Thief

Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing ranks in the 955th position out of 3,720 tested combos for Thief, placing it in the upper quarter of all systems evaluated. This is a strong result, but the combo's performance is not uniform across resolutions: it clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at every preset in 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but at 3840x2160 it only manages playable framerates on Low and Medium settings. The data shows a system that excels at mainstream resolutions and becomes resolution-bound at 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 54 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Core i5-13400F + RTX 3080 combo ranks 955th out of 3,720 tested combinations for Thief, meaning roughly 74% of tested systems deliver higher framerates. This percentile placement suggests the pairing is solidly mid-to-upper tier for this specific title, though not elite. The rank reflects a balance: the CPU sits at the 77th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 68th percentile among all graphics cards. Neither component is a top-tier outlier, but their combination produces a system that handles Thief's engine comfortably at most settings.

Breaking down the benchmark data, the combo's average FPS across all measured configurations ranges from 54 at 4K Ultra to 178 at 1080p Low. The spread between the worst and best case is 124 FPS, which indicates the system is highly sensitive to both resolution and preset changes. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 44 FPS (178 vs 134), while at 4K the same preset swing costs 44 FPS (98 vs 54). This consistency in the delta suggests the bottleneck shifts smoothly from CPU-bound at low resolutions to GPU-bound at high resolutions.

The rank of 955 is influenced by the fact that Thief is a 2014 title with relatively modest hardware demands compared to modern games. Many combos with newer or more powerful GPUs will outrank this pairing, but the i5-13400F's strong multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,604) ensures the CPU does not hold back the RTX 3080 in most scenarios. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25,086 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4,407 are respectable, but they place it below the top-tier cards that dominate the upper ranks of the combo list.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Core i5-13400F, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS with a deltaPct of 0, the Intel Core 5 120 at -0.3%, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D at -0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H at +0.4%. These CPUs all deliver essentially identical average scores (ranging from 25,201 to 25,365) to the i5-13400F's 25,292. In practical terms, swapping the i5-13400F for any of these processors would produce nearly indistinguishable framerates in Thief, as the game is unlikely to stress any of them to their limits at the tested resolutions.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA P106-100 at -0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 at -0.3%, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M at -0.4%, and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X at -0.4%. These cards have average scores between 23,249 and 23,276, compared to the RTX 3080's 23,172. The deltas are all under 0.5%, meaning these GPUs would perform within a fraction of a percent of the RTX 3080 in Thief. However, the RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth give it an edge in texture-heavy scenes, though the measured FPS data does not isolate this advantage.

A user considering alternative hardware could expect the Ryzen 5 5600X3D to match the i5-13400F in CPU-bound scenarios, while the RX 6600M would be a near-identical GPU substitute. The fact that all rivals are within 0.4% of the respective components' scores means the overall combo rank would not shift meaningfully if these alternatives were used in place of the i5-13400F or RTX 3080.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system is likely CPU-bound at lower presets, as evidenced by the modest scaling from High to Ultra: 141 FPS to 134 FPS, a drop of only 5%. The jump from Low to Medium is larger (178 to 161 FPS, a 9.6% decrease), suggesting the GPU begins to matter more as settings increase. The i5-13400F's single-thread score of 3,634 in PassMark and 3,191 in Cinebench R23 indicates strong per-core performance that can feed the RTX 3080 at 1080p without becoming the primary constraint.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's role becomes more prominent. The average FPS drops from 157 at Low to 92 at Ultra, a 41% reduction, while the CPU's contribution remains constant. The medium preset shows a range of 108 to 146 FPS, indicating that the GPU is handling the increased pixel count with less headroom. The RTX 3080's 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 465.1 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient to maintain high framerates, but the scaling from Low to Ultra (65 FPS difference) suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck. The average FPS falls to 57 at High and 54 at Ultra, both below the 60 FPS threshold, while Low reaches 98 FPS and Medium 75 FPS. The 4K results show a 44 FPS difference between Low and Ultra, but the fact that even High fails to hit 60 FPS indicates that the RTX 3080's 10 GB memory and 320-bit bus are strained by 4K rendering. The CPU's performance is irrelevant at this resolution; the GPU's raw throughput and memory bandwidth determine the outcome.

The scaling between resolutions at the same preset confirms this: 1080p Ultra runs at 134 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 92 FPS (31% slower), and 4K Ultra at 54 FPS (60% slower than 1080p). These percentages align with the GPU's pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s, which is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The Verdict

This PC can run Thief, but the playable configurations depend heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS threshold, with the best setting being Ultra at an average of 134 FPS. At 2560x1440, all presets are also playable, with Ultra delivering 92 FPS on average. At 3840x2160, only Low (98 FPS) and Medium (75 FPS) are playable; High (57 FPS) and Ultra (54 FPS) fall short of the 60 FPS mark.

The verdict by resolution is straightforward: 1080p and 1440p users can max out settings without concern, while 4K users must compromise on preset quality. The best playable setting at 4K is Medium, which achieves an average of 75 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS and maximum of 86 FPS, ensuring no drops below the playable threshold. For 1440p, Ultra at 92 FPS is the recommended choice, and for 1080p, Ultra at 134 FPS provides the best experience.

The i5-13400F's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for Thief, a game from 2014 that does not utilize heavy multi-threading. The RTX 3080, while not the fastest GPU in the database, delivers consistent performance across all tested configurations. The verdict is clear: this combo is a capable Thief machine at all resolutions, with only 4K Ultra being off-limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS data shows the following: Low preset averages 178 FPS, Medium averages 161 FPS with a range of 137 to 186, High averages 141 FPS, and Ultra averages 134 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (137) is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating no stutter issues. The absence of min/max values for Low, High, and Ultra in the data suggests these were not recorded, but the averages alone confirm playability.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 157 FPS for Low, 127 FPS for Medium (with min 108, max 146), 97 FPS for High, and 92 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 108 FPS is notably higher than the 4K Medium minimum of 63 FPS, showing that 1440p provides a comfortable margin above the playable threshold. The step from High to Ultra is only 5 FPS (97 to 92), indicating that Ultra is nearly free in performance cost at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 98 FPS for Low, 75 FPS for Medium (with min 63, max 86), 57 FPS for High, and 54 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 63 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, meaning there is minimal headroom for demanding scenes. High and Ultra both fall below the threshold, with averages of 57 and 54 respectively, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The data shows a clear cliff between Medium and High at 4K, with an 18 FPS drop that pushes the system out of the playable range.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and preset combination for this PC in Thief?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers 134 FPS on average; at 2560x1440, Ultra delivers 92 FPS; at 3840x2160, Medium is the best playable option at 75 FPS (minimum 63 FPS).

Q: Can this system run Thief at 60 FPS on 4K Ultra?

A: No. The measured average at 3840x2160 Ultra is 54 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23,172, while its nearest rivals (NVIDIA P106-100, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16, AMD Radeon RX 6600M, AMD Radeon R9 M290X) score between 23,249 and 23,276, all within 0.4% of the RTX 3080.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for Thief at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 41% drop in average FPS from Low (157) to Ultra (92). The CPU's performance is sufficient even at the highest preset.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded for this combo?

A: Minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset: 137 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K. All other presets lack min/max data.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Thief?

A: It ranks 955th out of 3,720 tested combos, placing it in the upper 26% of all systems. The CPU is at the 77th percentile and the GPU at the 68th percentile.