Barony

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a highly capable Barony experience, but the data reveals that the most balanced and visually impressive way to play is at 1440p with High settings. This pairing achieves a 99 FPS average, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth roguelike gameplay while still leveraging the Arc B570’s graphical headroom. Pushing to 4K at High settings yields a playable but less fluid 52 FPS average, whereas dropping to 1080p at Ultra provides a sharp 112 FPS but sacrifices the higher resolution that this CPU-GPU combo can handle effectively.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for this combination clearly indicate that the "High" preset offers the best overall experience across all tested resolutions. At 1080p, High settings produce a 156 FPS average, which is a 44 FPS jump over Ultra (112 FPS) and only 89 FPS behind the Low preset’s 245 FPS. This suggests that High settings capture nearly all the performance available at this resolution while providing significantly better visual fidelity than Low. At 1440p, the High preset delivers a 99 FPS average, which is a 28 FPS improvement over Ultra (71 FPS) and a 55 FPS reduction from Low (154 FPS). The Medium preset at 1440p, with a 115 FPS average and a minimum of 98 FPS, is also viable, but High offers a better balance for users who want both detail and a high refresh rate.

For 4K gaming, the situation changes. The High preset’s 52 FPS average is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action, while Ultra drops to 37 FPS, which is too low for a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 4K provides a 60 FPS average with a 51 FPS minimum and 69 FPS maximum, making it the only 4K option that consistently holds above 60 FPS. However, the 81 FPS average at 4K Low is the most fluid, though it sacrifices the visual richness that the Arc B570 can provide at lower resolutions. Given that Barony is a roguelike where clarity and reaction speed matter, the data suggests prioritizing 1440p High as the sweet spot, as it offers a 99 FPS average that is both smooth and visually detailed, without the frame rate volatility seen at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Barony?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p at High settings is the optimal choice, delivering a 99 FPS average. This provides a fluid experience while maintaining higher visual quality than 1080p, and it avoids the frame rate drops seen at 4K where the High preset only reaches 52 FPS.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K, the Medium preset achieves a 60 FPS average (51 FPS min, 69 FPS max), making it the only 4K setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS. High and Ultra presets at 4K produce 52 FPS and 37 FPS averages, respectively, which are less ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Ultra preset yields a 112 FPS average, which is 44 FPS lower than High’s 156 FPS average. While Ultra still provides a smooth experience, the performance cost is significant relative to the visual improvement, making High the more efficient choice.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Medium settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings produce a 154 FPS average, while Medium delivers a 115 FPS average (98 FPS min, 132 FPS max). The difference is 39 FPS, indicating that Medium offers a substantial visual upgrade for a moderate performance hit.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The data suggests yes, especially at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push 245 FPS, but at 4K Low, the frame rate drops to 81 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck as resolution increases, while the Ryzen 9 5950X’s 16 cores and 32 threads are sufficient to handle the game’s logic.

Q: Does this combo rank well compared to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 2344 out of 2935 tested combinations for Barony, placing it in the lower-middle percentile. This is due to the GPU’s mid-range positioning (65th percentile among all GPUs) rather than the CPU, which sits in the 91st percentile among all CPUs.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations for Barony, this pairing of AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel Arc B570 sits at rank 2344 out of 2935. This places it in the 20th percentile when counting from the bottom, meaning roughly 80% of tested combos perform better in this game. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s overall capability, as the Arc B570 holds a 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avg score 20534, delta 0.1%), Intel Arc A750 (avg score 20582, delta -0.1%), and NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (avg score 20480, delta 0.4%), showing that the B570 is competitive with mid-range offerings from previous generations.

The CPU, however, is a top-tier performer. The Ryzen 9 5950X ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (avg score 52073, delta -0.2%), AMD EPYC 8124P (avg score 52121, delta -0.3%), Intel Core i9-13900F (avg score 51730, delta 0.4%), and Intel Core i7-14700 (avg score 52301, delta -0.7%). This indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck in Barony, as its performance metrics are far above the GPU’s. The low combo ranking is a direct result of the GPU’s mid-range standing, meaning that users looking to improve this pairing’s rank would need a more powerful graphics card rather than a stronger processor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo scales across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves a 245 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combination. Medium settings produce a 182 FPS average (155 FPS min, 209 FPS max), High delivers 156 FPS, and Ultra yields 112 FPS. This shows a steep drop from Low to Ultra of 133 FPS, indicating that the GPU is being pushed harder as visual fidelity increases, but even at Ultra, the frame rate remains well above 100 FPS for a smooth experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease proportionally. Low settings produce a 154 FPS average, Medium delivers 115 FPS (98 FPS min, 132 FPS max), High reaches 99 FPS, and Ultra drops to 71 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 83 FPS, showing that the gap narrows as resolution increases, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios. At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields an 81 FPS average, Medium provides 60 FPS (51 FPS min, 69 FPS max), High drops to 52 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra is 44 FPS, meaning that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant factor, and even Low settings cannot reach the 100+ FPS levels seen at lower resolutions.

The minimum and maximum FPS data for Medium settings across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the min is 155 FPS and max is 209 FPS, a spread of 54 FPS. At 1440p, the min is 98 FPS and max is 132 FPS, a spread of 34 FPS. At 4K, the min is 51 FPS and max is 69 FPS, a spread of 18 FPS. This tightening of the frame time variance as resolution increases reinforces that the GPU is becoming the constraining factor, as it has less headroom to produce frame rate spikes or dips.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals how this combo’s performance degrades as pixel count increases. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 156 to 99, a 36.5% decrease. This is a significant reduction that points to the GPU’s limitations, as the pixel count increases by 1.78x (from 2,073,600 to 3,686,400 pixels), but the frame rate does not scale linearly. The drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings is even more pronounced, falling from 99 FPS to 52 FPS, a 47.5% decrease. This pattern is consistent with the GPU being the limiting component, as the pixel count jumps to 8,294,400, a 2.25x increase from 1440p, yet the frame rate nearly halves.

At Low settings, the scaling is similar but with higher absolute numbers. From 1080p (245 FPS) to 1440p (154 FPS), the drop is 37.1%, and from 1440p to 4K (81 FPS), the drop is 47.4%. This consistent percentage drop across both High and Low settings suggests that the bottleneck is not related to texture memory or shader complexity but rather to the raw pixel throughput of the GPU. The Arc B570’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game’s needs, but its 80 ROPs and 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are what limit frame rates at higher resolutions.

The data also shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor in resolution scaling. The Ryzen 9 5950X, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, can easily handle the game’s logic at all resolutions, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates at 1080p Low (245 FPS) are far above what the GPU can sustain at 4K. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at a certain value regardless of resolution, but instead, they continue to drop as resolution increases. This confirms that the Intel Arc B570 is the primary constraint, and users seeking higher 4K performance would need a more powerful GPU.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X plays a supportive but non-limiting role in this combo’s Barony performance. With 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, the CPU provides ample processing power for the game’s roguelike mechanics, which often involve complex procedural generation and AI calculations. The CPU’s base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensure that single-threaded tasks, which are common in game logic, are handled efficiently. The 3DMark single-thread score of 944 and Geekbench single-core score of 2083 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017 and Passmark multithread score of 45424. However, these metrics are largely irrelevant for Barony, as the game does not scale perfectly across 32 threads. The data from the measured FPS shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck even at 1080p Low, where the 245 FPS average is likely near the game’s engine limit rather than a CPU constraint. The 3DMark max threads score of 11597 further confirms that the CPU has headroom for more demanding workloads.

The CPU’s 64 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for the game’s data requirements, and its 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs places it well above the GPU’s 65th percentile. This disparity means that the CPU is effectively "waiting" for the GPU at higher resolutions, as frame rates drop from 245 FPS at 1080p Low to 81 FPS at 4K Low. In this configuration, the Ryzen 9 5950X is not a limiting factor, but rather a high-performance foundation that ensures the GPU is the only component preventing even higher frame rates. Users upgrading this system would benefit more from a stronger GPU than from a faster CPU, as the data clearly identifies the Arc B570 as the performance ceiling.