Thief

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Thief with the Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B370 shows a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the game is broadly playable, but only at the lowest preset. At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, no setting reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 78 FPS, which is the only configuration across all resolutions and settings that clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium averages 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. High drops to 45 FPS average, while Ultra falls further to 43 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 19 FPS, indicating that the step from Low to Medium imposes a substantial load on the GPU. The difference between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end of the settings range.

Moving to 2560x1440, all averages drop significantly. Low averages 53 FPS, just 7 FPS short of the playable threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low is a drop from 78 to 53 FPS, a reduction of 25 FPS or roughly one-third of the 1080p value. At High, the drop is from 45 to 31 FPS, a 14 FPS reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 43 to 29 FPS, also a 14 FPS reduction.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low averages 31 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS, High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium at 4K is 7 FPS, and between High and Ultra it is only 1 FPS. The data indicates that at 4K, even the lowest setting fails to reach half of the 60 FPS target, and the GPU is clearly the limiting factor across all presets.

The minimum and maximum FPS values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the spread from minimum to maximum is 18 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 12 FPS. At 4K Medium, the spread is 7 FPS. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions suggests that frame time consistency improves relative to the average, though the absolute performance remains low.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Low is the only preset that approaches or exceeds playability, and only at 1080p. Every other combination of resolution and settings falls short of 60 FPS average, with the deficit growing from 1 FPS at 1080p Medium to 43 FPS at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Thief at 1920x1080 with playable performance?

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset. The recorded average FPS at 1080p Low is 78, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. At Medium, the average is 59 FPS, which is 1 FPS short of the threshold.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1920x1080?

A: The database lists Low as the best settings at 1080p, with an average FPS of 78. No other preset at this resolution reaches 60 FPS average.

Q: Is 2560x1440 playable at any setting?

A: No. The highest average at 1440p is 53 FPS on Low, which is 7 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186, which is 0.2% higher. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190, 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, 0.7% higher. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% lower. These deltas are all within 2%, indicating very similar raw performance.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K ranks in the 89th percentile of all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 46881.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K's closest rival is the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, which has an average score of 46971, a delta of -0.2% relative to the i7-13700K. This means the two are essentially tied in synthetic benchmarks.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core i7-13700K and the Intel Arc B370 in Thief. The GPU is the dominant constraint at every resolution and preset, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops when resolution increases while holding settings constant.

Consider the scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. The average FPS falls from 78 to 31, a reduction of 60%. At High settings, the fall is from 45 to 18, a 60% reduction. At Ultra, the fall is from 43 to 17, a 60% reduction. This consistent proportional decline across settings points to a GPU that is fully saturated at 1080p and simply cannot keep up as pixel count quadruples.

The CPU's role is less visible in the FPS numbers because it is not the bottleneck. The Core i7-13700K has 16 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz and a 3DMark max-thread score of 12412. Its single-thread score is 1136. For a 2014 stealth game like Thief, these figures are far beyond what the game engine requires. The data shows no evidence of CPU-limited frame rates, as the FPS scales almost entirely with resolution and graphics preset, which are GPU-bound variables.

The settings scaling further confirms the GPU-centric nature of performance. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 19 FPS, from Medium to High costs 14 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs only 2 FPS. The large drop from Low to Medium indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed by even modest graphics feature increases. The small drop from High to Ultra suggests that the Ultra preset adds features that are less demanding relative to the already high load at High.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds with smaller absolute gaps. Low to Medium costs 12 FPS, Medium to High costs 10 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 2 FPS. At 4K, Low to Medium costs 7 FPS, Medium to High costs 6 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 1 FPS. As resolution increases, the absolute cost of each settings step shrinks because the GPU is already operating near its limit, leaving little headroom for additional features.

The min and max FPS data at Medium settings also supports the GPU-bound interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the range is 50 to 68 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 35 to 47 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 20 to 27 FPS. The narrowing of the range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is consistently delivering low frame rates rather than occasionally spiking, which is typical of a component that is fully utilized.

In summary, the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor in Thief at all tested configurations. The CPU's ample headroom does not translate into higher FPS because the GPU cannot render frames fast enough. Users seeking higher performance would need to address the GPU, not the CPU.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B370 combination can run Thief, but only under specific conditions. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. At 2560x1440, there are no playable settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset is playable with an average of 78 FPS.

For 1080p gaming, the Low preset clears the 60 FPS threshold with margin. The Medium preset falls just short at 59 FPS average, which may be acceptable for some players but does not meet the defined playable threshold. High and Ultra are not recommended, as they average 45 and 43 FPS respectively.

At 1440p, the best result is 53 FPS on Low, which is 7 FPS below the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all deliver averages below 41 FPS. This resolution is not playable by the database's standard, and the data suggests that even aggressive settings reductions would not close the gap to 60 FPS.

At 4K, no setting is viable. The highest average is 31 FPS on Low, and Ultra averages just 17 FPS. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 1184, which is comparable to the ATI Radeon HD 5770, indicate that this is a low-power integrated-class part. It is not suited for high-resolution rendering in Thief.

The verdict is straightforward: this PC can run Thief at 1080p Low with playable performance, and at 1080p Medium it is one frame shy of the threshold. For everything else, the system falls short. Users with a 1440p or 4K display should expect to lower resolution or accept sub-60 FPS performance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Arc B370 are all older or lower-tier graphics solutions. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 has an average score of 1186, which is 0.2% higher than the Arc B370. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190, 0.5% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, 0.7% higher. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% lower. These deltas are all within 1.5%, meaning any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical FPS in Thief. The practical implication is that the Arc B370 behaves like a mid-2010s discrete GPU or a modern integrated solution, not like a contemporary gaming card.

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are closely matched. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 scores 46971, just 0.2% higher than the i7-13700K. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47022, 0.3% higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX scores 46654, 0.5% lower. The Intel Xeon w3-2535 scores 46653, 0.5% lower. All four rivals are within half a percent of the i7-13700K's average score of 46881. In Thief, this means any of these CPUs would deliver the same FPS as the i7-13700K, since the game is GPU-bound. The CPU choice is effectively irrelevant for this title once any of these processors is paired with the Arc B370.

The combination of a high-end CPU with a low-end GPU creates an unusual pairing. The CPU rivals would not change the gaming outcome, but the GPU rivals would. Swapping the Arc B370 for an ATI Radeon HD 5770, for example, would result in nearly identical FPS, as the 0.5% score difference is negligible. A user with any of these GPUs should expect the same playability profile: 1080p Low only.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 3433 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the bottom 8% of all configurations in the database. The rank reflects the GPU's severe limitation: the Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs.

The disparity between the two components explains the low combo rank. The CPU contributes strong synthetic scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a Geekbench multicore score of 19429. The GPU, however, has only a single recorded benchmark, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a score of 1184. This score is comparable to the AMD FirePro M2000, which is a professional mobile GPU from a previous era.

Within the database of 3720 combos, the 3433rd rank indicates that the overwhelming majority of other systems outperform this pairing in Thief. The recorded FPS data supports this: at 1080p, only the Low preset is playable, and at higher resolutions, the system falls far below the 60 FPS threshold. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's low absolute performance, not any deficiency in the CPU.

For context, the CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, would not improve the rank if paired with the same GPU, because the bottleneck is entirely on the graphics side. The rank would only improve with a more capable GPU. The data indicates that this combo is suitable for 1080p Low gaming in Thief and little else. The 60 FPS threshold is met only at that single configuration, and all other tested settings and resolutions fall short.