Thief

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, this combination delivers playable-looking frame rates only in the most forgiving sense. The Low preset averages 35 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium drops to 26 FPS average with a recorded range of 22 to 30 FPS. High averages 20 FPS, and Ultra falls to 19 FPS. None of these numbers approach the 60 FPS threshold, and even the Low preset's average is barely half of what would be considered smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains firmly below the playability threshold. Low settings produce an average of 59 FPS, which is tantalizingly close to 60 but still short. Medium averages 45 FPS with a range of 38 to 52 FPS, showing noticeable dips below the average. High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is 14 FPS, which indicates a substantial performance cost for the step up in graphical quality.

At 1920x1080, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings average 86 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with considerable headroom. Medium averages 66 FPS with a range of 56 to 75 FPS, meaning the minimum frame rate can dip below 60 even when the average stays above it. High averages 50 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 20 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 16 FPS. These are significant jumps that highlight how sensitive this game is to preset changes.

The measured data shows a clear pattern: each resolution step from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 30 to 40 percent of the frame rate at the same settings. From 1440p to 4K, the cost is even steeper. For example, Medium at 1080p runs at 66 FPS, at 1440p it runs at 45 FPS, and at 4K it runs at 26 FPS. This scaling is consistent across all presets, suggesting the game is heavily resolution-bound rather than preset-bound.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data indicates that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor at every resolution and preset combination. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, has benchmark scores that place it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs. Its multi-threaded performance, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29300, is far beyond what this game requires. The GPU, however, sits in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with a single benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

This imbalance is visible in the frame rate scaling. When the resolution drops from 4K to 1440p to 1080p, the frame rates increase substantially, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. A CPU-bound situation would show similar frame rates across resolutions, but the data contradicts that. For instance, the Low preset averages 35 FPS at 4K, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 86 FPS at 1080p. That is a 51 FPS swing from top to bottom resolution, which is a textbook GPU-limited pattern.

The preset scaling further confirms this. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 20 FPS, from Medium to High costs 16 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs just 2 FPS. The diminishing returns at the higher presets suggest that the GPU is fully saturated at Ultra, while the CPU has no trouble feeding it. The Ryzen 9 7900X's single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1093 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2016.5, is more than adequate for a 2014 stealth title like Thief.

At 4K, the GPU is even more clearly the bottleneck. The difference between Low and Medium is 9 FPS, between Medium and High is 6 FPS, and between High and Ultra is just 1 FPS. The GPU is running out of raw throughput before the CPU becomes relevant. This pattern holds across all resolutions, meaning the CPU is never the constraint in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3307 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the bottom 11 percent of all system configurations. The ranking is heavily dragged down by the GPU, which has a percentile rank of 9 among all GPUs. The CPU alone ranks in the 91st percentile, but the pairing's overall position reflects the weakest link.

This rank means that the vast majority of tested systems deliver higher frame rates in Thief. The data shows that only 413 combos perform worse. For a game released in 2014, this is a surprisingly poor result, but it aligns with the GPU's low benchmark standing. The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 puts it in the company of entry-level graphics solutions from over a decade ago.

The combo rank also explains why no resolution reaches the 60 FPS threshold at High or Ultra settings. The system is fundamentally limited by the GPU's throughput, and the CPU's strength cannot compensate. The 1080p Medium result of 66 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds the playability threshold, and it does so by a narrow margin.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X sits close to several other processors in average benchmark score. The AMD EPYC 7313P scores 53206, which is 0.2 percent higher. The Intel Xeon Phi 7290 scores 53469, which is 0.3 percent lower. The Intel Xeon 634 scores 52974, which is 0.6 percent higher. The Intel Core i7-14700F scores 53620, which is 0.6 percent lower. These deltas are all within a single percentage point, meaning any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Thief when paired with the same GPU.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are all NVIDIA parts from the early 2010s. The GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3 percent lower. The GeForce 800M scores 1460, which is 1.5 percent lower. The GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, which is 2.5 percent lower. The GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, which is 2.7 percent lower. These are all within a few percentage points of the Arc B390's score of 1482, so swapping to any of these GPUs would produce very similar Thief performance.

The practical implication is that this system behaves like a modern high-end CPU paired with a GPU from the GT 710 era. The CPU's nearest rivals are server and workstation parts, confirming its strength, while the GPU's nearest rivals are legacy entry-level cards. The overall experience in Thief will be governed by the GPU's limits, not the CPU's capabilities.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The best available option is the Low preset at 35 FPS, but that is still far below the playability threshold. Medium and High are worse at 26 and 20 FPS respectively, and Ultra bottoms out at 19 FPS. The verdict data confirms that no settings at this resolution are playable.

At 2560x1440, the situation is nearly identical. No preset reaches 60 FPS. Low comes closest at 59 FPS, but it misses the threshold by a single frame. Medium averages 45 FPS, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. The verdict data lists no playable settings at this resolution either.

At 1920x1080, the playable settings are Low and Medium. Low averages 86 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 66 FPS, which clears the threshold but has a minimum recorded frame rate of 56 FPS. This means that while the average is playable, there will be moments of stutter below 60 FPS. The best setting per the recorded data is Medium, with an average FPS of 66. High and Ultra at 50 and 48 FPS respectively are not playable.

The recommended configuration for 1080p is Medium, as it provides the highest preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS. For 1440p and 4K, the system cannot sustain a playable experience at any preset, so users would need to lower the resolution to 1080p or accept sub-60 frame rates.

The Verdict

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B390 combination can run Thief, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at Low and Medium presets. The best playable setting is Medium, which averages 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS. This is the only resolution where the system delivers a consistently playable experience.

At 2560x1440, the system cannot reach 60 FPS on any preset. The closest is Low at 59 FPS, which is effectively a miss. This resolution is not viable for smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the results are even worse, with the best preset (Low) averaging only 35 FPS.

The verdict data is unambiguous: playable settings exist only at 1920x1080, specifically Low and Medium. The best preset at that resolution is Medium with an average of 66 FPS. For users who demand 60 FPS or higher, this system is limited to 1080p with modest graphical settings. Higher resolutions or more demanding presets will result in frame rates well below the playability threshold.

The bottleneck is clearly the Intel Arc B390. The GPU's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its nearest rivals from the early 2010s paint a clear picture of its capability. The Ryzen 9 7900X, on the other hand, is a top-tier CPU that is not being utilized to its full potential in this game. The combination is functionally limited by the GPU, and the data reflects that. This system is suitable for 1080p gaming at medium settings in Thief, but nothing more demanding.