Thief

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database places the Intel Core i5-10400F at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14185. Its nearest rivals in aggregate CPU performance are exceptionally close: the Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163, a delta of only 0.2% lower, while the Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, a 0.3% advantage. The AMD EPYC 7552 trails by 0.5% at 14115, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C leads by 0.6% at 14277. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver nearly indistinguishable frame pacing in Thief, as the i5-10400F sits within a 0.6% band of all four rivals.

On the graphics side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks at the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rivals are similarly tight: the NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37628 (0.1% behind), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507 (0.4% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135 (1.3% ahead), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37157 (1.3% behind). For Thief, swapping the RTX 4070 for any of these cards would produce nearly identical average frame rates, with differences well under two frames per second in most scenarios. The RTX 4080 Mobile, despite its name, is the closest faster alternative, while the RX Vega 56 is the closest slower one.

What this means for a builder: if the exact CPU or GPU model is unavailable, the data suggests that any of these near-neighbor components would preserve the overall performance character of this combo in Thief. The CPU's 12 threads and 6 cores, combined with the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, form a pairing that the database records as measured, not estimated, so the results below reflect actual hardware behavior rather than projection.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, which delivers an average of 62.6 FPS. Ultra falls below the threshold at 58.1 FPS, so it is not recommended at this resolution. Medium runs at 76.3 FPS and Low at 89.6 FPS, but High is the best visual quality that maintains the 60 FPS floor.

At 2560x1440, the data shows a different situation. Every preset clears 60 FPS, and the best settings are Ultra, which averages 88.5 FPS. High runs at 89.6 FPS, Medium at 100.7 FPS, and Low at 107.4 FPS. Since Ultra is the highest quality preset and still averages nearly 90 FPS, there is no reason to drop below it at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the same pattern holds: all presets exceed 60 FPS, and Ultra is the best choice, averaging 99.4 FPS. High reaches 101.3 FPS, Medium 112.5 FPS, and Low 126 FPS. The margin is comfortable enough that even the heaviest settings leave substantial headroom above the playable threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded FPS scaling between resolutions and presets reveals how the workload shifts. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops from 99.4 FPS to 88.5 FPS, a decline of roughly 11%. From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, Ultra falls from 88.5 FPS to 58.1 FPS, a much steeper 34% drop. This nonlinear scaling indicates that at 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint, while at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU still has enough headroom to feed the RTX 4070.

Preset scaling tells a similar story. At 3840x2160, moving from Low (89.6 FPS) to Ultra (58.1 FPS) costs 31.5 FPS, or about 35% of the Low score. At 2560x1440, the same Low-to-Ultra transition costs 18.9 FPS (107.4 to 88.5), a 17.6% reduction. At 1920x1080, the cost is 26.6 FPS (126 to 99.4), a 21.1% reduction. The fact that 4K shows the largest absolute and relative drop per preset step confirms that pixel throughput, not CPU logic, is the limiting factor at that resolution.

At 1440p, the CPU and GPU are more balanced. The i5-10400F's single-thread score of 688 in 3DMark and its 68th percentile rank suggest it can sustain high frame rates without bottlenecking the RTX 4070 in a 2014-era stealth title like Thief. At 1080p, the CPU's role grows slightly, as evidenced by the 126 FPS Low result, which is the highest recorded average across all configurations. But even there, the GPU still delivers over 99 FPS at Ultra, so neither component falls critically short.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Thief, and it does so with significant margin. The verdict by resolution is clear:

• At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium. The best playable setting is High, averaging 62.6 FPS. Ultra is not playable, as it averages 58.1 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold.
• At 2560x1440, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable. The best is Ultra at 88.5 FPS.
• At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable. The best is Ultra at 99.4 FPS.

The data shows that the only configuration that fails the 60 FPS test is 4K Ultra, and even then, the shortfall is only 1.9 FPS. Dropping one preset level to High restores comfortable playability. For any user with a 1440p or 1080p display, the game runs at maximum settings with substantial headroom. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of memory and the i5-10400F's 12 threads prove more than sufficient for this stealth title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database records average FPS for each resolution and preset, with no minimum or maximum values reported. All figures below are measured averages.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 89.6 FPS
• Medium: 76.3 FPS
• High: 62.6 FPS
• Ultra: 58.1 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 107.4 FPS
• Medium: 100.7 FPS
• High: 89.6 FPS
• Ultra: 88.5 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 126 FPS
• Medium: 112.5 FPS
• High: 101.3 FPS
• Ultra: 99.4 FPS

The progression is monotonic within each resolution: lowering settings always raises FPS, and lowering resolution always raises FPS for the same preset. The largest single jump is from 4K Ultra (58.1) to 4K High (62.6), a 4.5 FPS gain that crosses the playable line. The smallest gap is between 1440p High (89.6) and 1440p Ultra (88.5), a difference of only 1.1 FPS, suggesting that at 1440p, Ultra is nearly free in performance cost.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all 3720 CPU and GPU combinations tested in Thief, this pairing of Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1856th. That places it in the upper half of all tested combinations, specifically at the 50.1st percentile (1856 divided by 3720). While the RTX 4070 alone sits at the 81st GPU percentile, the combo rank is pulled down by the CPU's 68th percentile standing, indicating that the processor is the weaker link in this pairing for Thief.

The rank suggests that many other combinations deliver higher frame rates, but the measured results show that this combo still clears 60 FPS at all resolutions except 4K Ultra. The gap between the GPU's high individual percentile and the combo's mid-pack rank implies that in Thief, the i5-10400F does not fully unlock the RTX 4070's potential at lower resolutions, though the practical impact is small, as even 1080p Ultra stays above 99 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 58.1, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. High settings at 4K average 62.6 FPS and are the best playable preset.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p?

A: Ultra is the best and fully playable at 2560x1440, averaging 88.5 FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) exceed 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average is 99.4 FPS, which is 41.3 FPS higher than the 58.1 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra. That is a 71% improvement in frame rate.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests partial limitation. The CPU ranks at the 68th percentile while the GPU ranks at the 81st, and the combo rank is 1856 out of 3720. At 1080p Low, the CPU drives 126 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the clear constraint, dropping to 58.1 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest playable setting at 4K?

A: Low at 3840x2160 averages 89.6 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded at 4K. Medium scores 76.3 FPS, and High scores 62.6 FPS, all above the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: It ranks 1856th out of 3720 combinations, placing it just above the midpoint of the database's tested hardware pool for Thief.