Thief

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 4K Ultra settings in Thief?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combo produces an average of 82 FPS. This is the most demanding setting tested, and the frame rate dips to a minimum of 82 FPS at Medium settings, with the Ultra preset not reporting a separate minimum.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D has an average benchmark score of 37018. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, scores 36945, which is a 0.2% difference. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 also sits at a 0.2% delta, while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 trails by 0.2%.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration, and how does it impact performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This large memory pool and high bandwidth are well-suited for high-resolution textures, and the data confirms strong performance even at 4K.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth experience at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 144. However, the Medium preset still provides a very smooth 130 FPS average with a minimum of 110 FPS, making it a strong balance for visual quality and frame rate.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested CPU-GPU combinations in Thief?

A: This specific combo of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 783rd out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the top third of all configurations for this game.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have, and what is its boost clock?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. It is based on the Zen 3 architecture and uses the AMD Socket AM4 platform.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename) using a 7 nm process from TSMC. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz, and it boosts up to 4.00 GHz. The processor features a large 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is a defining characteristic of the X3D line and helps in scenarios where data needs to be accessed quickly across cores. Its TDP is 105 W, and it supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Thief, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The benchmark results show that at lower resolutions, the CPU becomes more of a factor. At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS is 144, but this drops to 118 at High and 116 at Ultra. This scaling pattern suggests that the CPU is capable of pushing high frame rates, but the game's engine and the GPU's raw power become the limiting factors at higher settings. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient for this 2014 title, and the data indicates no significant CPU bottleneck even at 1080p, as the frame rates remain consistently high.

The CPU's Passmark scores further illustrate its capability. Its multithread score is 20363, and its single-thread score is 2941. The integer math score is 60033, while the floating-point math score is 34511. These results show a balanced processor that can handle both the physics and AI calculations required by a stealth game like Thief. The processor's percentile ranking of 85th among all CPUs means it outperforms 85% of the processors in the database, making it a high-end part for its generation. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0.2% delta) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (0.2% delta), while slightly behind the Intel Core i9-12900T by 0.3%.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's resolution and preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields the highest average FPS at 144, but the Medium preset offers a 130 FPS average with a minimum of 110 FPS, providing a smoother minimum frame rate experience while still maintaining a high refresh rate. For users with 144Hz monitors, Medium is the sweet spot, as it delivers well above 100 FPS with better visuals than Low. The High preset at 118 FPS is also viable, but the drop from Medium is noticeable for a marginal visual gain.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset provides 127 FPS average, while Medium drops to 115 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS. The High preset sits at 104 FPS. For a balance of quality and performance, Medium is the recommended preset at this resolution, as it stays above the 100 FPS mark and offers a minimum frame rate that remains smooth. The Ultra preset at 102 FPS is also playable, but the 13 FPS gap between Medium and Ultra may not justify the visual improvements for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Low preset achieves 106 FPS, Medium drops to 96 FPS, High to 86 FPS, and Ultra to 82 FPS. For 4K gaming, the High preset is a solid choice, as it maintains an average of 86 FPS which is above the standard 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 82 FPS is still very playable, and the difference between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS. Given that the minimum FPS recorded for Medium is 82, users should be aware that frame dips can occur, but the averages suggest that all presets at 4K are viable for a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 783rd out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This rank places it in the 73rd percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly 73% of the combos in the database for this specific game. The rank is a global measure that accounts for both CPU and GPU contributions, and it is a strong showing for this pairing.

The CPU itself is ranked in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs. However, the combo's rank in Thief is lower than either component's individual percentile, which suggests that the game may not fully utilize the strengths of this hardware. Thief is a 2014 title, and its engine may not be able to scale perfectly with modern multi-core processors or the massive parallel throughput of a top-tier GPU. The combo rank of 783 indicates that while this is a high-end system, other combinations in the database deliver better performance in this specific game, possibly due to higher clock speeds or better game-specific optimizations.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.1% delta), while it trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X by 1.4%. These differences are small, indicating that the RTX 5090 is at the top of the performance tier. The combo's rank in Thief, however, is more modest, reflecting the game's age and its potential reliance on single-thread performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship graphics card based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture (GB202 chip) built on a 5 nm process from TSMC. It has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The card features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its compute power is substantial, with 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The FP32 performance is rated at 104.8 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s.

In Thief, the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates, especially at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the average FPS decreases across all settings. At 1080p Low, the average is 144 FPS, while at 4K Ultra, it is 82 FPS. This is a 62 FPS drop, which is expected as the GPU has to render four times as many pixels. The GPU's 32 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Thief, which is a 2014 game with modest texture requirements, so VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor.

The GPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18355. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 334370, and the Vulkan score is 376728. These numbers place the GPU in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The card's nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.1% delta), while it trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X by 1.4%. This shows that the RTX 5090 is at the very top of the performance chart, but in Thief, its lead is not as pronounced as in more modern, GPU-intensive titles.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how this combo performs across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 144 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. The Medium preset averages 130 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS and a maximum of 149 FPS. High averages 118 FPS, and Ultra averages 116 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal at just 2 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects have a negligible performance cost at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 127 FPS. Medium averages 115 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. High averages 104 FPS, and Ultra averages 102 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average drop of about 20 FPS across all settings, which is a typical penalty for a 78% increase in pixel count. The minimum FPS at Medium (97) is still above 60, ensuring a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 106 FPS. Medium averages 96 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS. High averages 86 FPS, and Ultra averages 82 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced, with an average reduction of about 21 FPS. The Ultra preset at 82 FPS is the lowest average recorded, but it remains playable. The minimum FPS of 82 at Medium is the same as the Ultra average, indicating that frame pacing is consistent across the board.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the gap is 28 FPS (144 vs 116). At 1440p, it is 25 FPS (127 vs 102). At 4K, it is 24 FPS (106 vs 82). This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's role diminishes. The RTX 5090's raw power is evident, as it still manages to push over 80 FPS at 4K Ultra in a game from 2014, but the combo's overall rank of 783 shows that other hardware combinations may extract even more performance from this title.