Thief

This is a benchmark analysis of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 in the stealth game <em>Thief</em> (released 2014-02-24). According to the measured FPS data, this combination delivers an average of 142 FPS at 1080p Low, 108 FPS at 1080p Medium, 82 FPS at 1080p High, and 78 FPS at 1080p Ultra. At 1440p the same settings produce 97, 74, 56, and 54 FPS on average, respectively. Finally, at 4K (3840×2160) the system yields 57 FPS on Low, 43 on Medium, 33 on High, and – at the Ultra preset – 31 FPS. In the overall ranking for <em>Thief</em>, this specific combo sits at position 2927 out of 3720 measured combinations, a result that places it at the lower end of the distribution.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D is an 8‑core, 16‑thread processor based on the Zen 3 or Vermeer architecture, built on a 7 nm process. It runs with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, has a 6 MB L2 cache (512 KB per core) and a 96 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU scores a single‑thread rating of 241 points in Cinebench R15 and 1452 points in Cinebench R23, with a multi‑core result of 2413 and 14317 in those tests respectively. Its average benchmark score is 27896, sitting at the 80th percentile among all tested CPUs.

In <em>Thief</em> the processor's contribution is most clearly seen at 1080p Low, where the average FPS reaches 142. That same CPU can run 1440p Low at 97 FPS and 4K Low at 57 FPS, so once the resolution goes up the frame rate drops sharply. The data suggests the CPU is not the primary limiter at lower resolutions—at 1440p the CPU usage is likely still relaxed, as the FPS falls by 31.7% versus 1080p, and then further to 57 at 4K. The 8‑core/16‑thread count is more than enough for a 2014 stealth title, and the 96 MB of L3 cache also plays a role in scene-level consistency, though none of those features are directly quantifiable in the measured figures. The fact that the 142 FPS at 1080p Low does not climb to even higher frames when lowering polygons hints that the CPU has enough headroom to feed a more powerful GPU — a situation where the Ryzen 7 5800X3D clearly leads the pairing.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a consuming Turing-based GPU, built on a 12 nm process, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192‑bit bus and a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its base GPU clock is 1365 MHz and the boost rises to 1680 MHz. The card packs 1920 shading units, 120 texture units, and 48 render output units, giving it the raw stats to support 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These specifications establish the RTX 2060 as a decisive lower‑mid range part, riding at the 58th percentile of all GPUs in its own pool of benchmarks.

When the resolution lifts from 1080p to 1440p, the frame rate drops about 31–33% at every preset. For example, at the Medium preset the average FPS moves from 108 to 74 – a drop of 31.5%. Stepping to 4K Medium the average falls to 43 – another 41.9% lower. If the CPU were the limiting factor, these percentage differences would be average, but they stay rather consistent across all quality presets, which points directly to the GPU as the primary scaling boundary. The 6 GB frame buffer is quite enough for a game from 2014, so VRAM capacity itself does not appear to hinder the pairing at the resolutions tested. The non-changing geometry, the AO‑resolution behavior, and the 4K Low result of 57 FPS – just barely above the nominal refresh – all indicate that the GeForce RTX 2060 dictates the combo’s ceiling.

---

Settings Recommendations

With a game as old as <em>Thief</em>, the RTX 2060 never drops below a playable level at 1080p on any setting, but the measured data lets us pick the sweet spot that balances performance and headroom.

• 1080p Medium is the obvious choice. The data shows 108 FPS average with a recorded minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. Medium keeps every measured moment above 90 FPS, which is smooth for such a stealth-focused title. Raising to High gives 82 FPS, and Ultra only 78 FPS, so Medium delivers 30 FPS more than Ultra while also having a higher recorded floor (91 min versus no available min for Ultra).
• 1440p Medium is also the best. It produces an average of 74 FPS with a recorded minimum of 63 FPS, ensuring that the minimum stays above 60. Choosing High at this resolution yields 14 FPS less average (56 FPS), and Ultra nearly identical to High (54 FPS), so Medium is the pick for 1440p.
• 4K Medium brings the average down to 43 FPS with a min of 37 FPS and a max of 50 FPS. For players who can tolerate the occasional sensitive dip, 4K Medium is the highest preset that stays above the 30 FPS line for the entire recording. If a smoother motion is more critical, 4K Low offers 57 FPS and avoids the lowest moments, but it has no recorded minimum value to confirm stability.

Overall, the data recommends the Medium preset for 1080p and 1440p, and either Medium (for visual density) or Low (for a higher average) at 4K. The biggest trade is definitely the transition from 1440p to 4K, where you can expect to give up 29% of the average FPS at Medium and 41% at Ultra.

---

How This Combo Ranks

Looking at the full list of 3720 CPU+GPU combinations that have been measured in <em>Thief</em>, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with the RTX 2060 has a combo rank of 2927. That rank is higher numerically than most — meaning it’s better than 2926 other combos &nbsp;—&nbsp; but not particularly strong for a high-end CPU. The CPU itself sits at the 80th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU tails a 58th percentile, yet together they fall to a rank of roughly 78th percentile in the game. That disconnect strongly suggests that the GPU is far below the CPU’s potential for this title. The frame time at 4K Ultra (31 FPS) is so low that it is effectively a GPU‑limited scenario; at the same resolution and up to the 60 FPS mark, the 5800X3D could easily push more frames, but the RTX 2060 cannot deliver.

Even the core benchmarks echo this imbalance: the average CPU score of 27896 for the 5800X3D places its nearest rival - the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U – at 27887 (±0.0%), the Core i9-10900K at 27872 (0.1% slower), and the Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 at 27932 (0.1% faster). The RTX 2060’s average score of 15290 sits close to the GeForce GTX 580 (15283, 0.0%) and the Radeon 680M (15270, 0.1%). Despite the CPU’s high thresholds, the combo’s low 4K FPS relative to the CPU’s performance directly explains the overall rank.

---

FAQ

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 5800X3D bottleneck the RTX 2060 at 1080p?

A: In the spirit of the measured data, no. At 1080p Low the system reaches 142 FPS, and at the same resolution with Medium still 108 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low the average drops to 97 FPS, so the CPU’s output is not the limiting factor here.

Q: What is the highest preset that can hold above 60 FPS on average?

A: At 1080p, both High (82 FPS) and Ultra (78 FPS) exceed a 60 FPS average. At 1440p, Medium (74 FPS) is the highest preset that remains above that 60 FPS threshold; High (56 FPS) and Ultra (54 FPS) both fall short. At 4K, no preset in the data achieves a 60 FPS average; the closest is Low at 57 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the Medium preset compared to Ultra?

A: Using the three resolutions: at 1080p, Medium (108 FPS) is 38.9% higher than Ultra (78 FPS). At 1440p Medium (74 FPS) is 37.0% above Ultra (54 FPS). At 4K Medium (43 FPS) is 38.7% faster than Ultra (31 FPS). (Percentages are calculated from the two listed FPS values.)

Q: Is 4K playable at any setting?

A: The data shows a range of 31 to 57 FPS across the four presets. 4K Medium runs at 43 FPS with a measured minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS. 4K Low gives the highest average at 57 FPS, but 4K is in constant use—no preset reaches a solid 60 FPS average.

Q: Why is the CPU percentile 80 but the GPU only 58?

A: The CPU percentile (80) comes from its standing relative to all CPUs tested. The GPU percentile (58) is its own relative standing. In <em>Thief</em>, the asymmetric performance is visible: Frames scale with resolution loss more than with CPU headroom, which is a typical sign that the GPU becomes the main constraint when the resolution rises.

Q: What resolution is the best overall?

A: If the goal is solid 60 FPS and a recorded minimum above that, 1080p Medium (108 avg / min 91) is the most solid data point. 1440p Medium (74 avg / min 63) is also above 60 average and remains above a 60 FPS minimum in the recorded window. The easiest way to smooth the experience is to stay within the 1080p–1440p range, where the measured minimum stays comfortable.

---

Measured FPS Breakdown

The exact measured averages, with available min/max values, are presented below.

| Resolution | Preset | Average Frame Rate (FPS) | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| 3840×2160 | Low | 57 | — | — |

| 3840×2160 | Medium | 43 | 37 | 50 |

| 3840×2160 | High | 33 | — | — |

| 3840×2160 | Ultra | 31 | — | — |

| 2560×1440 | Low | 97 | — | — |

| 2560×1440 | Medium | 74 | 63 | 85 |

| 2560×1440 | High | 56 | — | — |

| 2560×1440 | Ultra | 54 | — | — |

| 1920×1080 | Low | 142 | — | — |

| 1920×1080 | Medium | 108 | 91 | 124 |

| 1920×1080 | High | 82 | — | — |

| 1920×1080 | Ultra | 78 | — | — |

The Medium presets are the only ones that carry a recorded minimum and maximum, which help gauge typical frame fluctuation. At 1080p, the Medium row shows a 91–124 window; at 1440p, a 63–85 window; and at 4K, a 37–50 window. No minimum or maximum is reported for Low, High, or Ultra at any resolution.

---

Resolution Scaling

The following table summarizes how the average FPS falls as the resolution increases, using the four available presets.

• Low: 142 (1080p) → 97 (1440p) → 57 (4K). That’s a 31.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and another 41.2% from 1440p to 4K.
• Medium: 108 → 74 → 43. The steps are 31.5% and 41.9%.
• High: 82 → 56 → 33. The steps are 31.7% and 41.1%.
• Ultra: 78 → 54 → 31. The steps are 30.8% and 42.6%.

The pattern is remarkably consistent across all quality settings—every resolution step costs roughly 31% of the framerate for the first 1080p→