Thief

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Thief with the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 shows a system that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold at every tested configuration. The measurements cover three resolutions and four quality presets, with average frame rates ranging from a low of 71.9 FPS to a high of 126.7 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the frame rates are uniformly high. The Low preset delivers an average of 126.7 FPS, which is the single fastest result in the entire dataset. Moving up through the presets, Medium produces 115 FPS, High drops slightly to 104.3 FPS, and Ultra still holds at 99.1 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 27.6 FPS, indicating that the most demanding preset costs roughly 22% of the headroom available at the least demanding setting, but even the slowest 1080p configuration remains far above the 60 FPS line.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with a modest downward shift. Low averages 110.2 FPS, Medium 99 FPS, High 89.6 FPS, and Ultra 88.6 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is only 1 FPS, which is essentially negligible in practical terms. The gap between Low and Ultra is 21.6 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU begins to play a more even role as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the resolution stresses the GPU far more heavily. Low still delivers 90 FPS, Medium 81.8 FPS, High 76.2 FPS, and Ultra 71.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 18.1 FPS, the smallest absolute spread across all three resolutions. This compression of frame rates at higher resolutions indicates that the RTX 4090 remains the dominant factor, but the i5-10400F is not creating a bottleneck that would cause dramatic FPS cliffs. Every 4K preset clears 60 FPS by at least 11.9 FPS, and Ultra stays above the threshold by a comfortable margin.

The data does not include minimum or maximum frame rate values, so the analysis relies entirely on average FPS. The absence of min/max figures means frame pacing and stutter behavior cannot be assessed from this dataset, but the average scores themselves suggest a smooth experience across all settings.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the recorded average FPS is 71.9, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 11.9 FPS.

Q: What is the fastest preset and resolution combination in the dataset?

A: The fastest result is 126.7 FPS, recorded at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same preset?

A: At Ultra, the average drops from 99.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 71.9 FPS at 3840x2160, a loss of 27.2 FPS. At Low, the drop is from 126.7 FPS to 90 FPS, a loss of 36.7 FPS.

Q: Is there any preset that fails to reach 60 FPS?

A: No. Every combination of resolution and settings in the measured data exceeds 60 FPS. The lowest recorded average is 71.9 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does the CPU compare to nearby processors in the database?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185, placing it slightly above the Intel Xeon 6756E (14163, 0.2% faster) and the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115, 0.5% faster), while being marginally behind the Intel Core 7 160UL (14232, -0.3%) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277, -0.6%).

Q: How does the RTX 4090 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60347. It sits just ahead of the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60140, 0.3% faster), but trails the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61896, -2.5%) and leads the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58657, 2.9%).

CPU and GPU Roles

The interaction between the Intel Core i5-10400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 varies by resolution, and the measured FPS data reveals how the balance shifts. At 1920x1080, the CPU's influence is at its strongest. The frame rate delta between Low and Ultra is 27.6 FPS, the largest spread in the dataset. This indicates that at lower pixel counts, the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly, and the CPU's ability to feed the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The i5-10400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, holds the system back from reaching even higher FPS at 1080p, though the absolute numbers remain excellent.

At 2560x1440, the spread between Low and Ultra narrows to 21.6 FPS. This reduction suggests that the GPU is taking on more of the workload as pixel count rises. The CPU remains important, but the RTX 4090's rendering load at 1440p starts to mask some of the CPU's limitations. The near-identical results between High (89.6 FPS) and Ultra (88.6 FPS) at this resolution reinforce the idea that the GPU, not the CPU, is the primary driver of performance differences between the highest presets.

At 3840x2160, the CPU's role diminishes further. The spread between Low and Ultra is just 18.1 FPS, the smallest of any resolution. At 4K, the RTX 4090 is heavily loaded, and the CPU has more time to prepare frames. The i5-10400F is no longer the primary constraint; instead, the GPU's raw throughput dictates the frame rate. The fact that 4K Low (90 FPS) is only 18.1 FPS faster than 4K Ultra (71.9 FPS) shows that even at lower settings, the GPU is working hard to fill the pixel count.

The scaling between resolutions tells a similar story. At Ultra, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 10.5 FPS, and moving from 1440p to 4K costs 16.7 FPS. At Low, the same transitions cost 16.5 FPS and 20.2 FPS respectively. The larger drops at Low settings indicate that when the GPU is less burdened by graphical effects, the CPU becomes more relevant, and the i5-10400F's performance ceiling is exposed. At Ultra, the GPU is already so loaded that the CPU has more breathing room, resulting in smaller absolute FPS losses.

Overall, the data suggests that for Thief, the RTX 4090 is the dominant component at all resolutions, but the i5-10400F is a meaningful partner at 1080p. At 4K, the CPU's influence fades, and the GPU's capabilities define the experience.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals in the database provide context for how this specific CPU and GPU combination compares to other hardware pairings. For the Intel Core i5-10400F, the closest matches in average benchmark score are the Intel Xeon 6756E (14163, 0.2% faster than the i5), the Intel Core 7 160UL (14232, 0.3% slower), the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115, 0.5% faster), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277, 0.6% slower). These processors would likely produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Thief, though their different core counts and architectures might affect other games differently. The i5-10400F's closest rivals are a mixed group spanning enterprise Xeon and EPYC parts alongside consumer and mobile-derived chips, which highlights how benchmark averages can group very different hardware.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60140, 0.3% faster), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61896, 2.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58657, 2.9% slower). The RTX 4090's score of 60347 places it in a cluster of professional and workstation GPUs, which suggests that in Thief, a system pairing the i5-10400F with any of these cards would deliver broadly similar frame rates. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is the strongest of the group, and could potentially push slightly higher FPS in GPU-bound scenarios, while the AMD Radeon PRO V710 would be the weakest, though still within a few percent.

It is important to note that these rivals are drawn from the database's average benchmark scores, not from direct Thief measurements. The actual in-game performance could vary based on driver optimizations, power limits, and thermal behavior, but the benchmark proximity indicates that users with these alternative components should expect similar overall capability.

The Verdict

The recorded data answers the core question directly: yes, this PC can run Thief, and it does so with substantial headroom. The verdict by resolution confirms that all four settings at all three resolutions are playable. At 3840x2160, the playable settings include High (76.2 FPS), Low (90 FPS), Medium (81.8 FPS), and Ultra (71.9 FPS). At 2560x1440, the playable settings are High (89.6 FPS), Low (110.2 FPS), Medium (99 FPS), and Ultra (88.6 FPS). At 1920x1080, the playable settings are High (104.3 FPS), Low (126.7 FPS), Medium (115 FPS), and Ultra (99.1 FPS).

Every single configuration clears the 60 FPS threshold. The lowest recorded average is 71.9 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still nearly 12 FPS above the playable line. The highest is 126.7 FPS at 1080p Low. This means that players can choose any preset based on visual preference rather than performance constraints. Even the most demanding combination, 4K Ultra, remains fully playable.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's overall ranking for Thief, this combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds position 1683 out of 3720 tested combos. That places it in the upper half of all recorded systems, though not near the top. The rank reflects the fact that the RTX 4090 is a very fast GPU, but the i5-10400F, despite being a competent mid-range processor, does not boost the combo into the highest echelons of the rankings. The CPU's percentile of 68 among all CPUs and the GPU's percentile of 88 among all GPUs indicate a mismatch: the GPU is far stronger than the CPU. In Thief, this mismatch does not prevent high frame rates, but it likely costs the combo some positions in the rankings compared to systems with newer or faster processors paired with the same GPU.

The rank of 1683 out of 3720 means that roughly 55% of tested combos fall below this system, while 45% rank above it. For a game released in 2014, this is a strong result, but the CPU is clearly the limiting factor in the pairing.

Best Settings per Resolution

For players who want the most demanding preset that still holds at or above 60 FPS, the data points to Ultra at every resolution. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra with an average of 99.1 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra delivers 88.6 FPS. At 3840x2160, Ultra still achieves 71.9 FPS. In all three cases, Ultra is not only playable but leaves a margin of at least 11.9 FPS above the threshold.

The recommendation is therefore simple: run Thief at Ultra settings regardless of resolution. The RTX 4090 has enough power to handle the highest preset at 4K, and the i5-10400F does not prevent the system from reaching playable frame rates. The only reason to drop below Ultra would be to pursue higher refresh rates, such as chasing the 126.7 FPS available at 1080p Low, but for standard 60 FPS gameplay, Ultra is the optimal choice across the board.