Thief

Best Settings per Resolution

The recorded data for this combination of an AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and an Intel Arc B390 shows a clear ceiling for playable frame rates in Thief. The playable threshold in the database is set at 60 FPS, and only one resolution clears that bar with any settings applied.

At 3840x2160, none of the four tested presets reach the 60 FPS target. The highest average frame rate recorded at this resolution is 35 FPS on Low settings, which is far below playable. High settings average 20 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. There is no best settings entry for 4K because the verdict data shows no playable settings exist at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves slightly but still fails to hit the 60 FPS mark. Low settings produce an average of 59 FPS, which is tantalizingly close to the threshold but technically below it. Medium averages 45 FPS, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. The verdict data confirms that no settings at this resolution are considered playable.

At 1920x1080, the picture changes. Low settings deliver an average of 86 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 66 FPS, also clearing the bar. High settings average 50 FPS and Ultra averages 48 FPS, both falling short. The best settings at 1080p, according to the verdict data, is Medium with an average of 66 FPS. This is the only resolution where the database lists playable settings, and Medium is the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS.

The practical takeaway: if you want to run Thief on this hardware, 1080p with Medium settings is the sweet spot. You get 66 FPS average, which is above the playable threshold, and you can drop to Low for a more comfortable 86 FPS cushion. Everything above 1080p is effectively off the table for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Thief at 4K resolution?

A: No. The database shows no playable settings at 3840x2160. The best average frame rate at 4K is 35 FPS on Low settings, with Ultra averaging only 19 FPS. None of the four presets reach the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gameplay?

A: Medium settings at 1920x1080 is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. It averages 66 FPS, with recorded minimums of 56 FPS and maximums of 75 FPS. Low settings average 86 FPS if you prefer more headroom.

Q: How close does 1440p get to playable frame rates?

A: Low settings at 2560x1440 average 59 FPS, which is just 1 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict data does not classify any 1440p settings as playable, but Low is very close. Medium drops to 45 FPS average, High to 34 FPS, and Ultra to 33 FPS.

Q: What are the frame rate ranges at 1080p Medium settings?

A: The recorded data shows an average of 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. The minimum can dip below the 60 FPS threshold during demanding scenes, but the average stays playable.

Q: How does this system compare to other hardware in the database?

A: The GPU sits at the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463 (1.3% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% slower). The CPU, by contrast, is at the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 57498.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck for this game?

A: The Intel Arc B390 is the clear limiting factor. It ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 9 9900X ranks at the 92nd percentile among CPUs. The frame rates scale directly with resolution and preset demands, which points to GPU-bound performance throughout.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database contains measured frame rates for twelve combinations of resolution and settings. All data comes from actual measurements rather than estimates.

At 3840x2160, the results are consistently low. Low settings average 35 FPS. Medium settings average 26 FPS, with a recorded range of 22 to 30 FPS. High settings average 20 FPS. Ultra settings average 19 FPS. The minimum and maximum values for Low, High, and Ultra are not recorded in the database, only the averages.

At 2560x1440, the numbers improve but remain below playable. Low settings average 59 FPS. Medium settings average 45 FPS, with a range of 38 to 52 FPS. High settings average 34 FPS. Ultra settings average 33 FPS. Again, only Medium has complete minimum and maximum data.

At 1920x1080, the results finally cross the playable threshold. Low settings average 86 FPS. Medium settings average 66 FPS, with a range of 56 to 75 FPS. High settings average 50 FPS. Ultra settings average 48 FPS. Medium is the only preset with complete range data at this resolution.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Low is always the fastest preset, followed by Medium, then High, then Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra grows as resolution increases. At 1080p, Low beats Ultra by 38 FPS (86 versus 48). At 1440p, the gap is 26 FPS (59 versus 33). At 4K, the gap narrows to 16 FPS (35 versus 19).

The Medium preset also shows interesting behavior. At 1080p, Medium averages 66 FPS, which is 16 FPS above High and 20 FPS below Low. At 1440p, Medium averages 45 FPS, sitting 11 FPS above High and 14 FPS below Low. At 4K, Medium averages 26 FPS, 6 FPS above High and 9 FPS below Low.

The frame ranges for Medium presets show that minimum FPS can be significantly lower than the average. At 1080p, the minimum is 56 FPS, which is 10 FPS below the average. At 1440p, the minimum is 38 FPS, 7 FPS below the average. At 4K, the minimum is 22 FPS, 4 FPS below the average. This suggests occasional frame dips even on the playable 1080p Medium preset.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals in the database provide context for how this specific hardware combination behaves. For the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X has an average benchmark score of 57498, placing it at the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. The closest comparable processors are all within a narrow performance band.

The AMD EPYC 9015 scores 57555, which is 0.1% higher than the Ryzen 9 9900X. The AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57399, 0.2% lower. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, 1.1% higher. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323, 1.4% higher. These four processors would deliver essentially identical CPU-bound performance in Thief, meaning the game's frame rates would not change meaningfully if any of these were paired with the same GPU.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, placing it at the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are all NVIDIA products with very similar scores. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% lower.

What this means for Thief is straightforward: if you swapped the Intel Arc B390 for any of these four NVIDIA GPUs, the measured frame rates would change by only a few percent. The 1080p Medium average of 66 FPS might shift to roughly 64 or 68 FPS depending on the exact GPU. The 1440p Low average of 59 FPS could drop to 58 FPS with the GT 710, potentially making an already borderline situation worse.

The CPU alternatives matter even less for this game. Since the Ryzen 9 9900X already sits at the 92nd percentile and the nearest rivals are within 1.4% of its score, any of them would produce identical frame rates in a GPU-bound title like Thief. The game's performance is determined almost entirely by the GPU in this configuration.

In practical terms, if you have a system with one of these rival GPUs and a similar-class CPU, you should expect the same playability verdict: 1080p Medium is the best playable setting, 1440p Low is just short of the threshold, and 4K is not viable.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data makes it clear which component drives performance in Thief for this specific pairing. The Intel Arc B390 ranks at the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X ranks at the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. This massive gap in relative performance points to a heavily GPU-bound scenario.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this. Going from 1080p to 1440p on Low settings drops the average frame rate from 86 to 59 FPS, a 31% reduction. Going from 1440p to 4K on Low drops it further to 35 FPS, another 41% reduction. These are large, consistent losses that track with the increasing pixel count, which is characteristic of GPU-limited rendering.

The preset scaling at a fixed resolution tells a similar story. At 1080p, dropping from Ultra to Low improves performance by 38 FPS (48 to 86). At 1440p, the same preset drop improves performance by 26 FPS (33 to 59). At 4K, it improves by 16 FPS (19 to 35). The fact that preset changes have a smaller effect at higher resolutions suggests the GPU is saturated even at Low settings in 4K.

The CPU's role is minimal in this configuration. The Ryzen 9 9900X has 12 cores and 24 threads, and its benchmark scores place it well above nearly all other CPUs. Thief, a 2014 stealth title, does not demand heavy multi-threaded performance. The CPU is never the limiting factor here; even the weakest rival CPU in the database, the AMD EPYC 7313 at 0.2% lower score, would perform identically.

The GPU's role is dominant across all tested configurations. The Arc B390's 1536 shading units and 24 ROPs, combined with its system-shared memory architecture, place it in the lowest performance tier of the database. Its 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is the relevant metric for traditional rasterization, and the measured frame rates reflect that limited compute capability.

The verdict data reinforces the GPU-bound conclusion. The database lists playable settings only at 1080p, and only for Low and Medium presets. At 1440p, even Low settings cannot sustain 60 FPS. At 4K, no preset comes close. This pattern is exactly what you would expect from a GPU that ranks at the 9th percentile: it can handle light loads at low resolution but buckles under higher resolution demands.

If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates that stay relatively flat across resolutions or presets, since the CPU workload would not change much with resolution. Instead, we see substantial frame rate drops at every step up in resolution or quality, which is the signature of a GPU-limited system.

The Verdict

The question is whether this PC can run Thief, and the answer depends entirely on your resolution and quality expectations.

At 1920x1080, yes, this system can run the game. The database lists Low and Medium as playable settings, both averaging above 60 FPS. Low settings average 86 FPS, giving you plenty of headroom. Medium settings average 66 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. The recorded minimum for Medium is 56 FPS, so expect occasional dips below the threshold during busy scenes, but the average stays comfortably playable. High settings at 50 FPS and Ultra at 48 FPS are not playable by the database's standard.

At 2560x1440, no. The verdict data lists no playable settings at this resolution. Low settings average 59 FPS, which is 1 FPS short of the threshold. This is frustrating because it is so close, but the database is clear: 59 FPS does not clear the 60 FPS bar. Medium drops to 45 FPS, High to 34 FPS, and Ultra to 33 FPS. If you must play at 1440p, Low settings will feel nearly playable, but you will experience sub-60 FPS performance.

At 3840x2160, absolutely not. The best average at 4K is 35 FPS on Low settings, and every other preset averages below 30 FPS. Ultra settings average 19 FPS, which is effectively a slideshow. There is no configuration that approaches playable performance at this resolution.

In summary, this system is a 1080p machine for Thief. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X provides more than enough CPU power, but the Intel Arc B390 holds the system back. At 1080p Medium, you get a playable 66 FPS average. At 1080p Low, you get 86 FPS. Everything above 1080p requires accepting frame rates well below the playable threshold.

The overall combo rank in the database is 3307 out of 3720 combinations, placing this hardware in the lower tier for Thief specifically. The GPU's 9th percentile ranking is the reason. If you already own this hardware, stick to 1080p Medium. If you are planning a build, consider a stronger GPU if you want higher resolutions.