Thief

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core Zen 3 processor, and the Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution, making this a drastically CPU-heavy pairing. In Thief, measured FPS ranges from 86 average at 1080p/Low down to 19 average at 4K/Ultra, with the combo ranking 3307 out of 3720 tested combinations — placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The CPU is built on AMD’s Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer) and belongs to the Ryzen 5 series. It features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. Process node is 7nm, with 96 MB of shared L3 cache and 64 KB per-core L1 plus 512 KB per-core L2. The L3 cache size of 96 MB is one of the largest seen on a desktop mainstream chip, though the game itself does not directly stress cache capacity in the measured dataset. The CPU’s TDP is 105 watts, potentially allowing extended boost behavior, but the boost itself is listed as 4.00 GHz.

In the PassMark aggregate, this CPU scores 37018 points, which puts it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Single-threaded PassMark score is 2941 points, while the multithreaded score is 20363 points. Floating point math, integer math, and extended instructions score 34511, 60033, and 15925 points respectively. These numbers indicate a reasonable mid-range performer, but in the context of Thief the CPU does not appear to be the limiting element. At 1080p low, the combination reaches 86 FPS, showing that the CPU can deliver enough draw calls to let the GPU work at low load. The combination’s ranking drops at higher resolutions, strongly suggesting the GPU becomes the bottleneck rather than the processor.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (average score 36945, delta 0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (average 37093, delta 0.2% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (average 36938, delta 0.2% lower), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (average 37112, delta 0.3% higher). All of these are within a 0.3% margin, confirming the 5500X3D is a typical mid-range chip but not a performance outlier. Such a CPU is far more powerful than the integrated GPU in this pairing, so the overall game result is almost wholly determined by graphics power.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics chip based on the Xe3-LPG architecture. Its base clock is 300 MHz, and it can boost to 2500 MHz. The memory bus and bandwidth are described as “System Shared,” meaning the GPU uses the same system RAM as the CPU; no dedicated VRAM exists. Since the system RAM is shared, the memory bandwidth is dependent on the host system’s dual-channel DDR4 interface—the CPU supports memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, which provides the graphics pool. However, this clearly does not reach the level of even a separate mid-range discrete card.

The GPU’s specification sheet lists 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, along with 12 ray-tracing cores. Pixel fill rate is 60.0 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. The compute capability is 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS of FP16. The GPU scores 1482 points in the 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12) test, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are actually older entry-level graphics cards: NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, 1.3% lower performance), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% lower), GT 525 OEM (1446, 2.5% lower), and GT 710 (1443, 2.7% lower). These scores are nearly identical, meaning the Arc B390 competes in the very low end of GPU performance, despite being manufactured on a 3 nm process.

In Thief, the GPU is clearly the limiting component. The average FPS across all settings at 1080p is around 60 (average of all four presets), but at 1440p it drops below 45, and at 2160p it falls to under 27. That pattern—FPS declining in step with resolution—matches a GPU-bound scenario. A more capable CPU would not help because the graphics unit simply cannot keep up with the fragment and fill workload. The GPU also lacks dedicated graphics memory, so scenes that require large texture buffers will cause bandwidth contention with the CPU, further lowering frame draws. Thief, being a 2014 game, is not particularly heavy on modern geometry, but the Arc’s raw number output is too low to provide competitive scores.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p to 2160p and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS table provides consistent data across three resolutions and four presets. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 86 FPS; Medium gives 66 FPS; High yields 50 FPS; Ultra averages 48 FPS. Stepping up to 1440p, the same presets produce 59, 45, 34, and 33 FPS respectively. At 4K (3840x2160), the values are 35, 26, 20, and 19 FPS for Low, Medium, High, and Ultra.

Translated into percentages, moving from 1080p to 1440p causes a drop of approximately 31% across all settings (86→59, 66→45, 50→34, 48→33). Moving from 1440p to 2160p results in another drop of about 61% of the 1080p value (59→35, 45→26, 34→20, 33→19). That corresponds to a 60% overall reduction from 1080p to 2160p. These consistent relative patterns at all quality presets show the performance is strictly resolution‑limited – a classic symptom of GPU bottleneck. The CPU could handle Thief’s scene complexity, but the GPU simply cannot render more pixels.

Notice also that the difference between High and Ultra is almost negligible. At 1080p, High yields 50 FPS versus Ultra’s 48 FPS; at 1440p it’s 34 vs 33; at 4K it’s 20 vs 19. In contrast, the gap between Low and Medium is larger (86→66 at 1080p) and between Medium and High is moderate (66→50). This implies that the Ultra preset adds a certain overhead that costs little extra in terms of FPS, but the overall GPU headroom is so small that even preset changes only shift the results by 10‑20 FPS at best.

Also note that the only rows with min/max values are the Medium presets. At 2160p, Medium shows a min of 22 and max of 30 FPS, giving an average of 26. At 1440p Medium, the range is 38–52, averaging 45. At 1080p Medium, the range is 56–75, with average 66. These min/max data indicate that the Medium preset provides decent stability, though the variation of 8 FPS at 1080p and about 14 at 1440p is noticeable. However, without min/max for other presets, it’s not possible to conclude which preset is the most stable, other than Medium, which is the only one with explicit data.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The measured score for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D plus Intel Arc B390 in Thief is ranked 3307 out of 3720 possible combinations. That means 3306 combos are rated higher, and only 413 combos are worse than this one. This places the setup in the 11th percentile of all tested configurations—just one step above the absolute worst. For a game like Thief, which is not especially demanding by modern standards, this level of performance is alarming. The rank reveals how far behind a typical low‑cost PC this iGPU actually is.

Compared to the CPU’s rank among CPUs (85th percentile) and the GPU’s rank (9th percentile), the combined rank of 3307/3720 shows that the worst component in the system—the GPU—pulls the entire ranking down. Had the Ryzen merely been paired with any discrete GPU, the outcome would have been far more competitive. The magnitude of the GPU deficit is significant: the nearest GPU rivals are GT 710 and GT 625 OEM, parts which even in 2020 were not intended for gaming. This confirms that the CPU’s potential is largely wasted in this config.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU pairing in Thief?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 with the Low preset is the only setting that reaches an average FPS above 86 (86 FPS). Medium at 1080p yields 66 FPS. All other combinations fall below 60 FPS, including 1440p Low at 59 FPS and 4K Ultra at 19 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest competitors?

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 points in 3DMark Steel Nomad. Its four nearest rivals are all older NVIDIA cards—GT 520MX (1463), GT 800M (1460), GT 625 OEM (1446), and GT 710 (1443). All are within 2.7% of the Arc B390, meaning the Arc performs effectively at the level of an entry‑level GPU from more than a decade ago.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500X3D the strength of this pairing?

A: Yes. The CPU has a PassMark aggregate of 37018 and occupies the 85th percentile of all CPUs, while its nearest rivals are within 0.3% of its score. In contrast, the GPU sits in the 9th percentile. The data shows a clear mismatch: the CPU is mid‑range capable, but the integrated graphics of the B390 essentially caps the system’s FPS.

Q: What do the min/max measurements reveal?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min and max values listed. At 1080p Medium, values range from 56 to 75 FPS; at 1440p Medium, from 38 to 52; at 2160p Medium, from 22 to 30. This shows that at 1080p the frame time is relatively stable, but as resolution climbs, both the floor and ceiling drop, and the overall frame window compresses toward lower FPS.

Q: Could this CPU run Thief alone (without the GPU)?

A: The CPU alone does not have it. The data does not test an iGPU run, and the CPU has no integrated graphics (iGPU is listed as “N/A”), meaning Thief can only run through the Arc B390.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following numbers are measured frame rates from the database. Some entries do not include min/max, so only the average is listed.

060p (1920x1080) preset suite:

• Low: average 86 FPS
• Medium: average 66 FPS, range 56–75 FPS
• High: average 50 FPS
• Ultra: average 48 FPS

1440p (2560x1440) preset suite:

• Low: average 59 FPS
• Medium: average 45 FPS, range 38–52 FPS
• High: average 34 FPS
• Ultra: average 33 FPS

2160p (3840x2160) preset suite:

• Low: average 35 FPS
• Medium: average