Barony

# Barony with Intel Core i5-14600KF + Intel Arc B370

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a challenging performance profile in Barony. The measured data shows this combination ranks 2701 out of 2935 tested combos in this game, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. The CPU is a high-end desktop processor with strong synthetic scores, but the integrated-class GPU severely limits actual gameplay. The 14-core, 20-thread Intel Core i5-14600KF, based on Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process, delivers excellent compute potential, while the Arc B370, a 3 nm integrated graphics solution with 1280 shading units, belongs to the low end of the GPU spectrum. This imbalance defines every benchmark result in the measured FPS data.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across three resolutions and four quality presets points to a clear optimal configuration. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 144 FPS average, which is the highest measured score in the entire dataset. This represents a 34% improvement over the High preset at the same resolution, which averages 92 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 107 FPS average, with a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 123 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 66 FPS average. For players prioritizing smooth frame delivery, the Low preset at 1080p is the only setting that reaches the 144 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for competitive or fast-paced sessions.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset still maintains 91 FPS average, which remains playable, but the gap to 1080p Low is substantial at 37% fewer frames. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower gameplay but risks dips below 60 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages 58 FPS, and Ultra drops to 42 FPS. The 4K resolution results are marginal at best. The Low preset at 3840x2160 averages 47 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 41 FPS, High averages 30 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. Given that Barony is a roguelike genre title where frame consistency matters for reaction times, the 1080p Low preset provides the only fully fluid experience in the measured data. The 144 FPS average at 1080p Low represents a 53% improvement over the 4K Low result, demonstrating that resolution choice matters more than quality settings for this combination.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF brings substantial processing capability to this pairing. With 14 cores, 20 threads, a base clock of 3.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, this CPU ranks in the 90th percentile against all processors in the benchmark database. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and single-core score of 4594 reflect strong performance across both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core provide ample on-die storage for game data. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and it features PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU. Its 125 W TDP indicates a power-hungry desktop part, and the unlocked multiplier allows overclocking.

In relation to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the i5-14600KF is tightly clustered. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228 average, a mere 0.3% difference from this CPU's 49394 average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4% behind, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% behind. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% ahead. This grouping shows that the i5-14600KF sits in a competitive mid-to-high range of CPU performance, with no rival in the immediate vicinity exceeding a 1% delta. For Barony specifically, the CPU's capability is far beyond what the GPU can utilize. The game's measured FPS at 1080p Low hits 144 FPS, which may reflect a frame cap or CPU-limited ceiling. At higher resolutions, the FPS drops proportionally, indicating that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as pixel count increases. The CPU's single-thread performance, as evidenced by the Geekbench single-core score of 2445 and PassMark single-thread score of 4273, suggests it can handle the game's logic and physics calculations without issue, but the measured data cannot isolate CPU contribution because the GPU is so limiting.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process from Intel. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output pipelines, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its compute capabilities are rated at 6.144 TFLOPS for FP32 and 12.29 TFLOPS for FP16. The memory configuration is entirely system shared, meaning the GPU uses the host system's RAM with bandwidth that is system dependent. The TDP is just 25 W, and it interfaces through the IGP bus, making this a power-efficient but low-performance part. Display outputs are portable device dependent, indicating this GPU targets mobile or compact systems.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score of 1184 places this GPU in the 5th percentile against all GPUs, which is exceptionally low. Its nearest rivals in the database are all older or lower-tier parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% ahead), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% ahead), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% ahead), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% behind). This clustering shows that the Arc B370 performs at a level comparable to graphics hardware from over a decade ago. For Barony, which is a roguelike title, the GPU's limitations manifest clearly in the measured FPS data. At 1080p Low, the GPU manages 144 FPS, but this drops to 92 FPS at High settings, a 36% reduction. The 4K Ultra result of 22 FPS is barely interactive. The system shared memory configuration means that VRAM is not a fixed constraint, but the GPU's raw throughput is the limiting factor. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are modest figures that explain why higher resolutions and quality settings cause such significant FPS drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2701 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the severe mismatch between the CPU and GPU components. The CPU alone sits in the 90th percentile against all processors, meaning it outperforms 90% of CPUs in the database. The GPU, however, sits in the 5th percentile, meaning it outperforms only 5% of GPUs. This pairing creates a situation where the CPU's potential is entirely wasted in gaming workloads that depend on GPU throughput. The combo rank of 2701 out of 2935 indicates that most other combinations, even those with weaker CPUs, achieve better gaming performance because they pair with more capable graphics solutions.

The delta between the CPU's percentile and the GPU's percentile is 85 points, which is an extreme imbalance. In the benchmark database, typical combos show a smaller gap between component tiers. The measured FPS data reinforces this assessment: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 144 FPS, which is respectable, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 22 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern of performance degradation that is characteristic of a GPU-bound system. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 78 FPS (144 to 66). At 1440p, the difference is 49 FPS (91 to 42). At 4K, the difference is 25 FPS (47 to 22). This diminishing absolute gap at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is saturated even at Low settings in 4K, leaving less headroom for quality increases.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 37% across all settings. From 1440p to 4K, the average FPS drops by an additional 48% across all settings. Taking the Low preset as an example: 144 FPS at 1080p drops to 91 FPS at 1440p, then to 47 FPS at 4K. This represents a total reduction of 67% from 1080p to 4K. For the Medium preset, the numbers are 107 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K, a total reduction of 67% as well. The High preset shows 92 FPS at 1080p, 58 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K, a total reduction of 67%. The Ultra preset shows 66 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K, a total reduction of 67%.

This consistent 67% reduction across all settings indicates that the limiting component scales linearly with pixel count. The number of pixels from 1080p to 4K increases by a factor of 4, but the FPS does not drop by a factor of 4; it drops by a factor of roughly 3. This suggests that the GPU is not purely pixel-limited, and some portion of the frame time is spent on other tasks. The consistent percentage drop across all quality presets points to a GPU that is bandwidth or fill-rate limited rather than shader-limited, since increasing quality settings does not change the relative scaling pattern. The system shared memory configuration likely plays a role here, as memory bandwidth is system dependent and may not scale efficiently with resolution increases. The 4K Medium result of 35 FPS average with a minimum of 30 FPS shows that even the minimum frame rate is below the 60 FPS threshold, making 4K playability marginal at best.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution where the average FPS exceeds 100 across any setting. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 144 FPS average, while 1440p Low drops to 91 FPS and 4K Low drops to 47 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it 0.2% behind the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, 0.5% behind the ATI Radeon HD 5770, 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and 1.4% ahead of the AMD FirePro M2000.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600KF a strong CPU for gaming?

A: The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile against all processors, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and single-core score of 4594. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, is only 0.3% different in average benchmark score, indicating this CPU is competitive at the high end.

Q: Why does the FPS drop by roughly 67% from 1080p to 4K?

A: The measured data shows a consistent 67% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K across all quality settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). This consistent scaling pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, with its system shared memory and low compute throughput constraining performance at higher pixel counts.

Q: What is the FPS range for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 67 FPS, with a measured minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 78 FPS. This is the only setting at 1440p with recorded minimum and maximum values in the dataset.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Barony?

A: The combo ranks 2701 out of 2935 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This low ranking reflects the GPU's 5th percentile performance despite the CPU's 90th percentile standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the Low preset delivers 144 FPS average, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 107 FPS, with a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 123 FPS. The High preset averages 92 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 66 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 78 FPS, showing that quality settings have a significant impact at this resolution. The Medium preset's minimum of 91 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 90 FPS.

At 2560x1440 resolution, the Low preset averages 91 FPS, which is a 37% reduction from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 78 FPS. The High preset averages 58 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 42 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 49 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 57 FPS is notably below the 60 FPS threshold, which could cause noticeable stuttering in fast-paced gameplay.

At 3840x2160 resolution, the Low preset averages 47 FPS, which is a 48% reduction from the 1440p Low result. The Medium preset averages 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 41 FPS. The High preset averages 30 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 22 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 25 FPS. The Medium preset's maximum of 41 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, confirming that 4K is not viable for smooth gameplay with this combination. The Ultra preset's 22 FPS average is barely above slideshow territory, and the High preset's 30 FPS average is exactly at the minimum playable threshold for many users.