Thief

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Thief shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 74 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p, a 31% reduction, and then to 30 FPS at 4K, which is 59% below the 1080p figure. This pattern indicates that the rendering load scales heavily with pixel count, and the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution climbs.

At Medium settings, the same trend appears: 56 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 17 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 16 FPS, showing a nearly linear degradation in performance per resolution step. High settings follow a similar path: 43 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings produce 41 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is capable of delivering playable frame rates at most presets, with the CPU having enough headroom to feed the GPU. However, at 1440p and especially 4K, the GPU's limits become obvious. The GTX 1650 with its 4 GB GDDR5 memory and 128-bit bus width struggles to maintain fluid motion at higher pixel densities. The 4K results, all below 31 FPS regardless of settings, confirm that this resolution is not viable for this combo in Thief.

The frame time consistency at Medium settings offers additional insight. At 1080p, the recorded minimum is 48 FPS and maximum is 65 FPS, a spread of 17 FPS. At 1440p, the minimum drops to 33 FPS and maximum to 45 FPS. At 4K, the minimum is 19 FPS and maximum is 26 FPS. This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is consistently saturated, leaving little variation in frame delivery. At lower resolutions, the CPU and GPU interplay produces more variance, likely due to scene complexity and draw call overhead.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 achieves a rank of 3595 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places the combo in the lower 3% of all recorded configurations, which is a poor standing for this title. The rank reflects the overall performance across all resolutions and settings, and the data shows that the GTX 1650 is the limiting factor.

The GPU alone sits at the 40th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 7472. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 8850M at 7447 (0.3% slower), the Intel UHD Graphics 750 at 7441 (0.4% slower), and the AMD Radeon R7 350 at 7425 (0.6% slower). The Intel Arc A310 scores 7550, which is 1% higher. This places the GTX 1650 in a cluster of low-end and older graphics solutions, nowhere near what Thief needs for high-refresh gameplay.

The CPU, by contrast, is a strong performer. The Ryzen 5 9600X sits at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. Its nearest rivals show tight competition: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE scores 29656 (0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H scores 29868 (0.5% higher), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT scores 29879 (0.6% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS scores 29955 (0.8% higher). This indicates the CPU is more than adequate for Thief, but its potential is wasted in this pairing.

The massive gap between the CPU's percentile ranking and the GPU's percentile ranking explains the low combo rank. In Thief, the frame rate is dictated by the graphics card, and the GTX 1650 cannot translate the CPU's 6-core, 12-thread processing power into high FPS. The combo rank of 3595 out of 3720 reflects this imbalance, with the GPU acting as a severe bottleneck even at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset delivers the best experience for this combo in Thief. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 74 FPS average, which is the highest recorded value across all settings at any resolution. This is the only configuration that approaches or exceeds 60 FPS, making it the most fluid option for responsive gameplay.

The Medium preset at 1080p produces 56 FPS average, with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS. This is a playable range, though the minimum dips below 50 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter in fast-paced stealth sequences. The High preset at 1080p delivers 43 FPS average, and Ultra produces 41 FPS. Both of these are below the 60 FPS threshold and offer diminishing visual returns relative to the performance loss.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 51 FPS average, which is marginally playable but not smooth. Medium drops to 39 FPS, High to 29 FPS, and Ultra to 28 FPS. None of these 1440p settings reach 60 FPS, and even the Low preset falls short of ideal fluidity. At 3840x2160, all presets are below 31 FPS, with Low at 30 FPS, Medium at 23 FPS, and High and Ultra both at 17 FPS. These 4K results are not suitable for gameplay.

The data indicates that the optimal experience is 1080p with the Low preset, as it provides the highest average frame rate and avoids the sub-50 FPS dips seen at Medium. If visual fidelity is a priority, Medium at 1080p offers a reasonable compromise, but the minimum frame rate of 48 FPS signals potential inconsistency. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p are not recommended due to their low averages and lack of min/max data, which suggests they may have more severe frame drops. For this combo, sacrificing settings for frame rate is the correct approach.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves an average above 50 FPS. At the Low preset, it reaches 74 FPS, and at Medium it reaches 56 FPS. The 1440p results peak at 51 FPS with Low settings, while 4K never exceeds 30 FPS.

Q: Is the GTX 1650 capable of running Thief at Ultra settings?

A: According to the measured FPS, the GTX 1650 runs Ultra at 41 FPS average in 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. These figures are below the smoothness threshold, so Ultra is not a practical choice for this GPU.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 9600X affect performance in Thief?

A: The CPU is ranked at the 81st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 29713. In Thief, the CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU's 40th percentile ranking and lower average score of 7472 constrain the frame rates. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for this title.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM limit performance at higher resolutions?

A: The GTX 1650 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 128-bit bus and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth. At 4K, the average frame rates drop to 17-30 FPS depending on settings, which indicates that the memory capacity and bandwidth are insufficient for the higher pixel loads.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 65. At 1440p Medium, the average is 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 45. At 4K Medium, the average is 23 FPS with a minimum of 19 and maximum of 26. The spread narrows as resolution increases.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 3595 out of 3720 in Thief, placing it in the lower portion of the database. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Arc A310, score 7550 on average, which is 1% higher. The CPU's nearest rivals, like the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, score 29955, which is 0.8% higher.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the dominant factor in Thief's performance for this combo. The GPU is built on the Turing architecture with a TU117 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It contains 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, with a transistor density of 23.5M per mm². The graphics card operates at a base clock of 1485 MHz and boosts to 1665 MHz, with memory running at 2001 MHz or 8 Gbps effective.

The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a modest memory configuration for a game like Thief, which was released in 2014 and can stress memory capacity at higher resolutions. The 4 GB capacity is likely a limiting factor at 4K, where the frame rates drop to 17-30 FPS across all presets. The memory bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s also constrains texture streaming and pixel fill at high resolutions.

The GTX 1650 has 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. These compute resources deliver a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 2.984 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 5.967 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. These specifications place the GPU in the lower tier of the database, confirmed by its 40th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 7472.

The GPU's benchmark scores further illustrate its limitations. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 305, and in Passmark DirectX 11 it scores 58. These low scores align with the measured FPS in Thief, where even at 1080p Low, the combo only reaches 74 FPS. The GPU's nearest rival, the Intel Arc A310, scores 7550, which is 1% higher, and the AMD Radeon R7 350 scores 7425, which is 0.6% lower. This cluster of GPUs is far from high-end, and Thief's performance reflects that.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X provides ample processing power for Thief, but its capabilities are underutilized due to the GPU bottleneck. The CPU is part of the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It uses a 4 nm process at TSMC, containing 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The TDP is 65 W, and it supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. This cache configuration is generous for a 6-core part and helps with game logic and AI processing. The CPU also supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes and includes integrated Radeon Graphics, though the dedicated GTX 1650 handles rendering.

Benchmark data shows the CPU's strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 17528.5 in multicore and 2183.5 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 14438 multicore and 2923 single-core. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for Thief, which was designed for older hardware and may not scale perfectly across many cores. The CPU's single-thread scores of 342 in Cinebench R15 and 1253 in 3DMark single-thread indicate strong per-core performance.

The Ryzen 5 9600X ranks at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H at 29868 and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT at 29879, are within 0.8% of its score. This suggests the CPU is competitive with higher-core-count parts in synthetic benchmarks, though Thief's frame rates do not benefit from this due to the GPU constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides a full matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average at 74 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 56 FPS average, with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS. The High preset reaches 43 FPS average, and the Ultra preset produces 41 FPS average. No min/max data is available for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 51 FPS average. The Medium preset produces 39 FPS average, with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 45 FPS. The High preset reaches 29 FPS average, and the Ultra preset achieves 28 FPS average. As with 1080p, only Medium provides min/max data.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields 30 FPS average. The Medium preset produces 23 FPS average, with a minimum of 19 FPS and maximum of 26 FPS. Both the High and Ultra presets achieve 17 FPS average. The 4K results are uniformly low, confirming that this resolution is not playable with this combo.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the spread between minimum and maximum is 17 FPS; at 1440p, it is 12 FPS; at 4K, it is 7 FPS. This tightening indicates that the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck at higher resolutions, reducing frame time variability. At 1080p, the CPU has more influence, allowing for larger swings in frame delivery.

The overall trend across all settings is consistent: each resolution step reduces the average FPS by roughly 30-40%. From 1080p to 1440p, the Low preset drops from 74 to 51 FPS, a 31% reduction. From 1440p to 4K, it drops from 51 to 30 FPS, a 41% reduction. The High preset drops from 43 to 29 FPS (33%) and then to 17 FPS (41%). The Ultra preset drops from 41 to 28 FPS (32%) and then to 17 FPS (39%). This pattern confirms the GPU's diminishing ability to handle pixel fill as resolution increases.