Barony

Barony is an older roguelike title, yet the data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the Intel Arc B370 shows that the integrated GPU is the decisive bottleneck at higher resolutions. The most effective way to play this combination is to prioritize framerate over visual fidelity, with the Low preset at 1080p delivering a perfectly smooth 144 FPS average. The measured results show that while the CPU is highly capable, the Arc B370's integrated nature limits performance severely as resolution increases, making lower settings and lower resolutions necessary for an enjoyable experience.

Settings Recommendations

The data strongly indicates that the Low preset is the optimal choice for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + Intel Arc B370 combination in Barony. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 144 FPS, which is the highest score recorded across all tested configurations for this game. This is a 34% improvement over the next best setting at the same resolution, which is the High preset at 92 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 107 FPS, still playable but a noticeable step down from the Low setting's performance ceiling.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for this pairing. At 1080p, it drops to 66 FPS, which is a 54% reduction compared to the Low preset. The situation worsens at higher resolutions, with Ultra at 2560x1440 producing only 42 FPS and at 3840x2160 falling to an unplayable 22 FPS. The Medium preset offers a reasonable middle ground at 1080p with 107 FPS, but the data shows that the performance gap between Medium and Low is significant, while the visual difference in a game like Barony is unlikely to justify the 26% framerate hit.

For users targeting 2560x1440, the Low preset is again the clear winner, delivering 91 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution that maintains a framerate above the 60 FPS threshold. High at 1440p drops to 58 FPS, which is just below that mark, while Medium produces 67 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a fully smooth experience; the best result is Low at 47 FPS, followed by Medium at 35 FPS. Given the data, the recommendation is unambiguous: use the Low preset for any resolution, as it consistently provides the highest average framerate and the only playable experience at 1440p and above.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution, as indicated by its bus interface of "IGP" and slot width of "IGP". Its memory configuration is "System Shared", meaning it relies on the system's DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operation pipelines, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with a FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS.

The GPU's performance percentile is exceptionally low, sitting at the 5th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 1184, and its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, with delta percentages of -0.2% and -0.5% respectively. This places the Arc B370 in a performance class that is far below modern dedicated graphics cards. In Barony, the GPU's limitations are the primary constraint on performance, especially at higher resolutions. The data shows that the GPU's shared memory and integrated nature cause framerates to collapse as the rendering load increases, which is consistent with a component that is not designed for high-resolution gaming.

The low boost clock of 2400 MHz and the modest shading unit count are the likely contributors to the GPU's inability to maintain high framerates at 4K. The measured FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset is only 22 FPS, a clear indication that the GPU is overwhelmed. The thermal design power of the GPU is 25 W, which is extremely low and reflects its integrated design. The data suggests that the Arc B370 is sufficient for older or less demanding games at lower resolutions, but it cannot handle the pixel throughput required by 4K resolution in Barony without significant compromises to settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2701 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. This places it in the bottom 8% of all configurations, which is a very poor showing. The rank reflects the GPU's severe limitations, as the CPU itself is quite powerful. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 90, indicating it outperforms 90% of all processors in general benchmarks. However, the combo's in-game rank is dragged down entirely by the integrated GPU.

The CPU's nearest rivals in general benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G with an average score of 49196 and a delta of -0.4%, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 with a score of 49228 and a delta of -0.5%, and the Intel Core i5-14600K with a score of 48618 and a delta of 0.8%. These comparisons show that the Core Ultra 5 245 is a competitive mid-range to high-end CPU in synthetic tests. Yet in Barony, the combo's rank of 2701 means that almost every other combination of CPU and GPU tested performs better, which is a direct consequence of the Arc B370's low 5th percentile GPU ranking.

The discrepancy between the CPU's strong benchmark scores and the combo's poor in-game rank highlights the importance of GPU selection. The data shows that the Core Ultra 5 245 is not the limiting factor in Barony; the Arc B370 is. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the ATI Radeon HD 5770, are from a much older generation, and their performance levels are indicative of what the Arc B370 can achieve. This rank suggests that users seeking better performance in Barony would need to pair this CPU with a dedicated GPU, as the integrated solution is fundamentally inadequate for this game at higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low preset yields 144 FPS, High yields 92 FPS, Medium yields 107 FPS, and Ultra yields 66 FPS. The Medium preset also has a recorded minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS, providing a range of 32 FPS. This resolution is the only one where the Low preset achieves a triple-digit framerate, and it is the only resolution where the Ultra preset remains above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops significantly. Low preset achieves 91 FPS, High yields 58 FPS, Medium yields 67 FPS, and Ultra yields 42 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 78 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, with the Low preset losing 37% of its average FPS, from 144 to 91. The High preset loses 37% as well, from 92 to 58, and Ultra loses 36%, from 66 to 42.

At 3840x2160, the performance is marginal. Low preset averages 47 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 30 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS. None of these averages reach the 60 FPS mark, and even the Low preset fails to maintain a consistent 48 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: each resolution step up reduces the average FPS by roughly 35-50%, regardless of the preset, which indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 shows an average FPS reduction of approximately 37% across all presets. For example, the Low preset goes from 144 to 91 FPS, and the High preset goes from 92 to 58 FPS. This is a substantial drop that indicates the GPU is struggling to render the additional pixels. The scaling from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is even more severe. The Low preset drops from 91 to 47 FPS, a 48% reduction, while the Medium preset drops from 67 to 35 FPS, a 48% reduction as well. The High preset falls from 58 to 30 FPS, a 48% reduction, and Ultra from 42 to 22 FPS, a 48% reduction.

These consistent percentage drops across all settings are a strong indicator that the limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling would be less uniform and the framerates would not drop so predictably with resolution. The data shows that the Arc B370's integrated memory and low processing power cannot keep up with the increasing pixel count. The 4K resolution requires four times the pixels of 1080p, and the measured FPS at 4K is roughly one-third of the 1080p values, which aligns with the GPU's inability to scale.

The resolution scaling analysis suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has ample headroom. The CPU's strong benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648, indicate it is not the limiting factor. The framerate drops are entirely attributable to the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints. For users who want to play at higher resolutions, the data shows that they must accept significantly lower framerates, or they must reduce the resolution to 1080p to achieve playable performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + Intel Arc B370 in Barony?

A: The Low preset is the best choice. At 1920x1080, it achieves an average of 144 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combination. At 2560x1440, it produces 91 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it yields 47 FPS, making it the only preset that comes close to playable framerates at higher resolutions.

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

A: The Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184, placing it at the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186 and a delta of -0.2%, followed by the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with a score of 1190 and a delta of -0.5%. These are all very low-performing GPUs.

Q: Why does the combo rank so poorly in Barony despite the CPU being powerful?

A: The combo ranks 2701 out of 2935 tested combos in Barony. The CPU, Intel Core Ultra 5 245, has a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, but the Arc B370 GPU is at the 5th percentile. The integrated GPU is the bottleneck, dragging the overall combo rank down significantly.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K on the Low preset?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 144. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS drops to 47. This represents a 67% reduction in framerate when moving from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU cannot handle the higher resolution.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever playable with this hardware?

A: The Ultra preset is only playable at 1920x1080, where it averages 66 FPS. At 2560x1440, it drops to 42 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 22 FPS, both of which are below the generally accepted playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Q: What does the resolution scaling data say about the system's limiting component?

A: The consistent 37% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and the 48% drop from 1440p to 4K across all presets indicate that the GPU is the limiting component. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has strong benchmark scores, but the Arc B370's performance collapses as resolution increases, confirming the GPU as the bottleneck.