Thief

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers a wide performance envelope in Thief, ranging from an average of 41.1 FPS at 4K Ultra to 181.7 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows that 1080p and 1440p are fully playable across all tested presets, while 4K requires a reduction in settings to maintain fluid gameplay. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, compares the hardware to nearest rivals, and determines optimal settings for each resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination covers three resolutions and four quality presets, with average frame rates provided for each configuration. All scores are average FPS values, as no minimum or maximum frame rates were recorded in the dataset.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the RTX 4060 and Core i7-13700K produce the following averages:

• Ultra: 41.1 FPS — this is the lowest performance point in the entire dataset, falling below the 60 FPS playability threshold.
• High: 43.3 FPS — a marginal improvement over Ultra, but still short of the target.
• Medium: 56.6 FPS — approaching the threshold, yet 3.4 FPS short of 60.
• Low: 73.1 FPS — the only 4K preset that clears the 60 FPS line, providing a comfortable margin of 13.1 FPS.

The scaling from Ultra to Low at 4K is substantial: a 32 FPS difference (from 41.1 to 73.1), representing a 77.9% uplift in frame rate. This indicates that Thief's higher presets are significantly more demanding at 4K, and the GPU is the limiting factor in this range.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the results are markedly stronger:

• Ultra: 68.0 FPS — this clears the 60 FPS threshold by 8 FPS, making the highest preset playable.
• High: 70.5 FPS — a modest 2.5 FPS improvement over Ultra, suggesting the visual difference between these two presets has a small performance cost at this resolution.
• Medium: 97.5 FPS — a large jump of 27 FPS over High, showing that medium settings relieve substantial load.
• Low: 124.5 FPS — the fastest 1440p result, more than double the 4K Ultra score.

The gap between 4K and 1440p is notable: at Ultra settings, 1440p delivers 68 FPS versus 41.1 at 4K, a 65.5% improvement. This demonstrates that resolution scaling has a profound impact on this hardware combination.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combination performs exceptionally well:

• Ultra: 101.7 FPS — more than 40 FPS above the playability threshold.
• High: 107.6 FPS — a 5.9 FPS increase over Ultra, indicating that the highest preset is already well-optimized.
• Medium: 140.1 FPS — a 32.5 FPS jump over High, showing the medium preset provides a significant performance boost.
• Low: 181.7 FPS — the highest measured score in the entire dataset, approaching high-refresh-rate territory.

The 1080p results show that this combo has substantial headroom, with even the most demanding preset producing over 100 FPS. The difference between 1440p and 1080p at Ultra is 33.7 FPS (68 to 101.7), a 49.6% improvement, reinforcing that resolution is the primary performance lever.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly in this game. These comparisons are based on average benchmark scores and percentage differences.

For the Intel Core i7-13700K, the closest alternatives are:

• AMD Ryzen 9 5900 — 0.2% slower, with an average score of 46971 versus 46881 for the i7-13700K. This CPU would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Thief.
• AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 — 0.3% slower, average score 47022. The performance delta is negligible, so gaming results would be indistinguishable.
• AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX — 0.5% faster, average score 46654. Slightly ahead, but within a range that would not produce a measurable FPS difference.
• Intel Xeon w3-2535 — 0.5% faster, average score 46653. Similar to the Ryzen 9 7845HX in relative standing.

Given these sub-1% deltas, any of these CPUs paired with an RTX 4060 would produce frame rates within a rounding error of the measured values. The i7-13700K sits at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is a high-performing part, but its rivals are extremely close in aggregate scores.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the nearest rivals are:

• AMD Radeon HD 7790 — 0.2% faster, average score 17666 versus 17639. This is surprising given the generational gap, but the benchmark scores place them close.
• AMD Radeon 780M — 0.3% slower, average score 17588. An integrated GPU that approaches the RTX 4060 in this metric, though real-world gaming may differ.
• AMD Radeon Pro 560 — 0.5% slower, average score 17551. A professional-grade card with similar aggregate performance.
• AMD Radeon Pro 460 — 0.7% slower, average score 17509. The closest rival in terms of delta, though still within 1%.

The RTX 4060 ranks at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, which places it mid-pack. The rivals listed here are all within 0.7% of its average score, meaning a system with any of these GPUs and a comparable CPU would produce nearly identical Thief frame rates at the same settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playability threshold for this analysis is 60 FPS average. The "best settings" are defined as the most demanding preset that maintains an average at or above this threshold.

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which produces an average of 73.1 FPS. Medium falls short at 56.6 FPS, so it cannot be recommended. The data indicates that High (43.3 FPS) and Ultra (41.1 FPS) are not viable at this resolution. The best setting is Low, with a 13.1 FPS margin above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, all four presets clear 60 FPS. The most demanding playable setting is Ultra, which delivers an average of 68.0 FPS. This provides an 8 FPS buffer over the threshold. High (70.5 FPS) is also playable, but Ultra offers the maximum visual quality while staying above 60 FPS. Medium (97.5 FPS) and Low (124.5 FPS) are available for higher frame rates if desired.

At 1920x1080, every preset is playable, and the most demanding is Ultra at 101.7 FPS. This is 41.7 FPS above the threshold, providing substantial headroom. High (107.6 FPS), Medium (140.1 FPS), and Low (181.7 FPS) all exceed 100 FPS, so users can choose between maximum quality and very high refresh rates.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 43.3, which is 16.7 FPS below the 60 FPS playability threshold. Only Low settings at 4K achieve a playable 73.1 FPS.

Q: What is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 68.0 FPS, which is the most demanding preset that clears the threshold. All lower presets (High, Medium, Low) also exceed 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at the same settings?

A: At Ultra settings, 1080p delivers 101.7 FPS versus 41.1 FPS at 4K — a 60.6 FPS difference, meaning 1080p is approximately 147% faster. At Low settings, the gap is 108.6 FPS (181.7 versus 73.1), a 149% improvement.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to bottleneck at 1080p Ultra?

A: The data shows that 1080p Ultra produces 101.7 FPS, while 1440p Ultra produces 68 FPS. The large drop when increasing resolution (33.7 FPS) suggests the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU would need to handle similar frame rates regardless of resolution.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K Medium settings?

A: 4K Medium produces an average of 56.6 FPS, which is 3.4 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. This preset is not considered playable by the data's standard.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 1904th out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the 51st percentile of all systems tested for Thief.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data across resolutions and presets reveals how the CPU and GPU share the workload in Thief. By examining scaling patterns, it becomes clear which component dominates at each resolution.

At 1080p, the GPU is likely the primary limiter, though the CPU is not idle. The jump from Low (181.7 FPS) to Ultra (101.7 FPS) is 80 FPS, a 78.7% reduction. This large scaling with settings indicates the GPU is heavily utilized, as changing quality presets primarily affects pixel shading and texture work. The i7-13700K, with its 16 cores and 24 threads, is capable of feeding the RTX 4060 at these frame rates, as evidenced by the fact that even the lowest preset exceeds 180 FPS without a CPU-side bottleneck appearing in the data.

At 1440p, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The difference between Ultra (68 FPS) and Low (124.5 FPS) is 56.5 FPS, a 83% reduction. Compared to 1080p, the absolute FPS values are lower at every preset, which is expected as the GPU must render more pixels. The CPU's workload does not scale with resolution in the same way, so the consistent frame rate drops (e.g., 101.7 to 68 FPS at Ultra) point to the GPU as the limiting factor.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. The highest preset (Ultra) yields only 41.1 FPS, while Low reaches 73.1 FPS. The 32 FPS spread between presets is smaller in absolute terms than at lower resolutions, but the percentage difference is similar. The fact that no 4K preset exceeds 73.1 FPS suggests the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are stretched by the pixel count, even with the CPU providing ample headroom.

The scaling between resolutions reinforces this interpretation: at Ultra settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 33.7 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K costs 26.9 FPS. The CPU's performance (ranked at the 89th percentile) is more than sufficient for this game, which launched in 2014 and does not require extreme multi-threading. The GPU, ranked at the 61st percentile, is the component that determines whether a preset is playable, particularly at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1904th out of 3720 total combos for Thief. This places it just past the midpoint of all tested systems, which is notable given the CPU's high percentile (89th) and the GPU's mid-range percentile (61st).

The ranking suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier performer, the GPU holds this combo back from higher positions. Many systems with faster GPUs would rank higher, even if their CPUs are less capable. Conversely, systems with slower CPUs but similar GPUs would likely rank close to this combo, as Thief's performance is more sensitive to GPU capabilities.

The rank of 1904 means that approximately 1816 tested combos are faster, and 1903 are slower. This is a median-tier result, consistent with the RTX 4060's position in the GPU hierarchy. For a game from 2014, this combo is more than adequate, but it does not approach the top tier of tested configurations.

The Verdict

The data clearly indicates that this PC can run Thief successfully, but the playable settings depend heavily on resolution.

At 1920x1080, the answer is an unambiguous yes. All four presets — Low (181.7 FPS), Medium (140.1 FPS), High (107.6 FPS), and Ultra (101.7 FPS) — exceed the 60 FPS threshold by at least 41.7 FPS. The best setting is Ultra, which maintains an average of 101.7 FPS, offering both high quality and high smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the combo also delivers a yes across the board. Ultra settings produce 68.0 FPS, which is the best playable preset. High (70.5 FPS), Medium (97.5 FPS), and Low (124.5 FPS) all provide above-threshold performance. The 8 FPS margin at Ultra makes it a safe choice, though users seeking higher frame rates can drop to Medium for a 29.5 FPS gain.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is conditional. Only Low settings are playable, with an average of 73.1 FPS. Medium falls short at 56.6 FPS, and High (43.3 FPS) and Ultra (41.1 FPS) are not viable. Users with 4K displays must accept Low settings or reduce resolution to 1440p for higher quality presets.

In summary, this combination is a strong performer at 1080p and 1440p, capable of running Thief at maximum settings with frame rates well above 60 FPS. At 4K, it is limited to Low settings for playable performance, making it a solid but not exceptional choice for 4K gaming in this title.