Thief

# Thief with AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a compelling performance profile in Thief, a 2014 stealth title that remains demanding at high resolutions. This combination ranks 401st out of 3,720 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 10.8% of all configurations. The data reveals a system that scales predictably across resolutions, with the GPU becoming the dominant factor at 4K while the CPU maintains strong frame pacing at lower settings. Across the twelve measured data points, this combo demonstrates that a six-core Zen 4 processor can comfortably feed a flagship Ada Lovelace GPU in this title, though the performance ceiling shifts decisively toward the graphics card as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck shifts in this system. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 181 FPS, but at 3840x2160 with Low settings, that figure drops to 131 FPS — a 27.6% reduction. This scaling pattern indicates that even at low graphical settings, the RTX 4080 begins to feel the pixel-pushing pressure at 4K, though the CPU still has headroom since the 1080p result is far from the GPU's theoretical maximum.

Moving to Medium settings, the scaling becomes more pronounced. At 1080p Medium, the average is 164 FPS, while at 1440p Medium it drops to 144 FPS (a 12.2% decrease), and at 4K Medium it falls further to 100 FPS (a 39% decrease from 1080p). This steeper decline at higher resolutions with increased settings confirms that the rendering load is transitioning from CPU-bound at 1080p to GPU-bound at 4K. The Medium preset also provides min/max frame data, showing a 4K range of 85–114 FPS, which demonstrates consistent frame delivery without severe dips.

The High preset shows similar behavior: 148 FPS at 1080p, 129 FPS at 1440p (12.8% lower), and 76 FPS at 4K (48.6% lower than 1080p). This near-halving of performance from 1080p to 4K at High settings is a textbook indicator of a GPU-limited scenario at the higher resolution. At Ultra settings, the pattern continues with 146 FPS at 1080p, 123 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K — the latter representing a 50.7% drop from the 1080p result. The fact that the gap between 1080p and 1440p narrows (from 48.6% at High to 15.7% at Ultra) suggests that the GPU is becoming saturated even at 1440p when maximum settings are applied.

The resolution scaling analysis reveals that this combo is well-balanced at 1440p, where the CPU can still feed the GPU adequately while the graphics card handles the increased pixel count comfortably. At 4K, the RTX 4080's 16 GB frame buffer and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the workload, but the raw compute demands of Thief's rendering at 8.3 million pixels push the GPU to its limits, especially at High and Ultra presets.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 401 out of 3,720 tested configurations in Thief, this pairing sits comfortably in the upper echelon of systems. The rank places it ahead of roughly 89.2% of all tested combos, indicating that the Ryzen 5 8400F and RTX 4080 together deliver a performance level that outperforms the vast majority of systems tested in this game. This ranking is particularly notable given that the CPU and GPU individually do not top their respective charts.

The CPU's percentile ranking against all processors is 77, meaning it outperforms 77% of CPUs in the broader benchmark database. Its average benchmark score of 25,005 places it within a tight cluster of rivals: the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24,964 (0.2% lower), the Intel Core i7-11850H scores 24,935 (0.3% lower), and the Intel Core i7-13620H scores 24,911 (0.4% lower). The AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25,103, which is 0.4% higher. This grouping shows the 8400F is a mid-pack performer in synthetic benchmarks, yet when combined with the RTX 4080 in Thief, the system achieves a top-decile ranking — evidence that the game's engine responds well to this particular CPU-GPU pairing.

The GPU's percentile ranking is 86, placing it above 86% of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 54,247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54,209 (just 0.1% lower), while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828 (1.1% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698 (2.6% higher). The tight margins between these GPUs suggest that the RTX 4080 is firmly in a performance tier where small percentage differences translate to minor real-world FPS variations. In Thief, this GPU's strength is evident in the 4K Ultra result of 72 FPS, which remains playable despite the heavy load.

The rank of 401 out of 3,720 is a strong indicator that this combo punches above its component-level averages. The data suggests that Thief benefits from the combination of the 8400F's strong single-thread performance (3,685 in Passmark single-thread) and the RTX 4080's substantial compute resources, resulting in a system that outperforms many configurations with individually more powerful components.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F brings six cores and twelve threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 4 nm process. Its base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide the foundation for its performance in Thief. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 16 MB shared L3, which is sufficient for the game's data access patterns. With a TDP of 65 W, this processor demonstrates that efficient power delivery does not preclude strong gaming performance.

In Thief, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully taxed. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 181 FPS, and the fact that this is the highest measured frame rate in the dataset suggests the CPU can push well beyond 180 FPS when the GPU workload is light. The single-thread performance of 3,685 in Passmark and 951 in 3DMark single-thread indicates that the 8400F has strong per-core capabilities, which matters for a game like Thief that may not scale perfectly across all six cores.

The multi-threaded benchmarks further contextualize the CPU's capability. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20,851 and single-core score of 2,943 show a balanced design that excels in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads. The 3DMark results — 6,091 at 16 threads, 5,275 at 8 threads, 3,563 at 4 threads, and 1,874 at 2 threads — demonstrate that performance scales well with thread count, though the diminishing returns beyond 8 threads suggest that Thief likely does not fully utilize all 12 threads.

The relationship between CPU and GPU in this combo is evident when comparing the 1440p Low result of 160 FPS to the 1080p Low result of 181 FPS. The 11.6% drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings indicates that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU is beginning to become a limiting factor. At 4K Low, the 131 FPS result shows a further 18.1% decline from 1440p, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The CPU, meanwhile, maintains sufficient headroom to avoid becoming the bottleneck in most scenarios, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates remain high even at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 181 FPS at Low, 164 FPS at Medium (with a range of 139–188 FPS), 148 FPS at High, and 146 FPS at Ultra. The relatively small gap between High and Ultra (just 2 FPS) suggests that the Ultra preset adds graphical features that have minimal performance impact at this resolution, or that the CPU is becoming a limiting factor at these high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the results show 160 FPS at Low, 144 FPS at Medium (range 123–166 FPS), 129 FPS at High, and 123 FPS at Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings: Low drops 11.6%, Medium drops 12.2%, High drops 12.8%, and Ultra drops 15.7%. This progressive increase in the performance penalty as settings rise indicates that the GPU is handling more of the workload at higher presets, though the CPU still contributes meaningfully to the overall frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops more significantly: 131 FPS at Low, 100 FPS at Medium (range 85–114 FPS), 76 FPS at High, and 72 FPS at Ultra. The jump from Medium to High at 4K is particularly steep — a 24 FPS reduction — suggesting that the High preset introduces rendering features that disproportionately impact performance at this resolution. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K narrows to just 4 FPS, indicating that Ultra's additional features are less demanding than those introduced by High.

The Medium preset provides the only complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the 139–188 FPS range shows a 49 FPS spread, which is substantial but acceptable given the high average. At 1440p, the 123–166 FPS range tightens to a 43 FPS spread, while at 4K, the 85–114 FPS range narrows to 29 FPS. This tightening of the frame time distribution at higher resolutions suggests more consistent GPU utilization, which can result in smoother perceived gameplay even at lower average frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this combo for Thief's heavier settings, and its specifications explain the measured results. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, this GPU features 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines. Its 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores provide additional compute resources that, while not directly relevant to Thief's traditional rendering, contribute to the GPU's overall capability.

The RTX 4080's memory subsystem is a key strength: 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus delivers 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is critical for 4K gaming, where texture streaming and frame buffer operations demand high throughput. The 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 761.5 GTexel/s texture rate provide ample raw performance for the game's rendering requirements, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra result of 72 FPS.

The GPU's clock speeds — 2,205 MHz base and 2,505 MHz boost — are modest by current standards, but the architectural efficiency of Ada Lovelace compensates. The GPU's 320 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate a high-power component that can sustain these clocks under load. The 16-pin power connector and 700 W suggested PSU further confirm this GPU's appetite for power, though the 65 W TDP of the CPU means the total system draw remains manageable.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its position: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567, Geekbench OpenCL score of 214,739, and Vulkan score of 263,779. The Passmark G3D score of 34,457 and GPU compute score of 20,671 place it in the upper tier of graphics cards. In Thief, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution and settings increase, with the 4K High and Ultra results of 76 and 72 FPS respectively demonstrating that the RTX 4080 can handle this game's maximum demands at 4K, though with less headroom than at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable performance, with even Ultra achieving 146 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 164 FPS with a min of 139 FPS, providing a smooth experience with a comfortable margin above typical 144 Hz display refresh rates. For users with high-refresh displays, Low at 181 FPS may be preferable, though the visual fidelity loss may not be worth the 17 FPS gain over Medium.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset stands out as the best balance. With 144 FPS average and a min of 123 FPS, it maintains smooth gameplay while offering improved visual quality over Low. The High preset at 129 FPS is also viable, but the 15 FPS difference between Medium and High may not justify the visual upgrade for competitive play. Ultra at 123 FPS remains playable, but the diminishing returns from High to Ultra (6 FPS difference) suggest that High is the better choice if maximum settings are desired.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation. At 100 FPS average with a min of 85 FPS, it provides the best combination of smoothness and visual quality at this resolution. The High preset's 76 FPS average is playable but approaches the threshold where frame pacing may become noticeable on 60 Hz displays. Ultra at 72 FPS is marginally lower than High, making it a poor value in terms of performance per visual gain. The Low preset at 131 FPS is an option for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals, but the Medium preset's additional fidelity is likely worth the 31 FPS sacrifice given that 100 FPS remains well above the 60 FPS standard.

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset across all resolutions provides the most consistent performance with reliable frame times, as evidenced by the complete min/max data available for this preset. At 4K, Medium's 85 FPS minimum ensures that even demanding scenes remain fluid, while at 1440p and 1080p, the 123 and 139 FPS minimums respectively guarantee smooth gameplay on high-refresh displays.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 181 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 164 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 160 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Thief?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 131 FPS at Low, 100 FPS at Medium, 76 FPS at High, and 72 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset with an 85 FPS minimum provides the best 4K experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in this system?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54,247 is just 0.1% lower than the RTX 4080 SUPER's 54,209, meaning they perform nearly identically. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 1.1% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 2.6% higher.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 in Thief?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 181 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at high frame rates. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU as resolution increases, with frame rates dropping more steeply at 4K.

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

A: At 2560x1440, High delivers 129 FPS while Ultra delivers 123 FPS — a difference of just 6 FPS (4.7%). This suggests that Ultra's additional visual features have minimal performance impact at this resolution.

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

A: This combo ranks 401st out of 3,720 tested combos, placing it in the top 10.8% of all configurations tested in this game. The CPU ranks in the 77th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 86th percentile among all GPUs.