Thief

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor built on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael) using TSMC's 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache layout includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes.

Benchmark data for this CPU shows a strong single-thread performance profile. The 3DMark single-thread score is 999, while the 2-thread score is 1938, indicating that scaling from one to two threads nearly doubles performance. The 4-thread score reaches 3686, and the 8-thread score rises to 5508, but the jump from 8 threads to 16 threads (3dmark_16_threads) yields 6499, and max threads yields 6503. This pattern shows that the 6-core/12-thread design provides diminishing returns beyond 8 threads, which is typical for a mid-range desktop part. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22992 and single-core score of 3246 place this CPU in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs tested.

In the context of Thief, a 2014 stealth game, the CPU's single-thread strength is more relevant than its multi-thread capability. The game's release date suggests it was designed for older dual-core or quad-core processors, so the Ryzen 5 7600's high boost clock and robust per-core performance should avoid becoming a bottleneck. The data supports this: at 1080p Low settings, the measured FPS is 162.1, which is well above typical display refresh rates. The CPU's 3DMark max-thread score of 6503 and its nearest rival comparisons show it is within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (deltaPct 0.2), Intel Core i9-12900HK (deltaPct -0.2), and AMD EPYC 8024P (deltaPct 0.2). This tight clustering indicates the Ryzen 5 7600 is competitive with much more expensive parts in synthetic benchmarks.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU (codenamed Hotpink Bonefish) built on a 6 nm process by TSMC. It has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The GPU's base clock is 1980 MHz, with a boost clock of 2755 MHz and a game clock of 2470 MHz. Memory is a key feature: 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 2250 MHz, which translates to 18 Gbps effective.

The 16 GB VRAM allocation is substantial for a card in this performance tier. For Thief, which was released in 2014, the VRAM requirements are modest, so the RX 7600 XT's capacity should not be a limiting factor at any resolution tested. The GPU's compute capabilities include 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 and 45.14 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). The pixel rate is 176.3 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 352.6 GTexel/s. The card's 190 W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin power connector are typical for this class.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. The PassMark G3D score is 17132, with a DirectX 12 score of 65 and a DirectX 11 score of 167. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 83114 and Vulkan score is 88301. The nearest rival comparisons show a close grouping: the RX 7600 XT is 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 460 (avgScore 20088), 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (avgScore 20258), 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER (avgScore 19774), and 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avgScore 20534). This positioning suggests the RX 7600 XT sits in a competitive mid-range segment.

For Thief specifically, the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the measured FPS is 87, which drops to 61.7 at 1440p Ultra and 37.5 at 4K Ultra. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, while at 1080p Low the 162.1 FPS result shows the CPU can feed the GPU adequately.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7600 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600 has an average benchmark score of 26617, placing it in the 83rd percentile. It is within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (avgScore 26574, deltaPct 0.2), Intel Core i9-12900HK (avgScore 26672, deltaPct -0.2), AMD EPYC 8024P (avgScore 26555, deltaPct 0.2), and Intel Core i9-11900K (avgScore 26546, deltaPct 0.3). This means the Ryzen 5 7600 effectively trades blows with these parts.

Q: What is the GPU's performance position relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 20146, placing it in the 63rd percentile. It is 0.3% ahead of the RX 460 (avgScore 20088), 0.6% behind the RX 7600 (avgScore 20258), 1.9% ahead of the RTX 2060 SUPER (avgScore 19774), and 1.9% behind the RTX 3070 Mobile (avgScore 20534). The differences are small, indicating a tightly contested mid-range field.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-thread performance scale?

A: The 3DMark scores show scaling from 999 (single thread) to 1938 (2 threads), 3686 (4 threads), 5508 (8 threads), and 6499 (16 threads). The max-thread score is 6503. This indicates near-linear scaling up to 8 threads, but the jump from 8 to 16 threads is only 18%, reflecting the 6-core/12-thread architecture's limitations.

Q: What are the GPU's DirectX performance scores?

A: The PassMark DirectX scores are 85 for DirectX 10, 167 for DirectX 11, and 65 for DirectX 12. The DirectX 11 score is notably higher than DirectX 12, which is relevant for older games like Thief that may use earlier DirectX versions.

Q: What memory configuration does the GPU use?

A: The RX 7600 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) and total bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This is a large capacity for the bus width, which can benefit texture-heavy titles.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combo of Ryzen 5 7600 and RX 7600 XT ranks 1046 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the overall distribution, despite the individual components performing reasonably in their respective benchmark pools.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT achieves a rank of 1046 out of 1642 total combos tested in Thief. This ranking places the combo in the 36th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly two-thirds of other combos perform better in this specific game. Given that both components are mid-range parts from 2023-2024, this rank reflects that Thief is not particularly demanding by modern standards, so higher-end combos naturally pull ahead.

The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking and the GPU's 63rd percentile ranking suggest that the bottleneck in this combo is primarily the GPU. The CPU has ample headroom in synthetic tests, but the GPU's raw performance limits the overall combo's position. The gap between the CPU's percentile and the combo's percentile in game is notable: the CPU is in the top 17% of all CPUs, while the combo is in the bottom two-thirds of game-specific results. This indicates that the GPU holds the combo back in Thief, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU's workload increases.

When considering the measured FPS data, the combo produces playable frame rates at 1080p across all settings (87 to 162.1 FPS), but at 4K, only Low settings (64.3 FPS) exceed 60 FPS. This further supports the interpretation that the GPU is the limiting factor for this pairing in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows clear resolution scaling for this combo in Thief. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 162.1. Moving to 1440p Low, the FPS drops to 109.8, a reduction of 32.3%. At 4K Low, the FPS falls to 64.3, which is 60.3% below the 1080p Low result. This pattern is consistent across all settings.

For High settings, the progression is 96.7 FPS at 1080p, 67.1 FPS at 1440p (a 30.6% drop), and 35.8 FPS at 4K (a 63.0% drop from 1080p). Medium settings show 121 FPS at 1080p, 83.2 FPS at 1440p (31.2% drop), and 51.8 FPS at 4K (57.2% drop). Ultra settings yield 87 FPS at 1080p, 61.7 FPS at 1440p (29.1% drop), and 37.5 FPS at 4K (56.9% drop).

The consistent pattern of roughly 30% FPS loss from 1080p to 1440p across all settings, followed by an additional 30-35% loss from 1440p to 4K, indicates that the GPU is the scaling bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain more constant across resolutions. The fact that FPS drops proportionally with pixel count suggests the RX 7600 XT is fully utilized at each resolution, and the Ryzen 5 7600 is not constraining performance.

The difference between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution also highlights the GPU's role. At 1080p, Low yields 162.1 FPS while Ultra yields 87 FPS, a 46.3% reduction. At 4K, the same comparison shows 64.3 FPS versus 37.5 FPS, a 41.7% reduction. This indicates that the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth are the primary determinants of frame rate, rather than any CPU-side limitation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 162.1 FPS
• Medium: 121 FPS
• High: 96.7 FPS
• Ultra: 87 FPS

At 1080p, the combo delivers smooth performance across all settings. The gap between Low and Ultra is 75.1 FPS, with the most significant drop occurring between Low and Medium (41.1 FPS). The High to Ultra drop is 9.7 FPS, indicating that the GPU has less headroom at the highest quality presets. All settings exceed 60 FPS, making 1080p fully playable regardless of quality preference.

2560x1440:

• Low: 109.8 FPS
• Medium: 83.2 FPS
• High: 67.1 FPS
• Ultra: 61.7 FPS

At 1440p, the performance remains playable but with tighter margins. Low and Medium both exceed 60 FPS, while High (67.1) and Ultra (61.7) just barely clear the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p costs 52.3 FPS at Low, 37.8 FPS at Medium, 29.6 FPS at High, and 25.3 FPS at Ultra. This shows that higher settings suffer smaller absolute losses, but the relative performance is consistent.

3840x2160:

• Low: 64.3 FPS
• Medium: 51.8 FPS
• High: 35.8 FPS
• Ultra: 37.5 FPS

At 4K, only Low settings achieve a playable average (64.3 FPS). Medium drops to 51.8 FPS, and High (35.8) and Ultra (37.5) are below 40 FPS. Interestingly, Ultra outperforms High by 1.7 FPS at this resolution, which is within measurement variance but suggests the settings may not have a linear impact on performance. The 4K results clearly indicate that this combo is not suited for high-quality 4K gaming in Thief, though Low settings remain viable.