Thief

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a performance profile in Thief that is heavily dictated by resolution and preset selection. At 1920x1080, the combination is unequivocally strong, with even the highest settings maintaining substantial headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. Moving to 2560x1440, the system remains capable but requires a moderate reduction in settings to sustain smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the data shows a clear limitation, as no tested preset reaches the playable threshold of 60 FPS, indicating that this resolution is beyond the practical capabilities of this hardware for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the Intel Core i5-12400F and Intel Arc B570 combination produces its lowest frame rates. The High preset averages 31 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 29 FPS. The Medium preset yields an average of 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. The Low preset is the most performant at this resolution, reaching an average of 54 FPS. None of these averages come close to the 60 FPS target, and even the minimum frame rate on Medium is far below it.

Moving down to 2560x1440, performance improves significantly. The Low preset achieves an average of 91 FPS. The Medium preset averages 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS, placing it right at the edge of the playable threshold. The High preset drops to an average of 53 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 50 FPS. This resolution shows a clear divide: Low and Medium are playable, whereas High and Ultra are not.

At 1920x1080, the hardware shows its strongest results. The Low preset averages 133 FPS. The Medium preset averages 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. The High preset averages 77 FPS, and even the demanding Ultra preset maintains an average of 73 FPS. All four presets at 1080p comfortably exceed the 60 FPS threshold, with the minimum frame rate on Medium staying well above it.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor in this configuration. As resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the average frame rate at the Medium preset falls from 101 FPS to 41 FPS, a reduction of roughly 60%. This steep decline is a classic symptom of GPU-bound rendering, where the workload on the graphics card grows exponentially with pixel count. The CPU, an Intel Core i5-12400F with 6 cores and 12 threads, does not show signs of bottlenecking, as the frame rates at lower resolutions remain exceptionally high. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 133 FPS, which suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond what is needed for the higher presets.

The delta between presets also points to GPU dominance. At 2560x1440, the gap between Low (91 FPS) and Ultra (50 FPS) is 41 FPS. At 3840x2160, the same preset change yields only a 25 FPS difference (54 FPS to 29 FPS). This compression of performance at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU’s raw throughput is exhausted, making the choice of preset less impactful than the resolution itself. The CPU’s role is more pronounced at 1080p, where the difference between Low and Ultra is 60 FPS (133 to 73), showing that the processor can maintain high frame rates even as the GPU workload increases. However, the data does not suggest that the CPU becomes a limiting factor at any tested setting; rather, it consistently provides enough performance to allow the GPU to be the deciding component.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12400F’s average benchmark score of 19039 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, which scores 19047, a delta of 0%. This means that in terms of overall processing power, these two chips are effectively interchangeable for Thief. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056, just -0.1% higher, and the Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18982, a -0.3% difference. The AMD EPYC 7773X also sits close with 18979, a +0.3% delta. For this game, any of these processors would likely produce similar frame rates when paired with the same GPU, as the CPU is not the primary bottleneck.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B570’s average benchmark score of 20556 places it in close company with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534, a delta of +0.1%. The Intel Arc A750 is also a near match, scoring 20582, a -0.1% difference. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and AMD Radeon R9 M390X are further behind, with scores of 20480 and 20662 respectively, representing deltas of +0.4% and -0.5%. In practice, the RTX 3070 Mobile or Arc A750 would deliver very similar performance in Thief at the tested resolutions and presets. This suggests that users with those GPUs would see nearly identical FPS numbers, meaning the 1080p and 1440p results would be equally playable, while 4K would remain out of reach.

The Verdict

This PC configuration can run Thief effectively at 1920x1080 across all tested presets. The data shows that even the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS, which is 13 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The High preset at 77 FPS and Medium at 101 FPS provide even more headroom, ensuring a smooth experience. At 2560x1440, the system is partially capable. The Low preset (91 FPS) and Medium preset (69 FPS) meet the 60 FPS threshold, with Medium being the highest playable setting. The High (53 FPS) and Ultra (50 FPS) presets fall short. At 3840x2160, the configuration fails to reach playable performance on any setting. The best result is Low at 54 FPS, which is below the threshold, and all other presets are considerably lower. The verdict is clear: this system is a solid 1080p performer, a capable 1440p machine with settings compromises, and not suitable for 4K gaming in Thief.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested hardware combinations in Thief, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and Intel Arc B570 ranks at 2994 out of 3720 combinations. This places the combo in the lower 20% of all systems tested for this game. While the absolute performance at 1080p is strong, the ranking reflects the fact that Thief is a title where higher-end GPUs can push far beyond the frame rates seen here. The combo’s rank is influenced by its inability to handle 4K and its moderate performance at 1440p, which drags it down relative to systems with more powerful graphics cards. The percentile data for the individual components supports this: the CPU sits in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Neither component is a top-tier part, and their combined performance in this game places them in a mid-to-low tier position among the broader set of tested combos.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Thief at 1080p with high settings?*

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system achieves an average of 77 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset is the highest playable setting at 2560x1440, averaging 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, all presets fall below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset achieves the highest average at 54 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400F compare to its closest CPU rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19039, which is essentially identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS at 19047, showing a 0% delta in performance.

Q: What GPU is most similar to the Intel Arc B570?

A: The Intel Arc A750 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile are the closest matches, with average scores of 20582 and 20534 respectively, differing from the B570 by only -0.1% and +0.1%.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 133 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS, resulting in a 60 FPS difference between the two extremes.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that maintains an average at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves an average of 73 FPS. This provides the highest visual quality while still delivering smooth performance. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the best choice, averaging 69 FPS. This is the only preset above Low that clears the threshold, and it does so with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is just below the target. For 3840x2160, there is no playable preset. The lowest setting, Low, only reaches an average of 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS requirement. Therefore, no recommended setting exists for 4K with this hardware.