Thief

# Thief with AMD Ryzen 5 5600 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable experience in Thief, but the data reveals a system that struggles to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions. Across the measured configurations, this combo ranks 1393 out of 1642 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 15% of all tested systems. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: this pairing is comfortable at 1080p, acceptable at 1440p, and only marginally usable at 4K, with settings choices dramatically affecting the outcome.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 130.1 at 1920x1080 to 89 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 41.1 FPS, and then to 51.6 at 3840x2160, another 37.4 FPS drop. This represents a 60% loss in performance from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is significant but not unexpected for a GPU with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and a 256-bit memory bus.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. At Ultra, the average FPS drops from 68.7 at 1080p to 45.8 at 1440p, then to 25.5 at 4K — a cumulative 63% reduction. The fact that the 4K Ultra result falls below 30 FPS suggests the GTX 1070's 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 202.0 GTexel/s texture rate are simply insufficient for this game at that resolution with maxed-out visual quality. Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases: at 1080p the difference is 61.4 FPS (130.1 vs 68.7), but at 4K it narrows to 26.1 FPS (51.6 vs 25.5), suggesting that at 4K the GPU is so heavily loaded that even reducing settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel count.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture processor, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC, demonstrates strong synthetic performance that suggests it should not be the limiting factor in Thief. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18309 and single-core score of 2584 place this CPU in the 79th percentile of all tested processors, indicating it is well above average for gaming workloads.

The CPU's 3DMark scores tell a similar story: 882 single-thread, 1737 for 2 threads, 3313 for 4 threads, 4798 for 8 threads, and 5659 for max threads. These results show excellent scaling across thread counts, which is relevant for a game like Thief that can utilize multiple cores. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide ample headroom for game data. Given that the measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 130.1, the CPU is clearly capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates; the performance ceiling at higher resolutions is therefore not a CPU limitation but rather a GPU constraint.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks — the Intel Xeon D-1746TER at 21635 avg score (0.6% faster), AMD EPYC 9554P at 21899 (-0.6%), and Intel Core i7-11700F at 21957 (-0.9%) — are all comparable in raw compute, but the Ryzen 5 5600's gaming-specific strengths, such as its high single-thread performance, make it particularly well-suited for this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, based on the Pascal architecture and GP104 chip, is the clear limiting component in this system for Thief at higher resolutions. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 256.3 GB/s bandwidth, the card has sufficient memory capacity but its raw compute power appears to be the constraint. The card's 1506 MHz base and 1683 MHz boost clocks, combined with 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs, deliver a pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12331. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1082 and PassMark G3D score of 13498 indicate mid-range performance. The nearest rivals — NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (12241, 0.7% faster), GTX 880M (12490, -1.3%), GTX 1650 SUPER (12504, -1.4%), and Tesla K20Xm (12547, -1.7%) — are all within 2% of its overall score, but the GTX 1070's architectural advantages in gaming scenarios are evident from the measured results.

At 4K Ultra, the 25.5 average FPS makes the game effectively unplayable, while 4K High at 31.3 FPS is borderline. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the textures used in Thief, but the compute requirements of the game at high pixel counts overwhelm the Pascal architecture. The 16 nm process node and 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die represent older technology that cannot match modern efficiency.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combination. At 1920x1080, all settings levels are playable, with High at 76.1 FPS, Medium at 98.6 FPS, and Low at 130.1 FPS being smooth experiences. Ultra at 1080p delivers 68.7 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play. Given these numbers, High settings at 1080p offer the best balance of visual quality and performance, with a 7.4 FPS advantage over Ultra while likely providing nearly identical visual fidelity in most scenes.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. High settings at 50.7 FPS are playable but not ideal for fast-paced stealth sequences. Medium at 66.1 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a solid frame rate while maintaining reasonable visual quality. Low at 89 FPS is smooth but sacrifices too much visual detail. Ultra at 45.8 FPS dips into the territory where gameplay may feel less responsive, making Medium the recommended choice for 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the options are limited. Low settings at 51.6 FPS is the only configuration that provides a consistently playable experience. Medium at 41.1 FPS is borderline, while High at 31.3 FPS and Ultra at 25.5 FPS are too slow for enjoyable gameplay. For 4K, Low settings are the only viable choice, and even then, the experience will be compromised.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 1393 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 15th percentile of all systems tested. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GTX 1070, which, at the 51st percentile of all GPUs, is a mid-range card that struggles with the demands of this game at higher resolutions. The CPU, at the 79th percentile, is not the bottleneck; the data suggests that a more capable GPU would yield substantially better results.

The ranking implies that among the 249 combos that perform worse, most likely feature even older or lower-end GPUs. The fact that the combo can achieve 130.1 FPS at 1080p Low shows the system's potential when GPU load is manageable. The gap between this combo's performance and the top-ranked systems is likely substantial, given the GTX 1070's mid-range standing. For gamers with this hardware, the practical takeaway is that Thief is playable but requires careful settings management, particularly at resolutions above 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 130.1, Medium 98.6, High 76.1, and Ultra 68.7. The progression shows a 31.5 FPS drop from Low to Medium, 22.5 FPS from Medium to High, and 7.4 FPS from High to Ultra. The diminishing returns from High to Ultra suggest that the visual improvements at Ultra come at a high performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 89, Medium 66.1, High 50.7, and Ultra 45.8. The drop from Low to Medium is 22.9 FPS, from Medium to High is 15.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 4.9 FPS. The smaller delta between High and Ultra at 1440p compared to 1080p indicates that the GPU is becoming more saturated.

At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 51.6, Medium 41.1, High 31.3, and Ultra 25.5. The drops are 10.5 FPS from Low to Medium, 9.8 FPS from Medium to High, and 5.8 FPS from High to Ultra. At this resolution, even Low settings cannot reach 60 FPS, and the system is clearly GPU-bound across all settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Thief at 60 FPS on a 1080p monitor?

A: Yes, at 1080p all settings levels exceed 60 FPS, with Low at 130.1, Medium at 98.6, High at 76.1, and Ultra at 68.7 average FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware in Thief?

A: Only at Low settings, which achieves 51.6 FPS average. Medium drops to 41.1 FPS, High to 31.3 FPS, and Ultra to 25.5 FPS, making those settings impractical.

Q: Which component limits performance in this game?

A: The GTX 1070 GPU is the limiting factor, particularly at higher resolutions. The Ryzen 5 5600 CPU performs in the 79th percentile of all processors, while the GPU sits at the 51st percentile.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: It scores an average benchmark of 12331, which is 0.7% ahead of the Quadro K4200 (12241) and 1.4% ahead of the GTX 1650 SUPER (12504), though those rivals' scores are within a narrow band.

Q: What is the best settings/resolution combination for this system?

A: High settings at 1080p (76.1 FPS) offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. At 1440p, Medium settings (66.1 FPS) is the recommended choice.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Thief?

A: It ranks 1393 out of 1642 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 15% of all tested systems for this game.