Thief

The Intel Core i7-14700K and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a playable experience in Thief at 1080p and 1440p, but falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K across all tested settings. The data shows a clear performance ceiling: at 3840x2160, the average frame rate peaks at 54 FPS on Low settings, dropping to 29 FPS on Ultra. At 2560x1440, Medium settings are the highest playable preset, producing an average of 69 FPS. At 1920x1080, the system handles even the Ultra preset with an average of 73 FPS, making it the only resolution where maximum quality is attainable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the benchmark results show a wide performance envelope across the four quality presets. Low settings deliver the highest average at 133 FPS, followed by Medium at 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. High settings produce an average of 77 FPS, while Ultra drops to 73 FPS. The margin between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS, suggesting the Ultra preset's additional effects are relatively modest at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decline noticeably. Low settings still produce a robust 91 FPS, but Medium falls to 69 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS. High settings average 53 FPS, while Ultra lands at 50 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 16 FPS, indicating a steeper scaling curve than seen at 1080p. Notably, the minimum frame rate at 1440p Medium (59 FPS) just misses the 60 FPS playable threshold, even though the average clears it.

At 3840x2160, performance degrades sharply. Low settings yield an average of 54 FPS, Medium drops to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 29 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 13 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High is 10 FPS. None of these presets reach the 60 FPS threshold, and even the minimum frame rate at Medium (35 FPS) is far below the playable line. The data indicates that 4K is not viable for this combination in Thief, regardless of quality setting.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that keeps the average frame rate at or above 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset qualifies, with an average of 73 FPS. This is the highest quality option available in the game, and it clears the threshold by a comfortable 13 FPS margin. The data shows that High (77 FPS), Medium (101 FPS), and Low (133 FPS) also meet the playable criterion, but Ultra represents the peak quality achievable without dropping below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best playable settings are Medium, which averages 69 FPS. While this clears the threshold, the minimum frame rate of 59 FPS falls one frame short, indicating occasional dips below the playable line. Low settings average 91 FPS and are also playable, but Medium offers a substantial visual upgrade for a 22 FPS average cost. High and Ultra presets, at 53 FPS and 50 FPS respectively, fall below the threshold and are not recommended.

At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. The highest average across any preset is 54 FPS on Low, which is 6 FPS short of the threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS. The verdict data confirms an empty playableSettings list for 4K, meaning no preset achieves the minimum playable frame rate. Users targeting 4K would need to reduce resolution or upgrade hardware to achieve a playable experience.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component limits performance in Thief. At 1920x1080, the CPU's role is more prominent, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly. The progression from Low (133 FPS) to Ultra (73 FPS) shows a 60 FPS spread, which is primarily driven by GPU load increasing with visual complexity. However, the high frame rates at Low suggest the Intel Core i7-14700K, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is capable of feeding the Arc B570 without bottlenecking at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. The average frame rate drops from 133 FPS at 1080p Low to 91 FPS at 1440p Low, a 42 FPS reduction that corresponds to a 78% increase in pixel count. This scaling is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, as the Arc B570's rendering throughput is the limiting factor. The CPU's performance, as measured by its 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs, is more than sufficient for this workload, but the GPU's 65th percentile ranking indicates a more modest position relative to other graphics cards.

At 3840x2160, the GPU bottleneck is even more pronounced. The average frame rate at Low settings is 54 FPS, which is 39 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. This 4x pixel count drives a 59% reduction in performance, confirming that the Intel Arc B570 is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The i7-14700K's high multi-threaded scores, such as 33,440.5 in Cinebench R23, suggest that CPU performance is not a limiting factor in this game, which is a 2014 release with modest processor demands. The data indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s and 10 GB of GDDR6 VRAM are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but insufficient for maintaining playable frame rates at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-14700K provide a reference for CPU performance. The AMD EPYC 9115 has an average score of 69,288, which is 0.1% lower than the i7-14700K's 69,355 average. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69,515, a 0.2% delta, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69,875, a 0.7% delta. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69,996, a 0.9% delta. These differences are within 1% of the i7-14700K's average benchmark score, meaning any of these CPUs would behave nearly identically in Thief at the tested resolutions. For gaming, the single-thread performance is also relevant; the i7-14700K's Geekbench single-core score of 2,569 and Passmark single-thread score of 4,472 put it in a strong position, and the rival CPUs' similar average scores imply comparable gaming performance.

For the Intel Arc B570, the nearest GPU rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which has an average score of 20,534, a 0.1% delta from the Arc B570's 20,556. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20,582, a 0.1% delta, while the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20,480, a 0.4% delta. The AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20,662, a 0.5% delta. These GPUs would produce similar frame rates in Thief, with the Arc A750 being the closest desktop equivalent. The data suggests that swapping the Arc B570 for any of these rivals would change performance by less than 1%, so the measured FPS values at each resolution and preset would remain effectively unchanged. Notably, the Arc B570's Passmark G3D score of 14,195 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,649 provide additional context for its overall GPU compute capability, but the rival comparisons show that near-identical alternatives exist.

The Verdict

This PC can run Thief at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but not at 3840x2160. At 1080p, all four presets are playable, with Ultra achieving an average of 73 FPS, which is 13 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, only Low and Medium presets are playable, with Medium averaging 69 FPS. The minimum frame rate of 59 FPS at 1440p Medium means occasional dips below 60 FPS, but the average remains acceptable. At 4K, no preset reaches the threshold; the best result is 54 FPS on Low, which is 6 FPS short of playable. The verdict data confirms that 4K has an empty playable settings list, while 1440p lists Low and Medium, and 1080p lists all four presets. For the best visual quality while maintaining a playable frame rate, the recommended setup is Ultra at 1080p or Medium at 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700K and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2,994 out of 3,720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 19.5th percentile of all tested systems. This rank is lower than the individual component percentiles might suggest, as the CPU ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy indicates that the GPU's performance is the limiting factor for this game's overall ranking. The rank reflects the system's inability to maintain 60 FPS at 4K, which likely contributes to its below-average position. Among the 3,720 tested combinations, this system outperforms the bottom 726 combos but trails the majority of systems that can handle 4K playability.

FAQ

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

A: The Ultra preset is playable at 1080p, with an average frame rate of 73 FPS, which is 13 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold.

*Q: Can this system run Thief at 2560x1440 on High settings?*

A: No. High settings at 1440p produce an average of 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium is the highest playable preset, averaging 69 FPS.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 3840x2160 on Low settings?

A: The average frame rate at 4K Low is 54 FPS, which is 6 FPS short of the 60 FPS playable threshold. No preset at this resolution is playable.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to the Intel Arc A750 in this game?

A: The Arc B570 and Arc A750 have average benchmark scores within 0.1% of each other, with the Arc B570 at 20,556 and the Arc A750 at 20,582. Their performance in Thief would be effectively identical.

Q: What is the Intel Core i7-14700K's rank among all CPUs?

A: The i7-14700K ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69,355. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 9115, scores 69,288, a 0.1% difference.

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

A: The Medium preset is the most demanding playable option at 1440p, with an average frame rate of 69 FPS. The minimum recorded frame rate is 59 FPS, so there are brief dips below 60 FPS.