Thief

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and Intel Arc B570 combination produces a wide range of frame rates in Thief, depending entirely on resolution and quality settings. At 1080p, the pairing delivers solid performance, but the data shows a steep drop-off as resolution increases, pointing to the GPU as the primary limiter in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 133 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 91 FPS, a reduction of 42 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low the average falls further to 54 FPS. This represents a 59% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, which is a substantial hit.

The scaling story is similar at higher quality presets. With Medium settings, 1080p yields 101 FPS, 1440p drops to 69 FPS, and 4K lands at 41 FPS. For High settings, the numbers are 77 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings follow the same trajectory: 73 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K.

The pattern here is telling. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS loss across all four settings is roughly 30-32%. From 1440p to 4K, the loss is even steeper, with averages dropping by another 40-45%. This accelerating decline as resolution increases strongly suggests the Intel Arc B570's rendering throughput is the bottleneck. The CPU is likely keeping up fine at lower resolutions, but the GPU simply cannot maintain the pixel-pushing workload at 4K.

At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU's role becomes more relevant, particularly at Low settings where 133 FPS requires a capable processor to feed the GPU. The Ryzen 7 5800XT, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, appears adequate for this task, as the FPS numbers remain strong. However, the fact that 4K Ultra produces only 29 FPS while 1080p Low produces 133 FPS indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor in the performance envelope. The gap between Low and Ultra at any given resolution is also consistent, typically around 45-50%, further highlighting the GPU's sensitivity to shading and texture work.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader database of tested combinations, this specific pairing ranks 2296 out of 2851 combos for Thief. That places it in the bottom 20% of all tested systems, which is a surprisingly low position given the frame rates observed at 1080p. The ranking reflects the overall performance across all resolutions and settings, and the weak 4K results likely drag the composite score down significantly.

The CPU itself sits in the 81st percentile among all tested processors, which is a strong position. Its average benchmark score of 29879 places it just ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29868, delta 0%) and slightly behind the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (29955, delta -0.3%). The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X trails at 29713, with a delta of 0.6% relative to the 5800XT. This suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios.

The GPU, on the other hand, sits in the 65th percentile among all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, delta 0.1%) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, delta -0.1%). The fact that the GPU ranks lower than the CPU in percentile terms supports the conclusion that the graphics card is the weaker link in this pairing for Thief. The combo's overall rank of 2296 out of 2851 is consistent with a mid-tier GPU paired with a high-tier CPU.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets produce playable frame rates. At 1080p, even Ultra settings average 73 FPS, while at 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 50 FPS and 3840x2160 Ultra falls to 29 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT has an average benchmark score of 29879, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29868, delta 0%). It is 0.3% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and 0.6% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more responsible for the frame rate drops at 4K?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary limiter. The Intel Arc B570 ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 81st percentile. The steep FPS decline from 1080p to 4K, regardless of settings, points to the graphics card being unable to handle the increased pixel count.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 133 FPS while Ultra settings produce 73 FPS. This is a difference of 60 FPS, representing a 45% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the combo perform better at 1440p with High or 1080p with Ultra?

A: The measured data shows 1080p Ultra averages 73 FPS, while 1440p High averages 53 FPS. The 1080p Ultra setting provides both higher resolution quality settings and a higher frame rate, making it the better choice of the two.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the Intel Arc A750?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% slower than the Intel Arc A750 (20582, delta -0.1%). The two cards are essentially performance equals in synthetic benchmarks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows clear performance tiers. Low settings deliver an average of 133 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this combo. Medium settings drop to 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. High settings average 77 FPS, and Ultra settings average 73 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 60 FPS, which is substantial, but even the lowest result remains comfortably playable.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates compress somewhat. Low settings yield 91 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS with a min of 59 FPS and a max of 79 FPS, High averages 53 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 41 FPS. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 3 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end of the settings ladder.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal. Low settings still manage 54 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 41 FPS (min 35, max 47). High settings fall to 31 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 29 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 25 FPS. The 4K results indicate that only Low settings provide a consistently smooth experience, with Medium being borderline and High/Ultra being effectively unplayable for most users.

The Medium preset is the only one with measured min/max values across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 86-116 FPS; at 1440p, it is 59-79 FPS; and at 4K, it is 35-47 FPS. These ranges suggest reasonable frame pacing, with the minimum staying within 15-20% of the average in each case.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a Zen 3 part built on TSMC's 7 nm process, with 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz and boost clock is 4.80 GHz. The CPU has a 32 MB shared L3 cache, along with 512 KB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core. It supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In benchmark tests, the CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 23794, while the single-core score is 3359. The 3DMark 16-thread test yields 7683, and the max-thread test yields 7680, which is nearly identical. This indicates that the 8-core, 16-thread configuration is well-utilized in threaded workloads. The PassMark multithread score of 28053 and single-thread score of 3535 further reinforce a balanced performance profile.

For Thief, a 2014 stealth game, the CPU's 8 cores are likely more than sufficient. The game was released in 2014-02-24 and does not demand modern multi-core scaling. The high single-thread score of 3359 in Cinebench R23 suggests that the CPU can handle the game's primary thread without issue. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 133 FPS, which indicates the CPU is feeding the GPU effectively. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see the FPS plateau regardless of resolution, but instead the FPS drops significantly as resolution increases, confirming that the CPU has headroom.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 81 among all tested processors, combined with its near-tie with the Ryzen 7 7840H (delta 0%), positions it as a high-end part. The fact that it is only 0.3% slower than the Ryzen 7 8845HS and 0.6% faster than the Ryzen 5 9600X suggests that for Thief, any of these CPUs would perform similarly. The limiting factor is not the processor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with even Ultra averaging 73 FPS. For a smooth experience with high visual quality, High settings at 77 FPS offer a good balance, but Ultra at 73 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing image quality. The 4 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is negligible, so maximizing settings is sensible at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the choice narrows. High settings average 53 FPS, which is acceptable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Medium settings at 69 FPS provide a much smoother experience, with a minimum of 59 FPS ensuring no major dips. Low settings at 91 FPS are the smoothest option but sacrifice visual fidelity. The data suggests Medium is the sweet spot at 1440p, offering a frame rate 16 FPS higher than High with only a moderate visual downgrade.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings at 54 FPS are consistently playable. Medium at 41 FPS may be tolerable for some, but the minimum of 35 FPS could lead to noticeable stuttering. High and Ultra at 31 and 29 FPS, respectively, are not recommended for any gameplay scenario. For 4K, the only viable option is Low settings, or dropping to a lower resolution for better quality.

The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 73 FPS, which is higher than the 4K Low result of 54 FPS. This indicates that for the best overall experience, users should prioritize resolution over settings. Playing at 1440p Medium (69 FPS) offers a better balance of sharpness and smoothness than 4K Low (54 FPS), and 1080p Ultra (73 FPS) provides the highest quality with acceptable frame rates.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process. It features 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 18 ray tracing cores. The GPU has a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, and its memory operates at 2375 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed. The 10 GB GDDR6 memory sits on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 23.04 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1). Its pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 14195 in Passmark G3D and 7281 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2649, and Geekbench scores are 83514 for OpenCL and 96844 for Vulkan.

In Thief, the GPU's performance is the dominant factor. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at High or Ultra settings, with averages of 31 and 29 FPS, respectively. Even at Medium, the 4K result of 41 FPS is marginal. This aligns with the GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, which is below the CPU's 81st percentile.

The GPU's nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (20582 vs 20556, delta -0.1%). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is 0.1% faster, and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X is 0.5% faster. This indicates that the Arc B570 is a mid-range part, and Thief's results reflect that positioning. The 10 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for this game, as Thief is not a VRAM-heavy title by modern standards, but the raw compute power is insufficient for high-resolution, high-quality rendering. The GPU's bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is decent, but the 160-bit bus may limit performance in memory-intensive scenes.