Barony

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a fascinating case study in system bottlenecking within the roguelike title Barony. The CPU is a high-end desktop part, while the GPU is an integrated graphics solution from Intel's mobile-focused Panther Lake architecture. Benchmark results show a system where 1080p performance is playable, but the experience degrades sharply as resolution increases, firmly placing the graphics processor as the limiting component in nearly all tested scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 102 FPS at 1080p to 64 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 38 frames. Moving to 4K (3840x2160) at the same High preset, the average falls to 34 FPS, representing a 68 FPS drop from the 1080p baseline. This indicates a severe scaling penalty that is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

The Low preset provides the most dramatic illustration of this trend. At 1080p Low, the system achieves an average of 159 FPS. This falls to 100 FPS at 1440p, a 59 FPS decrease. At 4K Low, the average plummets to 53 FPS, which is only 33% of the 1080p performance. This steep drop-off at lower settings is particularly telling. When the graphics load is light, the system can push high frame rates, but the moment resolution increases, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints become immediately apparent.

The Medium preset shows similar scaling, from 118 FPS at 1080p to 75 FPS at 1440p, and finally 39 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 73 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 46 FPS at 1440p, and a barely playable 24 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that the scaling from 1440p to 4K is almost universally more punishing than the scaling from 1080p to 1440p, indicating a non-linear relationship between pixel count and frame rate. This is typical for a GPU with limited processing power, where the cost of rendering quadruples the pixels from 1080p to 4K is disproportionately high.

The limiting component is unambiguously the Intel Arc B390. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, is a high-performance desktop processor. The fact that frame rates drop so significantly with resolution changes points directly to the GPU being saturated. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see more consistent frame rates across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload is less dependent on pixel count. The observed pattern—where performance nearly halves with each major resolution jump—is a classic signature of a graphics-bound system.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings profile depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. The data indicates that the game is playable at all settings at 1080p, with the Low preset delivering an average of 159 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset at 118 FPS also provides a smooth experience, and the High preset at 102 FPS is excellent. The Ultra preset at 73 FPS is still playable, though it offers less headroom.

For 1440p gaming, the High preset at 64 FPS is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Medium preset at 75 FPS is the fastest setting that maintains a consistent frame rate, but the jump to High offers a substantial visual improvement for a 11 FPS cost. The Low preset at 100 FPS is playable but does not take advantage of the hardware's potential. The Ultra preset at 46 FPS is borderline; it is playable but may suffer from occasional stutters.

At 4K (3840x2160), the system struggles. The only playable options are the Low preset at 53 FPS and the Medium preset at 39 FPS. The High preset at 34 FPS and Ultra at 24 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience. Based on the measured rows, the High preset at 1080p or the Medium preset at 1440p provide the best experience per the data, offering a strong compromise between visual quality and performance. The Low preset at 1080p is the best for competitive play if maximum frame rate is the priority.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation pipelines. The GPU has 12 ray tracing cores. Its clock speeds are listed with a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's main memory, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent." This is a critical specification, as shared memory bandwidth is a common performance limiter for integrated graphics.

Benchmark data places this GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710, all of which are very low-end parts. The data shows the Arc B390 is 1.3% ahead of the GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710. This positions it as a strictly entry-level graphics solution.

In Barony, the GPU's role is the primary bottleneck. The measured FPS data shows that the system's performance scales directly with the GPU's workload. The 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions. The shared memory architecture is also a likely contributor to the performance cliff seen at 4K, as the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor when requesting large textures and frame buffers. The GPU's boost clock of 2500 MHz is high for an integrated part, but it cannot compensate for the fundamental lack of raw compute and dedicated memory bandwidth.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2601 out of 2935 tested combos for Barony. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested system configurations. This ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's limited capabilities, as the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor in this pairing.

The high rank number (with a lower rank number being better) indicates that most other tested combinations of CPUs and GPUs deliver higher frame rates in this game. This is expected, as the Arc B390 is an integrated solution, while most other combos likely use dedicated graphics cards. The data suggests that while the Ryzen 9 7900X is a top-tier processor, it is completely held back by the Arc B390 in this gaming context. The system's performance is effectively that of a low-end laptop or entry-level desktop, despite having a flagship-class CPU.

This ranking is not a measure of the CPU's capability, but rather the performance of the complete system. The CPU is capable of far more, but the GPU's 9th percentile benchmark score ensures that the combo will be near the bottom of the rankings. The 2601st rank out of 2935 combos shows that the pairing is severely imbalanced for gaming purposes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael). It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It features 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU supports DDR5 memory and has a dual-channel memory bus, providing 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. It uses the AMD Socket AM5 and has a TDP of 170 W.

In Barony, which is a roguelike game, the CPU's role is likely to manage game logic, procedural generation, and AI. The 12 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for this task. The CPU benchmarks show exceptional performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29300 and a single-core score of 2016.5. The 3DMark 16-thread score is 10972. This data indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck for this game.

The measured FPS data confirms this. The consistent and predictable frame rate drops with resolution are not characteristic of a CPU bottleneck. If the CPU were limiting performance, we would see similar frame rates across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload would remain constant. Instead, the frame rates are highly dependent on the GPU's workload. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53288, further supports the conclusion that it is providing ample processing power, but the system's performance is capped by the GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 102 FPS at 1920x1080 with the High preset.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710?

A: The benchmark data shows the Arc B390 has an average score 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710.

Q: Is the game playable at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only with significant compromises. The Low preset averages 53 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 39 FPS at 3840x2160.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck for this combo in Barony?

A: The data indicates the Intel Arc B390 GPU is the limiting factor, as performance scales heavily with resolution and settings changes.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 2601 out of 2935 tested combinations.

Q: Does the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X have enough processing power for this game?

A: Yes, the CPU's benchmark scores and the FPS scaling pattern indicate it is more than capable, with the GPU being the limiting component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average frame rates for each resolution and settings combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | ------: | ------: | ------: |

| 3840x2160 | High | 34 | | |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 53 | | |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 39 | 33 | 45 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 24 | | |

| 2560x1440 | High | 64 | | |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 100 | | |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 75 | 64 | 86 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 46 | | |

| 1920x1080 | High | 102 | | |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 159 | | |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 118 | 101 | 136 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 73 | | |

The data shows a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, the system can achieve high frame rates across all settings, with the Low preset being the fastest. At 1440p, the High preset is the highest quality that maintains an average above 60 FPS. At 4K, the system is only comfortable with the Low and Medium presets, and even then, the frame rates are below the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K is essentially unplayable at 24 FPS. The Medium preset at each resolution shows a minimum FPS that is close to the average, suggesting a relatively stable frame time, while the maximum FPS shows some headroom. The lack of min/max data for other presets prevents a full analysis of frame pacing, but the averages provide a clear picture of the system's capabilities.