Thief

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers solid measured performance in Thief (released 2014-02-24), with average frame rates ranging from 56 at 4K Ultra to 130 at 1080p Low across the 12 tested resolution/preset pairs. This analysis covers how the CPU and GPU each contribute, which settings yield the best experience, how the combo ranks among 3,720 tested systems, and how frame rates scale from 1080p to 4K.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread desktop processor from AMD’s 3000 series, built on the Zen 2 (Matisse) architecture with a 7nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65W. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64KB of L1 per core, 512KB of L2 per core, and 32MB of L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 in dual-channel configuration, offering 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The chip is unlocked and sits in the AM4 socket, with PCIe Gen 4 support.

Synthetic benchmark scores put this CPU in strong territory. It achieves a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 2092 and singlecore score of 204. Geekbench results show 8899 multicore and 1593 singlecore. In Passmark, the multithread score is 22458, the singlethread score is 2656, and the average total benchmark score for the chip is 34260. That places the 3700X at the 84th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, as measured by average score, show a tight cluster: the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 scores 34222 (deltaPct 0.1%), the AMD EPYC 4244P scores 34220 (deltaPct 0.1%), the Intel Core i5-13450HX scores 34333 (deltaPct -0.2%), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H scores 34083 (deltaPct 0.5%). In other words, the 3700X is essentially within 0.5% of these modern chips in synthetic averages.

How does that translate to Thief? A 2014 stealth title will likely not stress all 8 cores or 16 threads. The CPU’s high single-thread score (204 Cinebench R15 singlecore) and strong multicore aggregate (2092) ensure it can keep up with the game’s AI, game logic, and rendering API overhead. The measured frame rates at 1080p—ranging from 105 on Ultra to 130 on Low—demonstrate that the CPU is not holding back the GPU at that resolution. At 4K, even the most demanding preset (Ultra) still sees an average of 56 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately; the bottleneck likely shifts to the graphics card as pixel-drawing load scales.

The RTX 4070 GPU and the 3700X are a balanced pair for a game of this era. The CPU’s 16-thread capacity means background tasks won’t interfere with rendering, and the 4.40 GHz boost clock provides headroom in single-heavy scenes. While the 3700X is one generation older than the 40-series GPU, its benchmark scores still place it comfortably above the 50th percentile—so in this title, the CPU is not the reason for any performance limits.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is an Ada Lovelace generation card with 12GB of GDDR6X memory, a 192-bit bus, and 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Its core runs at a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with the memory effective at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps). The GPU dissipates 200W and uses a 16-pin PCIe Gen 4 x16 connector. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Synthetic scores show the RTX 4070 is a high-tier part. In 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12) it scores 3854, in Geekbench OpenCL tests it reaches 154858, and in Vulkan it scores 174152. Passmark gives a G3D score of 26927, with DirectX 12 specifically at 103, DirectX 11 at 244, and DirectX 9 at 320. Its average benchmark score of 37648 places it at the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Nearest rivals, for context: the NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37628 (deltaPct 0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507 (deltaPct 0.4%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135 (deltaPct -1.3%), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 36824 (deltaPct 1.3%). The RTX 4070 sits essentially 0.4% slower than a RTX 4080 Laptop in the synthetic average—not a meaningful margin.

In Thief, the GPU does most of the heavy lifting. The measured FPS climb as resolution and quality settings increase, showing the card can handle the game’s visual features. At 1080p even Ultra preset averages 105 FPS. At 1440p Ultra drops to 93, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 56. The 12GB VRAM is more than enough for a 2014 title, and the 504 GB/s bandwidth ensures texture reads stay quick, even in dense indoor stealth environments. The performance drops from 1440p to 4K are steep, particularly in Ultra (93 → 56 FPS), which indicates the GPU’s raw compute and memory subsystem is the bottleneck at very high resolutions—not the CPU's 8 cores or its 32MB L3 cache.

Settings Recommendations

From the measured rows, the best preset depends on the target resolution and framerate enjoyability.

At 1920x1080, every preset exceeds 100 FPS. Low runs at an average of 130, Medium at 118, High at 107, and Ultra at 105—a spread of only 25 FPS. For a 1080p display, there is no downside to using Ultra, since the drop from High to Ultra is just 2 FPS (107 to 105). That yields the highest visual fidelity without sacrifices—at 100+ FPS the game is smooth.

At 2560x1440, the gap is a bit larger but still comfortable. Low gives 115, Medium 104, High 95, and Ultra 93. The difference between High and Ultra 1440p is only 1 FPS, so Ultra is an easy pick for a qualitative jump—both stay above 90. For high-refresh 1440p monitors, even Medium can hit 104 FPS average, but Ultra still keeps you in fluent range at 93, so the trade-off is very modest.

At 3840x2160, quality presets matter more. Low gets you 96 FPS, Medium 78, High 59, and Ultra 56. Medium at 78 FPS is stable (min 66, max 89) and feels smooth. High’s average 59 is a niche above vs Low (96), but if you want a steady 60, Medium is the maximum that stays above. Ultra drops to 56, which you may feel on a 60Hz display. For 4K, the recommendation is Medium preset—it maintains 78 average FPS, which has good headroom for fluctuations. If you prefer High, be aware that the average falls below 60—tiny dips are possible. Low is there as a fallback for those chasing fps above 90.

There is no single "beat" preset across all three resolutions; 1080p and 1440p can push Ultra, while 4K calls for Medium (or High/Low depending on tolerance to intermittence).

How This Combo Ranks

In Thief’s full set of tested combinations, this CPU+GPU pair returns a combo rank of 1658 out of 3720 tested. That places it in 42.5th percentile of systems. Specifically, it outperforms 2062 combos and is behind 1657. The rank is a global measure that does not use synthetic benchmarks—it reflects the configurable average FPS across test scenes.

Neither the CPU nor the GPU is the top of its class: the 3700X sits at the 84th percentile of all CPUs, and the RTX 4070 at the 81st of all GPUs. Yet their combination in Thief produces results above the middle of the pack. The 4K average at High 59 is a close-to-60 result, and 1080p Ultra’s 105 FPS shows genuine smoothness for active shooter-style play in stealth sequences. The ranking is in the upper half—not extreme enthusiast, but far from low.

The synthetic scores support the in-game position: the CPU’s nearest rivals are all modern chips within 0.5%, and the GPU’s nearest rival list includes the RTX 4080 Mobile, which is off by 1.3% on average. The hardware pair is coherent—neither zeroes out the pager—and the measured frames confirm that a solid middle-class PC can deliver high-quality Thief at 60+ on 1440p and often at 4K with appropriate settings.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows a pattern that clarifies the system’s bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p High, the average is 107 FPS. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 in High reduces the frame mean to 94—a drop of 12.1% (13 FPS). The same resolution step on Medium is from 118 to 104 (11.9%), from Low 130 to 115 (11.5%), and from Ultra 105 to 93 (11.4%). So going from 1080p to 1440p, the FPS loss is approximately 11–12%at all settings. This is a sizable scaling factor that is mostly dedicated by the raw pixel count (which is a 1080p to 1440p rise of 77% in pixels and is not necessarily linear, but it is consistent.

However, the step from 1440p to 4K (which quadruples the pixel count) shows a non-linear trend. At High, the FPS drops from 94 to 59, a reduction of 37.2% (35 FPS). The Medium drop is from 104 to 78 (25% down), Low from 115 to 96 (16.5%), but Ultra shows the steepest: 93 down to 56, a 39.8% reduction (37 FPS). The percentage drops for High (???) and Ultra (≈35–40%) are roughly double the 1080p→1440p percentage drops. Ultra, in particular, exhibits the largest proportionate loss because it pushes all effects and shadows at high resolution.

The behavior indicates that the GPU is the binding constraint at 4K. The CPU’s frame rate doesn’t drop much between 1440p and 4K because the 8-core thread can still generate scenes, but the RTX 4070 must spend many more cycles filling those pixels. The 12GB VRAM and 504 GB/s bandwidth initially seem sufficient, but the 4K Ultra data (56 FPS average) shows that even the GPU does not handle 4K Ultra without localized tremble. The CPU score (34260) is high—if the CPU were the limiter, scaling would be more abrupt in 1080p→1440p, but that isn’t the case. Thus, the component limiting the 4K capability is the GPU’s pixel/processing power, and the evidence is consistent: at 1080p the GPU is still able to provide 130+ FPS in Low, but at 4K it falls below 60 in High and Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What are the measured frame rates at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 105, with no min or max reported.

Q: Which preset hits a stable 60 FPS at 4K?

A: The Medium preset at 4K averages 78 FPS, staying well above 60 (with a minimum of 66). High and Ultra fall to 59 and 56 FPS respectively, which do not guarantee a consistent 60.

Q: What is this combo's overall ranking among tested systems in Thief?

A: The combo rank is 1658 out of 3720 tested, meaning it outperforms 2062 combinations in the data set.

**Q: Does the GPU