Thief

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B570 pairing lands in the lower tier of tested combinations for Thief, ranking 2296 out of 2851 combos. That percentile placement—roughly the 19th worst of the sample—positions this system as a functional but far from elite setup for a 2014 stealth title. The CPU itself is a strong modern part, sitting in the 94th percentile among all processors with an average benchmark score of 69,996, but the GPU, at the 65th percentile among all graphics cards with an average score of 20,556, holds the combo back in this particular game. The data shows a system that can play Thief respectably at lower settings and resolutions, but which struggles to maintain smooth frame rates when pushed toward Ultra presets or 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2296 out of 2851 tested configurations places the Ryzen 7 9700F + Arc B570 in the bottom 20% of all pairings evaluated in Thief. This is a surprising result given the CPU’s pedigree, but the ranking reflects the game’s heavy reliance on the graphics card rather than the processor. The Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 part with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and its PassMark multithread score of 36,470 and single-thread score of 4,691 are both strong. The CPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (average score 69,875, deltaPct 0.2), the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163, deltaPct -0.2), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515, deltaPct 0.7). All of these are within 0.9% of the 9700F’s average score, confirming that the processor is not the bottleneck.

Instead, the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting factor. The GPU’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (average score 20,534, deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Arc A750 (20,582, deltaPct -0.1), and the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20,480, deltaPct 0.4). The Arc B570’s average benchmark score of 20,556 is essentially identical to these parts, meaning the GPU is performing at a mid-range level. In Thief, that translates to 31 FPS at 4K High, 53 FPS at 1440p High, and 77 FPS at 1080p High. The combo’s low rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s inability to drive higher frame rates at demanding settings, even though the CPU has ample headroom. The data suggests that swapping in a stronger GPU would dramatically improve the ranking, while a CPU change would yield minimal gains.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, codenamed Battlemage (Arc 5), and is manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The chip, designated BMG-G21, contains 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). It has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The shading units number 2,304, with 144 texture mapping units and 80 render output units. Ray tracing cores total 18, and the GPU delivers 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 23.04 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio). The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s.

In Thief, the GPU’s memory configuration plays a notable role. The 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s requirements, but the 160-bit bus and 380 GB/s bandwidth may limit performance in scenes with heavy texture streaming. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Medium, the average is 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 and maximum of 116, while at 1440p Medium, the average drops to 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 79. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47. These figures indicate that the GPU is the primary driver of performance, as the CPU’s capabilities are more than adequate for the game’s logic and physics. The Arc B570’s compute benchmarks, including a PassMark G3D score of 14,195 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,649, support the notion that this is a mid-range GPU. The GPU’s 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs means it outperforms about two-thirds of the field, but in Thief, that is not enough to achieve high frame rates at elevated settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS declines from 133 at 1080p to 91 at 1440p and then to 54 at 4K. That is a 59% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the averages are 101 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K, representing a 59% drop as well. High settings show 77 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K, a 60% decline. Ultra settings produce 73 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K, a 60% drop. The consistency of these reductions—hovering around 59-60%—indicates that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated as resolution increases, with the CPU maintaining a stable frame delivery.

The scaling pattern also suggests that the Arc B570 is the limiting component at every resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not scale so predictably with resolution; instead, we would see a plateau at lower resolutions. The 4K results, with averages of 31 FPS on High and 29 FPS on Ultra, are below the 30 FPS threshold often considered playable, while 4K Low at 54 FPS is the only 4K setting that clears 30 FPS comfortably. At 1440p, the Low preset achieves 91 FPS, Medium hits 69 FPS, High reaches 53 FPS, and Ultra manages 50 FPS. At 1080p, all settings exceed 70 FPS, with Low at 133 FPS and Ultra at 73 FPS. The data shows that the GPU’s performance degrades almost linearly with pixel count, a classic sign of a graphics-bound workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Arc B570 delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 133 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. Medium settings average 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 and maximum of 116 FPS, indicating smooth performance with minor frame time variance. High settings average 77 FPS, and Ultra settings average 73 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is just 4 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds graphical effects that are not particularly taxing on the GPU, or that the CPU is providing consistent frame pacing. At 1080p, even the most demanding preset remains playable, with 73 FPS comfortably above the 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 91 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium falls to 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 79. High settings average 53 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 40% of the frame rate at each setting level. The 59 FPS minimum at Medium is close to the 60 FPS target, meaning there will be occasional dips below the ideal threshold. High and Ultra at 1440p hover around 50-53 FPS, which is playable but not fluid for a stealth game where quick reactions may be needed during guard encounters.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles. Low settings average 54 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that exceeds 30 FPS by a wide margin. Medium averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47, placing it in a playable but not ideal range. High averages 31 FPS, right at the edge of playability, and Ultra averages 29 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold. The 4K results show that this combo is not suited for high-fidelity 4K gaming in Thief; users would need to drop to Low or Medium to get a consistent experience. The measured data includes minimum and maximum FPS only for Medium settings at each resolution, with 86/116 at 1080p, 59/79 at 1440p, and 35/47 at 4K, indicating that Medium has the most stable frame delivery relative to other presets.

FAQ

*Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + Intel Arc B570 combo capable of running Thief at 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, but only at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p, all presets exceed 60 FPS, with Low at 133 FPS, Medium at 101 FPS, High at 77 FPS, and Ultra at 73 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (91 FPS) and Medium (69 FPS) clear 60 FPS; High and Ultra average 53 and 50 FPS respectively. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, with Low capping at 54 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20,556, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (20,582, deltaPct -0.1). It is also within 0.5% of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20,480) and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20,662, deltaPct -0.5). This means the GPU performs at a similar level to those mid-range parts.

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Thief if targeting 60 FPS?*

A: 1080p is the only resolution where all settings achieve 60 FPS or higher. At 1440p, users must select Low or Medium to stay above 60 FPS, while at 4K, no setting reaches 60 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, 1080p with High or Ultra settings provides 77 and 73 FPS respectively.

*Q: Does the Ryzen 7 9700F bottleneck the Arc B570 in Thief?*

A: No. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 69,996 places it in the 94th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.9% in performance. The measured FPS scaling with resolution indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate drops consistently when resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Thief?*

A: It can run the game at 4K, but not smoothly at higher presets. Low settings average 54 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. For 4K play, Low or Medium are the only viable options, with Medium offering a minimum of 35 FPS and maximum of 47 FPS.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-thread performance, and does it matter for this game?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has a PassMark single-thread score of 4,691 and a PassMark physics score of 2,122. Thief benefits from strong single-thread performance, and the CPU’s 5.50 GHz boost clock provides ample headroom. However, the game’s frame rates are constrained by the GPU, so the CPU’s performance does not become a limiting factor in the measured results.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering 73 FPS average, which is high enough for a smooth experience and close to the High preset’s 77 FPS. The 4 FPS difference between High and Ultra suggests that Ultra adds visual features without a significant performance penalty, making it the best value for visual quality at 1080p. Alternatively, Medium offers 101 FPS for users with high refresh rate monitors, but the visual trade-off may not be worth the extra 28 FPS.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, averaging 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS. This provides a near-60 FPS experience with better visuals than Low. High and Ultra at 1440p average 53 and 50 FPS respectively, which are playable but may feel less responsive in fast-paced sections. For users who prioritize smoothness over detail, Low at 91 FPS is an option, but Medium offers a better balance of quality and performance. The 59 FPS minimum at Medium is a minor concern, but the average of 69 FPS leaves enough headroom for most scenes.

At 4K, the Low preset is the only recommendation for consistent playability, averaging 54 FPS. Medium averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stutter during complex scenes. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as their averages of 31 and 29 FPS fall below the 30 FPS threshold for acceptable playability. For 4K gaming, the Arc B570’s 10 GB VRAM and 380 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at elevated settings. Users should either lower the resolution to 1440p or stick to Low settings at 4K.

The data shows that the best overall experience for this combo is 1080p with Ultra settings, offering 73 FPS average, or 1440p with Medium settings, offering 69 FPS average. Both options provide a solid balance of visual fidelity and performance, with the 1080p Ultra being the safer choice for consistent frame times. For users with 4K displays, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, the 54 FPS average is close to the edge of smoothness. The combo’s rank of 2296 out of 2851 reflects these limitations, but within its capabilities, the Ryzen 7 9700F and Arc B570 can deliver a playable Thief experience at mid-range settings.