Thief

Thief, a stealth game released in February 2014, has been benchmarked with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600F processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card. The measured data reveals how this combination performs across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions at four graphics presets. The results show that even at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate stays above 80 FPS, while 1080p Low tops out at 138 FPS, indicating a strong gaming experience in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best graphics preset for this combo at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields an average of 82 FPS, while High gives 83 FPS, and Medium gives 92 FPS. Low gives 102 FPS. Since the difference between Ultra and High is just 1 FPS, High or Ultra delivers essentially equivalent performance, with Medium offering a noticeable bump of 10 FPS over Ultra and Low adding another 10 FPS more.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F's average benchmark score is 36,945. Its closest competitor, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, scores 36,938, a delta of 0%. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is -0.2% slower, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 is -0.4% slower, and the Intel Core i9-12900T is -0.5% slower. This places the 5600F within a narrow performance band.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This is more than sufficient for any game settings supported by Thief, as the game's requirements are far below this capacity.

Q: Are there any minimum FPS values recorded?

A: Yes, the measured data includes minimum FPS values only for the Medium preset: at 3840x2160 it is 78 FPS, at 2560x1440 it is 93 FPS, and at 1920x1080 it is 106 FPS. Minimum and maximum values are not provided for other presets in the data set.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among tested machines?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F + RTX 5090 combination holds rank 1259 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, putting it in the top 34% of all configurations.

Q: Does the CPU have integrated graphics?

A: No, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F does not include integrated graphics (N/A per specification). It is a desktop processor with a TDP of 65 W and supports DDR4 memory via dual-channel, with bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer series). It operates at a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The chip includes 32 MB of shared L3 cache, and its 7 nm TSMC process yields a die size of 74 mm². In benchmark tests, the CPU achieves a PassMark multi-thread score of 19,236 and a single-thread score of 2,872. Its average benchmark score is 36,945, ranking in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

In Thief, the CPU's influence on frame rates is consistent across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combination hits 138 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 102 FPS, a difference of 36 FPS. This indicates that even at the lowest settings, the CPU is not a bottleneck; rather, the GPU executes the heavy lifting. At 1080p Ultra, the frame rate stands at 111 FPS, while 4K Ultra yields 82 FPS, a drop of 29% as resolution increases. The CPU's dual-thread and clock capabilities maintain playable frame rates even when the GPU is fully stressed at 4K.

Benchmark comparisons show the 5600F sits almost exactly on par with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (delta 0%) and is within half a percent of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%) and other rivals. This means that for a game like Thief, the CPU has enough processing power to feed the RTX 5090 without introducing stutter or frame hitches, as evidenced by the min-FPS values of 78 at 4K Medium and 106 at 1080p Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship GPU based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process with 92,200 million transistors. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The GPU clocks at a base of 2017 MHz and boosts up to 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). Its TDP is 575 W, and the board is a dual-slot with a 16-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5090 achieves a PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and a PassMark GPU Compute score of 26,756, with an average benchmark score of 79,842 (92nd percentile). Its nearest rivals by score are the two NVIDIA Tesla P100 GPUs (16 GB and 12 GB) with deltas of +0.3% and +0.6%, and an AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X at -1.4%. These close deltas indicate the RTX 5090 is positioned near the top of the performance tier.

In Thief, the GPU's capabilities translate directly into frame rate. At 1080p Medium, the average is 124 FPS and at 4K Medium it is 92 FPS, demonstrating a 32% reduction when increasing resolution. Ultra settings worsen the gap, with 111 FPS at 1080p versus 88 FPS at 4K. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than this game uses; even the highest preset does not exceed ~6 GB in typical scenarios. The GPU's high texture rate and pixel fill rate ensure that even the most demanding scenes (e.g., dynamic lighting) maintain smooth frame rates, as shown by the average FPS remaining above 80 at 4K across all presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo is as follows:

• 4K (3840x2160):
• Low: 102 FPS average
• Medium: 92 FPS average, with a minimum of 78 and maximum of 106
• High: 83 FPS average
• Ultra: 82 FPS average

• 1440p (2560x1440):
• Low: 121 FPS average
• Medium: 110 FPS average, with a minimum of 93 and maximum of 126
• High: 99 FPS average
• Ultra: 98 FPS average

• 1080p (1920x1080):
• Low: 138 FPS average
• Medium: 124 FPS average, with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 143
• High: 113 FPS average
• Ultra: 111 FPS average

The progression shows that stepping from Low to Ultra reduces FPS by 21–23% at each resolution. For example, at 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra drops from 138 to 111 FPS, a 77.5% retaining performance. The impact of resolution is more pronounced: 4K Ultra delivers 82 FPS, which is exactly 40% slower than 1080p Low's 138 FPS. The gaps between High and Ultra are minimal—typically 1-2 FPS at all resolutions—meaning High nearly matches Ultra's visual quality cost.

Minimum FPS recordings are only available for the Medium preset. At 4K, the minimum dips to 78 FPS, while at 1440p it is 93 FPS, and at 1080p it is 106 FPS. These numbers are far more than a 60 Hz refresh rate, ensuring smooth frame delivery in typical gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination holds a rank of 1259 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the 64th percentile of all configurations (since top rank is better). In other words, it outperforms about 64% of all systems tested and is placed in the middle-to-upper tier of gaming rigs. Given that the RTX 5090 is a top-tier GPU and the 5600F is a mid-range CPU, this ranking reflects a balance where the CPU limits the GPU's full potential in some scenarios, but still yields remarkably high frames.

The ranking also indicates that there are 1258 combos that achieve better performance in Thief. These likely feature more powerful CPUs (like the Core i9 series or Ryzen 7/9) that extract the maximum performance from the GPU at lower resolutions. At 4K, the GPU is over-burdened, so the CPU bottleneck is less significant, but at 1080p the CPU can hinder high FPS numbers. Nevertheless, the absolute FPS numbers are high enough that any gamer would enjoy a smooth experience with this combo.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the best experience depends on the resolution target. For 4K gameplay, the Ultra preset offers 82 FPS, which is slightly above 60 FPS and will provide smooth motion. However, the Medium preset yields a 10 FPS increase (92 FPS) while delivering improved geometry and textures; High is nearly identical to Ultra (1 FPS difference). If you prefer higher headroom, Medium is the recommended balance—1080p Medium reaches 124 FPS, and 4K medium still holds well above 90 FPS.

For 1440p users, the High and Medium presets are both excellent, with High delivering 99 FPS and Ultra 98 FPS. Since Ultra and High differ by just 1 FPS, select based on visual preference. Similarly, in 1080p, all settings exceed 110 FPS on average. The lowest dropdown of Low to 138 FPS ensures maximized frame rates, but High at 113 FPS still provides a high refresh-rate experience. Given the minimal penalty between Ultra and High, there is no reason to choose High over Ultra unless you seek absolute top performance: the difference is only 1-4 FPS depending on resolution.

As a general rule, for a refresh rate of 144Hz, only the Low preset at 1080p (138 FPS) and Low at 1440p (121 FPS) come close, but not all refresh monitors require that. For a 60Hz display, every measured combination delivers the average FPS above 60, except none—the lowest is 4K Ultra at 82 FPS. Therefore, the recommended preset is Ultra at all resolutions, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining average FPS comfortably above 80. If you prefer slightly higher FPS, stepping down to High adds at most 1-2 FPS, negligible versus the visual impact. However, for those who want extra stability, Medium provides a 10 FPS boost over Ultra at 4K and still looks good.

In summary, from the measured data, the RTX 5090 with the 5600F allows for Ultra settings at all three resolutions with average FPS between 82 and 111. The GPU launch MSRP is 1,999 USD, which confirms its high-end positioning, but that pricing is separate from the system performance. Given the data, running Ultra is the most cost-effective in terms of visual fidelity per frame.