Thief

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a severely GPU-bound experience in Thief, with frame rates that plummet as resolution increases. The data shows this combo ranks near the bottom of all tested configurations, at 2634 out of 2851, placing it in the 8th percentile of performance. This is a pairing where the processor’s substantial multi-threading capabilities are completely overshadowed by a graphics solution that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at any resolution above 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a stark and predictable decline as resolution scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 78 FPS, which drops to 53 FPS at 1440p and further to 31 FPS at 4K. This represents a 32% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 60% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating the GPU is the primary limiting component at every resolution.

Looking at High settings, the frame rate falls from 45 FPS at 1080p to 31 FPS at 1440p, and then to 18 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is particularly telling—it is exactly 60% lower than the 1080p figure, a proportional drop that mirrors the Low preset’s scaling. This linearity suggests the Arc B370’s rendering pipeline saturates quickly, with no headroom to absorb the additional pixel count at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory: 59 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The minimum frame rates at Medium settings reinforce the GPU-bound nature—at 1440p the minimum is 35 FPS, while at 4K it falls to 20 FPS. The gap between average and minimum FPS widens at 4K, indicating frame time consistency degrades as the resolution increases, likely due to the GPU’s limited pixel throughput.

Ultra settings produce the lowest absolute numbers, with 43 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1440p and 4K here is 12 FPS, which is proportionally smaller than the drop from 1080p to 1440p (14 FPS). This suggests that at Ultra settings, the game’s visual complexity already overwhelms the GPU at 1440p, so the additional resolution penalty at 4K is comparatively muted—the bottleneck is so severe that the GPU is already near its maximum workload.

The scaling data clearly indicates that the Ryzen 9 7900X is never the limiting factor in this game. The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads, clocked at a base of 4.70 GHz and boost of 5.60 GHz, are far more capable than what Thief requires. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically have more influence, the 78 FPS result is modest, and the consistent percentage drops across presets confirm that the Arc B370’s 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs are the ceiling. The GPU’s boost clock of 2400 MHz and 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 performance are simply insufficient for this 2014 title at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear verdict: Low settings at 1080p is the only configuration that delivers a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 78 FPS. This is the sole preset-resolution combination that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, which is generally considered the baseline for fluid gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p achieves 59 FPS, which is borderline—playable but with occasional dips to a 50 FPS minimum, which could result in perceptible stutter.

At 1440p, the situation is more constrained. Low settings yield 53 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay but may feel less responsive during action sequences. Medium at 1440p produces 41 FPS, and High drops to 31 FPS. The 4K results are all below 31 FPS, making them impractical for serious play. The data suggests that players should prioritize resolution over visual fidelity—dropping to 1080p Low doubles the frame rate compared to 1440p High (78 vs 31 FPS).

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, 1080p Low is the recommendation. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 19 FPS (from 78 to 59), a 24% reduction that may not justify the modest visual improvements in a stealth game where lighting and shadow detail matter. However, if the player values graphical fidelity and can tolerate lower frame rates, 1080p Medium at 59 FPS is the highest preset that remains consistently above the 50 FPS mark. The High preset at 1080p (45 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) are nearly identical in performance, suggesting diminishing returns—the Ultra preset adds little visual benefit for a 2 FPS loss.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts to Low settings (53 FPS), as Medium at 41 FPS and High at 31 FPS introduce increasingly noticeable frame pacing issues. The 4K resolution is effectively unsupported by this combination, with the best result being 31 FPS at Low settings—a figure that falls below the minimum recommended playability threshold for most gamers. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with reduced settings, and attempting higher resolutions will result in a degraded experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame field positions this configuration at 2634 out of 2851 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems evaluated in Thief. This is a remarkably low ranking that reflects the Arc B370’s position in the GPU hierarchy—the GPU’s own percentileVsAllGpus is 5, meaning it outperforms only 5% of all GPUs in the database. The processor, in contrast, is in the 91st percentile among CPUs, creating a massive imbalance in this pairing.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the database illustrate its performance tier. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 has an average score of 1186, which is 0.2% higher than the Arc B370’s 1184. Similarly, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher). The AMD FirePro M2000 is slightly behind at 1168, which is 1.4% lower. These comparisons show that the Arc B370 is performing at a level comparable to integrated and entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago. This is consistent with its 3 nm process node and 25 W TDP, which prioritize power efficiency over raw performance.

The CPU’s nearest rivals tell a different story. The AMD EPYC 7313P has an average score of 53206, just 0.2% below the Ryzen 9 7900X’s 53288. The Intel Xeon Phi 7290 is 0.3% higher at 53469, and the Intel Xeon 634 is 0.6% lower at 52974. The Intel Core i7-14700F is 0.6% higher at 53620. These are all high-end server or desktop processors, confirming that the Ryzen 9 7900X is a top-tier CPU whose performance is wasted in this configuration. The combo’s low ranking is entirely attributable to the GPU, which drags down an otherwise excellent processor.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p is the only viable resolution. At Low settings, the combo achieves 78 FPS, while 1440p Low drops to 53 FPS and 4K Low falls to 31 FPS. Higher resolutions consistently produce frame rates below playable thresholds.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. This is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It is 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No. The CPU is in the 91st percentile among all processors and has benchmarks like 29300 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. The consistent frame rate drops across resolutions indicate the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads far exceed Thief’s requirements.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 31. This is identical to the 4K Low result, highlighting how much performance is lost at this resolution. The 1440p High setting is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the Ultra preset offer any advantage over High?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 43 FPS compared to High’s 45 FPS—a 2 FPS difference. At 1440p, Ultra is 29 FPS versus High’s 31 FPS. The Ultra preset provides essentially no performance benefit over High and both are significantly slower than Medium.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: It ranks 2634 out of 2851 combinations, placing it in the bottom 8%. This low ranking is driven by the GPU’s 5th percentile performance, while the CPU’s 91st percentile ranking is negated by the graphics bottleneck.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all legacy parts from the early 2010s. The GPU features 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS.

These specifications are modest for a modern GPU, and the data reflects this. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 17 FPS, and even at 1080p Low, the 78 FPS result is below what many contemporary GPUs would achieve. The memory configuration is particularly limiting—the GPU uses System Shared memory, meaning it relies on the CPU’s DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means performance can vary based on the system’s memory configuration. In this case, the Ryzen 9 7900X supports dual-channel DDR5 with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth, but sharing this with the GPU for both system and graphics tasks creates contention.

The GPU’s 25 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate it is designed for integrated use, likely in a portable device. The architecture is Xe3-LPG on a 3 nm process from Intel, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. While the API support is modern, the raw compute power is insufficient for Thief’s demands at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates show that the GPU saturates quickly—the drop from 1080p to 1440p is proportionally larger than from 1440p to 4K, suggesting the GPU’s rendering pipeline becomes fully utilized at around 1440p, and additional pixels only marginally increase the workload because the shader units are already maxed out.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is vastly overqualified for this task, and the benchmark data underscores this imbalance. The CPU is in the 91st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 53288. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206, 0.2% lower), Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469, 0.3% higher), Intel Xeon 634 (52974, 0.6% lower), and Intel Core i7-14700F (53620, 0.6% higher). These are all high-performance processors, and the Ryzen 9 7900X holds its own among them.

The processor’s specifications are formidable: 12 cores and 24 threads based on Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The L3 cache is 64 MB shared, and the CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus. Its Cinebench R23 scores are 29300 for multi-core and 2016.5 for single-core, while Geekbench scores are 19267 multi-core and 2617 single-core. In PassMark, the multi-thread score is 51406, with single-thread at 4238.

In Thief, the CPU’s role is minimal because the game is GPU-bound. The measured frame rates are consistent with a system where the GPU is the limiting factor—increasing resolution always decreases FPS, but the CPU never appears to be the constraint. Even at 1080p Low, where CPU load is typically highest, the 78 FPS result is far below what the Ryzen 9 7900X could theoretically support in a less GPU-limited scenario. The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are largely idle during gameplay, as Thief is a 2014 title that does not utilize high thread counts effectively.

The mismatch between the CPU and GPU is the defining characteristic of this combo. The Ryzen 9 7900X is a top-tier desktop processor that would pair well with a high-end discrete GPU, but the Arc B370 holds it back completely. The CPU’s 91st percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 5th percentile creates a 86-point gap in performance tiers, resulting in a system that is severely imbalanced. For Thief specifically, the CPU provides no measurable benefit—the frame rates are entirely dictated by the GPU’s capability, and the processor’s powerful specifications are wasted in this configuration.