Barony

The Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 pairing in Barony presents a stark study in component imbalance. The CPU is a top-tier desktop part, while the GPU is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, typically found in mobile platforms. Benchmark results show this combo ranks 2601 out of 2935 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 11% of systems. This page analyzes the measured frame rates to explain what this specific hardware pairing can deliver in this roguelike title.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 operates as an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 3 nm process node and a Panther Lake chip. Its memory configuration is entirely dependent on the host system: the memory size, bus width, and type are all listed as "System Shared," with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the GPU has no dedicated VRAM and must contend with the CPU for access to system memory, which directly impacts performance consistency in Barony.

Clock speeds for the Arc B390 are modest, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 24 raster output units (ROPs). It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 7.680 TFLOPS. However, the measured 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places this GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, indicating very low raw graphical performance.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear pattern: at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 24, which is barely playable. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 159, showing that when the graphical load is light, the integrated GPU can keep up with the game's demands. The shared memory architecture likely causes stutter or frame pacing issues in complex scenes, as the GPU and CPU compete for bandwidth. The 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are sufficient for a game like Barony at lower settings, but they quickly become overwhelmed when pixel throughput demands increase at higher resolutions.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Barony?*

A: Based on measured data, 1080p Low delivers the highest average FPS at 159, while 1080p Medium provides 118 average FPS. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p Low is viable at 100 average FPS, though 4K is generally not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 53 on Low settings down to 24 on Ultra settings. Medium settings yield 39 average FPS with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 45. High settings produce 34 average FPS. None of these 4K results provide a consistently smooth experience.

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K the limiting factor in this system?

A: No. The CPU is a high-end desktop processor with 24 cores and 32 threads, boosting to 6.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core: 39399.5, single-core: 2262.5) place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, which sits in the 9th percentile, is clearly the performance bottleneck.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443). These are all legacy or entry-level discrete GPUs.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 102. At 4K High, the average FPS drops to 34, representing a 67% decrease in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings.

*Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS in Barony?*

A: Yes, but only at lower resolutions and settings. 1080p Low (159 FPS), 1080p Medium (118 FPS), and 1080p High (102 FPS) all exceed 60 FPS. 1440p Low (100 FPS) and 1440p Medium (75 FPS) also exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p High (64 FPS), it barely meets the 60 FPS threshold. All 4K settings fall below 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2601 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places the system in the bottom 11.4% of all tested hardware configurations for this game. The ranking reflects the severe mismatch between the components: the processor is a top-tier part, but the integrated GPU holds the entire system back.

The CPU's performance percentile (95th) versus the GPU's percentile (9th) explains this poor ranking. In a game like Barony, which is not heavily threaded but does require consistent frame pacing, the GPU's shared memory architecture and low compute throughput dominate the experience. The combo's rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability; rather, it highlights how a weak GPU can negate the advantages of a powerful processor. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF (0.3% lower average score), Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (0.6% lower), and AMD EPYC 7413 (1.2% lower), all of which would likely perform similarly when paired with this GPU.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals the GPU as the definitive bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 102 at 1080p, to 64 at 1440p, and finally to 34 at 4K. This represents a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and another 47% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are rapidly exhausted as pixel count increases.

At Low settings, the pattern is even more pronounced: 159 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is higher than 4K High (53 vs 34 FPS), showing that reducing graphical load helps, but the absolute ceiling is still low. The Medium settings data, which includes minimum and maximum frame times, shows a tighter variance at 1080p (101 min, 136 max) compared to 1440p (64 min, 86 max) and 4K (33 min, 45 max). This suggests that at higher resolutions, the shared memory system causes more significant frame time spikes.

The data indicates that the Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are the limiting factors. When the resolution doubles, the pixel workload quadruples, and this GPU simply cannot sustain the throughput. The CPU, with its 36 MB of L3 cache and high single-thread performance, is not the constraint; otherwise, the frame rates would not scale so dramatically with resolution changes.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 159 average FPS
• Medium: 118 average FPS (minimum 101, maximum 136)
• High: 102 average FPS
• Ultra: 73 average FPS

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 100 average FPS
• Medium: 75 average FPS (minimum 64, maximum 86)
• High: 64 average FPS
• Ultra: 46 average FPS

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 53 average FPS
• Medium: 39 average FPS (minimum 33, maximum 45)
• High: 34 average FPS
• Ultra: 24 average FPS

The 1080p results show that the system is capable of delivering high frame rates in Barony when resolution is kept low. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p costs 86 FPS (from 159 to 73), a 54% reduction. At 1440p, the same settings change costs 54 FPS (from 100 to 46), a 54% reduction. At 4K, the cost is 29 FPS (from 53 to 24), a 55% reduction. This consistent proportional drop across resolutions indicates that the GPU's compute units are uniformly stressed by increasing settings, rather than a specific feature causing a cliff.

The Medium settings data is the only set with complete min/max values. At 1080p, the 101-136 FPS range shows a 35 FPS spread. At 1440p, the spread is 22 FPS (64-86). At 4K, the spread narrows to 12 FPS (33-45). This narrowing at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is consistently saturated, leaving less headroom for frame time variation. At lower resolutions, the CPU may occasionally push frames faster, creating a wider variance.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake-R architecture, built on a 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, with 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. This is a desktop-class CPU with a 125 W TDP, supporting DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark results are exceptional: Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5, single-core score of 2262.5, and Geekbench single-core score of 2655.

In Barony, a roguelike game, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, procedural generation, and entity updates. The game is not visually complex compared to modern AAA titles, but it requires consistent single-thread performance for smooth simulation. The i9-14900K's single-core performance is in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, making it more than capable of feeding frames to the GPU.

However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU's power is largely wasted in this configuration. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 159 FPS, which is likely close to the game's engine limit or the GPU's maximum output. The CPU can easily deliver far more frames, but the Arc B390's 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance and shared memory bandwidth cap the output. The CPU's 36 MB of L3 cache helps mitigate some of the shared memory latency, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's lack of dedicated VRAM.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i9-14900KF (0.3% lower average benchmark score) and AMD EPYC 7413 (1.2% lower), would produce nearly identical results in Barony when paired with the same GPU. The bottleneck is so severe that even a significantly slower CPU would likely achieve the same frame rates. The data shows that the i9-14900K's 24 cores and 32 threads are irrelevant for this game's GPU-bound scenarios; the limiting factor is the Arc B390's ability to render frames, not the CPU's ability to calculate them.