Thief

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers a playable, though not exceptional, experience in Thief, with performance heavily dictated by resolution and settings. The data indicates that this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, while 4K presents a significant challenge.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture (codenamed Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded capability, as reflected in its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31588 and Geekbench multicore score of 17002. Single-thread performance is equally strong, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4459.

In the context of Thief, a 2014 stealth title, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The 9700X's high boost clock and modern architecture ensure that it is not a bottleneck at any of the tested settings. The benchmark results show that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 154.6 FPS, a figure that far exceeds what the GPU could deliver at higher settings, indicating the CPU is capable of handling the game's demands with considerable headroom. The processor's performance percentile of 89 versus all CPUs further underscores its high-end standing. Compared to its nearest rivals, the 9700X’s average benchmark score of 36029 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940, deltaPct 0.2), showing a negligible performance difference in synthetic tests. This headroom means that in Thief, frame rate fluctuations are more likely to stem from GPU limitations than from CPU processing.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is based on the Turing architecture, utilizing the TU106 chip on a 12 nm process. It is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz. Its compute capabilities include 2176 shading units and a FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS.

In Thief, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's textures and geometry, even at Ultra settings, as the data shows no anomalies that would suggest memory swapping. The GPU's average benchmark score of 19774 places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (19706, deltaPct 0.3), indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER is positioned at the upper mid-range tier. This positioning is reflected in the game's frame rates; at 1080p High settings, the combo produces 91.8 FPS, which drops to 60.1 FPS at 1440p, demonstrating the GPU's workload scaling. The GPU's performance is the clear limiting factor when moving to 4K, where even Low settings only yield 64.3 FPS, a figure that suggests the card is being pushed to its limits.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, pointing to the GPU as the dominant bottleneck. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 91.8 FPS at 1080p to 60.1 FPS at 1440p, a drop of 31.7 FPS, and then further down to 38.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 58% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The trend is similar across all settings, confirming that the GPU's rendering throughput is the limiting factor.

This conclusion is further supported by the scaling behavior at lower settings. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 154.6 FPS at 1080p to 107.4 FPS at 1440p, and then to 64.3 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K (43.1 FPS) is more significant than the drop from 1080p to 1440p (47.2 FPS), which is consistent with the exponential increase in pixel count. The CPU, with its high single-thread score of 4459 in Cinebench R23, is not the cause of these drops; if it were, the frame rates would be more consistent across resolutions. The data indicates that for 4K gameplay, the RTX 2060 SUPER is inadequate for maintaining high frame rates, even at Low settings, where 64.3 FPS is below the 75 FPS threshold often considered smooth.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the comprehensive benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1169 out of 1642 tested combos for Thief. This places the combo in the lower third of all possible pairings, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range status. The CPU's high performance (89th percentile) is offset by the GPU's lower standing (63rd percentile), resulting in a combined rank that reflects the GPU's limitations. The rank of 1169 suggests that a significant majority of other tested combinations deliver better performance in this game.

The data implies that the 9700X is overqualified for the RTX 2060 SUPER in this specific title. While the CPU can easily handle the game's processing demands, the GPU cannot fully utilize the CPU's potential at higher resolutions. This imbalance means that users with this combo would see minimal performance gains from upgrading the CPU, as the GPU would remain the limiting factor. The rank serves as a clear indicator that this pairing is not optimized for Thief's most demanding settings, particularly at 4K, where the performance is significantly below what many other combos would achieve.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 88.6 FPS at Ultra settings, 91.8 FPS at High, 119.7 FPS at Medium, and 154.6 FPS at Low. These figures demonstrate that 1080p is well within the GPU's capabilities, with even Ultra settings providing a comfortable frame rate for most displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops as expected. The average FPS at Ultra is 57.1, at High it is 60.1, at Medium it is 81.1, and at Low it is 107.4. The Ultra and High settings at 1440p are borderline playable, hovering around the 60 FPS mark, while Medium and Low settings offer a smoother experience. The step from Ultra to High at 1440p yields a 3 FPS increase, which is minimal, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not particularly demanding on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overburdened. The average FPS at Ultra is 34.1, at High it is 38.5, at Medium it is 45.7, and at Low it is 64.3. Only the Low setting at 4K breaks the 60 FPS barrier, and even then, it is barely above that threshold. The frame rates at 4K are consistently below what would be considered an ideal gaming experience, indicating that this resolution should be avoided with this combo unless the user prioritizes visual fidelity over smoothness. The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is excellent, 1440p is adequate, and 4K is only viable on Low settings.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Thief?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the best experience, with Ultra settings achieving 88.6 FPS and Low settings reaching 154.6 FPS. This resolution allows the GPU to deliver high frame rates without significant compromise.

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

A: 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, where the combo achieves 64.3 FPS. At Medium, High, and Ultra settings, the frame rates drop to 45.7, 38.5, and 34.1 FPS respectively, which are not ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear limiting factor. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, from 91.8 FPS at 1080p High to 60.1 FPS at 1440p High, and 38.5 FPS at 4K High. The CPU's high benchmark scores indicate it is not the bottleneck.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 1169 out of 1642 tested combos for Thief. This places it in the lower third of all combinations, reflecting the GPU's mid-range performance relative to other available options.

Q: What is the difference in performance between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High setting yields 60.1 FPS, while the Ultra setting yields 57.1 FPS. The 3 FPS difference is minimal, suggesting that the Ultra preset does not add a significant performance cost over High at this resolution.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the GPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER had a launch MSRP of 399 USD.