Thief

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, this combination delivers a fully playable experience across every preset. The Low preset averages 130 FPS, which is the highest recorded result in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. High averages 77 FPS, while Ultra averages 73 FPS. Even the most demanding preset at this resolution stays well above the 60 FPS playability threshold, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 57 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably but remains respectable. Low averages 91 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS, High averages 53 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The Medium preset is the most demanding option that still clears the 60 FPS bar, though its minimum frame rate dips to 59 FPS, which is essentially at the threshold. High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low averages 54 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. No preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold at 4K. The best result, Low at 54 FPS, is still 6 FPS short of playable. Medium, High, and Ultra all produce average frame rates that would feel noticeably stuttery in fast-moving scenes, especially the 29 FPS Ultra result.

The frame time consistency data is limited, but the available minimum and maximum values for Medium settings show a pattern. At 1080p, Medium ranges from 86 to 116 FPS, a spread of 30 FPS. At 1440p, the same preset ranges from 59 to 79 FPS, a spread of 20 FPS. At 4K, Medium ranges from 35 to 47 FPS, a spread of 12 FPS. As resolution increases, the absolute frame rate drops and the variance narrows, suggesting the GPU becomes the limiting factor more consistently at higher resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution changes. At 1080p, the CPU has headroom to push frame rates well above 100 FPS on lower presets. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p costs 57 FPS, which indicates that the GPU is handling the increased graphical load but the CPU is not holding things back. The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, provides enough processing power to keep feeding the Intel Arc B570 at this resolution.

At 1440p, the scaling pattern changes. Low averages 91 FPS, but Medium drops to 69 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 53 and 50 FPS respectively. The performance gap between Low and Medium is 22 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 16 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is becoming more involved in the rendering pipeline, and the CPU's influence is receding. The 3700X still has compute to spare, but the Arc B570's rasterization throughput is now the primary constraint.

At 4K, the GPU is the dominant factor. Low averages 54 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS, and High and Ultra sit at 31 and 29 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is only 25 FPS, which is smaller than the 57 FPS difference seen at 1080p. When resolution increases, pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become the limiting resources. The Arc B570 has 380.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and a 160-bit bus, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but insufficient for maintaining 60 FPS at 4K with demanding settings.

The CPU benchmarks support this interpretation. The Ryzen 7 3700X scores 2092 in Cinebench R15 multicore and 204 in single-core, with a Geekbench multicore score of 8899. These are mid-range desktop results, and the CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is not a weak link for a 2014 title like Thief. The game's CPU demands are modest, so the 3700X's 8-core, 16-thread configuration is more than adequate across all tested resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark profile shows it is a mid-pack performer. The Arc B570 scores 14195 in Passmark G3D and 2649 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it below the top tier, which explains why 4K Ultra is unattainable. At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU has enough throughput for playable frame rates, but at 4K, the combination of pixel count and shader load overwhelms it.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which averages 73 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, and it does so with a 13 FPS margin. All four presets qualify as playable at this resolution, but Ultra offers the highest visual quality while maintaining smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are Medium, which averages 69 FPS. This preset is 9 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, but its minimum frame rate is 59 FPS, which means occasional dips below the target are possible. Low averages 91 FPS and would provide a larger safety margin, but Medium is the most demanding preset that still delivers playable performance. High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS and should be avoided at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The playable settings list is empty, and there is no recommended preset. Low comes closest at 54 FPS, but even that falls short. Users with a 4K display should either reduce the resolution to 1440p or accept sub-60 FPS performance with substantially lowered settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Thief at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 54 on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. No preset qualifies as playable at 4K.

Q: What is the best visual quality I can use at 1440p while staying above 60 FPS?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440, which averages 69 FPS. The minimum frame rate is 59 FPS, so there may be brief dips below 60, but the average stays comfortably above the threshold. High and Ultra both average below 60 FPS.

Q: Is Ultra settings playable at 1080p?

A: Yes. Ultra at 1920x1080 averages 73 FPS, which is 13 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold. All presets at 1080p, from Low at 130 FPS to Ultra at 73 FPS, maintain playable performance.

Q: How much performance drops when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: Using Medium settings as an example, the average FPS drops from 101 at 1080p to 69 at 1440p, a reduction of 32 FPS. On Low settings, the drop is from 130 to 91 FPS, a reduction of 39 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more at 1080p?

A: The GPU is the primary limiter even at 1080p. The Ryzen 7 3700X has adequate processing power, as shown by its 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The Arc B570's 65th percentile GPU ranking and the 57 FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings indicate that graphical workload scaling is the main constraint.

Q: What frame rates can I expect on Medium settings at 4K?

A: Medium at 3840x2160 averages 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. This is not playable by the 60 FPS standard, and the frame pacing will be inconsistent during action sequences.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in the database are all within 0.5% of the Ryzen 7 3700X's average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 scores 34222, which is 0.1% higher. The AMD EPYC 4244P scores 34220, also 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i5-13450HX scores 34333, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H scores 34083, which is 0.5% lower. Any of these processors would deliver nearly identical performance in Thief, since the game's CPU demands are modest and all four alternatives sit within a fraction of a percent of the 3700X.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are similarly close. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534, which is 0.1% higher than the Arc B570's 20556 average. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 0.1% higher. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480, which is 0.4% lower. The AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662, which is 0.5% higher. In practical terms, swapping the Arc B570 for any of these GPUs would change Thief's frame rates by less than 1%, meaning the same playability conclusions apply at each resolution. The Arc A750 is particularly relevant as a direct sibling product from Intel's previous generation, and its nearly identical score suggests similar rasterization characteristics.

The practical takeaway is that this CPU and GPU pairing sits in a tight performance cluster. Users upgrading either component to one of these near-identical alternatives would see no meaningful difference in Thief. The bottleneck at 4K is the GPU's raw throughput, and none of these near rivals solve that problem, as they all fall within 0.5% of the same average score.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 3051 out of 3720 tested combinations in Thief. This places it in the 18th percentile of all combos, meaning roughly 82% of tested systems perform better. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-pack position rather than the CPU, since the 3700X is a competent processor for this game.

The rank is driven primarily by the GPU's 65th percentile standing among all GPUs. At 1080p, the combo delivers strong performance, with Ultra averaging 73 FPS. At 1440p, Medium is the ceiling for playable frame rates. At 4K, no preset is playable. This pattern indicates that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p as a secondary option if settings are reduced.

The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs shows that the 3700X is not holding the system back. In a game like Thief, which was released in 2014 and has modest threading requirements, the 8-core, 16-thread configuration is overkill for most scenes. The bottleneck at higher resolutions is clearly the GPU.

The 3051st rank out of 3720 combos means that users should not expect high-end performance at 4K, but the combo is entirely viable for 1080p and acceptable for 1440p with Medium settings. For a stealth game where smooth aiming and consistent frame pacing matter, the 73 FPS Ultra result at 1080p is a solid outcome. The 4K results, however, are below the playable threshold across all presets, so 4K users would need to lower the resolution or accept reduced visual quality.