Thief

This combo ranks 1839th out of 3720 tested configurations in Thief, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. The Intel Core i7-12700K pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 to deliver a playable experience at every tested resolution, though the headroom shrinks dramatically at 4K. At 1080p and 1440p, the combination is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold even at Ultra settings, while 4K requires dropping to Low for smooth gameplay. The data shows a system that excels at high-refresh 1080p and solid 1440p gaming, but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K with higher presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 183.2 FPS, Medium drops to 142 FPS, High reaches 107 FPS, and Ultra settles at 102 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 41.2 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra is only 5 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the top end. Every preset at 1080p stays well above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with even the most demanding Ultra preset maintaining 102 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably but remains strong. Low settings hit 124.1 FPS, Medium delivers 98.6 FPS, High produces 74.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 73.1 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is marginal at just 1.6 FPS, suggesting that Ultra is nearly free in performance cost at this resolution. All four presets clear the 60 FPS line, with the lowest margin being 13.1 FPS at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes significantly. Low settings manage 72.4 FPS, Medium falls to 54.9 FPS, High drops to 42.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 42 FPS. Only Low remains playable above 60 FPS at 4K. The drop from Medium to High is 12.7 FPS, while High and Ultra are nearly identical with just a 0.2 FPS difference. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, and the visual gains from High to Ultra are negligible in terms of framerate cost.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average reduction of roughly 30-40% across presets. From 1440p to 4K, the reduction is steeper, with Ultra falling from 73.1 to 42 FPS, a 42.5% loss. Low settings suffer the least degradation, dropping from 183.2 FPS at 1080p to 72.4 FPS at 4K, a 60.5% reduction.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i7-12700K sits at the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287. Its closest rivals in the database are the Intel Core i5-13600T at 35305 (0.1% faster), the Intel Core i7-12700KF at 35365 (0.2% faster), the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35403 (0.3% faster), and the Intel Core 5 213PE at 35428 (0.4% faster). For Thief specifically, any of these CPUs would deliver near-identical framerates in CPU-bound scenarios, though the game's engine appears to favor GPU throughput at higher resolutions.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 at 17666 (0.2% faster), the AMD Radeon 780M at 17588 (0.3% slower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 17551 (0.5% slower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 at 17509 (0.7% slower). These GPUs would produce essentially identical frame rates in Thief at the same settings, meaning a system with any of these alternatives would track within a few frames of the RTX 4060's results.

For a full system comparison, swapping the i7-12700K for any of its nearest CPU rivals would change Thief's performance by less than half a percent, which translates to less than 1 FPS at any resolution. Similarly, substituting the RTX 4060 with one of its nearest GPU rivals would shift results by less than 1 FPS across all tested presets. The practical takeaway is that this combo's performance in Thief is representative of a broad cluster of mid-range hardware.

CPU and GPU Roles

At 1920x1080, the data shows the GPU doing most of the heavy lifting. The framerate scales nearly linearly with preset quality, from 183.2 FPS at Low to 102 FPS at Ultra, a 44.3% reduction. This wide spread indicates that the RTX 4060's fill rate and shading power are the primary constraints, while the i7-12700K has ample headroom to feed frames.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts slightly. The spread from Low (124.1 FPS) to Ultra (73.1 FPS) narrows to 41.1%, and the small difference between High and Ultra (74.7 vs 73.1 FPS) suggests the GPU is beginning to saturate. The CPU's role becomes more prominent at this resolution, as the i7-12700K's multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784) helps maintain consistent frame delivery.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The difference between High (42.2 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) is negligible, indicating that the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are overwhelmed by the pixel count. The CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5) is more than sufficient, as evidenced by Low settings still hitting 72.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K results show that this game is heavily GPU-bound at high resolutions, and the i7-12700K's processing power is not the limiting factor.

The resolution scaling data reinforces this analysis. From 1080p to 1440p, Ultra drops from 102 to 73.1 FPS, a 28.3% loss. From 1440p to 4K, Ultra falls to 42 FPS, a 42.5% loss. The compounding reduction with each resolution step indicates the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are the primary constraints, while the CPU maintains consistent frame generation.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Thief at 4K with playable framerates?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Low settings is 72.4 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium settings drop to 54.9 FPS, High to 42.2 FPS, and Ultra to 42 FPS, all below 60 FPS.

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

A: Ultra settings produce an average of 73.1 FPS at 1440p, which is the highest playable preset. All four presets — Low (124.1 FPS), Medium (98.6 FPS), High (74.7 FPS), and Ultra (73.1 FPS) — remain above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much performance does the RTX 4060 lose going from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 102 at 1920x1080 Ultra to 42 at 3840x2160 Ultra, a reduction of 60 FPS or roughly 58.8%. This is a significant loss, reflecting the GPU's 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB VRAM capacity.

Q: Is the i7-12700K or the RTX 4060 the main bottleneck in Thief?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is the primary constraint, as framerates scale strongly with preset quality. At 4K, the GPU is decisively the bottleneck, with High and Ultra producing nearly identical results (42.2 vs 42 FPS). The CPU's single-thread score of 1850.5 in Cinebench R23 appears more than sufficient for this game.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1839th out of 3720 total combos in Thief, placing it in the 49.4th percentile. This means roughly half of all tested systems perform better, but the combo still delivers playable framerates at all resolutions with appropriate settings.

Q: What is the highest resolution at which Ultra settings stay above 60 FPS?

A: The highest resolution with playable Ultra settings is 2560x1440, where the average FPS is 73.1. At 3840x2160, Ultra falls to 42 FPS, which is far below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 1839th out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, placing it at roughly the midpoint of the database. This ranking reflects a system that is neither a top-tier performer nor a budget outlier. The CPU's 84th percentile standing among all processors and the GPU's 61st percentile among all graphics cards suggest that the GPU holds the combo back relative to CPU performance.

In practical terms, the combo outperforms the bottom half of tested systems while being clearly outclassed by higher-end configurations. The 4K results, where only Low settings stay above 60 FPS, underscore the GPU's mid-range positioning. At 1080p and 1440p, however, the combo's framerates are competitive with systems featuring more powerful GPUs, due to the i7-12700K's strong multi-threaded performance (PassMark multi-thread score of 34404) preventing CPU bottlenecks.

The rank of 1839 also indicates that Thief's engine scales well with GPU power, so systems ranked higher likely feature GPUs with more VRAM or wider memory buses. For this specific combo, the data suggests that the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory capacity is the primary limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU has untapped headroom.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Ultra, with an average FPS of 102. This is the most demanding preset that stays comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, and it offers the highest visual quality at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best playable setting, with an average FPS of 73.1. This provides a 13.1 FPS margin above the playable threshold, making it a safe choice for maintaining smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Low, with an average FPS of 72.4. This is the only preset at 4K that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, and it does so with a 12.4 FPS margin. Medium settings at 4K fall short at 54.9 FPS, so Low is the only viable option for playable 4K performance.