Thief

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is an asymmetrical combination: a modern 4-core/8-thread budget processor driving a high-end Ada Lovelace GPU. In Thief, a 2014 stealth title, this pairing delivers remarkably high frame rates across all resolutions, with the primary limitation appearing only at 4K Ultra settings. The data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, the combo can run the game at maximum settings with substantial headroom above the 60 FPS playability threshold, while 4K requires a slight settings reduction to maintain smooth gameplay.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the highest preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 136.4 FPS. This is the maximum quality setting available, and the frame rate is more than double the playability threshold. Even at Ultra, the performance headroom is massive, indicating the game is heavily GPU-bound at this resolution or the CPU is not a limiting factor. The Low preset averages 170.3 FPS, Medium 151.4 FPS, and High 139.7 FPS, but since Ultra already exceeds 60 FPS comfortably, there is no reason to drop settings for performance reasons.

Moving to 2560x1440, the best settings remain Ultra, with an average of 97.5 FPS. This is still well above the 60 FPS target, making Ultra the recommended choice. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a performance drop of approximately 28.5% when comparing Ultra presets (from 136.4 FPS to 97.5 FPS), but the absolute numbers remain high. High settings at 1440p average 101.3 FPS, Medium 131.8 FPS, and Low 146.7 FPS, but again, Ultra is the optimal choice given the playability threshold is easily met.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The highest playable preset is Medium, which averages 77.4 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 57.2 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold, and High settings average 57.5 FPS, also below the threshold. This means the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium. Low settings at 4K average 103.7 FPS, but choosing Medium provides a better visual experience while still maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The data clearly indicates that 4K Ultra is not viable with this combo, but Medium offers a strong balance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior across resolutions. At 1080p, the average FPS across all settings ranges from 136.4 (Ultra) to 170.3 (Low), a spread of about 34 FPS. This relatively small gap between Low and Ultra suggests the CPU is playing a significant role at this resolution, as the GPU has enough headroom that even low settings cannot push frame rates dramatically higher. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, appears to be the limiting factor at 1080p, preventing the RTX 4070 from reaching even higher frame rates on lower presets.

At 1440p, the spread between Low (146.7 FPS) and Ultra (97.5 FPS) widens to roughly 49 FPS, indicating the GPU is becoming more influential. The RTX 4070’s rendering load increases with resolution, and the frame rate differences between presets grow as the GPU works harder. Still, the CPU remains capable of feeding the GPU adequately, as even Ultra stays above 97 FPS.

At 4K, the roles flip decisively. The spread between Low (103.7 FPS) and Ultra (57.2 FPS) is approximately 46 FPS, but the absolute values drop sharply. The GPU is now the dominant constraint: at Ultra, the RTX 4070 cannot maintain 60 FPS, while the CPU is no longer the bottleneck. This is typical behavior — as resolution increases, the GPU workload scales faster than the CPU workload, shifting the bottleneck from processor to graphics card. The fact that 4K Medium runs at 77.4 FPS while 4K Ultra drops to 57.2 FPS (a 26% reduction) underscores how sensitive this resolution is to GPU settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core 3 N355 (deltaPct 0), the Intel Core i5-9500 (deltaPct 0.3), the Intel Core 5 120UL (deltaPct -0.7), and the Intel Core i7-1250U (deltaPct 1.1). These processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Thief, meaning if the i3-12100F is the limiting factor at 1080p, swapping to any of these would yield essentially the same frame rates. The i5-9500, a 6-core/6-thread older-generation chip, matches the i3’s average score within 0.3%, so multi-threaded workloads would behave similarly, though Thief’s engine likely does not stress beyond 8 threads.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (deltaPct 0.1), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (deltaPct 0.4), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (deltaPct -1.3), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (deltaPct 1.3). The RX Vega 56, a 2017 high-end card, would produce nearly identical frame rates in Thief at all resolutions, meaning users with that GPU could expect the same 4K Medium limitation. The RTX 4080 Mobile, despite being a laptop part, scores 1.3% higher on average, so it would offer marginally better 4K performance, but likely still not enough to push Ultra above 60 FPS given the RTX 4070’s 57.2 FPS result. The Tesla P4 and PRO W6400 are workstation-oriented parts but would also behave similarly in this game.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Thief at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 57.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold. High settings also fall short at 57.5 FPS. The highest playable preset at 4K is Medium, which averages 77.4 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution-to-settings ratio for this combo?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, Ultra settings are fully playable, with averages of 136.4 FPS and 97.5 FPS respectively. At 4K, Medium is the best choice at 77.4 FPS. For the highest visual quality with a stable frame rate, 1440p Ultra offers the best combination of fidelity and performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for Thief with this hardware?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as frame rates range from 136.4 FPS (Ultra) to 170.3 FPS (Low), suggesting the GPU has more headroom than the CPU can utilize. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with Ultra dropping to 57.2 FPS while the CPU is less stressed. The crossover point is around 1440p, where both components are balanced.

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

A: Comparing Ultra presets, the average FPS drops from 136.4 at 1920x1080 to 97.5 at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 28.5%. The game remains highly playable at 1440p Ultra, but the drop is significant enough to notice on high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 overkill for this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, yes — the GPU is underutilized, especially at lower settings where the CPU limits performance. At 4K, the RTX 4070 is appropriately matched, as it cannot quite handle Ultra settings but manages Medium well. The data suggests that a weaker GPU would struggle more at 4K, but this combo is well-suited for high-refresh 1440p gaming.

Q: What FPS can be expected at 1080p with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo averages 170.3 FPS. This is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested configurations, indicating that the CPU is the primary constraint at this resolution and setting.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 170.3 FPS average
• Medium: 151.4 FPS average
• High: 139.7 FPS average
• Ultra: 136.4 FPS average

At 1080p, the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra is only 33.9 FPS, which is the smallest gap across all resolutions. This indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor here — the GPU can render low settings far faster than the processor can feed it frames. The i3-12100F’s 4-core/8-thread design appears sufficient to keep the RTX 4070 busy, but the ceiling is reached around 170 FPS.

2560x1440:

• Low: 146.7 FPS average
• Medium: 131.8 FPS average
• High: 101.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 97.5 FPS average

At 1440p, the spread between Low and Ultra expands to 49.2 FPS, showing that the GPU is now more involved. The drop from Medium to High is particularly steep (30.5 FPS), suggesting that High settings introduce a significant rendering cost. Still, all presets exceed 60 FPS, so the choice is purely visual preference.

3840x2160:

• Low: 103.7 FPS average
• Medium: 77.4 FPS average
• High: 57.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 57.2 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck. The gap between Low and Medium is 26.3 FPS, but High and Ultra both fall below the 60 FPS threshold. The difference between High and Ultra is negligible at just 0.3 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings at 4K are not meaningfully more demanding than High — but neither is playable. Medium provides the optimal balance at 77.4 FPS, leaving a 17.4 FPS margin above the playability threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing ranks 958th out of 3720 combos for Thief, placing it in the top 26% of all tested systems. This rank reflects the overall performance across all resolutions and settings, weighted by the game’s playability criteria. Given that the combo can handle 1080p and 1440p at Ultra settings with ease, and only struggles at 4K Ultra, the ranking is appropriate — it outperforms the majority of systems but is not near the top, where configurations with more powerful GPUs (like the RTX 4080 or 4090) would dominate 4K Ultra. The i3-12100F’s CPU percentile of 68 and the RTX 4070’s GPU percentile of 81 suggest that the GPU is the stronger component, but the CPU’s limitations at 1080p prevent this combo from reaching the very highest echelons of the rankings. For a 1440p-focused gaming rig, this rank is highly respectable; for 4K enthusiasts, it indicates a need for either a stronger GPU or lower settings.