Thief

Resolution Scaling

Thief’s performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but with a CPU that still maintains a firm grip at 1080p. The measured data shows a clear progression: at 1080p High, the combo delivers 123 FPS, which drops to 101 FPS at 1440p High, and then falls to 59 FPS at 4K High. That represents a 52% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the High preset, which is a typical pattern for a GPU-limited scenario where pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system hits 150 FPS, at 1440p Low it reaches 132 FPS, and at 4K Low it still manages 103 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K on Low is 31%, which is less severe than on High. This suggests that the Low preset reduces the shading and texture workload enough that the GPU has more headroom, but the resolution scaling still trims performance significantly because the GeForce RTX 4070 is handling all the rasterization work.

The Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS readings, shows the scaling pattern clearly. At 1080p Medium, the average is 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 156. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 120 FPS with a range of 102 to 138. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 89. The gap between the minimum and maximum FPS narrows as resolution increases, which indicates that the frame pacing becomes more consistent when the GPU is the bottleneck, but the overall cost per pixel rises steadily.

The Ultra preset shows the most demanding workload. At 1080p Ultra, the system averages 121 FPS, at 1440p Ultra it averages 96 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 56 FPS. The nearly linear scaling from 1080p to 1440p (a 21% drop) and then from 1440p to 4K (a 42% drop) points to a GPU that is processing more pixels each step, with the CPU overhead becoming less relevant as resolution climbs.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 5500’s six cores and twelve threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 4070, but the CPU still caps performance in lighter settings. For example, moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p only changes the average from 150 to 121 FPS, a 19% swing. At 4K, the same settings change yields a 45% swing (103 to 56 FPS), which shows that the GPU’s workload dominates the frame rate at higher pixel counts. The limiting component shifts from a balance of CPU and GPU at 1080p to almost exclusively the GPU at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is directly relevant to Thief’s results because the game’s High and Ultra presets increase texture detail and shadow complexity, which demand more memory throughput. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (56 FPS) suggests that the 12 GB frame buffer is sufficient for this game, as the average does not collapse due to memory spilling; the performance drop is consistent with the added rasterization load.

The GPU’s clock speeds are a base of 1920 MHz and a boost of 2475 MHz. The boost clock is the more relevant figure for sustained gaming, and the data shows that the RTX 4070 holds its frame rates across resolutions without severe thermal throttling indications, since the 4K Medium minimum of 66 FPS is only 15% below the average of 78 FPS. The Ada Lovelace architecture uses a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. This efficiency allows the card to hit these performance levels at a 200 W TDP, which is modest for the frame rates observed.

The RTX 4070’s 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs are the primary drivers of pixel fill rate, and the 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate explains why the 4K Ultra preset still manages 56 FPS. The memory clock is listed as 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective, which translates to the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. In Thief, which is a 2014 title without ray tracing demands, the GPU’s raw rasterization throughput is what matters, and the benchmark results confirm that the card is not limited by its 12 GB capacity at any of the tested settings.

Comparing the RTX 4070 to its nearest rivals in the database, the average benchmark score of 37648 places it 0.1% above the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628) and 0.4% above the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507), while it trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile by 1.3% (38135) and leads the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 by 1.3% (37157). These deltas are small, meaning the RTX 4070 sits in a tight performance band with those cards in synthetic tests, but in Thief specifically, the measured FPS shows it delivering playable frame rates at all resolutions, which is what the GPU role analysis centers on.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1253 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 34% of all configurations in the database. This rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where the Ryzen 5 5500’s performance is a limiting factor at lower resolutions but becomes less relevant at 4K.

The CPU’s average benchmark score is 19593, which puts it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals show how close the Ryzen 5 5500 is to other mid-range processors: the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 scores 19617 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i5-12500 scores 19668 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19499 (0.5% lower), and the Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19723 (0.7% higher). These deltas are all under 1%, indicating that the Ryzen 5 5500 is firmly in a competitive tier where no single CPU in this group meaningfully outperforms another in synthetic tests.

The GPU’s average benchmark score is 37648, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are similarly clustered, with deltas ranging from -1.3% to 1.3%. The combo rank of 1253 out of 3720 suggests that while the individual components are strong for their respective tiers, the pairing does not push into the top quartile of all combos because the CPU’s single-thread performance (3dmark single thread score of 836, Cinebench R23 single core of 2319) can hold back the GPU in a game like Thief that responds to per-core performance at 1080p.

The data shows that the combo’s rank is driven by the 1080p results, where the Ryzen 5 5500’s 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost of 4.20 GHz is adequate but not exceptional. At 4K, the rank would likely improve because the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck, but the database’s combined rank reflects all resolutions. The 73rd percentile CPU and 81st percentile GPU combine to a 1253 rank that is respectable but not elite, and the measured FPS confirms that this is a solid 1440p gaming setup rather than a 1080p esports monster.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded data shows the system’s highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 150 FPS, which is the maximum observed in any configuration. The Medium preset averages 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 156, showing a wider variance than Low because the additional effects create occasional dips. The High preset averages 123 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 121 FPS. The narrow gap between High and Ultra (2 FPS) indicates that the Ultra preset’s extra settings are not heavily taxing the GPU at this resolution, and the CPU is the primary limiter since the frame rate does not scale with GPU load.

At 2560x1440, the averages step down across all presets. Low runs at 132 FPS, Medium at 120 FPS (minimum 102, maximum 138), High at 101 FPS, and Ultra at 96 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 102 FPS is still above the 100 FPS threshold, which means the system maintains smooth gameplay even with fluctuations. The drop from 1080p to 1440p on Ultra is 21%, which is less than the 29% drop on High (123 to 101), showing that the Ultra preset’s additional GPU work is partially offset by the resolution increase, but the overall trend is a steady decline as pixel count rises.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become the most demanding. Low averages 103 FPS, which is still highly playable. Medium averages 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 89, and this is the only 4K preset with recorded min/max values. High averages 59 FPS, and Ultra averages 56 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 3 FPS, which indicates that the GPU is fully saturated and the extra Ultra settings have minimal impact on the average. The 4K Medium minimum of 66 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum in the entire dataset, but it is still above 60 FPS, so the system does not drop into stutter territory.

The full dataset shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step down (from 4K to 1440p to 1080p) yields a predictable FPS increase, and each settings step down (from Ultra to Low) yields a larger increase at higher resolutions. The data confirms that the RTX 4070 can handle Thief at 4K with the Low preset comfortably, but for High or Ultra at 4K, the frame rate hovers around 56 to 59 FPS, which is borderline for a 60 Hz display.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance between visual quality and frame rate depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 121 FPS is the clear choice because it delivers near-maximum visual fidelity while staying well above 60 FPS and even above 120 FPS for smooth motion on high refresh rate monitors. The High preset at 123 FPS is nearly identical, so the extra 2 FPS from dropping to High is not worth losing the Ultra effects. The Medium preset at 136 FPS is only 12% faster than Ultra, so it does not justify a visual downgrade unless the monitor is 144 Hz or higher and the user prioritizes frame rate over visuals.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 101 FPS offers the best experience for most users, as it stays above 100 FPS while providing decent visual quality. The Ultra preset at 96 FPS is only 5% slower, so users with a 1440p 144 Hz display might prefer Ultra for the enhanced shadows and textures, accepting the slight FPS reduction. The Medium preset at 120 FPS is the better option for those who want a higher frame rate buffer, but the 19 FPS gain over High (120 versus 101) comes with noticeably reduced detail. The Low preset at 132 FPS is unnecessary at this resolution because the system already exceeds 100 FPS on Medium and above.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 103 FPS is the only configuration that guarantees a consistent 100+ FPS experience, but it sacrifices most of the game’s visual effects. The Medium preset at 78 FPS is the recommended compromise for 4K, as it provides a solid frame rate that is 32% faster than High (59 FPS) and 39% faster than Ultra (56 FPS), while still retaining moderate texture and shadow quality. The High preset at 59 FPS is just below 60 FPS, which could cause perceptible judder on a 60 Hz panel, and the Ultra preset at 56 FPS is worse. For a 4K 60 Hz display, the Medium preset is the best measured option because it stays above the 60 FPS threshold with a minimum of 66 FPS.

The data indicates that the system’s sweet spot is 1440p with the High or Ultra preset, delivering 96 to 101 FPS. At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best choice because the CPU limits the frame rate anyway, so there is no reason to reduce settings. At 4K, the Medium preset is the only measured setting that balances smoothness and visual fidelity, since the High and Ultra presets both dip below 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What frame rate does this combo achieve at 1080p with the Ultra preset?

A: The measured average FPS is 121 at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings. The High preset is nearly identical at 123 FPS, while Low runs at 150 FPS and Medium at 136 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 sufficient for 4K gaming in Thief?

A: The data shows that 4K is playable but not ideal for high settings. The Low preset averages 103 FPS, Medium averages 78 FPS, but High drops to 59 FPS and Ultra to 56 FPS. The Medium preset is the highest setting that stays above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 19593. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 scores 19617 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i5-12500 scores 19668 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19499 (0.5% lower), and the Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19723 (0.7% higher). All are within 1% of each other.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 101 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 96 FPS, a difference of 5%. The Medium preset is faster at 120 FPS, but it uses lower-quality textures and effects.

Q: Does the combo rank in the database indicate a balanced system?

A: The combo ranks 1253 out of 3720 tested combinations in Thief, placing it in the top 34%. The CPU is in the 73rd percentile and the GPU is in the 81st percentile, so the pairing is slightly GPU-heavy, which is why the 1080p results are CPU-limited.

Q: What is the lowest recorded minimum FPS across all tested settings?

A: The 4K Medium preset has the lowest minimum at 66 FPS, with an average of 78 FPS and a maximum of 89 FPS. This is the only 4K preset with min/max data, and it still stays above the 60 FPS floor.