Thief

Thief on this AMD Ryzen 7 5700G + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination shows a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher settings, while the CPU provides a solid foundation that keeps frame rates playable even at lower presets. The data indicates that this pairing ranks in the 75th percentile of tested combos for this title, placing it above average but not at the top tier.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a dramatic shift in performance as resolution increases, which directly points to the GPU as the limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 153.1 FPS, but this drops to 106.7 FPS at 1440p (−30.3%) and further to 64.1 FPS at 4K (−58.1% from 1080p). This steep decline at higher resolutions is classic GPU-bound behavior, where the rendering load on the pixel pipeline becomes the bottleneck.

The scaling pattern tightens at higher quality presets. With Ultra settings, the frame rate falls from 83.9 FPS at 1080p to 56.9 FPS at 1440p (−32.2%) and then to 34.7 FPS at 4K (−58.6%). The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings confirms that resolution scaling is uniform regardless of quality level, reinforcing that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s compute and memory throughput are what determine performance at 4K, rather than any CPU limitation.

Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 29.4 FPS (64.1 vs 34.7), while at 1080p that same gap is 69.2 FPS (153.1 vs 83.9). This compression at 4K indicates that even the lowest settings cannot escape the GPU’s pixel throughput ceiling, whereas at 1080p the GPU has enough headroom to scale with settings. For players targeting 4K, the data shows that only Low settings approach 60 FPS, and even then barely, suggesting that this resolution should be reserved for less demanding titles.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo achieves a rank of 1237 out of 1642 tested combinations in Thief, which places it in the 75th percentile of all systems evaluated. This is a respectable position, though not exceptional. The ranking suggests that while this pairing handles Thief competently, there are 405 other combinations that deliver higher average frame rates in this specific title.

Breaking down the ranking context, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 25626 places it in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (deltaPct −0.3), Intel Xeon D-2752TER (deltaPct 0.4), Intel Core 5 210H (deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Ryzen 5 7640U (deltaPct 0.6). The GPU’s average benchmark score of 19774 places it in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (deltaPct 0.3), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (deltaPct 0.5), NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (deltaPct 0.8), and NVIDIA Tesla K40m (deltaPct 1.3).

The combination rank being lower than the CPU’s individual percentile suggests that the GPU holds the pairing back in Thief’s specific workload. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s 63rd percentile standing is the weaker link, and when paired with a CPU in the 83rd percentile, the overall combo falls to the 75th percentile. This gap highlights that upgrading the GPU would yield a larger performance boost in Thief than upgrading the CPU.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 SUPER brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For Thief, a 2014 title, this memory configuration is more than sufficient, as the game was designed for GPUs with far less capacity. The GPU’s boost clock of 1650 MHz and base of 1470 MHz, combined with 2176 shading units, provide the raw compute necessary for the game’s lighting and shadow effects.

The GPU’s benchmark results show a PassMark G3D score of 16462 and a PassMark DirectX 11 score of 130, which are the most relevant metrics for Thief given its era and API usage. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 suggests that the GPU is more capable in modern APIs, but Thief relies on older DirectX paths where the 2060 SUPER still performs adequately. The data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the GPU delivers 83.9 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 34.7 FPS, confirming that the GPU’s 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the ceiling for this title at high resolutions.

The GPU’s 63rd percentile ranking versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774, places it just ahead of the GTX TITAN (deltaPct 0.3) and just behind the RTX 2070 (deltaPct 0.5). In Thief specifically, the measured results show that the GPU can handle 1080p and 1440p well, but 4K requires significant settings reductions to maintain acceptable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Thief with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1080p delivers the most consistent performance, with all settings above 83.9 FPS. 1440p is also viable with Medium (81.8 FPS) or High (61.5 FPS), but 4K only reaches playable levels at Low (64.1 FPS).

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700G scores 25626 on average, which is 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (25706) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon D-2752TER (25532). It also leads the Intel Core 5 210H by 0.5% and the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U by 0.6%.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in Thief?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates the GPU is the primary constraint. Frame rate drops of 58% from 1080p to 4K at Low settings demonstrate that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s rendering throughput, not the CPU’s compute, determines performance at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and how does it relate to Thief’s performance?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. This is ample for Thief, as the game does not require high memory throughput, allowing the GPU to focus its bandwidth on frame rendering.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested systems in Thief?

A: It ranks 1237 out of 1642 combinations, placing it in the 75th percentile. This is above average but indicates that many other pairings achieve higher frame rates in this specific game.

Q: What settings should be avoided at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that Ultra (34.7 FPS) and High (35.8 FPS) are not playable at 4K, and Medium (46.5 FPS) is borderline. Only Low (64.1 FPS) provides a comfortable frame rate at this resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G provides 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. For Thief, which was released in 2014 and typically uses fewer than 8 threads, this CPU offers substantial headroom. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20755 and single-core score of 2930 demonstrate strong performance across both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads.

The CPU’s 3DMark scores show a scaling pattern: 899 for single-thread, 1758 for 2-threads, 3389 for 4-threads, 5648 for 8-threads, and 6627 for max threads. This indicates that Thief, being an older title, likely uses only a few threads, and the 5700G’s 4-thread score of 3389 is more than adequate to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth further ensure that memory latency and bandwidth do not impede frame delivery.

In the context of Thief’s measured results, the CPU’s role is to keep frame times consistent, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU can produce high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 153.1 FPS, which requires the CPU to maintain a frame time of approximately 6.5 ms. The 5700G’s single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Geekbench single-core score of 2016, is sufficient for this task. However, the CPU’s 83rd percentile ranking versus all CPUs indicates that while it is strong, it is not the primary reason this combo ranks in the 75th percentile for Thief.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, the High preset (89.8 FPS) offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, as it stays well above 60 FPS while providing better graphics than Medium (117.2 FPS) or Low (153.1 FPS). Ultra (83.9 FPS) is also playable, but the marginal visual improvement over High does not justify the 5.9 FPS loss.

For 1440p, Medium (81.8 FPS) is the recommended preset, as it maintains a smooth frame rate while High (61.5 FPS) dips close to the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra (56.9 FPS) falls below that threshold, making Medium the safer choice for consistent gameplay. Low (106.7 FPS) is unnecessary at this resolution, as the visual fidelity loss is significant.

At 4K, the data paints a stark picture: only Low (64.1 FPS) is reliably playable. Medium (46.5 FPS) and High (35.8 FPS) are below acceptable thresholds for smooth gameplay, and Ultra (34.7 FPS) is the worst performer. Players who prioritize 4K should accept Low settings, while those who value visual quality should drop to 1440p where Medium provides a much better experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 153.1 FPS on Low, 117.2 FPS on Medium, 89.8 FPS on High, and 83.9 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 45.2% reduction in frame rate, which is the largest relative drop across all resolutions, indicating that the GPU has enough headroom at 1080p to absorb the extra rendering load from higher quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the results are 106.7 FPS on Low, 81.8 FPS on Medium, 61.5 FPS on High, and 56.9 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 46.7%, slightly steeper than at 1080p, reflecting the increased pixel count that amplifies the GPU’s workload at higher settings. High and Ultra both fall below 62 FPS, making them marginal choices for 60 Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the numbers are 64.1 FPS on Low, 46.5 FPS on Medium, 35.8 FPS on High, and 34.7 FPS on Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 1.1 FPS, showing that the GPU is completely saturated at this resolution, with settings having minimal impact on the final frame rate. The overall range from Low to Ultra at 4K is 29.4 FPS, compared to 69.2 FPS at 1080p, confirming that 4K is firmly GPU-limited.