Thief

Thief on this AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + Intel Arc B390 combo ranks 2534 out of 2851 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems measured. The data indicates this pairing is heavily GPU-bound, with the Arc B390's performance ceiling dictating the experience across every resolution and settings preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2534 out of 2851 tested configurations places it firmly in the lower tier of systems for Thief. This low standing is directly attributable to the Intel Arc B390, which sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs benchmarked. The processor side of this pairing is not the bottleneck; the Ryzen 7 7800X3D ranks at the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, showing a profound imbalance between the two components' capabilities.

Benchmark results confirm this discrepancy. The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it in direct competition with legacy mobile and entry-level desktop parts. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (scoring 1463, a 1.3% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (scoring 1460, a 1.5% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (scoring 1446, a 2.5% delta). These are all parts from a much older generation, indicating that the Arc B390's raw 3D performance is comparable to hardware that is over a decade old.

In contrast, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's average benchmark score of 33079 places it alongside the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G (33089, 0% delta) and Intel Core i7-13650HX (33089, 0% delta). The processor is clearly capable of feeding a much more powerful graphics card. The data suggests that in Thief, the CPU is effectively waiting on the GPU at every turn, resulting in the low overall combo ranking. The measured FPS data reinforces this, as even the highest average frame rate of 86 FPS occurs only at the lowest settings at 1080p, a result that would be considered modest for a CPU of this caliber.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data shows that the best experience for this combo is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, yielding an average of 86 FPS. This is the only configuration that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. While the Medium preset at 1080p produces a playable 66 FPS average (with a minimum of 56 FPS), the jump to High drops the average to 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS. The performance cliff between Low and Medium is steep, suggesting that the GPU's limited shading and texture capabilities are heavily taxed by even moderate graphical enhancements.

At 2560x1440, the data shows that only the Low preset (59 FPS average) provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset averages 45 FPS (with a minimum of 38 FPS), which may be acceptable for some, but the High and Ultra presets drop to 34 and 33 FPS respectively, indicating a sub-optimal experience. For 3840x2160, the story is bleak. Even at Low settings, the average FPS is 35, and the Medium preset's minimum of 22 FPS suggests noticeable stutter. High and Ultra settings at 4K produce averages of 20 and 19 FPS, which are effectively unplayable.

The data indicates that users should prioritize resolution over visual fidelity. The most balanced experience is 1080p Low, which offers a solid frame rate. The 1440p Low preset is a viable alternative for those wanting more desktop space, but the 59 FPS average is a significant compromise. The measured rows show no scenario where a higher preset at a lower resolution beats a lower preset at a higher resolution in terms of average FPS; the GPU's performance ceiling is simply too low.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Thief?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings delivers the highest average frame rate of 86 FPS. This is the only preset that provides a clear performance advantage, with the next best being 1080p Medium at 66 FPS average.

Q: Can this combo run Thief at 4K resolution?

A: Technically yes, but the data shows that performance is poor. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 35 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS, and High and Ultra average 20 and 19 FPS respectively. None of these provide a smooth experience.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M. It is also just 2.5% higher than the GeForce GT 625 OEM and 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710. These deltas are negligible, indicating near-identical performance levels.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7800X3D holding back the system in this game?

A: The data suggests the opposite. The CPU's average benchmark score of 33079 places it at the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 9th percentile. The measured frame rates are consistent with a GPU bottleneck, not a CPU one.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 86 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 48 FPS. This represents a 44% reduction in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like for the Medium preset?

A: The data provides minimum and maximum FPS for the Medium preset. At 1920x1080, the range is 56 to 75 FPS. At 2560x1440, the range is 38 to 52 FPS. At 3840x2160, the range is 22 to 30 FPS. The spread narrows as resolution increases, but the average also drops significantly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its best results. The Low settings preset yields an average of 86 FPS. The Medium preset produces an average of 66 FPS, with a measured range of 56 to 75 FPS. The High preset drops to an average of 50 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 48 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a clear linear decline in performance, with the largest single step down occurring between Low and Medium.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower overall performance. The Low preset averages 59 FPS. The Medium preset averages 45 FPS, with a range of 38 to 52 FPS. High and Ultra presets average 34 and 33 FPS respectively. The delta between the 1080p and 1440p results is significant, with the 1440p Low preset performing 31% slower than the 1080p Low preset.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. The Low preset averages 35 FPS. The Medium preset averages 26 FPS, with a narrow range of 22 to 30 FPS. The High preset averages 20 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 19 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K is even more punishing; the 4K Low preset is 41% slower than the 1440p Low preset. The measured data shows that the GPU's fill rate and shading throughput are exhausted quickly as pixel count increases.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the defining component in this pairing, and the data shows it is severely underpowered for Thief. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, which places it at the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This score is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, all of which are older NVIDIA parts. The GPU features a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS.

The memory configuration is a critical limitation. The Arc B390 uses "System Shared" memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the system's DDR5 memory, which is shared with the CPU. The memory bus width is also listed as "System Shared," indicating there is no dedicated VRAM. This architecture is likely a major contributor to the poor performance at higher resolutions and settings, as memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck.

The GPU's rendering capabilities include 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The TDP is 80 W, and it is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no power connectors. The data implies that this is not a discrete card but an on-die solution, which limits its thermal and power headroom. With a 9th percentile rank, the Arc B390 is operating far below the level required for a smooth 1080p experience at high settings in Thief.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a high-end desktop processor that is vastly more capable than the GPU it is paired with. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The processor is built on TSMC's 5 nm process and uses the Zen 4 architecture. Its cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

The CPU's benchmark scores are robust. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16817 and a single-core score of 1713. The Geekbench multi-core score is 15610, with a single-core score of 2426. In 3DMark, it scores 7980 in the 16-thread test and 7967 in the max-thread test, while the single-thread score is 959. The Passmark multi-thread score is 34293, and the single-thread score is 3759. These results place it at the 83rd percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Thief, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, the system only reaches 86 FPS average. This is far below what the Ryzen 7 7800X3D could deliver with a more powerful GPU. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1887 and the 4-thread score of 3684 indicate that the processor has ample single-threaded performance for a game from 2014. The data clearly shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor; the Arc B390 is the sole reason for this combo's low rank of 2534 out of 2851.