Thief

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a surprisingly balanced experience in Thief, but the data reveals a clear ceiling imposed by the CPU at lower resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 61 FPS, while dropping to 1080p Low only raises that to 130 FPS—a 2.1x increase in frame rate for a 4x reduction in pixel count. This scaling pattern indicates that while the RX 7900 XT is the dominant component at 4K, the Ryzen 5 4600G’s Zen 2 architecture begins to limit performance as resolution drops, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear trajectory: as resolution decreases, frame rates increase, but with diminishing returns. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 61 FPS, which is playable but not exceptional for a flagship GPU. Moving to 1440p Ultra raises the average to 92 FPS, a 50.8% improvement. At 1080p Ultra, the average climbs to 105 FPS, which is only a 14.1% gain over 1440p—a modest uplift that signals the CPU is starting to bottleneck.

The Low preset tells a more revealing story. At 4K Low, the combo hits 96 FPS, which is 57.4% higher than 4K Ultra. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 115 FPS, a 19.8% increase. However, at 1080p Low, the average is 130 FPS, only 13.0% higher than 1440p Low. This compressed scaling between 1440p and 1080p at Low settings strongly suggests the Ryzen 5 4600G is the limiting factor. The GPU has ample headroom to render more frames, but the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, cannot feed the RX 7900 XT fast enough.

At Medium settings, the pattern persists but with slightly better scaling. The 4K Medium average is 84 FPS, which jumps to 104 FPS at 1440p (a 23.8% increase) and 118 FPS at 1080p (a 13.5% increase). The min FPS values also tell a story: at 4K Medium, the minimum is 71 FPS, while at 1440p Medium it is 88 FPS, and at 1080p Medium it is 100 FPS. These minimums indicate that frame pacing remains stable, but the CPU’s limitations are evident in the shrinking gains at lower resolutions.

The data suggests that the RX 7900 XT, with its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth, is rarely the bottleneck at 1080p. Instead, the Ryzen 5 4600G’s memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s and 8 MB of shared L3 cache become the constraining factors. For players targeting 4K, this combo is well-balanced, as the GPU workload masks CPU limitations. At 1080p, however, the CPU holds back the GPU, and the frame rates, while high, do not reflect the RX 7900 XT’s full capabilities.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Thief?*

A: The highest measured average is 130 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 118 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings.

Q: Is the combo better suited for 4K or 1080p gaming in this title?

A: The data indicates the combo is better suited for 4K. At 4K Ultra, it averages 61 FPS, which is playable, while at 1080p Ultra it averages 105 FPS. The performance gap between 1440p and 1080p is small (92 FPS vs 105 FPS at Ultra), suggesting the CPU limits gains at lower resolutions, making 4K a more efficient use of the GPU.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 4600G has an average benchmark score of 17507, which places it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core 7 150U. It trails the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE by 0.6% and the Intel Core i3-14100T by 0.8%.

Q: Does the GPU's benchmark performance align with its in-game results?

A: The RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 13745, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 660M, scores 13812, which is 0.5% higher. The in-game results show the GPU is capable of 4K Ultra at 61 FPS, which is consistent with its mid-tier percentile ranking relative to all GPUs.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only measured minimum FPS values are at Medium settings: 71 FPS at 4K, 88 FPS at 1440p, and 100 FPS at 1080p. No minimum FPS values are listed for Low, High, or Ultra presets.

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

A: The combo ranks 1611 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the 56.7th percentile. This rank reflects a mid-tier position, meaning many other combos achieve higher frame rates in Thief.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the powerhouse in this pairing, and its specifications explain why it excels at higher resolutions. With 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, the GPU delivers 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Thief’s textures at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 2394 MHz and game clock of 2025 MHz allow it to maintain high fill rates, evidenced by its 459.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 804.4 GTexel/s texture rate.

However, the GPU’s benchmark percentile of 55% is modest for a flagship card, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 660M, which scores 0.5% higher, and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile, which is also 0.5% higher. This suggests that while the RX 7900 XT is powerful, its performance in Thief is not exceptional relative to other GPUs. The 4K Ultra average of 61 FPS is likely GPU-bound, as the CPU has more headroom at this resolution. The GPU’s 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs handle the pixel workload efficiently, but the frame rate is capped by the sheer pixel count.

At lower resolutions, the GPU’s role diminishes. The 1080p Low average of 130 FPS is still high, but the GPU is not the limiting factor. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost of 4.20 GHz, cannot feed the GPU enough draw calls to push frame rates higher. The GPU’s 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is underutilized at 1080p, as the CPU’s 8 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth create a bottleneck. The data shows that the GPU is the star at 4K, but the CPU takes center stage as the limiting component at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1611 out of 3720 tested combinations, which places it in the 56.7th percentile. This is a mid-tier ranking, meaning that while this pairing is capable of playing Thief smoothly at most settings, it is not among the top performers. The rank reflects the CPU’s limitations, as the RX 7900 XT is a high-end GPU that could achieve higher frame rates with a more powerful processor.

To contextualize the rank, consider that the Ryzen 5 4600G sits in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, while the RX 7900 XT sits in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. The combo’s rank of 1611 suggests that the CPU’s relative strength does not fully compensate for the GPU’s mid-tier percentile ranking. In Thief, which is a 2014 title with modest CPU demands, the combo performs adequately, but it does not break into the top tier of tested combinations.

The nearest CPU rivals provide additional context. The Ryzen 5 4600G is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core 7 150U, but these are close margins. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon 660M and NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile, are within 0.5% of its score. These tight margins indicate that the combo’s rank is not driven by a single dominant component, but rather by the balanced—yet unexceptional—performance of both parts.

For players, this rank means the combo is a solid mid-pack choice. It will run Thief at 4K Ultra with an average of 61 FPS, which is playable, but it will not deliver the high refresh rates that some other combos achieve at 1080p. The data suggests that upgrading the CPU would yield better returns at 1080p, while the GPU is already well-suited for 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Thief. For 4K gaming, the Ultra preset yields 61 FPS, which is barely above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. Dropping to High at 4K raises the average to 64 FPS, a modest 4.9% improvement. Medium at 4K delivers 84 FPS, which is a significant 37.7% jump over Ultra, and the min FPS of 71 FPS ensures stable frame pacing. For 4K players, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it provides the best balance between visual quality and performance.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 92 FPS, which is already smooth. High at 1440p yields 94 FPS, a negligible 2.2% increase, while Medium delivers 104 FPS, an 13.0% improvement over Ultra. For 1440p, the Medium preset is again the best option, offering 104 FPS with a min FPS of 88 FPS, ensuring a consistent experience. The Low preset at 1440p averages 115 FPS, but the visual downgrade is not necessary given the high frame rates available at Medium.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset averages 105 FPS, which is smooth. High at 1080p yields 106 FPS, essentially identical. Medium at 1080p delivers 118 FPS, a 12.4% improvement over Ultra, with a min FPS of 100 FPS. Low at 1080p averages 130 FPS, but this is unnecessary for smooth gameplay. For 1080p, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, providing 118 FPS with excellent frame pacing. The data shows that Medium is the sweet spot across all resolutions, offering the largest FPS gains over Ultra without the visual sacrifices of Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combo in Thief is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 130 FPS average
• Medium: 118 FPS average, 100 FPS min, 135 FPS max
• High: 106 FPS average
• Ultra: 105 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 115 FPS average
• Medium: 104 FPS average, 88 FPS min, 119 FPS max
• High: 94 FPS average
• Ultra: 92 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 96 FPS average
• Medium: 84 FPS average, 71 FPS min, 96 FPS max
• High: 64 FPS average
• Ultra: 61 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: Medium settings provide the best balance of average FPS and minimum FPS stability. At 1080p, the jump from Ultra to Medium is 13 FPS (105 to 118), while the jump from Medium to Low is 12 FPS (118 to 130). At 1440p, the Ultra to Medium gain is 12 FPS (92 to 104), and the Medium to Low gain is 11 FPS (104 to 115). At 4K, the Ultra to Medium gain is 23 FPS (61 to 84), and the Medium to Low gain is 12 FPS (84 to 96). The 4K Medium preset is the standout, as it offers a 37.7% improvement over Ultra, making it the most impactful settings change in the entire dataset.

The min FPS values at Medium settings are also notable. At 4K, the min FPS is 71, which is 84.5% of the average—a stable frame rate. At 1440p, the min FPS of 88 is 84.6% of the average. At 1080p, the min FPS of 100 is 84.7% of the average. This consistency suggests that the combo does not experience severe frame drops at Medium settings, making it the most reliable preset for a smooth experience across all resolutions. The High and Ultra presets lack min FPS data, but the lower averages at 4K (64 and 61 FPS, respectively) indicate that these settings are more demanding and may result in less stable frame pacing.