Thief

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Thief on this Intel Core i5-10400F and Intel Arc B370 combination shows a clear performance ceiling that scales predictably with resolution. At 3840x2160, the highest measured average is just 31 FPS on Low settings, with High delivering 18 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, and Ultra dropping to 17 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K shows the only complete min/max dataset for that resolution: minimum 20 FPS, maximum 27 FPS, which indicates a narrow operating window that stays firmly below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance improves substantially but remains insufficient for smooth play. Low settings produce an average of 53 FPS, which is the closest this configuration comes to the 60 FPS target at this resolution. High averages 31 FPS, Medium 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 12 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 10 FPS, showing that each preset tier costs roughly the same performance overhead.

At 1920x1080, the picture changes notably. Low settings achieve an average of 78 FPS, comfortably clearing the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium settings average 59 FPS, just one frame below the target, with a minimum of 50 and maximum of 68. High settings average 45 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium at 1080p is 19 FPS, while the delta between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset offers little additional visual benefit relative to its performance cost.

The resolution scaling pattern is consistent: dropping from 4K to 1440p improves Low settings performance by 22 FPS (from 31 to 53), and dropping from 1440p to 1080p improves Low settings by another 25 FPS (from 53 to 78). For Medium settings, the equivalent improvements are 17 FPS (24 to 41) and 18 FPS (41 to 59). High settings improve by 13 FPS (18 to 31) and 14 FPS (31 to 45). The data indicates that the Arc B370's performance is heavily resolution-bound, with each step down in resolution yielding a proportional gain across all presets.

FAQ

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

A: No. The recorded data shows no playable settings at 3840x2160. The best result is 31 FPS average on Low settings, and Medium produces 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 FPS. All 4K presets fall well below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1920x1080?

A: Low settings is the only playable preset at 1080p, achieving 78 FPS average. Medium settings average 59 FPS, which is one frame below the 60 FPS threshold, so it does not qualify as playable under the database criteria.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark. Its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186, a delta of -0.2%. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (-0.5%), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (-0.7%), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (+1.4%). These are all within 1.4% of the Arc B370's score.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the dominant constraint. The Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the Core i5-10400F sits at the 68th percentile of all CPUs. The FPS drops proportionally with resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads, while the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads provide sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: Low settings average 78 FPS, while Ultra averages 43 FPS, a difference of 35 FPS. The jump from Medium (59 FPS) to High (45 FPS) costs 14 FPS, while High to Ultra costs only 2 FPS, indicating diminishing returns on the highest preset.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This configuration ranks 3433 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems. The low GPU percentile (5th) relative to the CPU percentile (68th) explains this ranking: the GPU severely limits overall gaming performance despite a capable processor.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest average recorded is 31 FPS on Low settings, followed by 24 FPS on Medium, 18 FPS on High, and 17 FPS on Ultra. The database records no playable settings at this resolution, meaning any 4K configuration would require either a more powerful GPU or a reduction in resolution.

At 2560x1440, the same situation applies: no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low settings average 53 FPS, which is the closest result, but it falls 7 FPS short of the playable threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS. The recorded verdict confirms no playable settings exist at 1440p.

At 1920x1080, Low settings is the only playable preset, delivering 78 FPS average. This is the best settings configuration that stays at or above 60 FPS. Medium settings average 59 FPS, which is below the threshold, so Low is the recommended preset for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

The Verdict

The data clearly shows that this system can run Thief, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the configuration delivers 78 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by a comfortable 18 FPS margin. This is the only playable configuration recorded in the database.

At 2560x1440, the system cannot achieve playable performance at any preset. The closest result is 53 FPS on Low settings, 7 FPS below the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall significantly further behind, with averages of 41, 31, and 29 FPS respectively. The verdict records no playable settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, performance is insufficient across all presets. Low settings average 31 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 18 FPS, and Ultra 17 FPS. None of these approach the 60 FPS target. The system is fundamentally incapable of running Thief at 4K with this hardware combination.

Users seeking playable performance should target 1080p with Low settings. The 59 FPS average on Medium is tantalizingly close, but the database threshold is strict: only presets at or above 60 FPS qualify as playable. The 78 FPS on Low provides the necessary headroom for consistent frame delivery.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearest rivals that would produce similar behavior in Thief. The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185, placing it at the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its closest rival is the Intel Xeon 6756E with an average score of 14163, a delta of only 0.2%. The Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232 (-0.3%), the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 (+0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277 (-0.6%). All four rivals are within 0.6% of the i5-10400F's performance, meaning any of these processors would produce nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Thief.

The Intel Arc B370, with an average benchmark score of 1184 and a GPU percentile of 5, has equally close rivals. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (-0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (-0.5%), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (-0.7%), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (+1.4%). These deltas are all within 1.4%, indicating that swapping the Arc B370 for any of these GPUs would yield essentially identical frame rates in Thief.

For users considering alternative hardware, the key takeaway is that the GPU is the bottleneck. Replacing the Arc B370 with a higher-performing GPU would produce significant gains, while swapping the CPU for any of its near-identical rivals would yield negligible changes. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking means it has substantial headroom; the GPU's 5th percentile ranking means it is severely underpowered for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Thief, this configuration ranks 3433 out of 3720 combos. This places it in the bottom 7.7% of all systems tested. The ranking reflects the GPU's extreme performance limitation: the Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is among the lowest recorded, and its 5th percentile ranking confirms that almost all other GPUs outperform it.

The CPU's strong relative position does little to offset the GPU deficit. The Core i5-10400F's 68th percentile ranking means it outperforms roughly two-thirds of all CPUs, yet the combined system still lands near the bottom of the Thief performance chart. This is a textbook example of GPU-bound system design: no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for a GPU that cannot render frames fast enough.

The ranking also contextualizes the measured FPS results. A system ranking 3433 out of 3720 would be expected to struggle with modern games, and Thief's 2014 release date does not save it from the GPU's limitations. The 78 FPS at 1080p Low is actually a respectable result for such a low-ranked combination, but the 4K and 1440p results are consistent with a GPU at the 5th percentile.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU in Thief. The Core i5-10400F provides adequate processing power: its 6 cores, 12 threads, and boost clock of 4.30 GHz place it at the 68th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, in contrast, is severely underpowered at the 5th percentile. This imbalance means the Arc B370 is the primary determinant of frame rates across all resolutions.

The resolution scaling data confirms this GPU-bound behavior. When resolution increases from 1080p to 1440p, Low settings performance drops from 78 to 53 FPS, a 32% reduction. From 1440p to 4K, Low settings drops from 53 to 31 FPS, another 42% reduction. These proportional decreases are characteristic of GPU-limited workloads, where pixel throughput is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively constant across resolutions.

The preset scaling also supports this interpretation. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 35 FPS (78 to 43), while at 1440p the same comparison yields 24 FPS (53 to 29), and at 4K it yields 14 FPS (31 to 17). As resolution increases, the absolute FPS gap between presets narrows because the GPU becomes progressively more saturated. This is the classic signature of a GPU that reaches its rendering ceiling at higher workloads.

At 1080p, the CPU has more influence because the GPU is less stressed. The 78 FPS on Low settings suggests the CPU can feed frames at that rate, but the 59 FPS on Medium indicates the GPU begins to limit even at this resolution when shader complexity increases. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the CPU's role diminishes to near-negligible levels. The data indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield the largest performance gains in Thief, while CPU upgrades would provide minimal benefit.