Thief

Thief, the 2014 stealth classic, remains a demanding title for modern hardware, particularly when paired with an integrated graphics solution like the Intel Arc B390. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Intel Arc B390 combination across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics component, with the CPU’s substantial processing power largely left untapped in this specific workload. The benchmark results show a playable experience only at the lowest settings and resolution, with a steep performance cliff emerging as graphical demands increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear and predictable pattern: performance degrades significantly as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 50 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 1440p, a loss of 16 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K at the same High preset sees another drop of 14 FPS, landing at just 20 FPS. This represents a total reduction of 60% from the 1080p baseline when reaching 4K. The scaling is nearly linear in terms of pixel count, which strongly suggests the Intel Arc B390’s rendering pipeline is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Examining the Medium preset reveals a similar trajectory. At 1080p, the average FPS is 66, which falls to 45 at 1440p and then plummets to 26 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 21 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is another 19 FPS. The percentage losses are substantial, indicating that the GPU’s fill rate and shading capabilities are being overwhelmed by the increased pixel workload. The frame time data available for Medium settings shows a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS at 4K, illustrating a tight but consistently low performance window that would be noticeable in gameplay.

The Low preset offers the highest frame rates but still follows the same scaling trend. At 1080p, the combo achieves 86 FPS, a very playable number. This drops to 59 FPS at 1440p, a 31% reduction. At 4K, the average falls to 35 FPS, which is a 41% drop from the 1440p result and a 59% drop from the 1080p result. The fact that even at Low settings, 4K performance halves relative to 1080p points to a fundamental bandwidth or compute limitation within the Arc B390, which uses system shared memory for its frame buffer. The data implies that the resolution scaling is primarily a test of the GPU’s memory subsystem and pixel processing power.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture for settings optimization, with the primary goal being a stable and playable frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields the best average FPS at 86. This is the only preset at this resolution that provides a significant performance headroom above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 66 FPS, which is also smooth, but the jump to High drops performance to 50 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 48 FPS. For a game like Thief, where stealth and reaction time are important, the extra frames from the Low preset may be preferable to the marginal visual gains of Medium.

Moving to 2560x1440, the recommendation becomes more constrained. The Low preset is the only option that breaks the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 59 FPS. The Medium preset at 45 FPS is playable but may feel less fluid, while High at 34 FPS and Ultra at 33 FPS are likely to feel stuttery during action sequences. The data suggests that for a consistent 60 FPS experience at 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable choice. Users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate could consider Medium, but the 14 FPS drop from Low to Medium is substantial.

At 3840x2160, no preset provides a truly playable experience according to the 60 FPS standard, but the Low preset is the most functional with an average of 35 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 26 FPS, and High and Ultra are essentially unplayable at 20 and 19 FPS, respectively. The data indicates that 4K resolution is outside the practical operating range for this combo in Thief. The best experience per the measured rows would be to run the game at 1080p with the Low preset for maximum smoothness, or at 1440p Low as a compromise for higher resolution. The Ultra preset offers no meaningful advantage in any scenario, as its performance is nearly identical to High, suggesting a CPU bottleneck or a lack of scaling in the game engine for this particular GPU.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive component in this system’s Thief performance. Its benchmark data shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a very low position, and the nearest rivals in the database are all older, low-end NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% faster), GeForce 800M (1.5% faster), GeForce GT 625 OEM (2.5% faster), and GeForce GT 710 (2.7% faster). This context is crucial; the B390 is not merely underpowered for this game, it is in a performance tier associated with basic desktop use and legacy gaming.

The GPU’s architecture is Xe3-LPG, built on Intel’s 3 nm process, and it operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. While the boost clock is high, the GPU’s raw throughput figures tell the story. It has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, resulting in 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. These numbers are modest by modern discrete GPU standards, and the measured results in Thief reflect this. The game’s High and Ultra presets, which likely increase texture detail and shadow complexity, push the B390 to its limits, resulting in average FPS in the teens at 4K.

A critical aspect of this GPU is its memory configuration: it uses "System Shared" memory. This means the GPU relies on the system’s DDR5 RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which in this case is tied to the Ryzen 7 9850X3D’s dual-channel memory bus providing 89.6 GB/s. This shared memory arrangement can become a bottleneck in memory-intensive scenes, especially at higher resolutions where the frame buffer demands are larger. The data shows a consistent and significant FPS drop at 4K across all settings, which is likely exacerbated by the bandwidth limitations of sharing system memory. The GPU’s 80W TDP and IGP slot width confirm its integrated nature, meaning it is not a discrete card but part of the CPU package, further limiting its potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section details the exact measured average FPS for every resolution and settings combination.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 86 FPS
• Medium: 66 FPS (min 56, max 75)
• High: 50 FPS
• Ultra: 48 FPS

At 1080p, the combo shows a clear separation between presets. The Low preset achieves a very smooth 86 FPS. Medium offers a 20 FPS reduction to 66 FPS, still comfortable. High and Ultra are close together at 50 and 48 FPS, respectively, showing diminishing returns for the highest settings. The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter here, as the CPU is more than capable of handling this load.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 59 FPS
• Medium: 45 FPS (min 38, max 52)
• High: 34 FPS
• Ultra: 33 FPS

At 1440p, the performance drops are more pronounced. Low remains the only setting above 60 FPS, just barely at 59. Medium drops to 45 FPS, and the gap between Medium and High is 11 FPS. High and Ultra are nearly identical, again at 34 and 33 FPS. This pattern indicates that the higher presets are hitting a hard performance ceiling, likely due to the GPU’s shading and memory bandwidth limits.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 35 FPS
• Medium: 26 FPS (min 22, max 30)
• High: 20 FPS
• Ultra: 19 FPS

At 4K, the combo is clearly out of its depth. Even Low settings only produce an average of 35 FPS. Medium is at 26 FPS, and High and Ultra are in the teens at 20 and 19 FPS. The frame times at Medium (22 to 30 FPS) show that the experience would be consistently stuttery. These numbers confirm that 4K is not a viable resolution for this hardware configuration in Thief, regardless of settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Thief, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2534 out of 2851 combos. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems, which is consistent with the low percentile ranking of the GPU itself (9th percentile). The combo’s rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s performance, as the CPU is a top-tier part.

The CPU, AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, has an average benchmark score of 58386 and sits in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (0.1% higher score), Intel Xeon w5-2545 (0.2% lower), Intel Core i9-14900 (0.5% lower), and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (0.7% lower). This shows the CPU is performing at a very high level in synthetic tests. However, in the Thief benchmark, this CPU’s power is wasted. The combo’s rank of 2534 out of 2851 is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability but rather a signal of the GPU’s inability to keep up. The data implies that pairing this specific CPU with such a low-end GPU creates a massive imbalance, where the system’s overall gaming performance is entirely dictated by the B390. If a user were to upgrade the GPU, the CPU would not be a limiting factor in this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a high-end desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU’s cache configuration is substantial, with 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is a hallmark of the X3D series and is designed to improve gaming performance by reducing memory latency. The CPU’s synthetic benchmarks are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807 and a single-core score of 2228. Its PassMark multi-thread score is 41318, and single-thread is 4704.

In the context of Thief, the CPU’s role appears minimal based on the FPS data. The fact that performance scales nearly linearly with resolution and drops so sharply with increased graphical settings points to a GPU bottleneck. For example, going from Medium to High at 1080p results in a 16 FPS drop (66 to 50), which is a GPU-side effect. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS across different resolutions at the same settings, which is not the case. The CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads are likely more than sufficient for Thief, a game from 2014 that is not known for being heavily multi-threaded.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is also relevant, as the GPU shares this system memory. While this is a decent bandwidth for a dual-channel DDR5 setup, it is a fraction of what a dedicated GPU with its own VRAM would have. This shared bandwidth is a likely contributor to the poor 4K performance, as the GPU struggles to access texture data quickly enough. The CPU’s TDP is 120W, and it supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes, but these features are irrelevant to the in-game performance measured here. The data strongly suggests that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is not the limiting factor in this combo for Thief; it is a high-performance part that is being held back by the integrated graphics solution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Thief?

A: The highest average FPS measured is 86, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

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

A: No. The data shows that at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only achieves an average of 35 FPS. The High and Ultra presets produce averages of 20 and 19 FPS, respectively, which is not a smooth experience.

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

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, is 1.3% faster. The GeForce 800M is 1.5% faster, the GT 625 OEM is 2.5% faster, and the GT 710 is 2.7% faster.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among all tested systems in Thief?

A: This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2534 out of 2851 total tested combos for Thief.

Q: What are the clock speeds of the Intel Arc B390?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. It has a TDP of 80 W.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile and its closest rival?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. Its closest rival in terms of average benchmark score is the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, which is 0.1% higher, while the Intel Xeon w5-2545 is 0.2% lower.