Thief

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a broad range of frame rates in Thief, scaling from highly playable at 1080p to borderline at 4K Ultra. This combination ranks 1098th out of 1642 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet the data reveals a configuration that is well-balanced for this 2014 stealth title. The measurements show a clear story about where the bottleneck lies and which settings provide the most comfortable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 155.6 at 1080p to 106.1 at 1440p, then drops sharply to 63 at 4K. This represents a 59.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K, a substantial loss that highlights the RTX 2060 SUPER’s struggle with the four-fold increase in pixel workload. The pattern is similar at High settings, where 89.3 FPS at 1080p drops to 63.6 at 1440p and then 39 at 4K, a 56.3% decrease.

The scaling between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling. At Medium settings, the drop is from 83.6 to 47.5 FPS, a 43.2% reduction, while at Ultra it falls from 61.8 to 36.3, a 41.3% decline. These consistent double-digit percentage drops across all quality presets confirm that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading power are saturated well before the CPU becomes a concern. The 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 2060 SUPER are sufficient for 1080p and most 1440p scenarios, but at 4K the card’s 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance simply cannot maintain higher frame rates.

Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (155.6) and Ultra (87.6) is 68 FPS, but at 4K it narrows to 26.7 FPS (63 vs 36.3). This compression suggests that at 4K, the pixel fill rate and ROP throughput of the GPU become the dominant constraint, making quality settings less impactful than resolution itself. The data shows that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo to maintain above 60 FPS, and only at Low and Medium settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22799 and a single-core score of 3218, with a PassMark single-thread score of 3841. This places the CPU in the 82nd percentile of all processors, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, which scores 25057 with a deltaPct of -0.3%, and the Intel Core i7-11850H at 24974 with a deltaPct of 0.1%. These are essentially statistical ties, indicating the 7500F is a competent mid-range desktop part.

In Thief, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU. The game was released in 2014, and its threading demands are modest by modern standards. The fact that FPS scales predictably with resolution changes—rather than showing erratic behavior or CPU-bound plateaus—suggests the 6 cores and 12 threads are never fully taxed. At 1080p Low, the 155.6 FPS average is high enough that some CPU involvement is likely, but the consistent drop to 63 FPS at 4K Low points to the GPU being the limiting factor. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support provide ample headroom for this game’s data streaming needs.

The 7500F’s single-thread performance is particularly relevant. With a Geekbench single-core score of 2759 and a Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1351, it handles the main game logic thread efficiently. However, the benchmark results do not show any scenario where the CPU becomes a bottleneck; even at 1080p Ultra with 87.6 FPS, the GPU is still the component determining the final output. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 5 nm process node contribute to thermal headroom, but these are not directly reflected in the measured FPS data.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Thief?

A: The highest measured average is 155.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 106.1 FPS at 2560x1440 Low and 63 FPS at 3840x2160 Low.

Q: Can this setup run Thief at 4K smoothly?

A: At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 63 on Low to 36.3 on Ultra. Only Low settings approach playable smoothness, while High (39 FPS) and Ultra (36.3 FPS) are below typical 60 FPS thresholds.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in terms of performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500F has an average benchmark score of 24993. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F, scores 25064, which is a deltaPct of -0.3%, meaning the 7500F is essentially equivalent. The Intel Core i7-11850H scores 24974, a deltaPct of 0.1% faster.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings yield an average of 83.6 FPS, while High settings yield 63.6 FPS. This is a difference of 20 FPS, favoring Medium for smoother gameplay.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more responsible for performance in Thief?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. Frame rates drop consistently as resolution increases, with the 4K Ultra result (36.3 FPS) being 76.7% lower than the 1080p Low result (155.6 FPS), a pattern typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER rank against its nearest GPU rival?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774 and sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, scores 19706, a deltaPct of 0.3% slower, making the 2060 SUPER marginally faster.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 SUPER delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 155.6 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution. Medium settings drop to 119.4 FPS, a 23.3% reduction, while High yields 89.3 FPS and Ultra 87.6 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal at just 1.7 FPS, suggesting that Ultra’s extra effects do not heavily tax the GPU at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings average 106.1 FPS, still well above 60 FPS, while Medium drops to 83.6 FPS. High settings fall to 63.6 FPS, which is marginal for fast-paced action, and Ultra sits at 61.8 FPS. This resolution represents the crossover point where the GPU starts to feel pressure, as the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 44.3 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the card is clearly overmatched. Low settings manage 63 FPS, which is playable but not smooth by modern standards. Medium drops to 47.5 FPS, High to 39 FPS, and Ultra to 36.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is only a 26.7 FPS spread, showing that the GPU’s computational limits are reached regardless of quality settings. The data shows no min or max FPS values, so these averages represent the full picture of measured performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 1098th out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 33rd percentile of all configurations. This is a below-median ranking, reflecting the GPU’s age and mid-range positioning. The RTX 2060 SUPER itself sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, but its performance in this specific title is dragged down by the 4K results, which are below 40 FPS on High and Ultra.

The CPU’s strong benchmark standing—82nd percentile—does little to boost the combo’s rank because Thief is GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The nearest GPU rival, the GTX TITAN, scores 19706 with a deltaPct of 0.3%, meaning the 2060 SUPER is only marginally faster in synthetic tests, yet in real-world gameplay the 2060 SUPER’s modern architecture and driver support likely provide a slight edge. The combo’s rank of 1098 suggests that for this game, the configuration is adequate for 1080p gaming but falls short of what would be considered high-end performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, Ultra settings are viable with an average of 87.6 FPS, providing the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The minimal gap between High (89.3) and Ultra (87.6) makes Ultra the clear choice for 1080p users.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings offer the best balance, delivering 83.6 FPS, which is 20 FPS higher than High and 21.8 FPS higher than Ultra. This preset maintains fluid gameplay while still offering a significant visual upgrade over Low. For users prioritizing image quality over frame rate, High at 63.6 FPS is acceptable but sits close to the 60 FPS threshold.

For 3840x2160, the data strongly recommends Low settings, which yield 63 FPS—the only 4K preset that approaches playable smoothness. Medium at 47.5 FPS is borderline, while High and Ultra at 39 and 36.3 FPS respectively are too choppy for a stealth game where timing is critical. The recommendation is to avoid 4K altogether if possible, as the 1440p Medium setting provides a far superior experience at 83.6 FPS. Ultimately, the sweet spot for this hardware is 1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium, depending on the user’s preference for resolution over visual effects.