Barony

# Barony with AMD Ryzen 7 5800X + Intel Arc B390

This pairing combines AMD's 8-core Zen 3 desktop processor with Intel's integrated Xe3-LPG graphics solution, and the benchmark results show a system that can handle Barony at playable framerates in most scenarios, though the GPU's 9th-percentile standing among all tested graphics solutions places a hard ceiling on performance. The data reveals a clear pattern: resolution and settings scaling follow expected curves, with the CPU demonstrating substantial headroom while the integrated GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Barony with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, the system delivers 159 FPS on Low, 118 FPS on Medium, 102 FPS on High, and 73 FPS on Ultra. At 2560x1440, performance drops to 100 FPS on Low, 75 FPS on Medium, 64 FPS on High, and 46 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, only Low settings remain comfortably playable at 53 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463 (1.3% slower), followed by the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% slower), the GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% slower), and the GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% slower). The Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all tested GPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X a bottleneck for this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is not the limiting factor. With 8 cores and 16 threads boosting to 4.70 GHz, the 5800X ranks in the 81st percentile of all CPUs. The GPU's 9th-percentile ranking and the fact that framerates scale predictably with resolution changes suggest the integrated graphics, not the processor, constrains performance.

Q: What settings preset delivers the best balance of quality and performance?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide 118 FPS average with minimums of 101 FPS, offering a smooth experience while maintaining visual quality. At 2560x1440, Medium drops to 75 FPS with 64 FPS minimums, which remains playable. High settings at 1080p (102 FPS) also work well if visual fidelity is prioritized.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Barony?

A: At 3840x2160, only Low settings reach 53 FPS average. Medium drops to 39 FPS (33 minimum), High falls to 34 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 24 FPS. For consistent playability at 4K, Low settings are the only viable option, and even then, the experience will be modest.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This Ryzen 7 5800X + Arc B390 pairing ranks 2601 out of 2935 tested combos for Barony, placing it in the lower 12% of all system configurations. The ranking reflects the GPU's low percentile standing rather than CPU performance, which is strong for this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X brings substantial processing power to this configuration. Built on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename) using TSMC's 7 nm process, this 8-core, 16-thread processor operates with a 3.80 GHz base clock and 4.70 GHz boost clock. The 105 W TDP and unlocked multiplier confirm it as a desktop-class part designed for sustained workloads, and its AM4 socket compatibility places it within a mature ecosystem.

For Barony, a roguelike title that typically relies on procedural generation and simulation logic, the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities matter significantly. The 5800X scores 15476 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1574.5 in single-core, with a Geekbench multicore score of 11036 and single-core of 2032. The PassMark multithread score of 27732 and single-thread score of 3445 further illustrate the processor's balanced performance profile. The 3DMark results—7586 at 16 threads, 6035 at 8 threads, 3543 at 4 threads, and 943 single-thread—show strong scaling as thread counts increase, which benefits games that can utilize multiple cores for world generation and entity updates.

The cache hierarchy—64 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 32 MB shared L3—provides ample fast storage for game data. Memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s over dual-channel DDR4, with ECC support available, ensures the CPU can feed the graphics subsystem without starvation. In the context of this game, the 5800X's 81st-percentile ranking among all CPUs means it sits well above average, and its nearest rivals—Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (0.1% higher score), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (0.4% lower), Intel Core i5-13500HX (0.5% lower), and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (0.6% higher)—all cluster within a narrow band, confirming the 5800X's competitive positioning.

What the measured FPS data reveals is that the CPU's capabilities are rarely the constraint in Barony. At 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves 159 FPS, which approaches the practical ceiling for most displays. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly struggling at 24 FPS, the CPU-side processing is not preventing the frame from being rendered—the integrated graphics simply cannot keep pace. The 5800X's 3DMark max-thread score of 7578 and 16-thread score of 7586 indicate that even under heavy multi-threaded loads, the processor maintains consistent throughput, which supports stable framerates in CPU-bound scenes.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 represents a different class of graphics hardware entirely. As an integrated graphics processor (IGP) built on the Xe3-LPG architecture (Panther Lake chip) using Intel's 3 nm process, it operates with a 300 MHz base clock and 2500 MHz boost clock. The 80 W TDP and "IGP" slot width confirm its integrated nature, with no power connectors and system-shared memory. The GPU's 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster operation units, and 12 ray tracing cores provide the computational foundation, yielding 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The memory configuration is the most significant limitation. With system-shared memory and system-dependent bandwidth, the Arc B390 relies on the host system's DDR4 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This architecture means memory latency and bandwidth are shared with CPU workloads, and in games like Barony that can be sensitive to memory access patterns, this can introduce variability. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places the GPU in the 9th percentile of all tested graphics solutions, and its nearest rivals—GT 520MX (1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (1.5% slower), GT 625 OEM (2.5% slower), GT 710 (2.7% slower)—are all legacy discrete GPUs, indicating the Arc B390 performs at a level roughly equivalent to entry-level graphics hardware from over a decade ago.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU's scaling behavior across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Arc B390 delivers 159 FPS on Low, 118 FPS on Medium, 102 FPS on High, and 73 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, these numbers drop to 100, 75, 64, and 46 respectively. At 3840x2160, performance falls to 53 FPS on Low, 39 FPS on Medium, 34 FPS on High, and 24 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows roughly a 37% reduction in framerate across settings, while 1440p to 4K brings another 45-50% reduction. These ratios are consistent with a GPU that is fill-rate and memory-bandwidth limited rather than compute limited.

The API support—DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4—ensures compatibility with modern rendering paths. For Barony, which is not a graphically demanding title by contemporary standards, the Arc B390's feature set is sufficient, but its raw performance ceiling is what limits the experience. The 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are modest numbers, and the system-dependent memory bandwidth means that at higher resolutions, where memory bandwidth demands increase, the GPU's performance degrades more steeply than a dedicated solution with its own VRAM would.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2601 out of 2935 tested combos for Barony, placing it in the bottom 12% of all configurations tested. The ranking reflects the fundamental mismatch between the CPU's strong performance—81st percentile among all CPUs—and the GPU's weak standing—9th percentile among all GPUs. This is a system where the processor has substantial headroom that the integrated graphics cannot utilize.

The 2935 total combos represent a wide range of hardware pairings, and a rank of 2601 places this system firmly in the lower tier for this game. To contextualize: the CPU alone outperforms 81% of all processors, but the GPU outperforms only 9% of all graphics solutions. The combination's ranking is dragged down almost entirely by the graphics component. In a game like Barony, which is not typically GPU-intensive, the Arc B390's limitations become apparent at higher resolutions and settings, but the system still manages playable framerates at 1080p and 1440p across most settings.

The data suggests that this combo would be suitable for users who already own a Ryzen 7 5800X system and are relying on integrated graphics as a temporary or secondary solution. The CPU's strong performance means that if a discrete GPU were added later, the system would scale well, but with the Arc B390, the experience is constrained to lower resolutions and settings. The rank of 2601 out of 2935 should be interpreted as a warning: this is not a high-performance gaming combination, but rather a functional one for undemanding titles or lower graphical presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 159 FPS, which is smooth on any display. Medium settings yield 118 FPS average with a minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 136 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. High settings drop to 102 FPS average, still excellent for gameplay. Ultra settings reduce performance to 73 FPS average, which remains playable but shows the GPU's limitations as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably. Low settings produce 100 FPS average, a 37% reduction from 1080p. Medium settings deliver 75 FPS average with 64 FPS minimum and 86 FPS maximum—still above the 60 FPS threshold but with less headroom. High settings drop to 64 FPS average, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings fall to 46 FPS average, which may feel stuttery in fast-paced scenarios.

At 3840x2160, the Arc B390 struggles significantly. Low settings produce 53 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal. Medium settings drop to 39 FPS average with 33 FPS minimum and 45 FPS maximum. High settings fall to 34 FPS average, and Ultra settings bottom out at 24 FPS average. None of the 4K settings provide a consistently smooth experience, and even Low settings hover near the edge of acceptable playability.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with min/max data, providing insight into frametime consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 101-136 FPS range indicates reasonable stability. At 1440p Medium, the 64-86 FPS range shows more variance but remains within acceptable bounds. At 4K Medium, the 33-45 FPS range reveals significant fluctuations that could cause noticeable stuttering.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this combo, 1920x1080 is the resolution of choice. At this resolution, Medium settings provide 118 FPS average with 101 FPS minimums, offering smooth gameplay with reasonable visual quality. The gap between Medium and High is modest—118 to 102 FPS—so either works, but Medium's higher minimum framerate makes it the safer choice for consistent performance.

If playing at 2560x1440, Medium settings at 75 FPS average (64 minimum) are the recommended starting point. This maintains a playable framerate while offering better visual detail than Low. High settings at 64 FPS average are borderline; if the game involves intense combat or fast movement, the lower minimums could cause perceptible dips. Low settings at 100 FPS provide the smoothest experience but sacrifice visual quality.

At 3840x2160, Low settings at 53 FPS average are the only viable option for consistent playability. Medium at 39 FPS and High at 34 FPS will feel sluggish, and Ultra at 24 FPS is not recommended. If 4K is the target, users should accept reduced visual quality or consider alternative hardware.

The data suggests that this system's sweet spot is 1080p Medium or High, where it delivers excellent framerates with good visual fidelity. At 1440p, Medium provides a balanced experience. At 4K, only Low settings are recommended. The Arc B390's performance ceiling makes Ultra settings impractical at any resolution above 1080p, and even at 1080p, Ultra's 73 FPS average introduces unnecessary risk of framerate dips compared to High's 102 FPS. For roguelike gameplay, where reaction time and consistency matter, prioritizing framerate stability over visual detail—Medium at 1080p or 1440p—aligns with the measured data.