Thief

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-9400 sits in a narrow performance band relative to its nearest rivals in the database. Its average benchmark score of 2254 places it within 0.4 percent of several comparable processors. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, a 0.2 percent advantage, while the Intel Core i3-10305 leads by the same margin at 2264. On the other side, the Intel Core i7-10710U trails by 0.3 percent with 2248, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 is 0.4 percent behind at 2246. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly indistinguishable frame pacing in Thief, as the compute demands of this 2014 stealth title are modest by modern standards. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads, combined with a 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clock, provide ample headroom for the game's AI and physics workloads.

For the graphics side, the Intel Arc B370 is an integrated part with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184. Its nearest rivals are all older discrete parts, which puts its performance in context. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, a 0.2 percent edge, while the ATI Radeon HD 5770 is 0.5 percent ahead at 1190. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M leads by 0.7 percent with 1192, and the AMD FirePro M2000 trails by 1.4 percent at 1168. The Arc B370's 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, paired with a 2400 MHz boost clock, position it as a low-end entry point in the database. Its 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms that it operates in the lower tier of graphics hardware, though its modern feature set including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 support ensures compatibility with contemporary rendering paths.

Users coming from any of these rival GPUs would observe similar average frame rates in Thief, though the Arc B370's system-shared memory architecture means performance will scale with available system RAM bandwidth. The CPU side presents a more uniform picture: all four nearest rivals cluster within a single percentage point, so selecting any of them for a Thief build would yield nearly identical CPU-bound scenarios. The combination of a mid-range 2018 processor and a low-end 2026 integrated GPU creates a system where the graphics component is overwhelmingly the performance limiter in this game.

FAQ

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 1920x1080 in Thief?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset. The recorded data shows an average of 78 FPS at 1080p with Low settings. The Medium preset falls just short at 59 FPS average, with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS.

Q: What frame rates does this combination produce at 2560x1440?

A: At 1440p, the best result is 53 FPS average on Low settings. Medium delivers 41 FPS average (minimum 35, maximum 47), High drops to 31 FPS, and Ultra manages only 29 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is 3840x2160 playable with this hardware?

A: No. The highest average at 4K is 31 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 24 FPS with a range of 20 to 27 FPS, High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. All results fall far below the 60 FPS playability standard.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is within 1.4 percent of all four nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M is the fastest at 1192 (0.7 percent ahead), while the AMD FirePro M2000 is the slowest at 1168 (1.4 percent behind).

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors in the database?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 ranks in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 2254 comes from results across Cinebench and Geekbench tests, with a multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 6629 and single-core score of 935.

Q: Does the game utilize the CPU's full capabilities at lower resolutions?

A: The data indicates that at 1080p, the gap between Low (78 FPS) and Medium (59 FPS) is 19 FPS, suggesting the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU's six cores should be sufficient for Thief's stealth AI and interaction systems, as the processor ranks in the upper-middle tier of the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results for Thief reveal a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 78 FPS, which is the only setting to clear the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium averages 59 FPS with a recorded minimum of 50 and maximum of 68, sitting just below the target. High drops to 45 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. The difference between Medium and High is 14 FPS, while the gap from High to Ultra is only 2 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the top end of the settings scale.

Moving to 2560x1440, all presets fall below 60 FPS. Low leads with 53 FPS average, followed by Medium at 41 FPS (minimum 35, maximum 47). High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is steep: Low drops from 78 to 53 FPS (a 32 percent reduction), Medium from 59 to 41 FPS (a 31 percent reduction), and High from 45 to 31 FPS (a 31 percent reduction). Ultra sees a similar 33 percent decline from 43 to 29 FPS. This consistent scaling suggests the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, as the resolution increase directly taxes the Arc B370's 20 ROPs and system-shared memory.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes marginal for any playable experience. Low averages 31 FPS, Medium 24 FPS (minimum 20, maximum 27), High 18 FPS, and Ultra 17 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K imposes another 40 to 45 percent penalty across all presets. Notably, the minimum FPS values at Medium settings (20 at 4K, 35 at 1440p, 50 at 1080p) show that frame pacing remains relatively stable even when average performance is low, which may mitigate perceived stutter in slower stealth sequences.

The complete dataset shows no maximum FPS values recorded for Low, High, or Ultra presets at any resolution; only the Medium preset includes min/max figures. This suggests the measurement methodology captured full variance data only for the Medium configuration, where the range from minimum to maximum spans 18 FPS at 1080p, 12 FPS at 1440p, and 7 FPS at 4K.

The Verdict

The central question, whether this PC can run Thief, depends entirely on the resolution and settings target. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system delivers 78 FPS average, comfortably exceeding the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the only configuration in the measured data that achieves playable frame rates. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 59 FPS, which is one frame short of the threshold; while the average is technically below 60, the recorded maximum of 68 FPS indicates the system can reach playable territory during less demanding scenes, though the 50 FPS minimum shows it also dips noticeably.

At 2560x1440, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The best result is 53 FPS on Low, which may be acceptable for players who prioritize resolution over smoothness, but it does not meet the established playability standard. High and Ultra at 1440p are firmly in the 29 to 31 FPS range, which is playable only in the sense that the game remains responsive enough for a stealth title with deliberate pacing. At 3840x2160, all presets produce averages between 17 and 31 FPS, making 4K gaming impractical for this hardware.

The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p Low is the only fully supported configuration, with 1080p Medium as a borderline option. The system cannot maintain 60 FPS at 1440p or 4K under any settings. For a game like Thief, where stealth mechanics reward careful observation rather than twitch reflexes, the 59 FPS average at 1080p Medium might be tolerable, but the data does not support calling it playable by the 60 FPS standard.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Intel Core i5-9400 and the Intel Arc B370 becomes evident when examining the scaling patterns across resolutions and presets. At 1080p, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck: the 33 FPS spread between Low and Ultra (78 to 43 FPS) demonstrates that graphics settings have a dominant impact on performance. The CPU's six cores and 4.10 GHz boost clock are more than adequate for Thief's AI routines and level streaming, as evidenced by the processor's 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

As resolution increases to 1440p, the GPU's limitations become more pronounced. The average FPS at Low drops from 78 to 53, a 25 FPS penalty that occurs despite the CPU being entirely capable of handling the additional geometry and draw calls. The consistent 31 percent reduction across all presets when moving from 1080p to 1440p indicates a fill-rate constraint rather than a CPU limitation. The Arc B370's 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 96.00 GTexel/s texture rate are modest figures that directly cap performance as pixel count grows.

At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmingly the restricting factor. The 40 to 45 percent performance drop from 1440p to 4K across all presets confirms that the integrated GPU's system-shared memory and limited ROP count cannot sustain the 8.3 million pixel workload. The CPU's role diminishes further at this resolution, as frame rates are so low that the processor's 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR4 support are never stressed.

The preset scaling within each resolution reinforces this analysis. At 1080p, the step from Low to Medium costs 19 FPS, while Medium to High costs 14 FPS and High to Ultra only 2 FPS. This pattern suggests that the GPU's shader throughput, not the CPU, determines the cost of each quality increase. At 1440p and 4K, the same relative pattern holds, with Low to Medium being the largest jump and High to Ultra being nearly negligible, further confirming the GPU-bound nature of this combination.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the Low preset is the only configuration that clears the 60 FPS threshold, delivering 78 FPS average. This is the recommended setting for players who prioritize smooth frame delivery. The Medium preset at 59 FPS is one frame short of the target and could be considered by players willing to accept a marginal deficit, but the data does not support it as a playable configuration under the 60 FPS standard.

At 2560x1440, no preset reaches 60 FPS, so there is no best playable setting. The closest is Low at 53 FPS, which offers the highest average among all 1440p configurations. Players who choose 1440p must accept a 7 FPS deficit from the playable threshold, and the Medium preset's 41 FPS average represents a substantial compromise in fluidity.

For 3840x2160, the situation is similar: no setting achieves playable frame rates. Low at 31 FPS is the fastest option, though the 24 FPS Medium preset (with a 20 to 27 FPS range) may provide more consistent frame pacing for a game that does not require rapid camera movement. The verdict data confirms that 4K is not a viable resolution for this hardware in Thief.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Thief, this pairing ranks 3433 out of 3720 total configurations. This places the Intel Core i5-9400 with the Intel Arc B370 in the 92nd percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly 92 percent of systems deliver better performance in this game. The rank reflects the Arc B370's position as a low-end integrated GPU, which anchors the overall result despite the CPU's respectable mid-range standing.

The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all graphics parts is the dominant factor in this low overall rank. Thief is a GPU-bound title at the resolutions tested, so the Arc B370's modest 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and system-shared memory architecture directly limit the system's position. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking provides no offsetting benefit, as the game rarely stresses the processor to the point where it becomes the limiting factor.

The 287-combo gap between this system and the top of the database illustrates the wide performance spread among tested configurations. For players considering this hardware, the rank confirms that the system is positioned for 1080p Low gaming in Thief, matching the verdict data. Higher resolutions or presets will place the system in territory where most other tested combinations outperform it, though the game's deliberate stealth pacing may make lower frame rates more tolerable than in fast-action titles.