Thief

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable experience in Thief, but only when resolution and presets are chosen carefully. Measured data shows that 1920x1080 is fully playable across all four presets, while 2560x1440 requires dropping to Medium or Low to stay above the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the best average being 54 FPS on Low. This combination of a strong 12th-gen CPU and a mid-range Battlemage GPU has clear limits, and the following analysis breaks down exactly where those limits lie.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Thief at 1920x1080?

A: Yes. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) average above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Low averages 133 FPS, Medium 101 FPS, High 77 FPS, and Ultra 73 FPS.

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

A: Medium is the best preset that clears 60 FPS, averaging 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS. Low also clears the threshold at 91 FPS, but High (53 FPS) and Ultra (50 FPS) do not.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 54 on Low, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12600KF compare to its nearest CPU rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D?

A: The i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, which is 0.3% lower than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D's 27896. This is a negligible difference, meaning the two CPUs would perform nearly identically in Thief.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to the Intel Arc A750?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% lower than the Arc A750's 20582. For practical purposes, these two GPUs are equivalent in performance.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations for Thief?

A: This combination ranks 2994 out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of the field. It outperforms roughly one-fifth of tested systems but falls behind the majority.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core i5-12600KF and the Intel Arc B570. At 1920x1080, the CPU's strong single-thread and multi-thread performance allows the GPU to stretch its legs. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302 indicate that the CPU can feed frames quickly at low resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 133 FPS, and even at Ultra it maintains 73 FPS. The scaling from Low to High at 1080p shows a drop from 133 FPS to 77 FPS, a 56 FPS decrease, which is primarily GPU-limited as the pixel workload increases.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck. The scaling from Low (91 FPS) to High (53 FPS) shows a 38 FPS drop, and from Medium (69 FPS) to Ultra (50 FPS) a 19 FPS drop. The CPU's 16 threads and 4.90 GHz boost clock are more than sufficient to keep up at this resolution; the Arc B570's 10 GB GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors. At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely constrained. The gap between Low (54 FPS) and High (31 FPS) is only 23 FPS, indicating that the GPU is running out of raw compute and memory bandwidth. The Arc B570's FP32 throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS and 80 ROPs are simply not enough to push 4K at acceptable frame rates.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 79 versus the GPU's percentile of 65 confirms that the CPU is the stronger component relative to its class. In Thief, which is a 2014 stealth title, the CPU load is moderate, but the GPU's performance at higher resolutions is the deciding factor. At 1080p, the CPU's high thread count and boost clock allow the GPU to achieve its maximum output. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU's limitations dominate, and the CPU's performance headroom is irrelevant.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12600KF's nearest rivals are all within 0.3% of its average benchmark score of 27799. The Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896 (0.3% higher). Any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Thief when paired with the same GPU. The i9-10900K and Ryzen 7 5800X3D are particularly close, with deltas of -0.3% and -0.3% respectively, meaning users upgrading from those parts would see no measurable change in this game.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B570's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (score 20534, 0.1% lower), the Intel Arc A750 (score 20582, 0.1% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (score 20480, 0.4% lower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (score 20662, 0.5% higher). The Arc A750 is the most relevant alternative, as it is the same generation and architecture family, and the 0.1% delta means it would deliver the same FPS in Thief. The RTX 3070 Mobile, despite being a laptop part, scores within 0.1% of the Arc B570, so it would also behave nearly identically. The Quadro M4000M and R9 M390X are older parts but still fall within 0.5% of the Arc B570's average score, indicating they would also provide similar frame rates, though driver and feature support may differ.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Thief, but the playable envelope is clearly defined by the measured data. At 1920x1080, every preset clears the 60 FPS threshold. The best setting is Ultra, which averages 73 FPS, while High averages 77 FPS, Medium 101 FPS, and Low 133 FPS. For a 1080p monitor, users can max out the game and enjoy a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, the playable settings are Low and Medium. Medium is the best choice, averaging 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is just under the 60 FPS threshold but still acceptable for most players. Low averages 91 FPS, providing a large headroom. High and Ultra fall short, with averages of 53 FPS and 50 FPS respectively, which are below the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, no preset is playable. The best average is 54 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS. For 4K gaming, this combination is not suitable for Thief.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists the exact measured frame rates for each resolution and preset combination.

3840x2160 (4K)

• High: 31 FPS average
• Low: 54 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average, 35 FPS minimum, 47 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 29 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p)

• High: 53 FPS average
• Low: 91 FPS average
• Medium: 69 FPS average, 59 FPS minimum, 79 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 50 FPS average

1920x1080 (1080p)

• High: 77 FPS average
• Low: 133 FPS average
• Medium: 101 FPS average, 86 FPS minimum, 116 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 73 FPS average

The minimum and maximum values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the frame time variance is tight, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS, indicating stable performance. At 1440p Medium, the minimum drops to 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold, but the average of 69 FPS shows that most of the session remains playable. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 35 FPS and the maximum is 47 FPS, confirming that the experience is consistently below the playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Thief, the Intel Core i5-12600KF + Intel Arc B570 ranks 2994 out of 3720 combos. This places it in the lower half of the field, specifically outperforming only about 19.5% of tested systems. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions; many combos with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs will score better at 1440p and 4K. However, at 1080p, this combo is competitive, as the CPU's high single-thread score (1016 in 3DMark, 3302 in Cinebench R23) ensures that the GPU is not starved for data. The CPU's percentile of 79 and GPU's percentile of 65 explain the rank: the CPU is a strong performer, but the GPU drags down the overall result in a game that scales heavily with pixel count. For users targeting 1080p, this rank is acceptable; for 1440p or 4K, other combos would be more appropriate.