Barony

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers a playable experience in Barony, but the data clearly indicates that the system's performance ceiling is defined by the integrated graphics solution. The measured results show that the Arc B370, while functional, ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs, and this bottleneck is evident in the frame rates across all tested resolutions. The optimal configuration for this combo is the Medium preset at 1920x1080, which provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, yielding an average of 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS. While the Low preset achieves a higher average of 144 FPS, the Medium settings offer a significant improvement in detail without sacrificing the smoothness required for the game's fast-paced, dungeon-crawling action.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four tested presets. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset produces an average of 66 FPS, which is playable but leaves performance on the table. The High preset increases this to 92 FPS, while the Medium preset delivers 107 FPS. The Low preset peaks at 144 FPS, but this comes at the cost of visual quality. The sweet spot for this hardware combination is the Medium preset at 1080p. The data for this setting shows a minimum frame rate of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS, indicating a stable experience that avoids the dips that could be problematic in a game where reaction time is critical. The jump from Medium to High only yields a 15 FPS average increase, suggesting diminishing returns, whereas the jump from Medium to Low provides a 37 FPS increase but strips away too much of the game's visual atmosphere.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset still offers a respectable average of 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS, making it the recommended choice for users with higher-resolution monitors who can tolerate some settings compromises. The High preset at this resolution drops to 58 FPS, which is on the edge of the ideal smoothness threshold. At 4K, the situation becomes more challenging; the Medium preset manages an average of only 35 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay in a twitch-based roguelike. For this resolution, the Low preset is the only viable option, providing an average of 47 FPS. However, given the system's overall performance profile, the primary recommendation is to prioritize 1080p with Medium settings for an optimal experience. The Ultra preset is largely impractical, as it only reaches an average of 66 FPS at 1080p and drops to 22 FPS at 4K, making it unsuitable for this GPU.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best settings preset for the Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B370 in Barony?*

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the best combination of performance and visual quality, with an average of 107 FPS and a minimum of 91 FPS. This provides a smooth and stable experience without the significant visual compromises of the Low preset.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K resolution in Barony?*

A: The data indicates that 4K is only marginally playable on the lowest settings. The Low preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 47 FPS, while the Medium preset drops to 35 FPS. For a consistently smooth experience, lower resolutions are strongly recommended.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals based on benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184. This is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It is 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this system for Barony?*

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. The Intel Arc B370 ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs and has a TDP of only 25 W, classifying it as an integrated graphics processor. In contrast, the Intel Core i5-12400 ranks in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is far more capable than the graphics solution.

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

A: The Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers an average of 144 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers an average of 66 FPS. This represents a 78 FPS difference, or roughly 54% lower performance on Ultra compared to Low.

Q: What kind of frame rate stability can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system produces an average of 67 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 78 FPS. This indicates a generally stable experience, though it is more susceptible to dips than at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark performance is substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and a single-core score of 2257. In the context of Barony, a roguelike game, the CPU's role is significant for game logic, procedural generation, and physics calculations. The data shows this processor is more than capable of feeding frames to the GPU; its percentile rank of 72 among all CPUs indicates it is a solid mid-range performer that should not be a source of frame rate limitations in most scenarios.

The CPU's multi-threading capabilities are particularly relevant. The passmark multithread score of 18747 and a 3dmark max threads score of 5890 suggest that the processor can handle the complex simulation tasks that roguelikes often present. However, the measured FPS data in Barony reveals that the frame rates are heavily constrained by the graphics processor. The highest average FPS recorded is 144 at 1080p Low settings, which is more likely a cap or a result of the GPU reaching its limit rather than a reflection of CPU performance. The single-core performance, as measured by a 3dmark single thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 227, is adequate for the game's primary game thread.

Despite the CPU's strength, the system's overall performance is capped by the Intel Arc B370. The GPU is an integrated solution with a TDP of just 25 W, a boost clock of 2400 MHz, and a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s. This configuration means that even with a powerful CPU like the i5-12400, the system is unable to achieve high frame rates at higher resolutions or settings. In this pairing, the CPU's role is to provide a stable foundation, ensuring that frame times are consistent, but it is not the component that determines the attainable FPS in Barony. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support contribute to its ability to handle game data efficiently, but the GPU remains the decisive factor in the measured performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2701 out of 2935 tested combos for Barony. This places the system in the bottom 8% of all configurations tested, highlighting that it is a low-performance pairing for this title. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, as the Arc B370's average benchmark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The data suggests that while the CPU is a competent performer, the integrated GPU severely drags down the overall gaming potential of this combo.

This low ranking is predictable given the GPU's specifications. The Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 25 W TDP, which is designed for basic tasks rather than demanding gaming. In comparison, the CPU alone demonstrates strong performance, with an average benchmark score of 18683, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. The discrepancy between the CPU's percentile (72) and the GPU's percentile (5) is stark, and the combo's rank of 2701 reflects the performance of its weakest link. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7643 with a deltaPct of -0.1% and the Intel Core i3-14100F with a deltaPct of 0.9%, show that the i5-12400 is a competitive processor, but this does not translate to a high rank when paired with the Arc B370.

The measured FPS data further confirms this ranking. Even at the lowest settings and resolution (1080p Low), the system only achieves 144 FPS, which is a common target for high-refresh-rate monitors but is not an exceptional result. At more demanding settings like 1440p Ultra, the FPS drops to 42, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 22. These numbers are consistent with a combo that is ranked in the bottom portion of the database. The system is functional for playing Barony, but it is not competitive with other combos in terms of raw performance, and users should have modest expectations for graphical fidelity and resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a significant and expected drop in performance as the resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Medium preset, the average frame rate falls from 107 FPS at 1080p to 67 FPS at 1440p, and then to 35 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37.4% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47.8% decrease from 1440p to 4K. This steep decline is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound system, where the rendering load increases substantially with the pixel count, overwhelming the capabilities of the Intel Arc B370.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. For the High preset, the FPS drops from 92 at 1080p to 58 at 1440p and 30 at 4K. For the Low preset, it drops from 144 at 1080p to 91 at 1440p and 47 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, falling from 66 at 1080p to 42 at 1440p and 22 at 4K. The fact that even the Low preset cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K (47 FPS) strongly suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would be more consistent across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not scale as dramatically with resolution.

The data indicates that the Intel Arc B370's performance is heavily tied to the pixel throughput. With a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s, the GPU has limited fill-rate capabilities. This is why the system struggles at 4K, where the number of pixels to be processed is over four times that of 1080p. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less severe but still significant, confirming that users should primarily target 1080p for a smooth experience. The system's inability to scale efficiently to higher resolutions is a direct consequence of the GPU's modest specifications, including its 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for the Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B370 in Barony is as follows:

At 1920x1080:

• The Low preset achieves an average of 144 FPS.
• The Medium preset achieves an average of 107 FPS, with a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS.
• The High preset achieves an average of 92 FPS.
• The Ultra preset achieves an average of 66 FPS.

At 2560x1440:

• The Low preset achieves an average of 91 FPS.
• The Medium preset achieves an average of 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 78 FPS.
• The High preset achieves an average of 58 FPS.
• The Ultra preset achieves an average of 42 FPS.

At 3840x2160:

• The Low preset achieves an average of 47 FPS.
• The Medium preset achieves an average of 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS.
• The High preset achieves an average of 30 FPS.
• The Ultra preset achieves an average of 22 FPS.

These numbers paint a comprehensive picture of the system's capabilities. The 1080p Low preset is the only configuration that hits the 144 FPS mark, which is likely a ceiling for this hardware. The Medium preset at 1080p is the most balanced, offering a high average frame rate with a minimum that stays well above 60 FPS. The data shows a consistent and predictable degradation of performance as settings and resolution increase. The Ultra preset is universally poor, even at 1080p, and should be avoided. The performance at 1440p is acceptable for Medium and Low settings, but the High and Ultra presets begin to show significant strain. Finally, 4K is only viable on the Low preset, and even then, the average frame rate of 47 FPS is below the ideal threshold for a responsive game. The minimum FPS data, where available, shows that the system can experience dips, particularly at higher resolutions, reinforcing the recommendation to play at 1080p with Medium settings for the most consistent experience.