Thief

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (launch MSRP $329) paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (launch MSRP $449) is a strong mid-to-high-end desktop combo. In Thief, the measured data shows the pair holding a combo rank of 1248 out of 3720 tested combinations, which places it in the upper third of all CPU–GPU pairs measured. The CPU, an 8-core Zen 4 part, sits in the 87th percentile among all tested CPUs, while the GPU, a RDNA 3.0 card, is in the 67th percentile among GPUs; the combination leverages a far more powerful CPU than GPU, which strongly shapes the frame rate curve in this 2014 stealth title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s overall standing is defined by its comboRankInGame of 1248 out of 3720 combinations. That rank is a direct reflection of how this CPU and GPU work together in Thief; it is not simply the average of their individual benchmark positions. The CPU’s 87th‑percentile standing (relative to all CPUs) and the GPU’s 67th‑percentile standing (relative to all GPUs) suggest that the CPU is significantly stronger relative to its peers than the GPU is relative to its peers. In a game that is usually GPU-bound at high resolution, the gap between CPU and GPU can place the GPU as the primary limiting factor, which is confirmed by the frame rate behavior described later.

For reference, the CPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database are extremely close in average score: the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 is only 0.1% ahead (average 40048 vs. 40081), the Intel Core 5 221E trails by a mere 0.2% (40144), the AMD Ryzen 9 270 is 0.4% behind (40246), and the Intel Core i9-13905H lags by 0.6% (40313). The GPU’s nearest rivals cluster similarly: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile is 0.5% ahead (22435), the RTX 4060 Mobile is 0.8% behind (22729), the RTX 2080 is 1.5% behind (22895), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 is 1.7% ahead (22170). This tight clustering of scores around both components explains why the combo’s rank is 1248th rather than nearer the top: no single component pushes the combination far beyond its peers.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is a RDNA 3.0 GPU built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, with a Navi 32 chip packing 28,100 million transistors. Its memory subsystem is a 12 GB GDDR6 pool on a 192‑bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The clocks are set to a base of 1435 MHz, a boost of 2544 MHz, and a game frequency of 2171 MHz. In raw throughput, the GPU’s peak fill rate is 244.2 GPixel/s, its texture rate is 549.5 GTexel/s, and it identifies as DirectX 12 Ultimate capable with Vulkan 1.4 support.

In Thief, the GPU’s contribution is most obvious when we follow frame rates across resolutions. For example, at the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 162 at 1920×1080 to 111 at 2560×1440 and further to 66 at 3840×2160—a clear scaling that indicates the GPU is handling the geometry load that intensifies with pixel count. The GPU’s average benchmark score (Passmark G3D 22547) and its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3316 support its capability, but the measured frames reveal that 4K Ultra is borderline: the average at 4K Ultra is just 48 FPS, while 4K High sits at 50 FPS. This suggests that the GPU’s 12 GB frame buffer and 432 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this title’s render targets, but the raw processing rate becomes a constraint above the Medium setting at 4K.

CPU Role

Holding the CPU side, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (Zen 4 「Raphael」 architecture) is a desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads. The base clock is 3.80 GHz and the boost reaches 5.30 GHz, all within a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and a 32 MB shared L3, with dual-channel DDR5 memory supplying an estimated 83.2 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU’s measured Cinebench R23 multi‑core score is 18,760 and single‑core is 1,930, while the 3DMark 16‑thread score is 8,484. Its Passmark multi‑thread score is 34,470.

The CPU’s influence is most visible at 1080p, where Thief is less likely to hit a graphics ceiling. At 1080p Low, the combo returns 199 FPS, and even on 1080p Ultra it delivers 118 FPS. These numbers indicate that the 8‑core/16‑thread processor can feed the GPU sufficiently even when the frame rate climbs over 190 FPS. Because the CPU’s average benchmark score places it 87th percentile among all tested CPUs and its nearest rivals are all within 0.6% of the same average, the Ryzen 7 7700 is unequivocally a top‑performer in its class. In this game, the CPU is not the ilimitador; rather, the frame rates are more tightly coupled to the GPU’s fill rate and memory throughput.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes the average FPS (and, where recorded, minimum and maximum) for each resolution–setting combination. For High, Low, and Ultra presets only an average is given; Medium is the sole setting with measured min and max values.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

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

| 1920×1080 | Low | 199 | — | — |

| 1920×1080 | Medium | 162 | 138 | 187 |

| 1920×1080 | High | 124 | — | — |

| 1920×1080 | Ultra | 118 | — | — |

| 2560×1440 | Low | 141 | — | — |

| 2560×1440 | Medium | 111 | 95 | 128 |

| 2560×1440 | High | 85 | — | — |

| 2560×1440 | Ultra | 81 | — | — |

| 3840×2160 | Metrics | 86 | — | — |

| 3840×2160 | High | 50 | — | — |

| 3840×2160 | Medium | 66 | 56 | 75 |

| 3840×2160 | Ultra | 48 | — | — |

| 3840×2160 | High | 60 | — | — |

The data set reveals a clean step‑down as the resolution increases. At 1080p the Medium and High presets both keep the average above 120 FPS, so the GPU is far from saturated. At 1440p, Ultra still holds an average of 81 FPS and High averages 85. At 4K, only the Low and Medium presets deliver an average above 60, with Medium #2 at 66 FPS and Low at 86. The Ultra preset falls to 48 FPS on 4K, below the 60 FPS target that many would consider necessary for a smooth stealth playthrough.

FAQ

*Q: What frame rate does the combo achieve at 1080p Ultra in Thief?*

A: The measured 1080p Ultra average is 118 FPS. This is the highest resolution/setting combination that allows 100‑plus FPS, and it is only 6 FPS lower than the 1080p High value of 144 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU become the limiting factor at 4K?

A: At 4K Ultra the average is 48 FPS, while at 4K High it is 50 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 66 FPS. These low 4K numbers contrast with the 1080p frames (where even Ultra gives 118 FPS), showing that in the 4K implementation the GPU is the constraint; the CPU—with a passmark multi‑thread score of 34,470 and an 87th‑percentile standing—offers far more headroom than the GPU can exploit at this resolution.

Q3. Which `Medium` setting is the most stable in terms of frame time?

A? The Medium preset at 4K has a min/max of 56/75, at 1440p 95/128, and at 1080p 138/187. From these values, the 1080p Medium yields not only the highest average FPS (162) but also the widest absolute spread (49 FPS between min and max), whereas the 4K Medium shows a spread of only 19 FPS.

Q4. How does the combo rank compare to its component‑wise standings?

A: The combined rank is 1248 of 3720 combo combinations (upper third). The CPU sits at the 87th percentile of CPUs, and the GPU at the 67th percentile of GPUs. The CPU’s better percentile position reflects the fact that the GPU is the relative weak spot, and the combo rank is a mixture of those characteristics.

Q5. Which resolution yields the highest FPS with a 60+ average?

A: At 1080p all four set presets—Ultra (118), High (124), Medium (162), and Low (192)—deliver above 118 FPS, making even the Ultra preset comfortable. At 1440p, the High (85), Medium (111), and Low (141) presets all exceed 60 FPS, but Ultra (81) stays above 60 too. At 4Kp, only Low (86) and Medium (66) exceed 60 FPS.

Q6. Does the data include min/max for the High or Low presets?

A: No. The measured data records minimum and maximum FPS only for the Medium setting; Low, High, and Ultra presets report only the average.

Settings Recommendations

The male the best playable experience depends heavily on the target display resolution. At 1080p, Ultra preset is the obvious pick—its 118 FPS average is essentially indistinguishable from the High preset’s 124 FPS to the eye, and there’s no reason to use Low (192) or Medium (162) when even the Ultra exceeds a 60‑Hz refresh easily. For 2560×1440 displays, Ultra remains viable: 81 FPS average is above the 60 FPS target, and High is only slightly behind at 85 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is 4 FPS, so going Ultra is safe. At 3840×2160, the setting must be lowered to Low (86 FPS) or Medium (66 FPS) to maintain a 60‑FPS baseline; High (50 FPS) and Ultra (48 FPS) fall short, so they are not recommended unless the user accepts lower motion smoothness. Medium at 4K gives an average of 66, with a minimum of 56, meaning occasional dips below 60. If a solid 60 FPS is a must, the Low preset (86 average) is the safer bet.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and consistent. At the Low preset, the average falls from 192 (1080p) to 141 (1440p) to 86 (4K), each step removing roughly one‑third of the prior cell power. For the Medium preset, the only one that has complete min/max data, the averages go from 162 → 111 → 66. The High preset moves from 124 (1080p) → 85 (1440p) → 50 (4K). Finally, the Ultra preset levels are 118 → 81 → 48. These absolute numbers represent a consistent decline across the three resolution steps, with the average at 4K being only about 40‑50% of the 1080p value, depending on the preset.

The culprit is the GPU’s fill capabilities. The CPU load at 1080p Low allows 192 FPS, indicating that the processor could feed far more frames than the GPU can—even at Low, the frame rate is CPU‑independent. When the resolution lifts to 4K, the GPU has to render approximately four times as many pixels of 1080p, and the GPU is the one that loses its capability to maintain the same frame output. Since the CPU’s Passmark multi‑thread score is 34,470 and its 87th percentile ranking indicate the CPU is not the bottleneck, the sharp reductions in FPS between 1080p and 4K all point to the RX 7700 XT's raw pixel throughput as the decisive limiting factor in Thief on this combination.