Thief

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER pairing in Thief presents a study in how a modern 6-core processor interacts with a legacy Turing GPU. The measured data reveals a configuration that can push high refresh rates at 1080p but begins to show its limitations as pixel count climbs, with the GPU increasingly becoming the determining factor in performance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K in Thief is steep and clearly illustrates the workload shifting from the CPU to the GPU. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 sees average frame rates fall from 157.6 FPS to 65.2 FPS, a reduction of roughly 58%. This dramatic decline is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus are being pushed to their limits.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings drops the average from 59.4 FPS to 37.3 FPS, a 37% decrease. At High settings, the same resolution step results in a drop from 62.9 FPS to 38 FPS, a 40% reduction. The consistent percentage drops across presets suggest that the game's engine scales resolution demands linearly, but the absolute numbers indicate that 4K is only viable at Low settings, where the 65.2 FPS average is just playable.

Interestingly, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K. At High settings, 1080p yields 91.2 FPS while 1440p yields 62.9 FPS, a 31% drop. The subsequent step to 4K only drops another 40%. This non-linear scaling suggests that at 1440p, the system is still partially CPU-limited, but by 4K, the GPU is fully saturated. The data implies that the Ryzen 5 8400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the RTX 2060 SUPER simply cannot maintain the pace as pixel count increases.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience targeting 60 FPS, the data points to 1440p Medium as the sweet spot. The measured average of 80.6 FPS at this setting provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that the game will feel smooth without requiring the lowest visual fidelity. Pushing to 1440p High drops the average to 62.9 FPS, which is still technically above 60 FPS but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1080p, the choice is between maximizing frame rate or visual quality. Ultra settings deliver 87 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, while High settings offer 91.2 FPS with only a marginal performance penalty. The data shows that 1080p Ultra is the most demanding preset tested, but it still achieves nearly 90 FPS, indicating that the CPU-GPU combo is well-matched for this resolution.

For 4K, the options are limited. Low settings provide 65.2 FPS, which is playable but sacrifices most visual features. Medium settings at 4K drop to 50.7 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay but is below the 60 FPS target. The data suggests that 4K is not a realistic goal for this configuration if visual fidelity is a priority, as the 37.3 FPS at Ultra is too low for a smooth experience. The recommendation is clear: stick to 1440p Medium or High for the best combination of visual quality and performance.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 SUPER's specifications directly correlate with the measured performance in Thief. With a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, the GPU's raw compute power is reflected in its FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for texture-heavy scenes.

The benchmark results show that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The PassMark G3D score of 16462 places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, scores only 0.5% higher. This close performance parity is evident in the game data, where the RTX 2060 SUPER struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The GPU's 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs are responsible for pixel processing, and the 224.4 GTexel/s texture rate handles the game's surfaces. In Thief, which is a 2014 title with a focus on detailed environments, these specifications are generally sufficient at lower resolutions. However, the 12 nm process node and 175 W TDP suggest that the GPU is from an older generation, and its architecture lacks the efficiency of newer designs. The data shows that while the GPU can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease, its performance ceiling is reached at 4K, where the 37.3 FPS at Ultra settings confirms it is out of its depth.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 SUPER and Ryzen 5 8400F combination produces strong results across all presets. Low settings yield an average of 157.6 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution. Medium settings drop to 116.1 FPS, High settings to 91.2 FPS, and Ultra to 87 FPS. The relatively small gap between High and Ultra (91.2 FPS vs 87 FPS) suggests that the Ultra preset adds visual features that have a minimal performance impact.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain respectable but begin to show the GPU's strain. Low settings average 104.8 FPS, which is still very smooth. Medium settings drop to 80.6 FPS, and High to 62.9 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 59.4 FPS, just below the 60 FPS target. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 43% reduction in frame rate, highlighting how the GPU's resources are consumed by higher quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 65.2 FPS, which is the only playable option. Medium settings fall to 50.7 FPS, High to 38 FPS, and Ultra to 37.3 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is negligible at 0.7 FPS, indicating that the GPU is completely saturated and the additional visual features in the Ultra preset have no measurable impact on performance. The data clearly shows that 4K is only feasible with the lowest settings, and even then, the frame rate is barely above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1112 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the lower-middle tier of the benchmark database, suggesting that there are many more capable configurations available for this game. The rank is likely influenced by the GPU's age and its performance ceiling at higher resolutions.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is strong. The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25064, which places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, scores 25057, a delta of 0%, indicating near-identical performance. The Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24993, which is 0.3% lower, suggesting that the 8400F is well-positioned among its peers.

However, the GPU's ranking is less impressive. The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, scores 19706, a delta of 0.3%, while the RTX 2070 scores 19680, which is 0.5% lower. This indicates that the GPU is competitive with other mid-range options from its era, but the combo's overall rank of 1112 suggests that newer GPU architectures offer significantly better performance in Thief.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process. Its base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943. This is crucial for Thief, which is an older game that may not scale well across many threads.

In the measured data, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the average FPS of 157.6 suggests that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames. The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and a PassMark multithread score of 24530. These scores indicate that the CPU can handle the game's logic and AI calculations without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for the game. The data suggests that the Ryzen 5 8400F is not the limiting factor in this configuration, even at lower resolutions. The fact that FPS scales down from Low to Ultra settings at 1080p (from 157.6 to 87) indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint, while the CPU has enough headroom to maintain high frame rates when the GPU is not saturated.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Thief?*

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium provides an average of 80.6 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS and offers a good balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p, all settings exceed 87 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 65.2. At Medium settings, the average drops to 50.7 FPS, and at High and Ultra, it falls below 40 FPS, making those presets unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774, which is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN and 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070. This indicates very close performance among these GPUs.

*Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F a bottleneck in Thief?*

A: The data suggests it is not a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 157.6 indicates the CPU can handle the game's demands. The CPU's percentile rank of 82% and strong multi-threaded scores support this conclusion.

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, High settings average 62.9 FPS, while Ultra settings average 59.4 FPS, a difference of 3.5 FPS. This small gap suggests that the Ultra preset's additional features have a minimal performance impact.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1112 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the lower-middle tier. This rank is likely due to the GPU's age and its performance limitations at higher resolutions.