Thief

The Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers a mixed bag for Thief, a 2014 stealth title. The data shows the CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting up to 4.40 GHz, sits in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, while the Arc B580 GPU, with its 12GB of GDDR6 memory and 2560 shading units, lands in the 68th percentile among all GPUs. This pairing is capable of smooth gameplay, but only at specific resolution and settings combinations. At 4K, you are limited to Low settings for a playable experience, while at 1440p and 1080p, higher presets become viable. The benchmark results indicate that this system’s performance is more than adequate for 1080p gaming, offering headroom even for Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo reveal a clear performance scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. All figures are average FPS, as minimum and maximum values were not recorded.

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low settings: 150.5 FPS — an exceptionally high frame rate, indicating the game is heavily GPU-bound at this resolution and the Arc B580 has ample headroom.
• Medium settings: 111.9 FPS — still far above the playable threshold, providing a very smooth experience with a noticeable visual upgrade over Low.
• High settings: 87.8 FPS — a solid drop from Medium but still well within the high-refresh-rate territory, offering a good balance of visual fidelity and speed.
• Ultra settings: 84.9 FPS — the most demanding preset at 1080p still clears the 60 FPS mark with a comfortable margin, making this the best choice for maximum quality.

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low settings: 101 FPS — performance remains very strong, showing the GPU’s capability at this higher resolution.
• Medium settings: 78.7 FPS — a significant step down from Low but still a very playable and smooth experience, well above the 60 FPS target.
• High settings: 57 FPS — this is the first preset that drops below the 60 FPS playable threshold, indicating a performance cliff between Medium and High.
• Ultra settings: 56.8 FPS — essentially identical to High settings in performance, suggesting the game’s Ultra preset at 1440p does not add much additional GPU load beyond High, but both are below the target.

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• Low settings: 62 FPS — this is just barely above the 60 FPS playable threshold, making it the only viable option for 4K gaming.
• Medium settings: 43.6 FPS — a severe drop from Low, showing that 4K resolution is extremely demanding on the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources.
• High settings: 34.1 FPS — the frame rate continues to fall, making this preset unplayable.
• Ultra settings: 33.5 FPS — the lowest recorded average, confirming that 4K Ultra is not a realistic target for this hardware.

The trend is clear: the Arc B580 has enough power for 1080p Ultra and 1440p Medium, but 4K requires a significant sacrifice in visual quality to remain playable. The 1440p results show a notable jump in performance from High to Medium (a 38% increase in FPS), indicating that the game’s Medium preset at this resolution is the sweet spot for this hardware.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Thief at 1080p with all settings maxed out?

A: Yes. The data shows an average of 84.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the best settings option for 1080p per the benchmark results.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The best settings preset at 2560x1440 is Medium, which averages 78.7 FPS. High settings fall to 57 FPS, and Ultra to 56.8 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: Yes, but with a major caveat. The only playable settings preset at 3840x2160 is Low, which averages 62 FPS. All other presets (Medium, High, Ultra) fall below the 60 FPS threshold, with frame rates ranging from 43.6 FPS down to 33.5 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683. Its nearest rival is the AMD EPYC 7643 with a score of 18697, which is only 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i7-1355U (18730) and AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811) are also within 0.7% of its performance. The Intel Core i3-14100F (18519) is 0.9% slower. This indicates the i5-12400 is positioned in a very tight performance cluster.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021. Its closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which scores 23061, a negligible 0.2% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895) is 0.6% slower, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172) is 0.7% faster. The NVIDIA P106-100 (23249) is 1% faster.

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this combo for Thief?

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks at 2817 out of 3720 tested combos for Thief. This places it in the lower-middle range of all possible system configurations, despite being capable of 60 FPS at multiple settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

Based on the measured FPS data, the goal is to find the most demanding preset that still maintains an average of at least 60 FPS.

• 1920x1080: Ultra settings at 84.9 FPS is the best choice. This provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a large margin of safety above the 60 FPS target, making it the definitive recommendation for 1080p displays.
• 2560x1440: Medium settings at 78.7 FPS is the optimal configuration. While High and Ultra are visually superior, they fall below the playable threshold. Medium offers a smooth experience with a significant visual upgrade over Low settings (which run at 101 FPS).
• 3840x2160: Low settings at 62 FPS is the only playable option. While this requires substantial visual compromises, it is the only preset that achieves an average above the 60 FPS threshold. Pushing to Medium results in a 29% performance drop, making it unplayable.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For those looking for comparable hardware, the benchmark data offers several nearby alternatives for both the CPU and GPU.

CPU Alternatives:

The Intel Core i5-12400 sits in a performance bracket with several other processors. The AMD EPYC 7643 is virtually identical in performance, with a delta of only -0.1%. The Intel Core i7-1355U and AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 are also extremely close, being 0.3% and 0.7% faster respectively. The Intel Core i3-14100F is the closest slower alternative, being 0.9% behind. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Thief, as the game is likely GPU-bound in most scenarios.

GPU Alternatives:

The Intel Arc B580 is also tightly clustered with several other graphics cards. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is the closest match, with a delta of -0.2%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is 0.6% slower, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is 0.7% faster. The NVIDIA P106-100 is 1% faster. These cards should all provide a very similar gaming experience at the same settings, with the RTX 3080 being the only one with a meaningful (though small) performance advantage.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Thief, the Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B580 pair ranks at 2817 out of 3720 total combinations. This places it in the 76th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the hardware combinations tested. However, this ranking is a holistic measure of the system's overall benchmark capability, not just its gaming performance in this specific title. The data shows that while this combo can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming well, its 4K performance is limited, which is reflective of its mid-range positioning. This rank suggests that there are many combinations that can outperform it, but also a large number that will perform significantly worse.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Thief, but the quality of the experience depends heavily on your display resolution. The verdict by resolution is clear:

• 1920x1080: This combo is fully capable. All four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the Ultra preset delivering an average of 84.9 FPS. This is the ideal resolution for this hardware, offering a high-quality, high-refresh-rate experience.
• 2560x1440: The system is playable, but you must limit yourself to Medium settings (78.7 FPS) or lower. High (57 FPS) and Ultra (56.8 FPS) presets fall just short of the 60 FPS target, so you will need to compromise on visual fidelity to achieve a smooth experience.
• 3840x2160: The system is only marginally playable. You must use Low settings, which average 62 FPS. This is the absolute minimum for a playable experience, and it requires significant visual compromises. Any higher preset is not recommended as it will result in sub-60 FPS performance.

The data indicates this is a solid 1080p gaming machine with the power to handle 1440p at medium quality. For 4K, it is only suitable for a low-settings experience. The benchmark results show the i5-12400 is not a bottleneck at these settings, as the GPU's performance scaling is consistent with its 68th percentile ranking. This is a balanced mid-range combo that excels at standard resolutions but struggles at the extremes.