Thief

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The database shows playable settings at 1920x1080 include Low and Medium. Low averages 86 FPS, Medium averages 66 FPS. Ultra and High fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: None. The verdict data lists no playable settings at 2560x1440. The closest result is Low at 59 FPS average, which is just 1 FPS below the playable threshold.

Q: Is 4K playable with this combination?

A: No. At 3840x2160, every preset falls below 60 FPS. The highest average is Low at 35 FPS, and Ultra averages only 19 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the Steel Nomad DX12 test. It sits 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% above the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% above the GT 710 (1443).

Q: How does the Core i7-12700KF compare to nearby CPUs?

A: Its average benchmark score is 35365, which is essentially tied with the Core i7-13700T (35403, -0.1%), the Core 5 213PE (35428, -0.2%), the Core i5-13600T (35305, +0.2%), and the Core i7-12700K (35287, +0.2%).

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in the database for this game?

A: The combination ranks 3307 out of 3720 tested combos for Thief, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

CPU and GPU Roles

For Thief, the recorded data shows a clear pattern: the GPU is the limiting factor at every resolution, while the CPU has ample headroom. The Core i7-12700KF ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with strong multi-threaded results like 28838 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 9983 in 3DMark max threads. The Arc B390, by contrast, sits in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482.

The scaling between resolutions confirms the GPU-bound nature. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average frame rate drops by roughly 30-40% at each preset. For example, Medium goes from 66 FPS at 1080p to 45 FPS at 1440p, a drop of 21 FPS. Low goes from 86 FPS to 59 FPS, a drop of 27 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 2160p, the penalty grows further: Medium drops from 45 to 26 FPS, and Low drops from 59 to 35 FPS.

The CPU's single-thread performance (4071 in Cinebench R23 single-core, 1043 in 3DMark single thread) is far above what the game demands at these settings. Since the GPU is the bottleneck, the frame rates scale almost entirely with resolution and preset, not with CPU load. The data suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is still the constraint, because the gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution is large: at 1080p, Low hits 86 FPS while Ultra hits 48 FPS; at 1440p, Low hits 59 FPS while Ultra hits 33 FPS; at 4K, Low hits 35 FPS while Ultra hits 19 FPS.

The integrated nature of the Arc B390, with system-shared memory and a 80 W TDP, means it relies on the host platform's memory bandwidth. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 in dual-channel mode, but the GPU's bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent." This dependency likely explains why frame rates fall off sharply at higher resolutions, where memory bandwidth demands grow faster than the GPU's raw compute (7.680 TFLOPS FP32) can compensate.

In short, the CPU is not the limiting factor in any measured configuration. The GPU's low percentile rank, combined with the steep resolution scaling, points to the Arc B390 as the component that decides playability.

Best Settings per Resolution

1920x1080: The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 66 FPS (minimum 56, maximum 75). Low runs faster at 86 FPS average, but Medium is the highest preset that clears the threshold.

2560x1440: No preset reaches 60 FPS. Low averages 59 FPS, which is 1 FPS short of the playable threshold. Medium averages 45 FPS, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. The database lists no playable settings at this resolution.

3840x2160: No preset is playable. Low averages 35 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS, High averages 20 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. The verdict data confirms an empty playable settings list.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3307 out of 3720 tested combos for Thief. That places it in the bottom 11% of the database, which aligns with the GPU's low percentile (9th among all GPUs) rather than the CPU's high percentile (85th among all CPUs).

This rank reflects the severe GPU bottleneck. The CPU is capable of far higher frame rates, as indicated by its benchmark scores, but the Arc B390 cannot translate that CPU headroom into playable performance at higher resolutions. The rank is consistent across the board: at 4K, even the lowest preset fails to reach half the playable threshold, and at 1440p, the best result (Low at 59 FPS) misses the threshold by a single frame.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is closer to systems with entry-level or integrated graphics than to mid-range gaming builds. The GPU's nearest rivals, all scoring within 2.7% of the Arc B390, are legacy NVIDIA parts, which further underscores the performance class.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for each component provides a sense of what else would behave similarly in this game.

CPU side: The Core i7-12700KF's average score is 35365. The nearest rivals are:

• Intel Core i7-13700T (35403, delta -0.1%)
• Intel Core 5 213PE (35428, delta -0.2%)
• Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, delta +0.2%)
• Intel Core i7-12700K (35287, delta +0.2%)

All four are within 0.2% of the 12700KF's average score. For Thief, swapping the CPU for any of these would produce essentially identical frame rates, since the game is GPU-bound. The 12700K is the most direct substitute, with the same architecture generation and a nearly identical score.

GPU side: The Arc B390's average score is 1482. The nearest rivals are:

• NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, delta +1.3%)
• NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, delta +1.5%)
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, delta +2.5%)
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, delta +2.7%)

These are all older, low-end parts. In Thief, any of these GPUs would perform within a few percent of the Arc B390, meaning the same resolution and preset limitations would apply. At 1080p Medium, the Arc B390 averages 66 FPS; a GPU 2.7% slower (like the GT 710) would likely average around 64 FPS, still above the threshold. At 1440p, the 59 FPS Low result would drop to roughly 57 FPS with a 2.7% slower GPU, pushing it further below the playable line.

The practical takeaway is that the CPU has many near-identical alternatives, while the GPU is surrounded by comparably weak hardware. Upgrading either component to something outside these rival groups would change the performance picture substantially, but within these groups, behavior would be nearly indistinguishable.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Thief? The answer depends entirely on resolution.

At 1920x1080, yes. The database lists Low and Medium as playable settings, with Medium being the best at 66 FPS average. This clears the 60 FPS threshold with a small margin, and the minimum of 56 FPS suggests occasional dips below 60 but no sustained stutter.

At 2560x1440, no. The verdict data shows no playable settings. Low comes closest at 59 FPS average, but that is still 1 FPS short of the threshold. All other presets fall further behind: Medium at 45, High at 34, Ultra at 33.

At 3840x2160, no. Every preset fails badly. Low averages 35 FPS, Medium 26 FPS, High 20 FPS, and Ultra 19 FPS. None of these approach playable performance.

The verdict is clear: this system is a 1080p-only machine for Thief, and even there it cannot handle High or Ultra settings. The CPU is not the problem; the GPU's low performance class is the decisive factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: average 86 FPS
• Medium: average 66 FPS, minimum 56, maximum 75
• High: average 50 FPS
• Ultra: average 48 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: average 59 FPS
• Medium: average 45 FPS, minimum 38, maximum 52
• High: average 34 FPS
• Ultra: average 33 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: average 35 FPS
• Medium: average 26 FPS, minimum 22, maximum 30
• High: average 20 FPS
• Ultra: average 19 FPS

The data patterns are consistent. At each resolution, the gap between Low and Medium is roughly 20-30%, and the gap between Medium and High is smaller. At 1080p, Low to Medium is a 20 FPS drop (86 to 66), Medium to High is a 16 FPS drop (66 to 50), and High to Ultra is only a 2 FPS drop (50 to 48). At 1440p, Low to Medium is 14 FPS (59 to 45), Medium to High is 11 FPS (45 to 34), and High to Ultra is 1 FPS (34 to 33). At 4K, Low to Medium is 9 FPS (35 to 26), Medium to High is 6 FPS (26 to 20), and High to Ultra is 1 FPS (20 to 19).

The diminishing returns at the top end suggest the GPU hits a hard performance ceiling beyond Medium settings. The minimum and maximum values recorded only for Medium presets show the frame time variance: at 1080p, the range is 56 to 75 FPS, a 19 FPS spread; at 1440p, the range is 38 to 52 FPS, a 14 FPS spread; at 4K, the range is 22 to 30 FPS, an 8 FPS spread. This tightening range at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is consistently saturated rather than bursting intermittently.

Overall, the recorded measurements show a system that can handle Thief at modest settings on 1080p, but nothing more demanding.