Thief

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Arc B390 combo delivers a strictly entry-level experience in Thief, with performance that is heavily constrained by the graphics side of the pairing. The data shows a CPU with substantial headroom that is never fully utilized, while the GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. This analysis breaks down the measured results to explain where the bottleneck lies and how to get the best experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is a Zen 3 (Vermeer) part built on TSMC's 7 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This is a desktop-class CPU from the 5000 series, released in April 2022 with a launch MSRP of $299. It supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus with a theoretical bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it connects to the rest of the system via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 5700X posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 13184 and a single-core score of 1499. Its Geekbench scores are 10779 multi-core and 2016 single-core. In 3DMark, it achieves 6858 with 16 threads and 921 in single-thread tests. These results place the CPU in the 79th percentile of all tested CPUs, indicating it is a strong performer for its class. Its average benchmark score of 27578 is identical to the Intel Core i5-12600K (0% delta), a hair behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (-0.2%), and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (0.2%) and Intel Core Ultra 5 125H (0.3%).

For Thief, a game from 2014, the CPU's capabilities are far beyond what the engine requires. The game's workload is largely single-threaded, and the 5700X's single-core performance (PassMark single-thread score of 3385) is more than sufficient to feed the GPU. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 86 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire set. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates stall at a similar level regardless of resolution or settings. Instead, the FPS drops dramatically as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU is essentially idle, waiting for the Intel Arc B390 to render frames. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is most stressed, the CPU is likely not breaking a sweat, though the 20 FPS result shows the GPU is overwhelmed.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy: the Low preset is the only playable option at most resolutions, while higher presets quickly become slideshows. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 86 FPS, which is smooth. The Medium preset drops to 66 FPS, still acceptable, but the High preset falls to 50 FPS, and Ultra is at 48 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 20 FPS, while the step from Medium to High costs another 16 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds graphical features that are not worth the performance hit.

At 1440p, the situation worsens. Low delivers 59 FPS, which is borderline playable. Medium drops to 45 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 34 FPS and 33 FPS respectively. At 4K, the results are mostly unplayable. Low is 35 FPS, Medium is 26 FPS, High is 20 FPS, and Ultra is 19 FPS.

Given the data, the best experience is clearly at 1080p with the Low preset, which yields 86 FPS. This is the only configuration that approaches the 60 FPS threshold with significant margin. If you want better visuals, the Medium preset at 1080p (66 FPS) is the only other reasonable option, as it remains above the 60 FPS mark. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p are playable in a pinch (50 and 48 FPS), but they are not ideal for a stealth game where consistent frame pacing matters. At 1440p, Low is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS, and even then it is at 59 FPS, which is close to the edge. For a playable experience at 1440p, you must accept the Low preset. At 4K, no preset is playable, with the best case being Low at 35 FPS.

The data suggests that the graphics settings have a disproportionate impact on performance. The gap between Low and Medium is significant, likely due to the GPU's limited shading units (1536) and texture mapping units (48). The game's geometry and texture complexity at Medium and above is too much for the Arc B390 to handle efficiently.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The frame rate scaling across resolutions is the clearest indicator of the system's bottleneck. At the Low preset, the combo achieves 86 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. That is a drop of 31% from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. At the Medium preset, the numbers are 66 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows 50 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K.

This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would stay relatively flat as resolution increases, because the CPU's workload is largely independent of resolution. Instead, the FPS drops by roughly half when moving from 1080p to 4K, which tracks with the increase in pixel count (a 4K image has four times the pixels of 1080p). The GPU is clearly the limiting component, as it cannot keep up with the increased fill rate and shading demands at higher resolutions.

The data also shows that the GPU's performance is poor even at 1080p. The highest FPS is 86 at Low, which is not a high number for a game from 2014. This suggests the GPU is weak overall, not just at high resolutions. The Intel Arc B390 has a boost clock of 2500 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz, with 1536 shading units. Its FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS. These are modest numbers, and the benchmark results confirm this: its 3DMark Steel Nomad score is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% ahead), GeForce 800M (1.5% ahead), and GT 625 OEM (2.5% ahead), which are all extremely low-end parts.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2534 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations. The rank is poor, but it is almost entirely due to the GPU. The CPU is a high-end part (79th percentile), but it is paired with a GPU that is in the 9th percentile.

To contextualize this, the combo is ranked lower than most systems that use a modern mid-range GPU. The data shows that the CPU's performance is not the issue; the bottleneck is clearly the GPU. If you were to swap the Arc B390 for a more capable GPU, the rank would improve dramatically, as the CPU would be able to push much higher frame rates. The fact that the combo still achieves 86 FPS at 1080p Low confirms the CPU's ability, but the overall experience is dragged down by the GPU's inability to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings.

The combo rank of 2534 out of 2851 suggests that this is a mismatched pairing for gaming. The CPU is overkill for the GPU, and the GPU is underpowered for the game's demands at higher settings. For a stealth game like Thief, which benefits from smooth, consistent frame rates to maintain immersion, this combo will require significant compromises in visual quality to be playable.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) from the Arc Graphics-M (Panther Lake) generation, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It uses the Xe3-LPG architecture and has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its boost clock is 2500 MHz, with a base clock of 300 MHz. The memory is "System Shared," meaning it uses the system's RAM, with bandwidth that is "System Dependent." The GPU has a TDP of 80 W and uses no power connectors, as it is an IGP.

The GPU's performance is extremely low. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is confirmed by its nearest rivals, which are all ancient, low-end NVIDIA parts. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. These figures are far too low for a modern game at high resolutions.

In Thief, the GPU's limitations are evident in the measured FPS. At 4K, the best result is 35 FPS on Low, and the worst is 19 FPS on Ultra. At 1440p, the best is 59 FPS on Low, but that is the only setting above 60 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU manages 86 FPS on Low, but this drops to 48 FPS on Ultra. The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the frame rate scales almost linearly with the number of pixels rendered.

The lack of dedicated VRAM (using "System Shared" memory) likely contributes to the poor performance, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The "System Dependent" bandwidth is a major constraint. Even at 1080p Low, the GPU is not delivering high frame rates, which suggests that its raw compute power is insufficient for the game's engine. The 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance is not enough to handle the game's lighting and shadow effects at higher presets, which is why the Low preset is the only viable option for a decent experience.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this CPU/GPU pairing in Thief?*

A: The best measured result is at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which delivers 86 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p is also playable at 66 FPS. Any higher resolution or preset results in frame rates below 60 FPS, with 4K being entirely unplayable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The data shows the GPU is the clear bottleneck. The CPU is a high-end part (79th percentile), while the GPU is in the 9th percentile. Frame rates drop significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU limitation, not a CPU one.

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

A: This combo ranks 2534 out of 2851 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. The low rank is due to the GPU's weak performance, not the CPU.

*Q: Can I play Thief at 1440p with this setup?*

A: At 1440p, the only preset that achieves a playable frame rate is Low, which delivers 59 FPS. Medium drops to 45 FPS, and High and Ultra are in the low 30s, which is not recommended.

Q: Why is the GPU's performance so poor despite having a high boost clock?

A: The GPU's boost clock is 2500 MHz, but it only has 1536 shading units and uses system-shared memory. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all extremely low-end parts. The raw compute and memory bandwidth are insufficient for the game's demands.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X a good CPU for this game?

A: Yes, the CPU is more than capable. Its single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 3385) and multi-thread performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 13184) are far beyond what Thief requires. The CPU is not the limiting factor in this system.