Thief

The Intel Core i5-13400F and Intel Arc B570 combination presents a specific performance profile in Thief, a 2014 stealth classic. The measured data indicates this system is fully capable at 1080p and 1440p, but falls short of the 60 FPS playable threshold at 4K. The Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, handles the game's DirectX 11 workload adequately, while the 10-core, 16-thread i5-13400F provides ample processing headroom. The GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers smooth performance across all presets. The Low preset averages 133 FPS, making it the fastest configuration measured. Medium settings produce an average of 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. High settings yield 77 FPS average, while the most demanding Ultra preset still achieves a playable 73 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 45% drop in average frame rate, indicating that visual fidelity comes at a measurable cost, but the baseline performance is strong enough to absorb it.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain respectable but the gap between presets widens. The Low preset averages 91 FPS, which is a 32% reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS — the minimum here dips just below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting occasional stutter in dense scenes. High settings drop to 53 FPS average, which is below the playable mark. Ultra averages 50 FPS, making it the slowest 1440p configuration.

At 3840x2160, the Arc B570 struggles to maintain fluid gameplay. The Low preset averages 54 FPS, which is close to but still under the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings produce 41 FPS average, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings drop to 31 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS. The resolution scaling is steep: going from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra reduces the average frame rate by 60%, highlighting the GPU's bandwidth and compute limitations at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Arc B570 sits between several comparable GPUs based on average benchmark scores. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534 versus the Arc's 20556, a delta of 0.1% — effectively identical performance. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 0.1% higher than the B570, making it a near-match in synthetic tests. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M trails slightly at 20480 (0.4% lower), while the AMD Radeon R9 M390X leads marginally at 20662 (0.5% higher). In practice, any of these GPUs would deliver similar frame rates in Thief at the same settings, with the Arc A750 being the closest desktop equivalent.

On the CPU side, the Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292, landing at the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS at 25284 (0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 at 25362 (-0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D at 25365 (-0.3% delta). The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H scores 25201, which is 0.4% lower. For Thief, these CPUs would all provide similar frame pacing, as the game is not heavily multi-threaded — the i5-13400F's 3dmark 16-thread score of 7314 and single-thread score of 960 indicate that even a modest CPU would keep up with the Arc B570's output.

The overall combo ranks 2994 out of 3720 tested hardware combinations in this game, placing it in the lower-mid tier of possible configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's 65th percentile performance relative to all GPUs, which is the primary bottleneck in this pairing.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves an average of 73 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and the system clears the playable threshold with a 13 FPS margin, making it the recommended configuration for 1080p displays.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Medium, which averages 69 FPS. The minimum of 59 FPS is just below the 60 FPS mark, so players may notice brief dips during intense moments, but the average remains comfortably above the threshold. High and Ultra both fall short of 60 FPS average, so they are not recommended for consistent gameplay.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS average. The Low preset comes closest at 54 FPS, but it still fails the playable threshold. The verdict data confirms this by listing no playable settings at this resolution, meaning 4K gaming is not viable with this hardware for Thief.

The Verdict

According to the verdictByResolution data, this PC can run Thief at 1920x1080 with all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clearing the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Ultra preset at 73 FPS is the best choice, as it delivers maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the system is partially playable. The Low (91 FPS) and Medium (69 FPS) presets both exceed 60 FPS average, making them viable options. The High (53 FPS) and Ultra (50 FPS) presets fail the threshold, so they should be avoided for consistent frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the PC cannot run the game at any preset above the 60 FPS threshold. The best result is Low at 54 FPS average, which is playable but not smooth by the defined standard. Lowering resolution to 1440p is the practical solution for a better experience.

The data indicates that this is a solid 1080p gaming system for Thief, with 1440p viable at medium settings. The 4K experience is sub-optimal, and users with 4K displays should stick to 1440p or lower.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals that the Intel Arc B570 is the dominant factor in this game. At 1080p Ultra, the GPU produces 73 FPS, but at 1440p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 50 FPS — a 32% reduction. At 4K Ultra, it falls further to 29 FPS, a 60% reduction from 1080p. This steep decline points to the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute capacity being the limiting resource, not the CPU.

The Intel Core i5-13400F has a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and a single-core score of 3191, which are far above what Thief requires. The game's low settings at 1080p reach 133 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not bottlenecking even at high frame rates. The 3dmark single-thread score of 960 and 2-thread score of 1880 indicate that the CPU's per-core performance is sufficient for this title's aging engine.

At lower resolutions and presets, the CPU's role becomes more prominent because the GPU has less work to do. The jump from 1080p Low (133 FPS) to 1440p Low (91 FPS) is a 32% drop, while the jump from 1080p Ultra (73 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (50 FPS) is also 32% — similar scaling suggests the GPU is consistently the bottleneck. At 4K, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed, as even Low settings (54 FPS) cannot reach 60 FPS.

In summary, the CPU provides ample headroom for this game, and the GPU is the deciding factor for playability at each resolution. Users with a stronger GPU could potentially achieve higher frame rates at 1440p and 4K, but the i5-13400F would not hold them back in Thief.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Thief at 60 FPS on a 1080p monitor?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, all four presets — Low (133 FPS), Medium (101 FPS), High (77 FPS), and Ultra (73 FPS) — exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 69 FPS, which is the highest quality setting that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum of 59 FPS is slightly below, but the average is comfortable.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with the Intel Arc B570 and Core i5-13400F?

A: No preset at 3840x2160 reaches 60 FPS average. The Low preset comes closest at 54 FPS, but the verdict data lists no playable settings at this resolution.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to the Arc A750 in this game?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, while the Arc A750 scores 20582 — a 0.1% difference. In Thief, both GPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates at the same settings.

Q: Does the CPU matter for Thief performance?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has a 3dmark single-thread score of 960 and a max-thread score of 7307, which are more than sufficient for this game. The GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at 1440p and 4K.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 77 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.