Thief

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 109th out of 1,642 tested combos in Thief, placing it comfortably in the top 7% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a 2014 stealth title, indicating that this pairing delivers well above-average performance without being near the absolute top tier. The rank reflects a combination that is clearly capable of maxing out this game at most resolutions, though the data shows some headroom remains at 4K Ultra where the frame rate dips below the 60 FPS mark.

The combo's position is largely driven by the GPU's strong showing — the RTX 4070 SUPER sits in the 84th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 89th percentile among all processors. These are complementary strengths: the GPU handles the heavy lifting at higher resolutions, while the CPU's single-thread performance ensures the game's logic and physics don't bottleneck at lower resolutions. The measured FPS data confirms this synergy, with the combo delivering playable frame rates across all tested settings and resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary driver of Thief's visual performance, equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for a game from 2014, which was designed around far less demanding hardware. The GPU's base clock of 1980 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz provide the raw compute throughput needed to maintain high frame rates, while its 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores — though not directly utilized by Thief's traditional rasterization pipeline — indicate a modern architecture with headroom for other workloads.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4,627 and a PassMark G3D score of 29,995, placing it just 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A6000 and 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE in average benchmark scores. In Thief specifically, the GPU's role becomes clear when examining the resolution scaling: at 1080p, the combo reaches 231 FPS on Low settings, but at 4K Ultra, that drops to 60.4 FPS. This 4K Ultra figure is the only sub-60 FPS result in the entire measured dataset, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor only at the most demanding configuration.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Thief at 4K with high settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 66.6 FPS at 3840x2160 on High settings, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 60.4 FPS, so there is minimal headroom at the highest preset.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 42,576 is within 0.2% of the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42,653) and 0.3% of the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42,723). It is 1.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580X and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M40.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Thief?

A: At 2560x1440, the combo delivers 113.4 FPS on High and 106.7 FPS on Ultra, providing an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p, all settings exceed 153 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in Thief?

A: The data suggests minimal CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 231 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit, but at higher resolutions the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The CPU's single-thread score of 4,459 in Cinebench R23 indicates strong per-core performance for this game.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of this GPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER had a launch MSRP of 599 USD.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

1920x1080 (Full HD):

• Low: 231.0 FPS
• Medium: 204.8 FPS
• High: 163.7 FPS
• Ultra: 153.8 FPS

2560x1440 (Quad HD):

• Low: 191.8 FPS
• Medium: 145.2 FPS
• High: 113.4 FPS
• Ultra: 106.7 FPS

3840x2160 (4K UHD):

• Low: 111.6 FPS
• Medium: 87.8 FPS
• High: 66.6 FPS
• Ultra: 60.4 FPS

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 20-30% performance, while each resolution jump (from 1080p to 1440p, or 1440p to 4K) imposes a similar penalty. The gap between Low and Ultra is most pronounced at 1080p (231 vs 153.8 FPS, a 33% drop) and least at 4K (111.6 vs 60.4 FPS, a 46% drop), showing that the GPU becomes more stressed at higher resolutions, tightening the relative spread between settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the standout choice. It delivers 113.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while maintaining visual fidelity that is nearly indistinguishable from Ultra in most scenes. The Ultra preset at 1440p (106.7 FPS) offers only a marginal visual improvement over High for a 6% performance cost, making High the more efficient option.

At 4K, the data recommends the High preset as the sweet spot: 66.6 FPS provides a smooth experience with a 10% performance buffer over the 60 FPS line. The Medium preset at 4K (87.8 FPS) is also viable if the user prefers higher frame rates over visual quality, while Ultra at 4K (60.4 FPS) sits too close to the edge for consistent frame pacing. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Medium preset at 1080p (204.8 FPS) or Low at 1440p (191.8 FPS) are the best choices, as both exceed 144 FPS and will fully utilize a 144Hz display.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth contribute to its strong performance in gaming workloads. The CPU's benchmark scores are notable: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 31,588 and a single-core score of 4,459, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs.

In Thief, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 231 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU's single-thread limit for this game's engine. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1,280 and PassMark single-thread score of 4,654 indicate strong per-core performance that can drive high frame rates in older titles like Thief. Compared to its nearest rivals, the 9700X's average benchmark score of 36,029 is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35,940) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35,802), while trailing the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by 0.4% and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H by 0.8%.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck characteristics of this combo. At every settings level, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, and the drop from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced. For example, on High settings, the frame rate goes from 163.7 FPS at 1080p to 113.4 FPS at 1440p (a 31% drop), then to 66.6 FPS at 4K (a 41% drop from 1440p). This pattern indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly the limiting factor as resolution rises.

However, the scaling is not perfectly linear, which suggests some CPU involvement. At Low settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is 17% (231 to 191.8 FPS), while the 1440p to 4K drop is 42% (191.8 to 111.6 FPS). The relatively smaller drop at lower resolutions and settings implies that the CPU can still keep pace at 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU's workload at 4K dominates. The data confirms that for this combo, Thief is GPU-bound at 4K, CPU-bound at 1080p Low, and balanced in between. Users aiming for maximum frame rates should target 1080p or 1440p, while those prioritizing resolution should accept the 4K Ultra result of 60.4 FPS as the practical ceiling.