Thief

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a strong performance profile for the 2014 stealth title Thief, with benchmark data showing that the combination handles the game comfortably at most resolutions and settings. Measured FPS results indicate that the system is capable of far exceeding the 60 FPS playable threshold at 1080p and 1440p across all tested presets, while 4K Ultra presents the only configuration that falls below the playable line. The data set provides a clear picture of how this CPU-GPU pairing scales with resolution and graphical load, and the following analysis breaks down those measured results, compares the components to their nearest rivals, and offers a definitive answer on what settings to use for a smooth experience.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Thief?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 171.5, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next highest is 151.9 at the same resolution with Medium settings, showing that at 1080p, even demanding presets leave a large performance headroom above the 60 FPS threshold.

*Q: Can this PC run Thief at 4K resolution?*

A: Yes, but not at every preset. The verdict data shows that at 3840x2160, the playable settings are Low and Medium, with Medium achieving an average of 62.5 FPS. High and Ultra settings at 4K fall below the 60 FPS playable threshold, with averages of 48.7 and 47.4 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208, while the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 17083. The deltaPct is 0.7, meaning the RTX 3070 is 0.7% ahead of the RX 7600 XT in average benchmark performance, which is a negligible difference in real-world gaming.

*Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested system configurations for Thief?*

A: The combo ranks 1438 out of 3720 tested combinations. This places it in the upper portion of the field, indicating that the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 pairing performs better than the majority of tested systems for this specific game.

Q: What are the playable settings at 2560x1440 resolution?

A: All four tested settings are playable at 2560x1440. The verdict lists High, Low, Medium, and Ultra as playable, with the best settings being Ultra, which achieves an average of 77.4 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

*Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo in Thief?*

A: The lowest average FPS recorded is 47.4, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is the only configuration in the measured data that falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold, while all other resolution and preset combinations remain above it.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU in this pairing each have close rivals based on their average benchmark scores. For the Intel Core i3-12100F, the nearest rival is the Intel Core 3 N355, which has an average score of 13492 versus the i3-12100F's 13494, resulting in a deltaPct of 0. This means the two processors are effectively identical in average benchmark performance. The Intel Core i5-9500 is nearly as close, scoring 13452 with a deltaPct of 0.3, meaning the i3-12100F is just 0.3% ahead. On the other side, the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, putting the i3-12100F 0.7% behind it. The Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13351, placing the i3-12100F 1.1% ahead. In gaming terms, these differences are imperceptible, so any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Thief when paired with the same GPU.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, the nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which scores 17083 versus the RTX 3070's 17208, a deltaPct of 0.7. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037, placing it 1% behind the RTX 3070, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019, also 1.1% behind. On the upper end, the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468, which is 1.5% ahead of the RTX 3070. Given the narrow margins between these scores, any of these GPUs would produce very similar average frame rates in Thief, though the RTX 3070 holds a slight edge over most of them. A user migrating from one of these rival GPUs to the RTX 3070 would notice only a marginal improvement in this particular game, while switching from the i3-12100F to one of its rivals would likely yield no observable difference in performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Thief spans three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of how the Core i3-12100F and RTX 3070 handle the game's engine. At 1920x1080, the lowest average FPS recorded is 117 at Ultra settings, which already doubles the 60 FPS playable threshold. High settings deliver 120.4 FPS, Medium settings jump to 151.9 FPS, and Low settings reach the highest average of 171.5 FPS. The scaling from Ultra to Low at 1080p represents a 54.5 FPS increase, showing that the game is largely GPU-limited at this resolution since lowering settings yields significant gains.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong across all presets. Ultra settings produce an average of 77.4 FPS, which is still comfortably above the playable threshold. High settings increase to 83.1 FPS, Medium settings reach 110 FPS, and Low settings hit 145.5 FPS. The delta between Ultra and Low at 1440p is 68.1 FPS, a larger jump than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is still the primary bottleneck but that resolution scaling has a measurable impact. Comparing 1440p Ultra to 1080p Ultra shows a drop from 117 FPS to 77.4 FPS, a 39.6 FPS reduction that indicates the GPU's rendering load grows substantially with pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes significantly. Low settings deliver an average of 82.8 FPS, which is playable, and Medium settings achieve 62.5 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings drop to 48.7 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 47.4 FPS, both below the playable line. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 35.4 FPS decline, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High settings, a 13.8 FPS difference. The step from Low to Medium at 4K costs 20.3 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs only 1.3 FPS, indicating that the High preset is already hitting the GPU's limits and Ultra adds little additional strain relative to the earlier jumps.

The data also shows that resolution scaling has a greater impact at higher settings. At Ultra, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by 39.6, and from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by 30. At Low settings, the same resolution steps reduce FPS by 26 and 62.7 respectively. This pattern suggests that the RTX 3070's memory bandwidth and compute resources are more heavily taxed by higher resolutions when the graphics load is already high, while at Low settings the GPU has more headroom to absorb the resolution increase.

The Verdict

This PC can run Thief effectively at all tested resolutions, though the 60 FPS playable threshold is not met at every preset. At 1920x1080, all four settings—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with the best settings being Ultra, which achieves an average of 117 FPS. This is nearly double the playable threshold, leaving substantial headroom for any potential frame drops during busy scenes. At 2560x1440, all four settings are also playable, and Ultra achieves an average of 77.4 FPS, which is still comfortably above the 60 FPS line. The verdict data confirms that 1440p Ultra is the highest quality configuration that maintains smooth performance.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The playable settings are Low and Medium, with Medium achieving 62.5 FPS as the best playable option. High and Ultra settings at 4K are not playable, with averages of 48.7 and 47.4 FPS respectively, falling short of the 60 FPS threshold. For a player prioritizing resolution over visual fidelity, 4K Medium is the maximum playable preset. For those who want the highest visual quality, 1440p Ultra is the best choice, as it delivers 77.4 FPS while providing a richer visual experience than any 4K preset that remains playable. The data makes it clear that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming at maximum settings, while 4K requires a compromise down to Medium settings to stay above the playable line.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals how the Core i3-12100F and RTX 3070 share the workload in Thief across different resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the CPU's role is more prominent relative to the GPU, as evidenced by the large FPS gains from lowering settings. The jump from Ultra to Low at 1080p produces a 54.5 FPS increase, from 117 to 171.5, indicating that the GPU is being relieved of significant work when settings drop. However, the CPU still has enough headroom to feed the GPU at all settings, as even Ultra stays above 117 FPS, a figure that would strain a weaker processor. The CPU's single-thread score of 893 in 3dmark and its 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest that it has sufficient processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on more of the load, as shown by the wider spread between settings. The difference between Ultra and Low at 1440p is 68.1 FPS, larger than the 54.5 FPS spread at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU's rendering demands at 1440p are higher, and lowering settings provides more relief to the GPU than it does at 1080p. The CPU's role remains constant, as the same processor is handling the same game logic regardless of resolution. The fact that 1440p Ultra still achieves 77.4 FPS suggests the CPU is not limiting performance at this resolution either, since the GPU is clearly the component that benefits from reduced settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 35.4 FPS, but the absolute values are much lower, with Ultra at 47.4 FPS and Low at 82.8 FPS. The CPU's performance is consistent across resolutions—its 3dmark multi-threaded score of 4026 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11860 indicate it can handle the game's threading requirements—but the GPU's 8 GB of memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are pushed hard at 4K. The fact that High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS at 4K, while Medium just clears it, points to the GPU being the limiting factor. The RTX 3070's 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are substantial, but Thief's 4K rendering load at high settings exceeds what this GPU can sustain above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1438 out of 3720 tested combinations for Thief, placing it in the 38.7th percentile of all tested systems. This means that roughly 61% of tested configurations perform better than this pairing in this game, while 39% perform worse. Given that the RTX 3070 sits in the 61st percentile among all GPUs and the Core i3-12100F sits in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, the combo's ranking is slightly lower than either component's individual percentile would suggest. This indicates that the game's performance characteristics do not perfectly align with the components' general benchmark strengths, likely due to the game's age and its specific engine demands.

The rank also reflects the fact that many tested combos likely include higher-tier CPUs or GPUs that push the average FPS higher. The combo's average benchmark scores—13494 for the CPU and 17208 for the GPU—are solid mid-range figures, and the measured FPS in Thief reflects that. At 1080p Ultra, the 117 FPS average is strong, but it is not exceptional when compared to systems with flagship GPUs that might exceed 200 FPS at the same settings. The 1438th position out of 3720 is a respectable showing for a mid-range pairing, and the data confirms that the combo is more than capable of delivering a smooth experience in Thief at most settings, even if it does not top the charts.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that maintains an average FPS at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which delivers an average of 117 FPS. This is the maximum preset available, and it clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin, so there is no reason to drop below Ultra at this resolution. The performance headroom of 57 FPS above the threshold ensures that even the most demanding scenes in Thief will remain smooth.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 77.4 FPS. This is 17.4 FPS above the playable threshold, providing a comfortable buffer. The drop from 1440p Ultra to 4K Medium, which is the next step up in resolution, represents a significant visual quality trade-off, but 1440p Ultra remains the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance for this combo. At 3840x2160, the best settings are Medium, which achieves an average of 62.5 FPS. This is only 2.5 FPS above the playable threshold, so there is minimal headroom for frame dips. Players who want to play at 4K should be prepared for occasional frame rate drops below 60 FPS during heavy scenes, but Medium is the only 4K preset that remains playable on average. Low settings at 4K deliver 82.8 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is substantial, making Medium the recommended choice for 4K gaming with this hardware.