Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, remains a demanding benchmark for modern hardware. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the balance between CPU and GPU workloads at different resolutions. This analysis examines the measured frame rates, component roles, and performance rankings derived from the provided data.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance rank of this CPU and GPU combination in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 1933 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of all tested systems for this specific game.

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 130, which is achieved with the Low settings preset.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 4K Ultra preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset delivers an average of 130 FPS, which is 82 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra preset's 48 FPS average.

Q: Does the Radeon RX 7700 XT outperform the GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile in general GPU benchmarks?

A: Yes, the RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549, while the RTX 4060 Mobile has a score of 22729, making the RX 7700 XT 0.8% faster according to the deltaPct.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at the 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured FPS ranges from a minimum of 88 to a maximum of 120, with an average of 104 FPS.

Q: What is the boost clock speed of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the primary driver of graphical performance in this system. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. The GPU's architecture is RDNA 3.0, built on a 5 nm process, with a base clock of 1435 MHz and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. Its game clock is rated at 2171 MHz.

In Thief, the GPU's role becomes increasingly significant as resolution increases. The data shows a clear pattern of diminishing frame rates when moving from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic indicator of GPU-bound performance. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 50 on High settings and 48 on Ultra, suggesting the GPU is nearing its limits with this title's rendering demands. The GPU's general benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 22547 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 138383, place it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, indicating a solid mid-to-high-range performer.

The RX 7700 XT's nearest rivals in general benchmarks include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which it trails by 1.5%, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700, which it leads by 1.7%. This context helps explain its behavior in Thief, where it delivers playable frame rates at 1440p but struggles to maintain high refresh rates at 4K. The 12 GB VRAM buffer appears sufficient for the game's textures, as there is no indication of memory-related stuttering in the measured data, even at the highest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a significant and consistent drop in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. This scaling is a direct indicator that the system becomes more GPU-limited at higher resolutions.

At the High settings preset, the average FPS falls from 107 at 1080p to 85 at 1440p, a reduction of 22 FPS. Moving further up to 4K, the average drops to 50 FPS, which is a 57 FPS decrease from the 1080p figure. This steep decline suggests that the RX 7700 XT's pixel throughput, rated at 244.2 GPixel/s, is a limiting factor at 4K.

The scaling pattern is similar across all presets. For example, with Low settings, the average FPS goes from 130 at 1080p to 115 at 1440p and then to 86 at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is a 44 FPS reduction. This consistent behavior across presets indicates that the resolution increase is the primary variable affecting performance, which is typical for a GPU-intensive workload.

The performance differential between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the jump to 4K, suggesting that the GPU can still handle the intermediate resolution with relative ease. The data points to the 1440p resolution as a sweet spot where the combo delivers high frame rates (81-115 FPS depending on settings) without the severe penalty seen at 4K. At 4K, the system only manages to stay above 60 FPS on the Low preset (86 FPS) and the Medium preset (66 FPS), indicating that higher settings are not viable for smooth gameplay at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured FPS across the different settings presets provides clear guidance on the optimal configuration for this CPU and GPU combo. The goal is to achieve a smooth, playable experience without sacrificing unnecessary visual quality.

At 1920x1080, all presets deliver an average FPS above 100. The High preset yields 107 FPS, while Ultra is close behind at 105 FPS. The Medium preset provides 118 FPS, and Low reaches 130 FPS. Given the high frame rates, the Ultra preset is the best choice at 1080p, as it offers the highest visual fidelity while still maintaining an average of 105 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay.

For 2560x1440, the data shows that the Ultra preset drops to 81 FPS, which is still respectable. However, the High preset offers a better balance with an average of 85 FPS. The Medium preset provides a significant boost to 104 FPS, but the visual difference between High and Medium is often minimal. Therefore, the High preset is recommended at 1440p, as it maintains a high frame rate while keeping most graphical features enabled.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The Ultra preset averages only 48 FPS, and High is not much better at 50 FPS. These are below the ideal threshold for a smooth experience. The Medium preset, with an average of 66 FPS and a minimum of 56 FPS, is the only setting that approaches playability. The Low preset achieves 86 FPS but with a substantial reduction in visual quality. For 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it provides the best compromise between playable frame rates and visual fidelity, though the minimum FPS of 56 indicates occasional dips.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and Radeon RX 7700 XT combination ranks 1933 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places the system in the 48th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it performs better than roughly half of the systems in the database for this specific game.

This ranking is somewhat modest when considering the individual component performance. The GPU, for instance, sits in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. The lower combo rank suggests that the pairing may not be fully optimized for Thief, potentially due to the game's age or its specific engine characteristics. The game's release date of 2014-02-24 means it was designed for hardware from that era, and newer architectures may not scale perfectly with its code.

The CPU's nearest rivals in general benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-13450HX, which is 0.2% faster, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350, which is 0.1% slower. These are all modern processors with similar average scores, indicating that the 3700X is still competitive in CPU-bound scenarios. However, in Thief, the combo's rank is more heavily influenced by the GPU's performance at higher resolutions, which is where the system loses ground to combinations with more powerful graphics cards.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured frame rates for every resolution and settings preset combination in the data.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 130 FPS.
• Medium: Average 118 FPS, with a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 135.
• High: Average 107 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 105 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 115 FPS.
• Medium: Average 104 FPS, with a minimum of 88 and a maximum of 120.
• High: Average 85 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 81 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 86 FPS.
• Medium: Average 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 75.
• High: Average 50 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 48 FPS.

The data reveals a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound or at least not fully GPU-limited, as the frame rates are consistently high. At 1440p, the GPU begins to take a more prominent role, with a noticeable drop in the High and Ultra presets. At 4K, the GPU is the definitive bottleneck, with all presets except Low falling below the 60 FPS mark.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is a 7 nm Zen 2 processor with 8 cores and 16 threads. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU's architecture is built on the Matisse codename and supports PCIe Gen 4 with 24 lanes. Its cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a 32 MB L3 cache.

In Thief, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p, the frame rates are high across all settings, ranging from 105 to 130 FPS. This suggests that the 8-core, 16-thread processor is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain high performance. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 2092 and a Passmark multithread score of 22458, indicate strong multi-threaded capabilities that are beneficial for game logic and physics.

The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34260, places it close to processors like the AMD EPYC 4244P (0.1% faster) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (0.5% slower). This shows that the 3700X remains a capable performer in general tasks. However, as resolution increases to 4K, the CPU's influence on the final frame rate diminishes. The data shows a larger FPS drop from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p, which is characteristic of a system moving from a balanced state to a GPU-bound state. The CPU is likely not the limiting factor at 4K, as the GPU's rendering workload dominates the frame time.