Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, shows how a modern mid-range CPU and GPU pairing handles a game from a previous generation. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination delivers strong performance, but the data reveals a clear pattern of scaling across resolutions and settings that defines its capabilities. The measured results indicate that this setup has ample headroom for high refresh rates at standard resolutions, while also facing predictable limits at 4K with maximum quality settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and characterizes the limiting component in this pairing. At 1080p, with High settings, the average FPS is 133. Moving to 1440p, that figure drops to 91, which represents a 31.6% decrease in performance. The jump from 1440p to 4K is even more severe: the High preset at 4K delivers only 54 FPS, a 40.7% reduction from the 1440p result. This scaling pattern confirms that the GPU is the primary performance ceiling when resolution increases.

The data between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution further reinforces this. At 1080p, the gap between Low (173 FPS) and Ultra (126 FPS) is 47 FPS, a 27.2% reduction in average performance. At 1440p, the same comparison shows a gap of 66 FPS (153 FPS Low to 87 FPS Ultra), which is a 43.1% reduction. At 4K, the Low-to-Ultra gap is 42 FPS (93 FPS to 51 FPS), a 45.2% reduction. The increasing percentage drop with higher resolution shows that the GPU becomes more stressed at higher resolution, while the CPU's role diminishes.

The scaling is not linear, indicating that the system is not simply bandwidth or shader-limited across the entire range. The 4K High result of 54 FPS is just 3 FPS above the 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS, which suggests that the High preset still demands substantial GPU resources. The Medium preset at 4K shows a min FPS of 60 and a max of 81, which shows that even at this resolution, there is some frame time variance. The 1080p Medium data shows a min of 133 and a max of 180, indicating a wide range of frame times that could be influenced by the CPU. The overall data indicates that the system is well-balanced at 1080p, but at 4K, the GPU is the primary limiting factor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT has a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz. These clocks are high enough to sustain high frame rates at 1080p, but the memory system is a key differentiator. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus and a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The large memory pool is not heavily taxed in this game at the lower resolutions, but the bandwidth becomes relevant at 4K where the pixel throughput demands are higher.

The GPU's transistor count of 28,100 million on a 5 nm process from TSMC gives it a significant compute resource. The 3840 shading units and 240 texture mapping units provide a high texture fill rate, which is likely why the game scales well from Low to Medium settings. The 96 ROPs are a notable number for this game, as they directly affect the pixel fill rate. The measured pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s are not directly comparable to the FPS data, but they indicate the upper bound of what the GPU can process.

The GPU's benchmark scores are moderate. It scores 24176 in Passmark G3D, which puts it in the 51st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, AMD Radeon Pro 5500M, NVIDIA Tesla K20c, and AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT. This places the card in a mid-range tier for general performance, but in this game, the measured FPS indicates it performs above that tier. The GPU's compute score in Passmark is 13473, which is a separate metric from the game performance. The DirectX 12 score of 93 is low relative to the DirectX 11 score of 249, which suggests that the game, which is from 2014, is not optimized for the newer API. The DirectX 11 path is likely the more relevant one for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is ranked 1121 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the top 30.1% of all combinations tested. The rank indicates that this pairing is not a top-tier setup for this game, but it is far from the bottom. The data shows that the 4K Ultra average of 51 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider smooth, which likely contributes to the ranking position.

The combo rank is influenced by both CPU and GPU performance. The CPU, the Ryzen 7 5800XT, has an average benchmark score of 29879 and is in the 81st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, and the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, with delta percentages of 0, -0.3, -0.3, and 0.6, respectively. The GPU, the RX 7800 XT, has an average score of 11627 and is in the 51st percentile. Its nearest rivals are the GTX 1660, Pro 5500M, Tesla K20c, and RX 6500 XT, with delta percentages of -0.5, 0.9, 1.3, and -1.8, respectively. The GPU's low percentile is a major factor in the combo's rank, as the GPU is the bottleneck in most resolutions.

The rank of 1121 out of 3720 combos indicates that the system is a good performer for this title, but not exceptional. The data shows that the system can deliver 60 FPS at 4K with Medium settings, which is a solid result. The ranking is a composite, so the exact position is a reflection of how the GPU and CPU perform together in this specific game's engine.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows the system is highly capable. With Low settings, the average FPS is 173. With Medium settings, the average FPS is 157, with a minimum of 133 and a maximum of 180. High settings drop to 133 average FPS. Ultra settings reduce the average to 126 FPS. The 1080p resolution is clearly CPU-bound in some cases, as the difference between Medium and High is just 24 FPS, while the difference between Low and Medium is 16 FPS. The gap between Ultra and Low is 47 FPS, which is large, but the system still maintains high refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low 153, Medium 120 (min 102, max 138), High 91, and Ultra 87. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant for the High settings, from 133 to 91 FPS. The Medium preset shows a 120 FPS average, which is a good target for a 1440p monitor. The 1440p Ultra setting at 87 FPS is still above 60, so it is playable.

At 3840x2160, the FPS values are: Low 93, Medium 70 (min 60, max 81), High 54, and Ultra 51. The 4K Medium setting is the only one that hits an average of 70 FPS, with a minimum of 60 FPS, which is important. The 4K High and Ultra settings both fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 54 and 51, respectively. The Low setting at 4K is 93 FPS, which is a high refresh rate for 4K, but it is likely that the visual quality is not ideal.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is the smoothest, 1440p is a solid middle ground, and 4K is only playable at lower settings. The min FPS data for Medium at 1080p is 133, which is a good indicator of the system's consistency. The min for Medium at 1440p is 102, and the min for Medium at 4K is 60. This shows a consistent floor that scales with resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. This is a Zen 3 architecture chip on the AM4 socket. The CPU's high boost clock and multi-threading are relevant for this game. The game is from 2014, but the data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p, as the FPS values are high. The CPU's single-thread performance is strong, as shown by its 3DMark single-thread score of 959 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1410.

The CPU is a strong performer. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 23794, which is a high number. The multi-thread score in PassMark is 28053, and the integer math score is 93942. These scores indicate a powerful CPU for multi-threaded workloads. In this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics. The FPS data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is not a limiting factor, as the FPS is often above 150. The 1080p Medium setting shows a min FPS of 148, which is very high. This suggests that the CPU can handle the game's demands easily.

The CPU's nearest rivals are the Ryzen 7 7840H, Ryzen 7 8845HS, Ryzen 7 7840HS, and Ryzen 5 9600X, with delta percentages of 0, -0.3, -0.3, and 0.6, respectively. The 5800XT is on par with these mobile and desktop chips. The CPU's high clock speed of 4.80 GHz is a key factor for this game, as Thief is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance. The 8-core, 16-thread setup is more than enough for the game's threading model.

Settings Recommendations

The data indicates that the best experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, the High setting with 133 FPS is recommended for a high refresh rate. Ultra also delivers 126 FPS, so the visual quality increase is worth the small FPS hit. The Medium setting at 157 FPS is also an option for those who want to maximize refresh rates, but the High setting is the balanced choice.

For 1440p, the High setting at 91 FPS is recommended over 1440p Ultra at 87 FPS, because the difference is small and High likely has similar visual quality. The Medium setting at 120 FPS is also a strong option for high refresh rates. The 1440p Low setting at 153 FPS is not recommended as the visual quality would be too low.

For 4K, the Medium setting at an average of 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS is the only setting that maintains a playable frame rate at 60 FPS or above. The High and Ultra settings are below 60 FPS, which can result in a less smooth experience. The Low setting at 93 FPS is playable, but the visual quality would be too compromised. The 4K Medium preset is the recommended choice for a 4K display.

The data shows a clear recommendation: the Medium preset is the best balance across all resolutions, as it provides frame rates that are high enough for smooth gameplay without the visual quality loss of Low. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p, where the FPS is still high.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 133.

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 4K with Max settings?

A: No, the 4K Ultra average FPS is 51, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Medium preset achieves 70 FPS average, with a minimum of 60 FPS.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 5800XT has an average benchmark score of 29879, which is 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, and 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS. It is exactly even with the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H.

Q: How is the GPU's performance relative to other cards?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 11627, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla K20c, 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M, and 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660. It is 1.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 102 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 1121 out of 3720 tested combinations, putting it in the top 30.1% of all combos.