting with 276.4 FPS at Low settings. Medium settings reduce this to 202.4 FPS, while High settings yield 178.5 FPS. Ultra settings drop the average to 124.1 FPS, still a very playable frame rate for most users.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. Low settings achieve 172.3 FPS, which is a 37.7% decrease from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 130.5 FPS, High settings 109.7 FPS, and Ultra settings 81.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution shows a 52.8% performance penalty, indicating the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. Low settings still manage 89.1 FPS, but Medium settings drop to 69.7 FPS, and High settings to 57.7 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding only 41.4 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 53.5%, which is similar to the 1440p scaling, but the absolute numbers are much lower.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Medium settings is smaller than the gap between Medium and High, or High and Ultra. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is 74 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 23.9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 54.4 FPS. This suggests that the performance cost of certain settings is non-linear, with Ultra being particularly demanding on the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1332 out of 1702 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the 78.3rd percentile of all tested configurations, indicating that it performs better than the majority of systems tested with this game. Given the game's age and low requirements, this ranking is expected, as many high-end systems will not be bottlenecked by this title.

The ranking reflects the balance of this particular pairing. The Ryzen 5 5600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, provides sufficient single-thread and multi-thread performance for the game's logic. Its average benchmark score of 21765 puts it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11700F (21957, deltaPct -0.9) and the AMD EPYC 9534 (21900, deltaPct -0.6), showing it is a competitive mid-range processor.

The GPU's contribution to the ranking is significant. The Arc B580's 66th percentile standing among all GPUs means that while it is not a top-tier part, it is more than adequate for a roguelike like Barony. The measured FPS data confirms that the system can deliver high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, which is the primary use case for most players of this genre. The 4K performance is less impressive but still playable at medium settings, which is a reasonable expectation for a mid-range GPU.

The ranking of 1332 out of 1702 is not a reflection of poor performance but rather the high number of more powerful, modern systems that have been tested with this game. The data shows that this combo is well-suited for Barony, providing a smooth experience at standard resolutions. The system's ability to exceed 100 FPS at 1440p High settings is a strong indicator that it can handle the game without any performance concerns.