Thief

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a 5 nm Ada Lovelace part with a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory runs at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. For a 2014 stealth title like Thief, these specifications are far beyond what the game's engine demands, yet the measured frame rates show that the GPU still has to work across the higher presets.

At 1080p, the RTX 4080 SUPER produces 154 FPS on High, 188 FPS on Low, 170 FPS on Medium, and 151 FPS on Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra is only 37 FPS (188 vs 151), which suggests that the GPU's raw compute — 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 with 10240 shading units — is sufficient to handle the game's visual workload even at maximum settings. The 112 ROPs and 320 TMUs provide ample pixel and texture throughput for a game of this generation.

At 4K, the picture changes. The GPU delivers 130 FPS on Low, 99 FPS on Medium, 75 FPS on High, and 72 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 58 FPS, which is a steeper decline than at 1080p (37 FPS). This indicates that at higher resolutions, the RTX 4080 SUPER's memory bandwidth and pixel rate (285.6 GPixel/s) become more significant factors. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is never a concern — Thief is not a VRAM-heavy title — but the 736.3 GB/s bandwidth is likely the constraint when pushing 3840x2160 with High and Ultra settings.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 86 versus all GPUs places it in the upper tier, but its nearest rivals tell a nuanced story. The RTX 4080 (non-SUPER) scores 54247 in average benchmarks, a delta of -0.1% relative to the SUPER's 54209, meaning the two are effectively identical in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828, -1.1%) and Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698, -2.7%) score slightly higher in aggregate benchmarks, yet the measured FPS in Thief shows the RTX 4080 SUPER performing well above playable thresholds at every resolution. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 and PassMark G3D score of 34245 further confirm the GPU's capability, but in Thief, the actual frame rates are what matter — and they are consistently high.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 4 processor built on TSMC's 5 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boosts up to 5.00 GHz, with 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (83.2 GB/s bandwidth) are modest by modern standards, but for Thief — a game released in 2014 — the processing requirements are relatively light.

The CPU's benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance: 3DMark single-thread scores 974, Cinebench R23 single-core scores 3218, and PassMark single-thread scores 3841. Multi-threaded results are equally robust: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 22799, Geekbench multi-core scores 12362, and PassMark multi-thread scores 26825. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6376 and max-thread score of 6379 indicate that the processor handles multi-threaded workloads consistently.

In Thief, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 188 FPS; at 4K Low, it produces 130 FPS. The 58 FPS drop at Low settings is primarily GPU-driven because Low settings reduce the pixel workload, but the CPU must still feed frames. The Ryzen 5 7500F's 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures that the game's logic and draw calls are processed quickly, preventing a CPU bottleneck even at high frame rates.

The CPU's percentile rank of 77 versus all CPUs places it above average, and its nearest rivals — Intel Core i7-11850H (avgScore 24935, deltaPct 0.1), AMD Ryzen 5 8400F (25005, -0.2%), Intel Core i7-13620H (24911, 0.2%), and Intel Core 5 210H (24872, 0.4%) — are all within 0.4% of its average benchmark score of 24964. This means the 7500F is squarely in the middle of a cluster of comparable processors. For Thief, the data shows that the CPU is never the limiting factor: even at 1080p Ultra, the FPS holds at 151, which is well above the refresh rate of most displays.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for each resolution. At 1080p, all four presets exceed 150 FPS, with Low at 188 FPS, Medium at 170 FPS, High at 154 FPS, and Ultra at 151 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 3 FPS (154 vs 151), which is negligible. The difference between Medium and High is 16 FPS (170 vs 154), a more noticeable gap. For the best visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness, High is the recommended preset at 1080p — it delivers 154 FPS while offering better visuals than Medium, and Ultra's 151 FPS is nearly identical with potentially higher rendering costs.

At 1440p, the rankings shift. Low delivers 166 FPS, Medium 150 FPS, High 128 FPS, and Ultra 122 FPS. The Medium preset has a documented min FPS of 127 and max FPS of 172, indicating stability. High at 128 FPS is still smooth, but the 22 FPS drop from Medium (150) to High (128) is substantial. The recommendation at 1440p is Medium: it provides 150 FPS average with a minimum of 127 FPS, which is above the 120 Hz threshold for most monitors, while High's 128 FPS average and Ultra's 122 FPS offer diminishing returns.

At 4K, the picture is more constrained. Low delivers 130 FPS, Medium 99 FPS (with min 84 and max 114), High 75 FPS, and Ultra 72 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the best balance: 99 FPS average with an 84 FPS minimum, which is playable on a 60-90 Hz display. High at 75 FPS and Ultra at 72 FPS are both below 75 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter on high-refresh displays. The data suggests that Medium is the optimal preset at 4K, offering nearly 100 FPS while maintaining visual quality above Low.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Medium provides the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity, with High as a viable alternative at 1080p where the performance headroom is largest.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Analyzing the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck characteristics of this combo. At Low settings, the combo produces 188 FPS at 1080p, 166 FPS at 1440p, and 130 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 58 FPS (a 30.9% reduction). At Medium settings, the FPS goes from 170 at 1080p to 150 at 1440p to 99 at 4K — a 71 FPS drop (41.8% reduction). At High settings, it goes from 154 at 1080p to 128 at 1440p to 75 at 4K — a 79 FPS drop (51.3% reduction). At Ultra settings, it goes from 151 at 1080p to 122 at 1440p to 72 at 4K — a 79 FPS drop (52.3% reduction).

The increasing percentage drop as settings rise indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as the workload scales. At Low settings, the 30.9% drop from 1080p to 4K suggests that the CPU is still contributing meaningfully — the game's logic and draw calls are not yet saturated, and the GPU has headroom. At Ultra settings, the 52.3% drop indicates that the GPU's pixel processing and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, as the RTX 4080 SUPER's 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are pushed to their limits.

The data also shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. If the Ryzen 5 7500F were the limiting factor, the FPS would plateau at higher settings, but instead it scales consistently with resolution. The 5.00 GHz boost clock and 32 MB L3 cache are sufficient for Thief's engine, which was designed for the hardware of its era. The limiting component at 4K High and Ultra is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops (75 and 72 FPS, respectively) compared to the 130 FPS at 4K Low.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 350th out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 9.4% of all configurations. This is a strong result, but the rank is not as high as the individual components' percentiles might suggest — the GPU is in the 86th percentile and the CPU in the 77th percentile. The discrepancy indicates that Thief's engine does not fully utilize the hardware's potential, likely due to the game's age and single-threaded nature.

The rank of 350 means that 349 other combos achieve higher average FPS in Thief. Given that the RTX 4080 SUPER's nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 (deltaPct -0.1%) and the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (deltaPct -2.7%), those GPUs paired with faster CPUs likely occupy some of the higher ranks. The CPU's nearest rivals — the Intel Core i7-13620H (deltaPct 0.2%) and Intel Core 5 210H (deltaPct 0.4%) — are all within a fraction of a percent in synthetic benchmarks, so the rank difference is likely due to GPU pairing rather than CPU performance.

The combo's rank of 350 out of 3720 is robust, but it also highlights that Thief is not a demanding title for this hardware. The measured FPS values — even at 4K Ultra (72 FPS) — are all above playable thresholds, which means the rank is determined by marginal differences in FPS among high-end combos. The data shows that this pairing is well-balanced for Thief, with no component dragging the other down.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p High settings?

A: The combo produces 128 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER bottleneck the Ryzen 5 7500F in Thief?

A: The data shows the opposite — at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 188 FPS, and at 4K Low it stays at 130 FPS. The CPU's 5.00 GHz boost clock keeps up with the GPU's output, so the bottleneck is the GPU at higher resolutions, not the CPU.

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming?

A: Medium is the recommended preset at 3840x2160, delivering 99 FPS average with a minimum of 84 FPS. High (75 FPS) and Ultra (72 FPS) are lower and may cause stutter on high-refresh displays.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to its individual component percentiles?

A: The GPU is in the 86th percentile and the CPU in the 77th percentile, but the combo ranks 350th out of 3720 (top 9.4%). The lower rank reflects Thief's relatively low demands on modern hardware.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 151 FPS; at 4K Ultra, it drops to 72 FPS — a 79 FPS reduction (52.3% lower), indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 4K.

Q: Does this GPU have enough VRAM for Thief?

A: Yes, the 16 GB GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for Thief, which was released in 2014. The memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s is the more relevant factor, especially at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 188 FPS average
• Medium: 170 FPS average, 144 FPS minimum, 195 FPS maximum
• High: 154 FPS average
• Ultra: 151 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 166 FPS average
• Medium: 150 FPS average, 127 FPS minimum, 172 FPS maximum
• High: 128 FPS average
• Ultra: 122 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 130 FPS average
• Medium: 99 FPS average, 84 FPS minimum, 114 FPS maximum
• High: 75 FPS average
• Ultra: 72 FPS average

The minimum and maximum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution, indicating that this preset was measured with more detail. At 1080p Medium, the range is 144-195 FPS; at 1440p Medium, the range is 127-172 FPS; at 4K Medium, the range is 84-114 FPS. The narrowing range as resolution increases — from 51 FPS spread at 1080p to 30 FPS spread at 4K — further confirms that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, reducing frame time variance as the workload becomes more consistent.