Barony

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a deeply GPU-limited experience in Barony, with the data showing the combo ranking 2701st out of 2935 tested combinations. This places the pairing in the 8th percentile of all tested combos, indicating that while the CPU is a strong modern part, the integrated-class GPU holds the entire system back. Benchmark results across all resolutions and settings show a clear pattern: the Arc B370 is the decisive bottleneck, and the Ryzen 5 9600X’s capabilities are largely left untapped.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm TSMC process. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it includes Radeon Graphics as integrated graphics. The processor was released on 2024-08-07 with a launch MSRP of $279.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 9600X demonstrates strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. Its Geekbench single-core score is 2923, and its multi-core score is 14438. Cinebench R23 results show 2183.5 points single-core and 17528.5 points multi-core. The CPU’s 3DMark scores scale from 1253 (single-thread) to 7590 (max threads), with 7585 in the 16-thread test. PassMark scores include 4570 for single-thread and 30027 for multithread, with a floating-point math score of 60081 and an integer math score of 89918. The processor sits at the 81st percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (avg score 29656, deltaPct 0.2), the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (avg score 29868, deltaPct -0.5), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (avg score 29879, deltaPct -0.6), and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (avg score 29955, deltaPct -0.8). These deltas are all under 1%, showing the 9600X is essentially performance-equivalent to those parts in aggregate CPU benchmarks.

However, in Barony, the CPU’s role is almost entirely secondary. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low settings, where CPU load is typically highest relative to GPU load, the combo achieves 144 FPS average. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 66 FPS. This massive drop with settings changes is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The Arc B370, with its 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 20 ROPs, and 10 RT cores, has a peak FP32 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, placing it at just the 5th percentile of all GPUs. That GPU performance ceiling is what dictates Barony’s frame rates.

The Ryzen 5 9600X’s high single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core 2923, 3DMark single-thread 1253) is more than sufficient for Barony’s roguelike gameplay, which typically relies on a few fast threads for game logic and world simulation. The CPU’s 12 threads and 32 MB L3 cache provide ample headroom for background tasks and game engine overhead. The data indicates that the CPU is never the limiting factor in this combo; the proof lies in the FPS scaling: going from 1080p Low (144 FPS) to 1080p High (92 FPS) is a 36% drop, while the CPU’s utilisation would barely change because the GPU is saturated. In a CPU-bound scenario, such a settings change would produce a much smaller FPS delta. The conclusion is straightforward: the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a high-end desktop CPU whose potential is wasted behind the Intel Arc B370’s integrated-class performance.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Barony, and at what settings?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 144, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only measured configuration that reaches the 144 FPS mark. The next highest is 107 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 92 FPS at 1080p High.

Q: How does the CPU’s synthetic performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 29713, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (29656), 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29868 is actually higher, so the 9600X is 0.5% lower), 0.6% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (29879), and 0.8% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (29955). All four deltas are within 1%, indicating near-identical aggregate CPU performance.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B370 a discrete GPU or integrated graphics?

A: The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a slot width of "IGP" and no power connectors. It has a TDP of 25 W, a base clock of 300 MHz, and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. Its memory is "System Shared" with system-dependent bandwidth, meaning it uses the host system’s DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among all tested combinations in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 2701st out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested pairings, consistent with the GPU’s 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

Q: Does the combo ever drop below 30 FPS average?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 22. This is the only measured configuration where the average falls below 30 FPS. At 4K High, the average is 30 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the average is 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 41 FPS.

Q: What is the GPU’s single benchmark score and how does it rank?

A: The Intel Arc B370 has a single benchmark entry: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 with a score of 1184. This places it at the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186 (deltaPct -0.2), meaning the Arc B370 is 0.2% slower than that older part.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2701st out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This is a bottom-decile placement, with only 234 combos ranking worse. The rank is almost entirely attributable to the GPU: the Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU sits at the 81st percentile of all CPUs. The disparity between CPU and GPU percentiles is stark, and the combo’s rank reflects the lower of the two components.

To contextualise the rank, consider that the GPU’s nearest rivals are all legacy parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (avg score 1186, deltaPct -0.2), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (avg score 1190, deltaPct -0.5), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (avg score 1192, deltaPct -0.7), and AMD FirePro M2000 (avg score 1168, deltaPct 1.4). The Arc B370’s 1184 score is within 1.4% of all four rivals, meaning it performs like a GPU from roughly a decade earlier. In Barony, this translates to frame rates that are playable only at lower resolutions and settings.

The combo rank of 2701 means that 92% of tested combinations deliver higher average FPS in Barony. This is not a surprise given the GPU’s specifications: 1280 shading units, 20 ROPs, and 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 are far below what modern discrete GPUs offer. Even the CPU’s strong scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core 17528.5, PassMark multithread 30027) cannot compensate for the GPU bottleneck. The data shows that the Ryzen 5 9600X would perform identically with a much weaker CPU in this exact scenario, because the Arc B370 caps FPS at values far below what the CPU can feed. For example, at 1080p Low, the combo hits 144 FPS; a CPU with half the single-thread score might still hit 144 FPS because the GPU is the limiting factor. Therefore, the 2701st rank is a GPU-limited rank, not a CPU-limited one.

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

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings levels (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). The full matrix is as follows:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 144 FPS average
• Medium: 107 FPS average, with a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 123 FPS
• High: 92 FPS average
• Ultra: 66 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 91 FPS average
• Medium: 67 FPS average, with a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 78 FPS
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 42 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 47 FPS average
• Medium: 35 FPS average, with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 41 FPS
• High: 30 FPS average
• Ultra: 22 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: at every resolution, Low settings provide the highest FPS, followed by Medium, then High, then Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases, from a 78 FPS difference at 1080p (144 vs 66) to a 25 FPS difference at 4K (47 vs 22). This narrowing is typical of GPU-bound scenarios where higher resolutions shift the bottleneck further into the GPU’s pixel and texture processing. At 1080p Low, the combo is just barely able to hit 144 FPS, suggesting that even the lightest settings push the GPU to near its limits. The 1080p Medium row shows a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 123 FPS, indicating some frame-time variance but still a playable experience. At 4K Ultra, the 22 FPS average is effectively unplayable for a roguelike that requires quick reactions.

The Intel Arc B370’s memory being "System Shared" means it relies on the Ryzen 5 9600X’s DDR5 memory subsystem, which has an 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth. This shared memory configuration likely contributes to the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions, as the GPU and CPU contend for the same memory bandwidth. The 4K results, particularly the 30 FPS average at High and 22 FPS at Ultra, illustrate that the GPU simply lacks the fill rate and compute throughput for high-resolution rendering in Barony. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are the relevant limits here.

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

Resolution scaling in this combo reveals an almost perfectly GPU-limited curve. Starting from 1080p Low at 144 FPS, moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 91 FPS, a 36.8% reduction. Moving further to 4K Low drops it to 47 FPS, a 67.4% reduction from 1080p. The pattern is consistent across all settings:

• Low: 144 → 91 → 47 (1080p to 1440p to 4K)
• Medium: 107 → 67 → 35
• High: 92 → 58 → 30
• Ultra: 66 → 42 → 22

The ratio of FPS between 1080p and 4K is roughly 3:1 at Low (144 vs 47), which is close to the 4:1 pixel count increase (3840x2160 has four times the pixels of 1920x1080). If the system were CPU-limited, the FPS would not scale so directly with pixel count, because CPU workload (game logic, draw calls) remains relatively constant across resolutions. Instead, the FPS drops nearly proportionally to pixel count, confirming the GPU is the bottleneck. For instance, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 22, which is exactly one-third of the 66 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This 3x FPS reduction for a 4x pixel increase suggests the GPU’s fill rate and shading throughput are the primary constraints, with some inefficiency at the highest resolution likely due to memory bandwidth contention from System Shared memory.

The Ryzen 5 9600X’s role in this scaling is negligible. Its high single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core 2923, PassMark single-thread 4570) ensures that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the CPU is not holding back the 144 FPS result. If the CPU were the limiter, we would expect the 1080p Low and 1440p Low FPS to be much closer, since the CPU’s workload changes little with resolution. Instead, we see a 53 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings, which is entirely attributable to the GPU rendering 1.78 times more pixels. The conclusion is unambiguous: resolution scaling in this combo is a pure GPU phenomenon, and the Arc B370’s 5th percentile performance dictates all frame rates.

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

For a playable roguelike experience in Barony, the data suggests that 1080p Medium is the optimal balance. The 107 FPS average at 1080p Medium is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the minimum of 91 FPS ensures no significant drops during intense gameplay. The 1080p High preset at 92 FPS is also acceptable, but the 15 FPS difference between Medium and High is not worth the visual gains if maintaining high frame rates is the priority. At 1080p Ultra, the 66 FPS average is still technically playable but dips below the 144 FPS maximum possible at Low, and the gap from Medium to Ultra (107 to 66) is a 38% reduction, suggesting diminishing returns.

At 1440p, the only playable preset is Low, with an average of 91 FPS. The 1440p Medium average of 67 FPS is borderline, and the minimum of 57 FPS could cause noticeable stutter in a roguelike where every frame matters. The 1440p High (58 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) are below ideal playability. At 4K, no preset is truly playable for fast-paced gameplay: Low averages 47 FPS, Medium 35 FPS, High 30 FPS, and Ultra 22 FPS. The 4K Medium row shows a minimum of 30 FPS, which is the bare minimum for playability, but the average of 35 FPS leaves little headroom.

The best experience per the measured rows is clearly 1080p Medium with 107 FPS average, 91 FPS minimum, and 123 FPS maximum. This provides smooth frame pacing and enough visual fidelity for a modern roguelike. If the user prioritises maximum smoothness over visuals, 1080p Low at 144 FPS is the choice, but it sacrifices the graphical features that Medium likely adds. For users with 1440p displays, 1440p Low at 91 FPS is the only recommendation that keeps average FPS above 90. At 4K, the data shows no acceptable preset; even Low at 47 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, and Ultra at 22 FPS is unplayable. The Intel Arc B370’s System Shared memory and 25 W TDP make it unsuitable for high-resolution gaming, and the Ryzen 5 9600X’s strong CPU performance (Cinebench R23 single-core 2183.5, Geekbench single-core 2923) cannot compensate. Users seeking higher FPS at higher resolutions would need a different GPU, as the data unequivocally shows this combo is GPU-bound in all measured configurations.