Thief

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and Intel Arc B370 combination produces results that fall well below the 60 FPS playability threshold across every preset. The Low preset delivers an average of 31 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded at this resolution. Medium settings yield an average of 24 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 20 and 27 FPS respectively. High settings drop to 18 FPS on average, while Ultra is the most demanding at 17 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 14 FPS, indicating that visual fidelity adjustments have a substantial impact on performance, but even the least demanding preset cannot approach playable frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same hardware shows improvement but still fails to reach the 60 FPS threshold on any preset. Low settings produce an average of 53 FPS, which is the closest this combination gets to playable performance at this resolution. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings average 31 FPS, and Ultra settings average 29 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 24 FPS, a wider spread than at 4K, which suggests that the GPU has more headroom to differentiate settings when pixel count is reduced.

At 1920x1080, the combination finally crosses the playable threshold, but only on the Low preset. Low settings deliver an average of 78 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS target. Medium settings average 59 FPS, just one frame shy of the threshold, with minimum and maximum readings of 50 and 68 FPS. High settings average 45 FPS, while Ultra settings average 43 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 35 FPS drop, the largest relative spread across all resolutions, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor when settings are increased.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS drops proportionally, and the gap between presets narrows. At 4K, even the difference between Low and Ultra is only 14 FPS, whereas at 1080p the same comparison yields a 35 FPS difference. This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is saturated regardless of settings, while at 1080p, settings changes have a more pronounced effect.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database provide context for its performance level. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 sits within a tight cluster of processors, with the AMD EPYC 4464P scoring 0.3% higher, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F scoring 0.3% lower, the AMD EPYC 7343 scoring 0.7% lower, and the AMD EPYC 9124 scoring 0.7% higher. These deltas are minimal, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Thief when paired with the same GPU. The 265F, being essentially the same chip without integrated graphics, would be the most direct swap.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B370 ranks at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, which places it far below mainstream discrete graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, which scores 0.2% higher, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 0.5% higher, the AMD Radeon HD 7650M at 0.7% higher, and the AMD FirePro M2000 at 1.4% lower. These are all older or lower-tier mobile and desktop parts, indicating that the Arc B370's integrated-class performance is comparable to hardware from more than a decade ago. In Thief, any of these GPU alternatives would deliver frame rates within a few percentage points of the Arc B370, meaning the playability verdict would remain unchanged: 1080p Low at roughly 78 FPS, with no playable settings at 1440p or 4K.

For users considering a CPU swap alone, the data indicates no meaningful change. Since the Arc B370 is the bottleneck in nearly all scenarios, swapping the Core Ultra 7 265 for an EPYC 7343 or EPYC 9124 would alter FPS by less than 1%, which is within measurement noise. Conversely, swapping the GPU for a Radeon HD 5770 would produce nearly identical results, confirming that the Arc B370's performance tier is the definitive constraint for this game.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Thief at 60 FPS on any settings?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average of 78 FPS. No other resolution or preset combination reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best performance available at 2560x1440?

A: The highest average FPS at 1440p is 53, achieved with Low settings. This falls 7 FPS short of the 60 FPS playability threshold, so no preset is considered playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770, 0.7% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000. These are all very close results, so performance in Thief would be nearly identical across these GPUs.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in Thief?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p, dropping from Low to Ultra reduces average FPS from 78 to 43, a 35 FPS change, while the CPU's nearest rivals differ by less than 1% in benchmark scores. At 4K, even the lowest settings only reach 31 FPS, confirming the GPU cannot keep up with the render load.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: The average is 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68 FPS. This is 1 FPS below the 60 FPS playability threshold, making it technically unplayable by the database's standard.

Q: How many total combinations does this PC rank among in Thief?

A: This combination ranks 3433 out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the lower 8% of all hardware configurations for this game.

The Verdict

Based on the recorded measurements, this PC can run Thief at 60 FPS only at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 3840x2160, no preset achieves playable frame rates, with the best case being Low at 31 FPS. At 2560x1440, the situation is similar, with Low reaching 53 FPS but still missing the 60 FPS target. At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver 78 FPS on average, which clears the threshold with a comfortable margin.

The data shows that Medium settings at 1080p average 59 FPS, which is tantalizingly close to playable but falls short by a single frame. Users who prioritize visual quality over the strict 60 FPS target might find this acceptable, but the database's playable threshold is set at 60 FPS, and Medium does not meet it. High and Ultra settings at 1080p average 45 and 43 FPS respectively, which are noticeably less smooth.

For 1440p and 4K, the verdict is unambiguous: this hardware combination is not suitable for Thief at those resolutions. The GPU's integrated-class performance, evidenced by its 5th percentile ranking and its proximity to decade-old mobile parts, simply cannot handle the pixel throughput required. Even at the lowest settings, the frame rates are below 60 FPS, and in the case of 4K, below 35 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so there is no recommended setting. The highest average FPS is 31 on Low, which is the best possible outcome, but it falls far short of the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the same conclusion applies: no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low settings average 53 FPS, which is the peak performance available, but it is still 7 FPS below the threshold.

At 1920x1080, Low settings are the only playable option, delivering an average of 78 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, and it is the only one that does so. Medium settings average 59 FPS, which is 1 FPS below the threshold, so Low remains the recommended choice. For users who want the highest visual quality possible while maintaining playability, Low is the answer, and it provides a 19 FPS margin over the threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and Intel Arc B370 ranks 3433 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the bottom 8% of all configurations, which aligns with the GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, so the pairing of a high-end processor with a very low-end integrated GPU creates a significant imbalance.

The rank indicates that the vast majority of other hardware combinations produce better results in Thief. The 287-combo gap between this pairing and the bottom of the list suggests that there are some even less capable configurations, but they are few. The data shows that the Arc B370 is the primary reason for this low ranking, as its performance is comparable to GPUs from the early 2010s, while the Core Ultra 7 265 is a modern high-end desktop processor.

When considering an upgrade path, the data points to the GPU as the obvious target. Swapping the Arc B370 for a discrete GPU with even modest performance would likely move this combo significantly higher in the rankings, while retaining the CPU would not change the outcome because the GPU is already the bottleneck.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU dominates performance in Thief across all resolutions and presets. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 35 FPS, which is entirely attributable to GPU workload scaling. At 1440p, the same comparison shows a 24 FPS difference, and at 4K, a 14 FPS difference. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes even more saturated, and the settings spread narrows because the GPU is already at its limit.

The CPU's role is minimal in this game. The Core Ultra 7 265's nearest rivals differ by less than 1% in benchmark scores, and none of those CPUs would meaningfully alter the FPS figures when paired with the Arc B370. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking and strong multi-threaded scores (42,216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) are irrelevant to Thief's performance because the GPU cannot keep up with the render workload.

At 1080p Low, the CPU might have some influence on the 78 FPS result, but even there, the GPU is the constraint when settings rise. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is unquestionably the limiting factor, as no preset reaches 60 FPS regardless of CPU choice. The scaling between resolutions confirms this: dropping from 4K to 1440p improves Low preset FPS from 31 to 53, a 71% increase, while dropping from 1440p to 1080p improves Low preset FPS from 53 to 78, a 47% increase. These gains are purely from reduced pixel count, not from CPU changes.

For users seeking better performance, the data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield substantial improvements, while upgrading the CPU would yield no measurable benefit in Thief. The Arc B370's 5th percentile ranking and its proximity to ATI Radeon HD 5770-class performance make it the clear bottleneck in this configuration.