Thief

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a distinct performance profile in Thief, a 2014 stealth title that remains demanding at higher presets. The benchmark data shows a system capable of smooth gameplay at standard high-refresh 1080p and solid 1440p performance, but one that falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second to determine the most effective settings per resolution and identifies which component is the limiting factor.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data shows a clear hierarchy of playable settings across the three tested resolutions, with the 60 FPS threshold as the benchmark for playability.

3840x2160 (4K): No settings preset at this resolution maintains an average of 60 FPS. The lowest preset, Low, produces an average of 54 FPS, which is 6 FPS short of the playable threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29 FPS. The verdict data confirms that no playable settings exist at 4K.

2560x1440 (1440p): The Medium preset is the most demanding option that stays at or above 60 FPS, achieving an average of 69 FPS. This is the highest quality playable setting, as the Low preset averages 91 FPS, but High averages 53 FPS and Ultra averages 50 FPS, both falling below the threshold. The verdict data lists Low and Medium as playable, with Medium being the best playable preset.

1920x1080 (1080p): All four presets are playable. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding option, maintains an average of 73 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS threshold by 13 FPS. This makes Ultra the best setting for this resolution. High averages 77 FPS, Medium averages 101 FPS, and Low averages 133 FPS.

The progression of the best playable presets is consistent: as resolution decreases, the highest playable quality increases. At 4K, no preset works; at 1440p, Medium is the limit; at 1080p, Ultra is fully playable.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions and presets indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the primary performance limiter in this system, with the Intel Core i9-14900K providing sufficient headroom.

Comparing the 1080p and 1440p results shows a typical GPU-bound pattern. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 73 FPS. When resolution increases to 1440p, the same Ultra preset falls to 50 FPS, a 31% reduction. Similarly, the High preset drops from 77 FPS at 1080p to 53 FPS at 1440p, a 31% reduction. This consistent scaling with resolution strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting factor, as a CPU-bound system would show less sensitivity to pixel count.

The jump from 1440p to 4K further confirms this. At 1440p Medium, the system averages 69 FPS; at 4K Medium, it averages 41 FPS, a 40% decrease. The Low preset goes from 91 FPS at 1440p to 58 FPS at 4K, a 36% drop. These steep declines with resolution increases are characteristic of a GPU that is saturated.

The CPU’s role is less critical in this context. The Core i9-14900K, with its 24 cores and 32 threads and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, is far more powerful than what a 2014 title like Thief requires. The data shows that at 1080p, even the most demanding Ultra preset achieves 73 FPS, which is below the 133 FPS of the Low preset. This variance is due to the GPU workload, not CPU processing. The CPU’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 2262.5 Cinebench R23 single-core score, means it is not likely to be a limiting factor at any resolution tested. The GPU’s raw compute, which places it at the 65th percentile of all GPUs, is the determining element for the frame rates seen here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following breakdown details the exact average, minimum, and maximum FPS for each resolution and preset combination.

3840x2160 (4K):

• High: Average 31 FPS. No min/max data was measured.
• Low: Average 54 FPS. No min/max data was measured.
• Medium: Average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 29 FPS. No min/max data was measured.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• High: Average 53 FPS. No min/max data was measured.
• Low: Average 91 FPS. No min/max data was measured.
• Medium: Average 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 50 FPS. No min/max data was measured.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• High: Average 77 FPS. No min/max data was measured.
• Low: Average 133 FPS. No min/max data was measured.
• Medium: Average 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 73 FPS. No min/max data was measured.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1440p, the Medium min of 59 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that while the average is smooth, brief dips can occur. At 1080p, the Medium min of 86 FPS is well above the threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2994th out of a total of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places the system in the lower 20th percentile of all tested hardware combinations.

This ranking seems low given the playable results at 1080p and 1440p, but it reflects that Thief is not a demanding title for a modern CPU like the i9-14900K. The ranking is likely skewed by the GPU’s performance at 4K, where the system fails to reach playable frame rates. The GPU’s benchmarking percentile of 65th vs all GPUs suggests it is a mid-range performer, and the 4K results confirm this. The combo rank indicates that while the system can handle the game at mainstream resolutions, it does not offer the high-end performance that would place it in the top tier of combos for this game.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rival data for both the CPU and GPU provides insight into what other hardware would yield similar performance.

CPU Rival: The closest alternative to the Intel Core i9-14900K is the Intel Core i9-14900KF, with an average benchmark score that is 0.3% lower. This means the 14900KF would deliver practically identical performance in Thief. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is 0.6% behind, and the AMD EPYC 7413 is 1.2% behind. All of these CPUs would not change the game’s performance, which is limited by the GPU.

GPU Rivals: The Arc B570’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which has an average score 0.1% higher. This suggests that the RTX 3070 Mobile would provide nearly the same frame rates in Thief. The Intel Arc A750 is 0.1% behind, and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X is 0.5% lower. These GPU alternatives would place the system in the same performance tier. A user with an Arc A750, for example, could expect the same Medium preset at 1440p and Ultra at 1080p. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is 0.4% slower, indicating that it would also struggle with 4K and be a good match for 1080p.

The Verdict

The data provides a clear verdict on this system’s ability to run Thief. The game is playable at 1080p and 1440p, but not at 4K.

• 3840x2160: The system cannot run the game at a playable level. There are no playable settings, and the highest average FPS is 58 at Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.
• 2560x1440: The system runs the game well. The Medium preset is the best playable option, delivering an average of 69 FPS. The Low preset also clears the threshold with a 91 FPS average.
• 1920x1080: The system runs the game at maximum settings. The Ultra preset is playable with an average of 73 FPS. This is the highest quality preset available and it provides a smooth experience.

Therefore, the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B570 can run Thief, but the user must adjust their expectations based on the intended resolution. For 1080p gaming, the system is fully capable of handling the maximum settings. For 1440p, users should use Medium to maintain the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K, the system is not suitable for this game, even at the lowest visual settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Thief at 4K resolution?

A: No. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves an average of at least 60 FPS. The best average is 54 FPS at Low settings, which falls short of the playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings for the game at 2560x1440?

A: The best settings that maintain an average of at least 60 FPS are the Medium preset, which achieves an average of 69 FPS. High and Ultra do not meet this threshold.

Q: What average FPS does the system produce at 1920x1080 on Ultra?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 results in an average of 73 FPS, which is playable.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this game at 1080p?

A: No, the benchmark results indicate the GPU is the main performance limiting factor. The CPU is powerful, and the FPS scaling with resolution points to the GPU at the limit.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 2994th out of 3720 total tested combos in Thief, indicating it is a mid-to-lower-tier performer for this title.

Q: Which component has a greater effect on performance at 4K?

A: The GPU is the primary factor in the 4K performance. The Arc B570 cannot handle the pixel load, as evidenced by the significant drop in FPS between 1440p and 4K for the same settings.