Barony

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a performance profile in Barony that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics preset. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy: the combination is exceptionally capable at 1080p, highly fluid at 1440p, and merely playable at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) to determine where the bottleneck lies and how users should configure the game for their target display.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 4K reveals a significant shift in the system's limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 245 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 154 FPS, a reduction of 91 FPS (-37%). Scaling further to 3840x2160 at Low yields 81 FPS, which is another 73 FPS drop (-47%). This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling factor; as pixel count increases, the rendering load grows exponentially, and the Arc B570's throughput becomes the ceiling.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced at higher settings. At Medium preset, the average FPS falls from 182 at 1080p to 115 at 1440p, then to 60 at 4K. The 4K Medium result is exactly one-third of the 1080p Medium result, confirming a near-linear scaling with pixel count when the settings workload is constant. This suggests that the game is not CPU-limited at these settings; if it were, the FPS would remain relatively flat despite resolution changes.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest decline. From 112 FPS at 1080p, the average drops to 71 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 37 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is only 33% of the 1080p Ultra figure, indicating that the GPU is saturated by the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical features. The data implies that the Intel Core i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, provides sufficient headroom to keep up with the GPU at all tested resolutions, as the FPS drops are consistently proportional to the resolution increase rather than stalling due to CPU limitations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear guide for the optimal settings at each resolution, balancing frame rate against visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, every preset is playable, but the data suggests that High settings at 156 FPS is the sweet spot for most users, as it offers a substantial visual upgrade over Low (245 FPS) and Medium (182 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate well above the refresh rate of typical 144Hz monitors. Ultra at 112 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing image quality, but the 44 FPS drop from High to Ultra may not justify the marginal visual gains in a roguelike where readability is key.

For 2560x1440, High settings at 99 FPS is the recommended preset. This provides a smooth experience on 100Hz+ displays and retains the majority of visual effects. Medium at 115 FPS is an alternative for users on 120Hz displays, while Ultra at 71 FPS remains playable but introduces a noticeable reduction in fluidity compared to the lower presets. Low at 154 FPS is excessive for most displays and sacrifices too much visual detail for a marginal competitive advantage.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. High settings produce an average of 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for many 4K displays. Medium settings at 60 FPS is the optimal choice, as it hits the 60 FPS mark exactly while providing a better visual experience than Low (81 FPS). Ultra at 37 FPS is not recommended for general play, as the frame pacing will be noticeable and the visual difference from Medium is minor in a game with Barony's stylized graphics. Low is the fallback for users who prioritize frame rate over everything else, but Medium offers the best balance of performance and quality.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average is 245 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The highest quality preset that remains above 100 FPS is Ultra, which averages 112 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which averages exactly 60 FPS. High settings average 52 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37 FPS. Low settings exceed 60 FPS at 81 FPS but require significant visual compromises.

Q: How does the 1440p Medium performance compare to 1080p Medium?

A: The 1440p Medium average is 115 FPS, which is 67 FPS lower than the 1080p Medium average of 182 FPS. This represents a 37% reduction in frame rate for the resolution increase.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The 4K Ultra average of 37 FPS is a direct result of the rendering resolution and settings, as the CPU is capable of driving much higher frame rates at lower resolutions (245 FPS at 1080p Low).

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows a min FPS of 98 and a max FPS of 132, yielding an average of 115 FPS. This indicates a variance of 34 FPS, which is approximately 30% of the average, suggesting some frame pacing fluctuations but generally stable performance.

Q: Does the Arc B570's 10 GB VRAM become a constraint at any tested configuration?

A: The measured FPS data does not show any sudden drops that would indicate VRAM overflow. The linear scaling from 1080p to 4K suggests that the 10 GB GDDR6 memory is sufficient for the tested settings, as performance degrades predictably rather than collapsing due to memory exhaustion.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF + Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2344 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the lower 20th percentile of all systems tested, which is surprising given the strong absolute FPS numbers at 1080p and 1440p. The low rank is likely due to the fact that Barony is a lightweight roguelike title that can achieve very high frame rates on even modest hardware, meaning many competing combos with similar or lower-tier GPUs can also hit triple-digit FPS at lower resolutions.

The rank relative to other combos suggests that the Arc B570's performance is middle-of-the-pack for this specific game. While the GPU scores in the 65th percentile for all GPUs, its in-game rank is dragged down by the fact that Barony does not heavily stress the GPU's advanced features. The combo's rank of 2344 indicates that it is not a top-tier performer for this title, but the measured FPS data provides a more nuanced picture: at 1080p, it delivers excellent performance that would satisfy most users, while at 4K Ultra, it falls into the lower end of playability.

The data shows that the combo's ranking is more reflective of the game's minimal requirements than the hardware's capability. The Intel Arc B570, despite being a 65th percentile GPU, is paired with a 90th percentile CPU (Intel Core i5-14600KF), but the game does not leverage the CPU's strengths enough to push the combo higher in the rankings. The bottleneck analysis confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, which is typical for a game with simple geometry but high pixel throughput requirements.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570's specifications directly influence the measured results. The GPU features a base clock of 2500 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, indicating a fixed clock speed under load. This consistency helps explain the predictable FPS scaling across resolutions. The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the textures and effects in Barony at the tested settings, as evidenced by the lack of VRAM-related stutters in the min FPS data.

The GPU's architecture, Xe2-HPG on a 5 nm process from TSMC, delivers 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This raw compute power is what drives the 245 FPS average at 1080p Low. The 2304 shading units and 144 TMUs work together to process the game's pixel and texture data, while the 80 ROPs handle the final output. The texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s are key metrics that explain the performance drop from 1080p to 4K, as the number of pixels to fill quadruples.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for its in-game performance. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 and Passmark G3D score of 14195 place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (deltaPct -0.1). In Barony, the GPU's real-world performance aligns with these synthetic scores, showing that it is a solid mid-range option that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming with ease, but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra due to its 11.52 TFLOPS compute ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers high frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 245 FPS, while Medium averages 182 FPS with a min of 155 and max of 209. High settings drop to 156 FPS, and Ultra averages 112 FPS. The data shows a clear step-down from Low to Ultra, with each preset tier reducing the average by roughly 30-45 FPS, indicating the GPU's scaling with graphical feature load.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 154 FPS (Low), 115 FPS (Medium, min 98, max 132), 99 FPS (High), and 71 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset's min FPS of 98 is notable, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold even during demanding moments. The step-down from Low to Ultra is 83 FPS, which is a larger absolute drop than at 1080p, reflecting the increased pixel count's impact on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 81 FPS (Low), 60 FPS (Medium, min 51, max 69), 52 FPS (High), and 37 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset's min FPS of 51 is the only instance where the frame rate dips below 60 FPS in the measured data, indicating that even the recommended 4K setting has occasional drops. The Ultra preset at 37 FPS is the lowest recorded average, confirming that this configuration is not suited for maximum settings at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample data storage for the game's logic and AI routines. The CPU's benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs.

In Barony, which is a roguelike game primarily driven by procedural generation and game logic, the CPU's single-thread performance is crucial for maintaining high frame rates. The Passmark single-thread score of 4273 and Geekbench single-core score of 2445 indicate strong per-core performance, which is why the combo can achieve 245 FPS at 1080p Low without the CPU becoming a bottleneck. The data shows that even at 1080p Ultra (112 FPS), the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the FPS drop from Low to Ultra is entirely attributable to the GPU's workload increase.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a Passmark multithread score of 38697, ensure that background tasks and game threads do not interfere with rendering. The nearest CPU rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (deltaPct 0.3) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (deltaPct 0.8), but in Barony, the i5-14600KF's performance is more than adequate. The data confirms that the CPU is a non-issue for this game; the GPU is the sole determinant of frame rate at resolutions above 1080p, and even at 1080p, the CPU provides no observable constraint.