Thief

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 presents an extreme pairing for Thief, a 2014 stealth classic. The measured data shows this combination delivers high frame rates across all tested resolutions, with the RTX 5090’s enormous rendering power overcoming the Core i3’s modest 4-core/8-thread configuration. At 4K Ultra the combo still averages 82 FPS, while dropping to 1080p pushes the average to 136 FPS at the same preset. The bottleneck dynamics shift dramatically across resolutions, and the benchmark results reveal a system that remains comfortably playable at every setting tested.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured frame rates show a clear scaling pattern as settings increase. The Low preset averages 125 FPS, which is the highest 4K result recorded. Moving to Medium drops the average to 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS. High settings reduce the average further to 86 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 82 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 43 FPS, indicating that visual quality settings have a substantial impact on this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates improve notably across all presets. Low settings average 149 FPS, while Medium achieves 135 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. High settings produce 122 FPS average, and Ultra averages 120 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p narrows to 29 FPS, showing that the GPU has more headroom at this resolution, but the settings still matter for final output.

At 1920x1080, the results are the highest of the three resolutions. The Low preset averages 169 FPS, Medium averages 153 FPS with a minimum of 130 FPS and a maximum of 175 FPS, High averages 138 FPS, and Ultra averages 136 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 33 FPS. Notably, the minimum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium (130 FPS) is still higher than the average FPS at 4K Ultra (82 FPS), demonstrating the resolution scaling effect.

The Medium preset is the only setting with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. At 4K, the range is 96 to 130 FPS; at 1440p, it is 114 to 155 FPS; and at 1080p, it is 130 to 175 FPS. These ranges indicate that frame pacing remains stable, with the minimum values always staying well above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a pronounced GPU-bound scenario at 4K, where the RTX 5090 is the dominant factor. The 43 FPS drop from Low to Ultra at 3840x2160 shows that the GPU’s workload scales heavily with settings, and the CPU has enough headroom to feed the graphics card at this resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 82 FPS, compared to 136 FPS at 1080p Ultra, indicates that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting at higher pixel counts.

At 1440p, the CPU begins to exert more influence, but the GPU still leads. The 29 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is smaller than at 4K, suggesting that the CPU is starting to limit peak frame rates. However, the 120 FPS average at 1440p Ultra demonstrates that the Core i3-12100F can still sustain high output without becoming a severe constraint.

At 1080p, the CPU becomes the primary limiter. The 33 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is larger than at 1440p, which is counterintuitive if the GPU were the only bottleneck. The explanation is that at 1080p, the GPU has spare capacity, and the CPU’s 4 cores and 8 threads determine the ceiling. The 169 FPS Low result versus 136 FPS Ultra shows that even with reduced GPU load, the CPU cannot push much beyond 170 FPS in this title.

Comparing resolution scaling, the Ultra preset averages 82 FPS at 4K, 120 FPS at 1440p, and 136 FPS at 1080p. The jump from 4K to 1440p is 38 FPS, while from 1440p to 1080p is only 16 FPS. This narrowing improvement suggests that the CPU bottleneck becomes more significant as resolution drops, confirming that the Core i3 is the limiting factor at 1080p.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, all four settings presets clear the 60 FPS threshold, but the best settings that stay at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 82 FPS. This is a demanding preset that still delivers a comfortable margin above playability.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also qualifies as the best settings, averaging 120 FPS. This is a 38 FPS improvement over the 4K Ultra result, showing that dropping from 4K to 1440p yields substantial gains.

At 1920x1080, Ultra remains the best settings with an average of 136 FPS. This is the highest Ultra average across all resolutions, and it still leaves headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that the system can run the most demanding preset at every resolution tested without falling below playable frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 82 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The highest average FPS is 169, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the 1440p Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 2560x1440 Ultra, the average FPS is 120, while at 1920x1080 Ultra it is 136. This is a 16 FPS difference in favor of 1080p.

Q: Are there any settings where the frame rate drops below 60 FPS?

A: No. Every resolution and settings combination tested shows an average FPS above 60, with the lowest average being 82 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 1920x1080 Medium is 130, which is still well above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck affect the maximum FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes. The 1080p results show a smaller improvement over 1440p than 1440p shows over 4K, indicating that the Intel Core i3-12100F limits peak frame rates at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core 3 N355 with a deltaPct of 0, meaning identical average score. The Intel Core i5-9500 is 0.3% higher, and the Intel Core 5 120UL is 0.7% lower. The Intel Core i7-1250U is 1.1% higher in average score. These CPUs would behave similarly to the Core i3-12100F in this game, providing comparable CPU-bound performance at 1080p.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which scores 0.3% higher on average, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 0.6% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.1% higher, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% lower. These GPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates to the RTX 5090 in Thief, meaning the 4K and 1440p results would be very close.

A system swapping the Core i3-12100F for the Core i5-9500 would show a negligible 0.3% CPU benchmark difference, translating to almost no change in 1080p frame rates. Similarly, replacing the RTX 5090 with the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB would shift 4K results by less than 1%, keeping the same overall playability profile.

The Verdict

This PC can run Thief at all tested resolutions and settings, according to the verdictByResolution data. At 3840x2160, the playable settings include High, Low, Medium, and Ultra, with Ultra being the best settings at an average of 82 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, and Ultra averages 120 FPS. At 1920x1080, the same pattern holds, with Ultra averaging 136 FPS.

The data confirms that every resolution and preset combination clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The lowest average among all tested configurations is 82 FPS at 4K Ultra, which still provides a 22 FPS margin above the playability threshold. The highest average is 169 FPS at 1080p Low. The system is therefore fully capable of running the game at maximum visual quality at any resolution up to 4K, with no performance concerns.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank in game places this configuration at position 467 out of 3720 tested combos. This puts it in the top 12.5% of all tested systems for Thief. The rank reflects the combined CPU and GPU performance, and the high position is driven primarily by the RTX 5090’s massive rendering capability. The Core i3-12100F holds the combo back from a higher ranking, as its CPU-bound performance at 1080p prevents the system from reaching the extreme frame rates that a more powerful processor could enable.

The data shows that the combo’s ranking is still strong despite the CPU imbalance. Out of 3720 combos, only 466 perform better, which indicates that the RTX 5090’s dominance at higher resolutions compensates for the CPU’s limitations at lower resolutions. For a game like Thief, where the GPU is heavily utilized at 4K and 1440p, this pairing delivers a playable experience at all settings, though the ranking suggests that a more balanced CPU would push the combo higher in the overall standings.