Barony

# Barony CPU/GPU Benchmark Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a distinctly CPU-bound experience in Barony, with the processor's massive 24-core/24-thread configuration and 5.80 GHz boost clock providing ample headroom while the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions. This combination ranks 2985th out of 3717 tested combos in the game, placing it in the lower half of the database's tested configurations despite both components being current-generation hardware.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor built on Intel's Arrow Lake Refresh architecture using TSMC's 3 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The chip carries 36 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 192 KB L1 and 3 MB L2 per core, and it supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus with 115.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This processor sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 84,003.

In synthetic workloads, the CPU demonstrates its strengths clearly. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51,731 and single-core score of 7,303 paint a picture of a processor that excels in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded scenarios. Passmark results reinforce this: multithread score of 60,860, single-thread score of 4,823, floating-point math at 214,760, and integer math at 166,194. Data compression tests hit 698,346, while encryption reaches 52,563. These figures place the 290K Plus marginally ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which posts an average score of 83,807 — a delta of just 0.2%. It also edges out the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83,090, 1.1% delta) and EPYC 9135 (82,980, 1.2% delta), while trailing the EPYC 7F72 (85,072, -1.3% delta).

For Barony, a roguelike title that doesn't demand extreme thread counts, the CPU's single-thread performance is the more relevant metric. The 5.80 GHz boost clock combined with the strong single-core Cinebench R23 score of 7,303 means the processor can handle the game's logic and AI calculations with substantial headroom. The measured frame rates show this: at 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 245 FPS average, which indicates the CPU is capable of feeding frames far beyond typical display refresh rates. The 24-thread configuration is largely superfluous for this game, but it doesn't hurt — the architecture simply has more than enough compute capacity for Barony's demands.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is a Battlemage-generation GPU (Arc 5 series) built on TSMC's 5 nm process, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. It features 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operations pipelines, along with 18 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). It carries 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, yielding 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, and it connects via PCIe 4.0 x8.

The Arc B570's benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 20,556. Its nearest rivals are all within a fraction of a percent: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20,534 (0.1% delta), the Intel Arc A750 scores 20,582 (-0.1% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20,480 (0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20,662 (-0.5% delta). In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the card scores 2,649, while Geekbench results show OpenCL at 83,514 and Vulkan at 96,844. Passmark G3D yields 14,195, with G2D at 661 and GPU compute at 7,281.

In Barony, the GPU's role becomes increasingly prominent as resolution scales up. At 1080p Low, the system hits 245 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 37 FPS — a dramatic 85% reduction. This pattern indicates that the Arc B570 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings, while the CPU remains underutilized. The 10 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for this game's demands, and the 380 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient throughput for the textures and effects at play. The GPU's modest FP32 throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but strain at 4K with higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 245 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 154 FPS (a 37% reduction), and 4K Low further reduces it to 81 FPS (a 47% reduction from 1440p). The scaling is steeper at higher settings: High preset goes from 156 FPS at 1080p to 99 FPS at 1440p (37% drop) to 52 FPS at 4K (47% drop from 1440p). Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling: 112 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 37 FPS at 4K (48% drop from 1440p).

This consistent 37-48% reduction pattern across all settings as resolution increases points to a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU is capable of maintaining high frame rates — evidenced by the 245 FPS at 1080p Low — but the GPU's rendering throughput at higher pixel counts becomes the bottleneck. The fact that 1440p High (99 FPS) nearly matches 4K Low (81 FPS) in performance suggests the GPU is equally taxed by pixel count and visual complexity, with neither factor dominating exclusively.

The 1080p to 1440p transition is particularly telling. At every settings tier, the drop is approximately 37%, which indicates the GPU is scaling with pixel count (a 1.78x increase in pixels) rather than being limited by any other factor. The 1440p to 4K transition (2.25x pixel increase) shows a 47-48% drop, which is slightly less severe proportionally, suggesting some other bottleneck begins to emerge — possibly memory bandwidth or the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface — though the data doesn't isolate these factors.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p with High settings yields 99 FPS average, which balances visual quality with smooth performance. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 81 FPS, making it less ideal for high-refresh displays.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus posts an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the 285K's 83,807. This is a negligible difference in practical terms.

Q: Why does the system hit 245 FPS at 1080p Low but only 37 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: The GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The Arc B570's rendering throughput at 4K Ultra is insufficient to maintain high frame rates, while at 1080p Low, the CPU has enough headroom to push frame rates much higher.

Q: Is the Arc B570 more comparable to a mobile GPU or a desktop GPU in performance?

A: Its average benchmark score of 20,556 is within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534) and within 0.1% of the desktop Intel Arc A750 (20,582), placing it at parity with both.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity and does it suffice for Barony?

A: The Arc B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory. Given that the game runs at all tested settings and resolutions without reported issues, this capacity is sufficient for Barony's requirements.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance impact Barony's frame rates?

A: The CPU's strong single-thread score of 4,823 in Passmark and 7,303 in Cinebench R23 ensures the game's logic isn't a bottleneck, as evidenced by the 245 FPS result at 1080p Low where the GPU is less stressed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality for this system. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 182 FPS average with a minimum of 155 FPS and maximum of 209 FPS, providing a smooth experience well above 144 Hz refresh rates. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 115 FPS with minimum 98 FPS and maximum 132 FPS, still comfortably playable on high-refresh monitors. Even at 4K Medium, the system maintains 60 FPS average with a 51 FPS minimum, making it the only preset that achieves a playable 4K experience.

The High preset is also viable: 156 FPS at 1080p, 99 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K. However, the jump from Medium to High costs roughly 14-16% performance at each resolution, while the visual gains in a roguelike title may not justify the frame rate sacrifice. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution — the 4K Ultra result of 37 FPS is below playable thresholds, and even 1080p Ultra (112 FPS) sacrifices substantial performance compared to Medium (182 FPS).

For players with 144 Hz displays, 1440p Medium is the sweet spot. For 60 Hz displays, 4K Medium provides a locked 60 FPS experience. The Low preset (245 FPS at 1080p, 154 FPS at 1440p, 81 FPS at 4K) is only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rates take priority over visual fidelity, though Barony's roguelike genre doesn't typically demand such competitive edge.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 245 FPS average. Medium settings yield 182 FPS average with a minimum of 155 FPS and maximum of 209 FPS. High settings reach 156 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 112 FPS average. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 133 FPS, representing a 54% reduction from the lowest to highest preset.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down proportionally. Low settings produce 154 FPS average. Medium settings achieve 115 FPS average with a minimum of 98 FPS and maximum of 132 FPS. High settings reach 99 FPS average. Ultra settings deliver 71 FPS average. The spread between Low and Ultra is 83 FPS, a 54% reduction from lowest to highest preset, mirroring the 1080p pattern.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become pronounced. Low settings produce 81 FPS average. Medium settings achieve 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS. High settings reach 52 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 37 FPS average. The spread between Low and Ultra is 44 FPS, a 54% reduction — consistent with the other resolutions, confirming the GPU scales uniformly with settings regardless of resolution.

The Medium preset consistently shows the tightest frame time variance across all resolutions, with the 1080p Medium min/max spread of 54 FPS being the narrowest relative to its average. This consistency, combined with the playable frame rates at every resolution, makes Medium the most predictable and reliable preset for this hardware combination. The data indicates that players seeking stable performance should prioritize Medium settings, while those with 60 Hz displays can confidently select 4K Medium for a locked experience.