Thief

This combo pairing a mid-range six-core processor with a flagship-class GPU produces results that are heavily skewed by the graphics card, but the data reveals a clear bottleneck at lower resolutions. In Thief, the Ryzen 5 5600GT and RTX 4090 combination ranks 241st out of 1642 tested combos, placing it in the top 15% of all configurations. That rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU, as the processor’s own standing among all CPUs is far more modest, sitting at the 78th percentile. Benchmark results indicate the CPU keeps pace with the GPU at 4K, but at 1080p the processor begins to limit the frame rate, preventing the full potential of the graphics card from being realized.

How This Combo Ranks

The 241st position out of 1642 combos is a strong overall showing, placing this system in the upper tier of tested configurations. However, the ranking flatters the CPU. The Ryzen 5 5600GT’s average benchmark score of 20740 puts it within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-10700, which scores 20746. The deltaPct values are negligible, meaning the CPU is a known quantity in the mid-range space. The RTX 4090, by contrast, holds a 91st percentile rank among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473. The data shows a massive gap between the components: the GPU’s score is over three times the CPU’s, and its nearest rivals are professional-grade cards like the Tesla T4 and Quadro P6000, not consumer gaming parts. This combo rank of 241 reflects a system where the GPU does the heavy lifting, and the CPU merely keeps up. In absolute terms, the combo outperforms the majority of tested systems, but the processor’s mid-pack standing means it is the limiting factor in any scenario where the GPU is not fully saturated.

FAQ

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600GT strong enough to feed the RTX 4090 in Thief?

A: At 4K, yes, but at 1080p the processor becomes a constraint. The measured FPS drop from 163.5 at 1080p Low to 124.8 at 4K Low shows that the GPU is not being fully utilized at the lower resolution, indicating a CPU bottleneck.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in raw benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600GT scores 20740 on average, which is 0.3% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (20680) and essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-10700 (20746). The differences are within 1%, making them functionally equivalent.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. This is more than sufficient for Thief’s demands, and the memory bandwidth ensures no frame rate drops from VRAM limitations.

Q: Which graphics settings produce the highest frame rate in Thief?

A: Low settings yield the highest average FPS across all resolutions: 163.5 at 1080p, 143.8 at 1440p, and 124.8 at 4K. High settings are the most balanced, providing substantial visual quality with only a modest FPS penalty.

Q: How does the combo rank specifically for Thief compared to other games?

A: The combo ranks 241st out of 1642 tested combinations for this title. This is a relative ranking within Thief’s benchmark database, not a cross-game comparison.

Q: What is the processor’s launch MSRP?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600GT had a launch MSRP of $140. This is a single data point and does not reflect current market pricing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications show why. It is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The GPU’s base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and it has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory operating at 1313 MHz with an effective data rate of 21 Gbps. The 384-bit memory bus yields a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s, which is critical for high-resolution textures. In Thief, the GPU’s role is decisive: at 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 80.1 FPS, which is well above playable thresholds. The data shows that the GPU is never the limiting factor in this game, as even the most demanding preset at the highest resolution produces smooth results. The RTX 4090’s 91st percentile rank among all GPUs confirms its top-tier status. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are workstation cards like the Tesla T4 and Quadro P6000, which have similar average scores but are not optimized for gaming. The GPU’s 450 W TDP and triple-slot cooler are irrelevant to the benchmark results, but they underscore the performance class. The measured FPS data indicates that the GPU maintains high frame rates regardless of settings, leaving the CPU as the only potential weak point.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers 163.5 FPS on Low, 149.9 FPS on Medium, 135.1 FPS on High, and 131.4 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a clear scaling pattern: from Low to Ultra, the frame rate drops by 32.1 FPS, or roughly 20%. At 1440p, the results are 143.8 FPS on Low, 128.9 FPS on Medium, 122 FPS on High, and 116.7 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 27.1 FPS, a smaller absolute decrease than at 1080p. At 4K, the numbers are 124.8 FPS on Low, 110.1 FPS on Medium, 85.9 FPS on High, and 80.1 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is exactly half the 1080p Low result, showing a doubling of rendering workload. The data reveals that the frame rate gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases: 32.1 FPS at 1080p, 27.1 FPS at 1440p, and 44.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K gap is larger in absolute terms, but the percentage drop from Low to Ultra is 35.8% at 4K versus 19.6% at 1080p, indicating the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a story of a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 163.5 at 1080p to 143.8 at 1440p, a 12% decrease, and then to 124.8 at 4K, a further 13% decrease. This is a surprisingly small drop for a resolution increase from 1080p to 4K, which typically quadruples the pixel count. The data suggests the CPU is holding the GPU back at 1080p, preventing it from reaching its full frame rate potential. At Ultra settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 131.4 at 1080p, 116.7 at 1440p (11% drop), and 80.1 at 4K (31% drop). The larger relative drop at Ultra settings indicates that the GPU is becoming more saturated. The limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p to GPU at 4K. At 1080p Low, the CPU’s single-thread performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2035, is likely the bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the GPU’s rendering workload dominates. The data shows a smooth transition, with the GPU taking over as the primary constraint as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, High settings at 1440p or 4K are the sweet spot. The data shows that at 1440p High, the combo delivers 122 FPS, which is a 24% drop from Low but provides significantly better image quality. At 4K High, the result is 85.9 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 80.1 FPS, a marginal difference of 5.8 FPS from High, making High the better choice for the negligible visual gain. At 1080p, Ultra yields 131.4 FPS, which is still excellent, but the CPU bottleneck is most apparent here. The frame rate difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is only 3.7 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns. For players with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, Medium at 149.9 FPS offers the best combination of smoothness and quality. For 1440p and 4K displays, High is the recommended preset, as it provides the best frame rate per graphical fidelity in the measured data. The Low preset is only advisable for competitive play where maximum frame rates are the priority.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It has 16 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, yielding 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In Thief, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The benchmark results show that the CPU is adequate but not exceptional. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17272 and single-core score of 2438 place it in the mid-range. The processor’s percentile rank of 78 among all CPUs indicates it outperforms the majority of processors, but it is far from top-tier. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate of 163.5 FPS is limited by the CPU, as the GPU could likely render faster. The processor’s single-thread performance, with a PassMark single-thread score of 3348, is the key metric for this game. Thief is not heavily multi-threaded, so the six cores are sufficient, but the single-thread speed determines the maximum frame rate. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node are efficient, but they do not translate into gaming performance beyond what the benchmarks show. The processor is a capable partner for the RTX 4090, but it is the clear bottleneck in this system at lower resolutions.