Thief

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a wide performance envelope in Thief, ranging from a smooth 1080p experience at maximum settings to a playable-but-limited 4K setup. The measured data shows a clear pattern: this combo scales predictably with resolution and preset, with the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration falling well short of the 60 FPS playability threshold, while the same card and processor handle 1080p Ultra with nearly 85 FPS on average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. The Low preset produces an average of 146.9 FPS, which is the highest figure across all tested configurations. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 115.8 FPS, still a very comfortable margin above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The High preset yields 87.9 FPS average, while the Ultra preset, the most demanding setting available in the data, maintains an average of 84.9 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is modest at just 3 FPS, suggesting that the visual upgrade to Ultra comes at a relatively small performance cost at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance picture shifts noticeably. The Low preset averages 103.5 FPS, which remains well above the playability threshold. Medium settings produce a 75.7 FPS average, still comfortably playable. High settings drop to 61.6 FPS average, which just barely clears the 60 FPS line. The Ultra preset falls below the threshold with a 55.4 FPS average, indicating that the most demanding settings at 1440p require a compromise. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is steep: High settings lose roughly 26 FPS, and Ultra loses about 29.5 FPS, representing approximately a 30% and 35% reduction respectively.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly across all presets. The Low preset is the only playable option, averaging 63.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by a narrow 3.1 FPS margin. Medium settings average 45.7 FPS, which is 14.4 FPS below the playability line. High settings average 32.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 34.4 FPS. Interestingly, the Ultra preset performs slightly better than High at 4K, a 1.9 FPS difference that may reflect variance in the measured data rather than a meaningful performance characteristic. The transition from 1440p to 4K is severe: Medium settings lose 30 FPS (a 40% drop), High loses 29.1 FPS (a 47% drop), and Low loses 40.4 FPS (a 39% drop).

The data shows no min or max FPS values recorded for any resolution or preset, so the analysis relies entirely on average FPS figures. The lack of frame time data means transient stutters or frame pacing issues cannot be assessed from this dataset.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Thief at 1080p with all settings maxed?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset, the combo achieves an average of 84.9 FPS, which is 24.9 FPS above the 60 FPS playability threshold. This is the best settings configuration available at this resolution according to the data.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: The High preset is the most demanding playable option at 2560x1440, with an average of 61.6 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS threshold by only 1.6 FPS, leaving a narrow margin. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 55.4 FPS, which falls short of the playability line.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: Only at the Low preset. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 63.1 FPS, which is 3.1 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings drop to 45.7 FPS, and both High and Ultra configurations fall into the low 30s, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to similar processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25005 and sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, scores 24964, a 0.2% difference. The Intel Core i7-11850H scores 24935 (0.3% higher delta), and the Intel Core i7-13620H scores 24911 (0.4% higher delta). The AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25103, which is 0.4% lower.

Q: How does the GPU compare to similar graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021 and occupies the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, scores 23061, a -0.2% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895 (0.6% delta), the RTX 3080 scores 23172 (-0.7% delta), and the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249 (-1% delta).

Q: What is the overall ranking of this combo in the benchmark database?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2778 out of 3720 tested combos for this game. This places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, reflecting the 4K limitations while still offering playable performance at lower resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra. The average FPS at this configuration is 84.9, which provides a 24.9 FPS margin above the playability threshold. This is the highest quality setting available at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding playable preset is High. The average FPS at this configuration is 61.6, which clears the 60 FPS line by a slim 1.6 FPS margin. Medium settings also remain playable with a 75.7 FPS average, but High represents the best visual quality that maintains playability.

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low. The average FPS at this configuration is 63.1, which exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by 3.1 FPS. No other preset at this resolution clears the playability bar, as Medium averages 45.7 FPS and both High and Ultra fall below 35 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearestRivals data for both components, several other hardware combinations would likely produce similar results in Thief. On the CPU side, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F's closest competitor is the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, which scores 24964 versus 25005, a negligible 0.2% difference. Swapping in the Ryzen 5 7500F would yield essentially identical frame rates in this game, as the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck at most settings.

The Intel Core i7-11850H and Intel Core i7-13620H also fall within a 0.4% performance delta of the 8400F, meaning a system built around either of these mobile-derived processors would behave nearly the same as the tested configuration. The AMD EPYC 9474F is the highest-scoring rival at 25103, but its server-oriented design makes it an unlikely pairing for a gaming GPU.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B580's benchmark score of 23021 places it in close company with several older or higher-tier cards. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, a -0.2% delta, meaning it would deliver nearly identical performance in Thief. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, a 0.6% delta, and would also produce comparable frame rates. The RTX 3080 scores 23172, a -0.7% delta, indicating slightly better performance on average, while the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, a -1% delta, suggesting a marginally stronger showing.

Combining any of these rival CPUs with any of these rival GPUs would yield a system that performs within roughly 1% of the tested configuration. In practical terms, a gamer with a Ryzen 5 7500F and an RTX 2080 would see nearly identical average FPS in Thief at every resolution and preset tested. The differences are small enough that they would not change which presets clear the 60 FPS threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2778 out of 3720 tested combos in the benchmark database for Thief. This places the system in approximately the 75th percentile of tested configurations, meaning roughly a quarter of all tested combos perform worse, while the majority perform better.

This ranking position is consistent with the measured FPS data. The combo delivers strong 1080p performance, with the Ultra preset averaging 84.9 FPS, which is competitive with many mid-range systems. However, the 4K results pull the overall ranking down, as only the Low preset clears the 60 FPS threshold at that resolution. The 1440p Ultra preset also fails to reach playable levels with a 55.4 FPS average.

The rank of 2778 reflects a system that handles 1080p gaming with ease but struggles at higher resolutions. For a game released in 2014, the absolute performance is more than adequate for modern displays at standard resolutions, but the ranking shows that many other hardware combinations in the database offer better 4K capabilities. The gap between the 1080p and 4K results, where Ultra drops from 84.9 FPS to 34.4 FPS, is a 59.5% reduction, highlighting the GPU's limitations under heavy resolution scaling.

The Verdict

This PC can run Thief at all three tested resolutions, but the playable settings vary significantly by resolution. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, including Ultra with an 84.9 FPS average. This makes 1080p the most versatile resolution for this combo, allowing gamers to use the highest quality settings without worrying about performance.

At 2560x1440, the system remains playable at Low, Medium, and High presets. The High preset averages 61.6 FPS, which barely clears the threshold, while Medium offers a more comfortable 75.7 FPS margin. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls short with a 55.4 FPS average, so gamers seeking maximum quality at this resolution would need to accept a frame rate below the playability line or drop to High settings.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset is playable, averaging 63.1 FPS. This configuration does clear the 60 FPS threshold, but the margin is narrow, and the visual quality is significantly reduced compared to higher presets. Medium settings at 4K average 45.7 FPS, which is not playable by the 60 FPS standard. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are effectively unusable, with averages in the low 30s.

Overall, the verdict is that this combo is a capable 1080p gaming system for Thief, a passable 1440p system with settings compromises, and a limited 4K system restricted to the lowest quality preset.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data shows that the Intel Arc B580 GPU is the primary performance driver in Thief, with the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F providing sufficient headroom across all tested configurations. The evidence for this lies in the resolution scaling patterns. When moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 30-35% across presets, and from 1440p to 4K, the drop is roughly 39-47%. This steep degradation with increasing resolution is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload, where the graphics card's rendering capacity becomes the limiting factor.

At 1080p, the CPU's role is more pronounced. The difference between the Low preset (146.9 FPS) and Ultra preset (84.9 FPS) is 62 FPS, indicating that while the GPU is still the main constraint, the CPU must feed frames fast enough to sustain high frame rates. The Ryzen 5 8400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 4 architecture, is clearly up to this task, as the 146.9 FPS Low preset result demonstrates.

The CPU's benchmark scores support this interpretation. The 8400F achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. These figures indicate a processor with ample single-threaded performance for gaming workloads, which is why the combo can sustain high frame rates at 1080p without CPU bottlenecks.

At 4K, the GPU becomes overwhelmingly dominant. The difference between the Low preset (63.1 FPS) and Ultra preset (34.4 FPS) is 28.7 FPS, but the absolute frame rates are low across the board. This suggests that the Arc B580's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 456.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for high-quality 4K rendering in Thief, regardless of CPU capability. The CPU's performance at 4K is effectively irrelevant, as the GPU cannot produce enough frames to stress even a modest processor.

The settings scaling within each resolution reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Ultra reduces performance by 42.2% (from 146.9 to 84.9 FPS). At 1440p, the same preset change reduces performance by 46.5% (from 103.5 to 55.4 FPS). At 4K, the reduction is 45.5% (from 63.1 to 34.4 FPS). These consistent percentage drops across resolutions indicate that the GPU's workload scales predictably with both resolution and settings, with the CPU maintaining a stable support role throughout.