Thief

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this configuration, pairing the Intel Core i5-12400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, shows a clear pattern across the three tested resolutions and four quality presets. All measurements represent average frame rates, with the database recording no separate minimum or maximum values for any scenario.

At 1920x1080, the results are strong across the board. The Low preset delivers 142.9 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this configuration. Moving up the quality ladder, Medium produces 104.4 FPS, High reaches 81.9 FPS, and Ultra maintains 78.8 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is modest, only 3.1 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 22.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is larger at 38.5 FPS, showing that the first step up in visual quality carries a significant performance penalty.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale downward as expected. Low still delivers a comfortable 100.1 FPS, which represents a 42.8 FPS drop compared to the same preset at 1080p. Medium comes in at 76.6 FPS, a 27.8 FPS reduction from the 1080p Medium result. High drops to 58.7 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra falls to 52.8 FPS. The performance ordering remains consistent with the 1080p results, but the margins between presets shift. At this resolution, the gap between Low and Medium is 23.5 FPS, between Medium and High is 17.9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 5.9 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the configuration struggles to maintain playable frame rates at most settings. Low is the only preset that approaches the 60 FPS target, averaging 57.5 FPS. Medium drops to 41.9 FPS, High to 33.6 FPS, and Ultra to 33.2 FPS. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra at 4K is minimal at only 0.4 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds little additional rendering cost over High at this resolution, or that the GPU is bottlenecked before those settings fully matter. The drop from Low to Medium at 4K is 15.6 FPS, a substantial penalty for one quality step.

The scaling between resolutions shows a consistent pattern. Moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by roughly 30 percent across most presets. Moving from 1440p to 4K reduces performance by another 40 to 45 percent. The Low preset at 4K performs close to the High preset at 1440p, with 57.5 FPS versus 58.7 FPS respectively, indicating that resolution scaling and preset scaling trade off at similar rates.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Thief at 1080p with the Ultra preset?

A: Yes. The recorded average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 78.8 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by a margin of 18.8 FPS. This is the highest quality preset available, so the system can handle the game at maximum settings at this resolution.

Q: What is the best preset at 2560x1440?

A: Medium is the highest preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS at 1440p, delivering 76.6 FPS. High falls short at 58.7 FPS, just under the 60 FPS threshold. Low also works at 100.1 FPS, but Medium offers better visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable margin above the playable threshold.

Q: Is this system capable of running Thief at 4K resolution?

A: Not at a playable level. The database lists no playable settings at 3840x2160 for this configuration. The Low preset averages 57.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 41.9 FPS, High to 33.6 FPS, and Ultra to 33.2 FPS. None of these meet the playable standard.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The loss varies by preset. For Low, the drop is 42.8 FPS, from 142.9 down to 100.1. For Medium, the drop is 27.8 FPS, from 104.4 down to 76.6. For High, the drop is 23.2 FPS, from 81.9 down to 58.7. For Ultra, the drop is 26.0 FPS, from 78.8 down to 52.8. The percentage reduction is roughly 30 percent across all presets.

Q: Is the difference between High and Ultra settings significant at 1080p?

A: The performance difference is small but noticeable. At 1920x1080, High averages 81.9 FPS while Ultra averages 78.8 FPS, a difference of 3.1 FPS or roughly 3.8 percent. Both presets are well above the 60 FPS threshold, so the choice between them comes down to visual preference rather than performance necessity.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290. The closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 with a score of 15283, a 0 percent difference. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.1 percent behind. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6 percent behind. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8 percent behind. These are all effectively equivalent in overall benchmark performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured frame rates across resolutions and presets indicate that the GPU is the primary performance limiter for this game at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom at lower resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU may still be contributing meaningfully, especially at the Low preset where 142.9 FPS is recorded. This figure suggests that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to sustain a high frame rate. The CPU's benchmark results support this interpretation. The Intel Core i5-12400F scores 12380 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1680 in single-core, with a PassMark multithread score of 19433 and a single-thread score of 3481. These numbers place it in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs in the database.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction of roughly 30 percent across all presets. This uniform scaling indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the resolution increase adds pixel workload that the GPU must handle. The CPU workload for a stealth game like Thief, which relies on AI and game logic, does not scale significantly with resolution. The fact that the frame rate drops proportionally with pixel count suggests GPU-bound operation.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates collapse to levels where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The Low preset at 4K produces 57.5 FPS, which is only 1.2 FPS below the High preset at 1440p. This near-equivalence indicates that the GPU is saturated at both settings, and the quality preset matters less than the total pixel count. The Ultra preset at 4K produces 33.2 FPS, which is nearly identical to the High preset at 4K at 33.6 FPS. This 0.4 FPS difference suggests that once the GPU is fully loaded at 4K, the difference between High and Ultra settings has almost no measurable impact on frame rate.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent when comparing the scaling between Low and Ultra presets at the same resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 64.1 FPS, from 142.9 to 78.8. At 1440p, the difference is 47.3 FPS, from 100.1 to 52.8. At 4K, the difference is 24.3 FPS, from 57.5 to 33.2. As resolution increases, the spread between presets narrows, which is consistent with the GPU becoming the dominant constraint. The CPU has less influence on frame rates when the GPU is already saturated with pixel workload.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with an average score of 19047, the Intel Core 3 201E at 19056, the Intel Core i5-1335U at 18982, and the AMD EPYC 7773X at 18979. All of these fall within 0.3 percent of the i5-12400F's average score of 19039. This indicates that the processor is well within the mainstream performance tier, and any of these alternatives would likely produce similar frame rates in Thief.

For this game, the practical takeaway is that the RTX 2060 is the component that determines whether the game is playable at a given resolution. The CPU has enough headroom to support frame rates well above 60 FPS at 1080p, and it is not the limiting factor until frame rates reach very high levels. At 1440p and above, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, and the CPU's performance is effectively irrelevant to the final frame rate.

The Verdict

This configuration can run Thief at playable frame rates at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but not at 3840x2160.

At 1920x1080, every preset clears the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset averages 78.8 FPS, which is the highest quality setting available and still maintains a comfortable margin above the playable standard. The Low preset reaches 142.9 FPS, Medium hits 104.4 FPS, and High delivers 81.9 FPS. Any setting is viable at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the playable settings are Low and Medium. Low averages 100.1 FPS and Medium averages 76.6 FPS. The High preset falls to 58.7 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra drops to 52.8 FPS. The best playable setting at this resolution is Medium, with an average of 76.6 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no settings are playable. The Low preset averages 57.5 FPS, which is the closest to the threshold but still below it. Medium averages 41.9 FPS, High averages 33.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 33.2 FPS. The database records no playable settings for this resolution.

The verdict is straightforward. For 1080p gaming, this system is fully capable, with headroom even at Ultra settings. For 1440p, the system works well as long as the user stays at Medium or below. For 4K, the system is not suitable for this game, as even the lowest quality preset fails to reach 60 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearest rivals in the database that would produce similar performance in Thief.

For the Intel Core i5-12400F, the closest alternatives are the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with an average benchmark score of 19047, which is 0 percent different from the i5-12400F's 19039. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056, 0.1 percent higher. The Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18982, 0.3 percent lower. The AMD EPYC 7773X scores 18979, also 0.3 percent lower. Any of these processors would behave nearly identically in this game, since the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at the resolutions where the game is playable.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 with an average score of 15283, 0 percent different from the RTX 2060's 15290. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.1 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6 percent lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8 percent lower. All of these GPUs fall within 0.8 percent of the RTX 2060's average benchmark score, meaning they would produce effectively the same frame rates in Thief at the same settings and resolutions.

The practical implication is that a system with any of these CPUs paired with any of these GPUs would deliver the same playability results. The 1080p Ultra performance of 78.8 FPS, the 1440p Medium performance of 76.6 FPS, and the 4K Low performance of 57.5 FPS would all be approximately reproduced with these alternative components. Users considering any of these parts can expect the same experience.

The RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile among all GPUs in the database, and its nearest rivals span a narrow performance band. The GTX 580, despite being an older architecture, scores nearly identically in the database's aggregate metrics. The Radeon 680M, an integrated solution, also matches the RTX 2060's average score. This suggests that for a game like Thief, which was released in 2014, the absolute level of GPU performance matters more than the specific architecture or generation.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database's verdict data indicates the highest preset that maintains an average frame rate at or above 60 FPS at each resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice. It averages 78.8 FPS, which is 18.8 FPS above the playable threshold. All four presets are playable at this resolution, but Ultra provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable margin. The recorded data shows that High averages 81.9 FPS, Medium averages 104.4 FPS, and Low averages 142.9 FPS, but Ultra at 78.8 FPS is the optimal trade-off between quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the best playable option. It averages 76.6 FPS, which is 16.6 FPS above the threshold. Low also qualifies at 100.1 FPS, but Medium offers better visual fidelity. High falls short at 58.7 FPS, and Ultra is further behind at 52.8 FPS. The verdict data lists Low and Medium as the playable settings at this resolution, with Medium being the best.

At 3840x2160, there is no playable setting. The database records no playable settings at this resolution. The Low preset comes closest at 57.5 FPS, but it does not reach the 60 FPS threshold. Users who insist on 4K output would need to accept frame rates below the playable standard, or reduce the resolution. The best setting at 4K would be Low, purely because it is the least demanding, but it still fails to meet the playability criterion.

For users who want the highest visual quality while maintaining 60 FPS or above, the recommended settings are Ultra at 1920x1080 and Medium at 2560x1440. At 3840x2160, no setting meets the standard, and users should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to achieve a playable experience.