Barony

Barony is a roguelike that leans on procedural generation and tight, turn-based-ish combat, but the measured frame rates for this Intel Core i9-14900K + Intel Arc B370 combo show a clear performance curve that depends heavily on resolution and preset. The data indicates a system that is more than capable of high-refresh 1080p play, but one that will require significant setting compromises as you move up to 1440p and especially 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, pointing directly to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 92 FPS at 1920x1080 to 58 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 34 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops to 30 FPS, which is less than a third of the 1080p result. This pattern is not unique to High settings; the Low preset shows an even more dramatic absolute decline, going from 144 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 1440p and finally 47 FPS at 4K.

The scaling behavior reveals that the game's load shifts almost entirely onto the graphics processor as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the data suggests the Intel Core i9-14900K has ample headroom to feed the Arc B370, allowing it to stretch to 144 FPS on Low. By 1440p, the GPU is working harder, and the frame rate advantage of lower settings becomes more pronounced. At 4K, the situation is critical: even the Low preset cannot break past 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset sinks to just 22 FPS. This indicates that the Arc B370's compute and memory resources are saturated at 4K, and no amount of CPU headroom can compensate.

Looking at the Medium preset, which is the only one with min and max FPS data, the scaling is equally telling. At 1080p, the average is 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 67 FPS with a min of 57 and max of 78. At 4K, the average is 35 FPS with a min of 30 and max of 41. The frame time consistency worsens as resolution increases, but the absolute numbers confirm that 4K is a stretch goal for this pairing.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor in this configuration, and its specifications bear that out. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. Its boost clock is listed at 2400 MHz, with a base clock of 300 MHz. The memory is "System Shared," meaning it uses the host system's memory, and its bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent." This architecture is a significant constraint for high-resolution gaming.

The GPU's performance percentile is 5, which places it in the bottom tier of all tested GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The nearest rivals in the database are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186 (a delta of -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1190 (a delta of -0.5%), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M with 1192 (a delta of -0.7%), and the AMD FirePro M2000 with 1168 (a delta of 1.4%). This clearly shows that the Arc B370 is not a discrete gaming powerhouse; it is positioned closer to legacy integrated or entry-level mobile parts in raw compute.

The 25 W TDP and "IGP" slot width confirm this is not a standard add-in board but an integrated graphics processor. The boost clock of 2400 MHz helps, but the shared memory architecture is a bottleneck. In Barony, this manifests as the steep FPS drops seen at higher resolutions. The data shows that while the GPU can handle 1080p with relative ease, its pixel fill rate (48.00 GPixel/s) and texture rate (96.00 GTexel/s) are insufficient for the pixel workload of 4K. The FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS is simply not enough to maintain fluid frame rates at that resolution with higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Barony, this specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2701 out of 2935 combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The CPU, as will be discussed in its own section, is a top-tier performer, but the Arc B370 drags the entire combination down when compared to other tested setups that pair similar high-end CPUs with discrete graphics cards.

The combo rank of 2701 indicates that while the system is playable, it is far from competitive with most other configurations in the database. For context, the CPU alone sits in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU sits in the 5th percentile. This massive imbalance is the defining characteristic of this combo. The data suggests that users with this pairing will likely be limited by the GPU in most modern games, and Barony is no exception. The 2935 total combos tested show a wide spread of hardware, and this particular pairing is firmly at the lower end of the performance spectrum.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Barony at 4K?

A: Technically, yes, but not at a comfortable frame rate. The measured data shows 30 FPS on High, 35 FPS on Medium, and 47 FPS on Low at 3840x2160. The Ultra preset drops to 22 FPS. These numbers suggest 4K is only viable if you are willing to accept Low settings and a less smooth experience.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data clearly points to 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution. At this resolution, the system achieves 144 FPS on Low, 107 FPS on Medium, and 92 FPS on High. This is the only resolution where the frame rates are consistently high enough for a fluid experience across multiple presets.

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

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B370 scores 1184. Its closest competitors are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% faster). It is 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck, especially at 1440p and 4K. The CPU is a high-end part with a 95th percentile ranking, while the GPU is in the 5th percentile. The frame rate drops are directly correlated with resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 144 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 66 FPS. This is a difference of 78 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a significant performance cost that may not be worth the visual gain on this hardware.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS for the Medium preset?

A: For the Medium preset, the data shows a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS at 1080p. At 1440p, the minimum is 57 FPS and the maximum is 78 FPS. At 4K, the minimum is 30 FPS and the maximum is 41 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data suggests prioritizing 1080p and selecting the Medium or High preset. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 92 FPS, which is a solid target for a smooth experience. The Medium preset offers a better frame rate at 107 FPS, with a minimum of 91 FPS, ensuring that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not dip below 90 FPS. The Low preset at 144 FPS is the maximum performance option, but it likely sacrifices too much visual fidelity for the extra frames.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more delicate. The High preset averages 58 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Medium preset at 67 FPS is a better choice, as it provides a higher average with a minimum of 57 FPS. The Low preset at 91 FPS is the only 1440p option that approaches high-refresh territory. It is recommended to use the Low preset at 1440p if you desire a higher frame rate, or the Medium preset if you can tolerate occasional dips into the high 50s.

For 4K, the measured data shows that only the Low preset (47 FPS) is close to being playable. The Medium preset (35 FPS) and High preset (30 FPS) are borderline, and the Ultra preset (22 FPS) is not recommended. If you must play at 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option. However, given the significant performance headroom available at 1080p, the best experience will be had by lowering the resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a desktop processor from the Core 14th Gen series, built on the Raptor Lake architecture. It features 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It has 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. This is an extremely powerful CPU, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and single-core score of 2262.5. Its PassMark multithread score is 58674, and its single-thread score is 4697.

The CPU's performance percentile is 95, and its average benchmark score is 79097. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i9-14900KF with an average score of 79371 (a delta of -0.3%), the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus with 79574 (a delta of -0.6%), and the AMD EPYC 7413 with 80041 (a delta of -1.2%). It is 1.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, which scores 77740. This places the 14900K at the very top of the CPU hierarchy.

In the context of Barony, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, AI, and draw calls. The high core count and fast clock speeds ensure that it is never a limiting factor. The benchmark data confirms this: at 1080p, the frame rate scales dramatically with GPU settings, indicating the CPU is not holding the GPU back. The transition from 144 FPS on Low to 92 FPS on High at 1080p is entirely due to GPU workload. The CPU's immense single-thread performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2262.5, is more than sufficient for the game's engine. This combo demonstrates a classic case of CPU overkill for the GPU, but it does mean the system has headroom for future GPU upgrades without needing a new processor.