Thief

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a top-tier performance profile for Thief, placing this specific combination at rank 773 out of 3720 tested combos. This percentile placement, combined with the measured frame rates across all three resolutions, indicates a system that is decisively above the playable threshold in nearly every configuration. The data confirms that this pairing is overkill for 1080p and 1440p gaming, while remaining highly capable at 4K, making it a versatile choice for a game nearly a decade old.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 773 out of 3720 places it within the top 20.8% of all tested system configurations for Thief. This is a strong showing, reflecting the balance between the Core i5-14400F's single-thread performance and the RTX 4070's raw rasterization power. The CPU's average benchmark score of 32279 places it in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU's average score of 37648 places it in the 81st percentile among all GPUs. Neither component is a bottleneck in this title, as evidenced by the frame rates scaling predictably with resolution changes.

When looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the data shows a cluster of very closely matched processors. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 0.1% higher (32233 vs 32279), and the Intel Core i9-11900 is 0.2% behind. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS is 0.2% ahead, and the Intel Core i7-12800H is 0.5% behind. This indicates that the i5-14400F's compute performance is essentially interchangeable with these four alternatives within a margin of error, meaning any of them would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in Thief. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals show an even tighter grouping: the NVIDIA Tesla P4 is 0.1% ahead, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% ahead, the RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% ahead, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% behind. The deltaPct values here are all within 1.3%, confirming that the RTX 4070's performance level is a well-defined plateau with little variation among comparable hardware.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Thief at 4K resolution with maximum settings?*

A: Yes, but just barely. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 60.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data lists Ultra as the best playable setting at this resolution, with High settings dropping to 58.2 FPS.

Q: What is the highest settings preset that maintains over 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 94.5 FPS. This is far above the 60 FPS threshold, and all four tested presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are listed as playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the performance scale from 1080p to 1440p to 4K?

A: The scaling is consistent with GPU-bound workload. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 143.2 at 1920x1080, to 94.5 at 2560x1440, and finally to 60.1 at 3840x2160. The frame rate drops by 34% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and by a further 36% when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: Is the Low preset ever necessary to achieve playable frame rates?

A: No. Even at 4K, the Low preset runs at 106.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset is only the recommended setting at no resolution, as higher presets always achieve playable frame rates.

Q: How does this combo compare to the nearest rival GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 38135, which is 1.3% higher than the RTX 4070's score of 37648. This negligible 1.3% difference suggests that the mobile chip would deliver nearly identical average frame rates in Thief, likely within a frame or two of the desktop RTX 4070.

Q: Does the game rely more on the CPU or GPU at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the game is likely CPU-bound to a degree, but the i5-14400F's high single-core performance (307 in Cinebench R15 single-core) is sufficient to push frame rates to 181.4 FPS at Low settings. The fact that Ultra settings at 1080p only drop to 143.2 FPS indicates that even at high draw calls, the CPU is not a significant constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 3840x2160, the system shows its limits. The Low preset averages 106.2 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K, indicating the game's age and the GPU's headroom. Medium settings yield 77.3 FPS, and Ultra settings just barely cross the 60 FPS finish line at 60.1 FPS. Interestingly, High settings at 4K produce 58.2 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. This creates an anomaly where the Ultra preset outperforms High by 1.9 FPS, likely due to specific rendering paths or driver optimizations for the higher preset. The minimum and maximum FPS values are not recorded, so the frame pacing consistency cannot be assessed from this data alone.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture becomes more comfortable. Low settings deliver 160.3 FPS, Medium 133.5 FPS, High 100.7 FPS, and Ultra 94.5 FPS. All presets are comfortably above 60 FPS, with even the most demanding Ultra preset leaving a 34.5 FPS margin. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 41% performance reduction, which is typical for a game where shadow quality and draw distance have significant GPU costs.

At 1920x1080, the system is almost certainly CPU-limited at the lower presets. The Low preset averages 181.4 FPS, while Medium scores 166 FPS, High 147.5 FPS, and Ultra 143.2 FPS. The gap between Medium and Low is 15.4 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 4.3 FPS. This compression at the top end suggests that the CPU's ability to feed the GPU becomes a limiting factor as the GPU workload increases, but the i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate to maintain high frame rates. The delta between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra is 48.7 FPS, which is a substantial drop, reinforcing that the RTX 4070 is the primary scaling factor as pixel count increases.

The Verdict

The data provides a clear verdict: this PC can run Thief at all three tested resolutions with playable frame rates, but the definition of "playable" varies significantly. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low to Ultra clears the 60 FPS threshold by a massive margin, with the lowest average being 143.2 FPS at Ultra. This makes 1080p gaming a non-issue for this hardware. At 2560x1440, the system again runs all presets above 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 94.5 FPS. The Ultra preset is the best choice here, as it only costs 6.2 FPS compared to High settings.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is nuanced. The Ultra preset averages 60.1 FPS, which technically clears the 60 FPS threshold but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes with heavy particle effects or complex geometry. The Medium preset at 77.3 FPS is a safer choice for consistent performance, while Low at 106.2 FPS is the smoothest option. High settings are the only non-playable option at 4K, averaging 58.2 FPS. This is a counterintuitive result, as High is usually the safer choice over Ultra, but the data shows the opposite. For a 60 FPS target, the recommendation is to use Ultra at 4K, but for a locked 60 FPS experience, Medium is the more reliable option.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearestRivals data for both components provides a clear picture of what other hardware would behave similarly. For the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, Intel Core i9-11900, AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS, and Intel Core i7-12800H are all within 0.5% of the i5-14400F's average score. In gaming, this translates to frame rate differences of less than 1 FPS in most scenarios. Any of these processors paired with the RTX 4070 would produce statistically identical results in Thief.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 are the closest matches, with deltaPct values of 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% faster, which would result in roughly 1-2 FPS higher averages at 4K Ultra (e.g., 60.1 FPS vs 61.4 FPS). The AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% slower, which would drop the 4K Ultra average to approximately 59.3 FPS, potentially pushing it below the playable threshold. This means that while the RTX 4070 is a solid choice, a slightly slower GPU like the PRO W6400 could make 4K Ultra unplayable, highlighting how close the 60.1 FPS result is to the edge. A user with a PRO W6400 would need to drop to Medium settings at 4K to maintain a safe margin above 60 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

The optimal settings are determined by the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 60.1 FPS, making it the best choice, but the margin is razor-thin. For users who prioritize frame rate consistency over visual fidelity, the Medium preset at 77.3 FPS offers a 17.2 FPS buffer over Ultra. The data shows that High settings are not viable at 4K, as they average 58.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the unambiguous winner, averaging 94.5 FPS. This is 33.9 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, leaving ample headroom for demanding scenes. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset again wins, averaging 143.2 FPS. This is 83.2 FPS above the threshold, and the user could even enable additional supersampling or DSR to improve image quality further, though this is not measured in the data.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the i5-14400F and RTX 4070 shifts predictably with resolution. At 1920x1080, the CPU's role is more pronounced. The jump from Low (181.4 FPS) to Ultra (143.2 FPS) represents a 21% performance drop, which is modest compared to the 44% drop seen from Low to Ultra at 4K. This indicates that at 1080p, the GPU is not fully saturated, and the CPU's single-thread performance (307 in Cinebench R15 single-core) is sufficient to drive high frame rates. The fact that the i5-14400F's nearest rivals all score within 0.5% suggests that any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical 1080p results.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take over as the primary bottleneck. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings shows a 34% reduction in frame rate (from 143.2 to 94.5 FPS), which is directly proportional to the increase in pixel count (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million, a 78% increase). The GPU's workload grows faster than the frame rate drops, indicating that other factors like shading complexity and memory bandwidth are also at play. The RTX 4070's 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this resolution, but the frame rate is no longer CPU-limited.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor. The frame rate at Ultra drops to 60.1 FPS, and the difference between Low (106.2 FPS) and Ultra (60.1 FPS) is a 43% reduction. This is a classic GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's job is simply to feed the GPU with draw calls, and the i5-14400F does so without issue. The CPU's multicore performance (21645 in Cinebench R23) is irrelevant at 4K, as the game is unlikely to use more than a few threads. The data confirms that for this title, the RTX 4070 is the deciding factor at 4K, while the CPU becomes more relevant as resolution drops to 1080p, but even then, the i5-14400F is more than capable of exceeding the 60 FPS threshold.