Thief

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Thief at 60 FPS at 1920x1080?

A: Yes, at 1080p the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and Intel Arc B390 clears the 60 FPS threshold on two presets. Low settings average 86 FPS, and Medium settings average 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: The best playable preset at 1920x1080 is Medium, with an average of 66 FPS. The recorded data shows a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS at that preset, so the average stays above the playable threshold even though the minimum dips below it.

Q: Can this PC run Thief at 2560x1440 at 60 FPS?

A: No. At 2560x1440, none of the four tested presets reach 60 FPS on average. Low settings average 59 FPS, which is just below the threshold, while Medium averages 45 FPS, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS.

Q: At 3840x2160, what is the best-case performance?

A: The highest average at 4K is 35 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 26 FPS, High averages 20 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. None of these approach the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. It sits at the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 compare to its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600's average benchmark score of 20468 is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G, 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9454P, and 0.5% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7713. It sits at the 74th percentile of all CPUs in the database.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU side, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 sits in a tight cluster of processors with nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Intel Core Ultra 7 258V scores 20454, which is 0.1% behind the Ryzen 5 5600, meaning systems built around either chip would deliver effectively interchangeable CPU-bound performance in Thief. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500G at 20425 and the AMD EPYC 9454P at 20422 are both 0.2% behind, while the AMD EPYC 7713 at 20363 is 0.5% behind. These deltas are small enough that no meaningful gameplay difference would appear in a stealth title like Thief, where frame pacing is more dependent on the GPU at the tested resolutions.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution with a benchmark score of 1482, placing it at the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all older discrete NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3% behind), the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% behind), the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% behind), and the GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% behind). A system with the Arc B390 should behave similarly to one with any of these GPUs in Thief, meaning users coming from those older cards would see roughly equivalent frame rates, though the arc's newer architecture and driver support may affect stability and feature compatibility outside of raw FPS.

The combination of a mid-range desktop CPU with an entry-level integrated GPU produces a system where the GPU is the clear performance limiter. The Ryzen 5 5600 has ample headroom for this workload, as evidenced by its 74th percentile CPU ranking, while the Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking means it is the component that determines playability.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded FPS data across resolutions and presets reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound. At 1920x1080, dropping from Ultra to Low raises the average from 48 FPS to 86 FPS, a 79% improvement. At 2560x1440, the same preset change moves the average from 33 FPS to 59 FPS, a 79% improvement as well. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 35 FPS versus 19 FPS on Ultra, an 84% improvement. These consistent gains across all resolutions indicate that the Intel Arc B390's shading units, texture units, and raster operations are the bottleneck, not the CPU's six cores and twelve threads.

The Ryzen 5 5600's single-thread benchmark scores are strong: 882 in 3dmark single-thread, 260 in Cinebench R15 single-core, and 3256 in Passmark single-thread. Thief, as a 2014 stealth title, relies heavily on single-thread CPU performance for game logic, AI, and draw call submission. The CPU's 74th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at all tested settings. The fact that FPS scales dramatically with preset changes, while the CPU's workload stays relatively constant, confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at every resolution.

Resolution scaling further confirms this. At Medium settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p drops the average from 66 FPS to 45 FPS, a 32% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K drops the average from 45 FPS to 26 FPS, a 42% reduction. These steep drops with increasing pixel count are characteristic of a GPU that is saturated at lower resolutions and completely overwhelmed at higher ones. The CPU, by contrast, would show diminishing performance impact as resolution rises, which is not what the data shows.

At 1080p Low, the system achieves 86 FPS, which suggests the CPU can drive the GPU to reasonably high frame rates when the GPU's workload is light. But at 4K Low, the average falls to 35 FPS, meaning the GPU cannot sustain its throughput as pixel count increases. The conclusion is straightforward: the CPU is sufficient for Thief at all tested resolutions, while the GPU determines whether the game is playable.

The Verdict

This PC can run Thief, but only at 1920x1080 with specific settings. The verdict data shows that at 3840x2160, no preset is playable, meaning none reach the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, the same is true: no preset averages 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 59 FPS, which is 1 FPS short of playable.

At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold on two presets: Low and Medium. Low averages 86 FPS, and Medium averages 66 FPS. The best playable setting is Medium, with an average of 66 FPS. High settings at 1080p average 50 FPS, which is below the threshold, and Ultra averages 48 FPS.

For users targeting 1440p, the data is clear: this combination is not sufficient for a consistent 60 FPS experience. The 59 FPS average on Low is tantalizingly close but still below the playable threshold, and the minimum frame rate is not recorded for that preset, so the worst-case performance is unknown. At 4K, the system falls far short of playable, with the best preset (Low) averaging only 35 FPS.

The practical verdict: this PC is a 1080p machine for Thief. Users should run the game at 1080p with Medium settings for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. Those who insist on higher resolutions will need to accept frame rates well below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 66 FPS. The recorded range is 56 FPS minimum to 75 FPS maximum, so while the average clears the threshold, there will be moments where the frame rate dips below 60. Low settings provide more headroom with an 86 FPS average, but Medium is the highest preset that maintains a playable average.

At 2560x1440, there is no preset that reaches the 60 FPS threshold. Low comes closest at 59 FPS, which is below the playable line. Medium averages 45 FPS, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. Users at this resolution must accept either sub-60 FPS performance or reduce resolution to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the situation is worse. Low averages 35 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS, High averages 20 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. None of these are close to playable, and even the lowest preset falls 25 FPS short of the threshold.

The recommended configuration is therefore 1080p Medium, which delivers a 66 FPS average. This preset provides the highest visual quality that still maintains a playable average frame rate, though users sensitive to frame drops should consider Low settings for the additional margin.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's measured results for Thief, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 plus Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 3307 out of 3720 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested for this game. The rank reflects the GPU's severe limitation: the Arc B390 is at the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and Thief's rendering demands quickly overwhelm it at higher resolutions.

The CPU, by contrast, is well above average at the 74th percentile, so the ranking is not a reflection of the Ryzen 5 5600's capabilities. The data suggests that pairing the same CPU with a stronger GPU would dramatically improve the ranking, while pairing the Arc B390 with a faster CPU would yield little benefit because the GPU is already the bottleneck.

Among the 3720 tested combinations, 413 systems perform worse than this one in Thief. The ranking indicates that users with this hardware are near the bottom of the performance distribution for this game, but not at the very bottom. The system is playable at 1080p Low and Medium, which is more than can be said for the lowest-ranked combinations, but it cannot handle higher resolutions or more demanding presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full preset range was tested. Low settings produce an average of 86 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Medium settings average 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. High settings average 50 FPS with no recorded bounds. Ultra settings average 48 FPS with no recorded bounds. The gap between Low and Medium is 20 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 16 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 59 FPS with no recorded bounds. Medium settings average 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. High settings average 34 FPS with no recorded bounds. Ultra settings average 33 FPS with no recorded bounds. The drop from Low to Medium is 14 FPS, from Medium to High is 11 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 1 FPS. The 59 FPS Low result is noteworthy because it is just 1 FPS below the playable threshold, making 1440p Low a near-miss for playability.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 35 FPS with no recorded bounds. Medium settings average 26 FPS, with a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS. High settings average 20 FPS with no recorded bounds. Ultra settings average 19 FPS with no recorded bounds. The progression from Low to Ultra is 35, 26, 20, and 19 FPS, showing that the GPU is saturated even at the lowest preset at 4K.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the Arc B390's performance scales linearly with resolution, and the CPU never becomes a limiting factor. The minimum FPS values, where recorded, show that frame pacing is relatively stable at Medium settings, with the 1080p Medium range of 56 to 75 FPS being the tightest among the recorded bounds. At 1440p Medium, the range is 38 to 52 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the range is 22 to 30 FPS. The lack of recorded bounds for Low, High, and Ultra at most resolutions means the database only captured averages for those configurations, so worst-case and best-case behavior is not available for them.