Thief

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 lands at rank 509 out of 2,851 tested combos in Thief. This places the combination in the top 17.9% of all tested configurations, a strong result for a mobile platform. The ranking reflects the substantial headroom both components bring to this 2014 stealth title, even though neither part is specifically optimized for older-generation game engines.

The CPU alone sits at the 95th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 76,212. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX at 76,155 (0.1% behind this AMD chip), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P at 76,492 (0.4% ahead), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX at 76,513 (0.4% ahead). The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D trails by 0.6% with a score of 75,779. These deltas are razor-thin, meaning the 8945HX is effectively at parity with the fastest competing desktop and mobile processors in raw compute.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090 posts an average benchmark score of 60,347 and sits at the 88th percentile against all graphics cards. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, scores 60,326 — a 0% delta that suggests statistical equivalence in the aggregate benchmark. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% ahead at 60,140, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% ahead at 61,896, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 trails by 2.9% at 58,657. This grouping indicates that the RTX 4090's raw compute is competitive with a cluster of professional-grade cards, though its gaming-specific features and driver optimizations give it an edge in actual gameplay.

The rank of 509 out of 2,851 is notable because it shows the combination is not bottlenecked in a way that drags it down. Many higher-ranked combos likely pair the RTX 4090 with newer desktop CPUs, but the 8945HX's 16 cores and 32 threads keep the system from falling behind. The data indicates that for Thief specifically, the combo delivers a smooth experience across all tested settings, with the lowest average FPS being 57 at 4K Ultra — still playable but near the edge of comfort for frame-rate purists.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 191 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best is 173 at 1080p Medium, followed by 169 at 2560x1440 Low, and 148 at 1080p High.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 57. This is the lowest average in the entire measured set, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold only at 4K High (60 FPS average), while 4K Ultra falls just below it.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the primary limiter at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the FPS scales from 141 at Ultra to 191 at Low, indicating headroom. At 4K, the spread narrows (57 to 103), and the GPU's 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are fully engaged, making the graphics card the bottleneck.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only settings with both min and max FPS data are Medium at each resolution. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range is 147 to 199 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, it's 113 to 153 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, it's 67 to 90 FPS. All other settings report only average FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX scores 42,713 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, has an average score of 76,155, which is 0.1% behind the AMD chip's 76,212 average. The 8945HX also posts a PassMark multithread score of 51,405 and a Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 17,939.

Q: Does the GPU's 24 GB VRAM make a difference in Thief?

A: Thief is a 2014 title that does not demand large VRAM pools. The RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory is far beyond what the game requires, so VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor. Instead, the GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate drive the frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across three resolutions reveals a clear scaling pattern that identifies the GPU as the dominant performance factor in Thief. Starting at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 191 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 169 FPS — an 11.5% decrease. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 103 FPS, which is a 39.1% reduction from 1440p and a 46.1% reduction from 1080p.

This scaling behavior is typical of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost up to 5.40 GHz, have ample capacity to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU could become a factor, but the fact that Low settings yield 191 FPS versus 141 FPS at Ultra (a 35.5% difference) suggests the game engine's draw calls and geometry are the primary drivers, not the CPU.

The Medium settings data provides the most complete picture because it includes min and max FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 173 FPS with a range of 147 to 199 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 133 FPS (23.1% lower) with a range of 113 to 153 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 78 FPS (41.4% lower than 1440p) with a range of 67 to 90 FPS. The widening min-to-max spread at higher resolutions — 52 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K — indicates that the GPU's workload becomes more consistent as pixel count rises, but the average drops accordingly.

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a 59.5% drop (148 to 60 FPS), which is more severe than the Low settings drop of 46.1%. This suggests that higher quality settings increase the GPU's per-pixel workload disproportionately, confirming that the RTX 4090 is the limiting component at 4K. The CPU's role is minimal here; even at 4K Ultra, the 57 FPS average is well within the CPU's ability to sustain frame delivery.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 191 FPS, Medium settings average 173 FPS (with a 147-199 FPS range), High settings average 148 FPS, and Ultra settings average 141 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 50 FPS, showing that Thief's graphics options have a meaningful impact on performance even at the lowest resolution tested.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show the GPU's workload. Low settings average 169 FPS, Medium settings average 133 FPS (with a 113-153 FPS range), High settings average 101 FPS, and Ultra settings average 97 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 72 FPS, and the High-to-Ultra difference is just 4 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings at 1440p push the GPU harder without a proportional visual gain.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 103 FPS, Medium settings average 78 FPS (with a 67-90 FPS range), High settings average 60 FPS, and Ultra settings average 57 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread shrinks to 46 FPS, and the High-to-Ultra difference is just 3 FPS. The 4K Medium min FPS of 67 and max FPS of 90 show a tighter range than lower resolutions, reinforcing that the GPU is consistently saturated at this resolution.

The data reveals a pattern where the difference between High and Ultra settings is minimal at every resolution: 7 FPS at 1080p, 4 FPS at 1440p, and 3 FPS at 4K. This suggests that Ultra settings in Thief add marginal graphical enhancements over High but cost disproportionately more GPU performance. For players seeking maximum frame rates, High settings offer nearly the same visual quality with better performance. The combo's 4K High average of 60 FPS is exactly at the standard 60 FPS target, while 4K Ultra falls 3 FPS short of that target.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the primary driver of Thief's frame rates, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is far more than Thief's 2014-era textures require. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, translating to 21 Gbps effective, and the GPU's base clock of 2235 MHz boosts to 2520 MHz under load.

The RTX 4090's compute capabilities are substantial: 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster operation units. This configuration yields a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. In Thief, which relies heavily on pixel and texture throughput, these metrics directly translate to the high frame rates observed at 1080p and 1440p. The FP32 compute of 82.58 TFLOPS is more than sufficient for the game's lighting and shadow calculations.

The GPU's 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores are not directly relevant to Thief, as the game predates widespread ray tracing adoption and does not use DLSS. However, they contribute to the card's overall benchmark scores, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 and a PassMark G3D score of 38,194. The GPU's Vulkan score of 271,631 and OpenCL score of 255,416 indicate strong compute performance that could benefit other titles, but for Thief, the raw ROP and TMU throughput are the deciding factors.

The 450 W TDP and triple-slot cooler suggest the GPU is designed for sustained high performance, which aligns with the observed 4K Medium average of 78 FPS. The card's 2.9% delta against the AMD Radeon PRO V710 and 2.5% delta against the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M in aggregate benchmarks shows it is competitive with professional workstation GPUs, but in Thief, the RTX 4090's gaming-oriented drivers and architecture give it a clear advantage. The 4K Ultra average of 57 FPS is the only instance where the GPU fails to maintain 60 FPS, indicating that Thief's Ultra settings at 4K are the first real stress point for this card.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its 16 cores and 32 threads ensure the GPU is never starved of data. The CPU's Zen 4 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, runs at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosts to 5.40 GHz. This single-core boost clock is critical for Thief, which is a 2014 title that may not fully utilize many threads.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 64 MB of L3 cache. This large L3 cache helps with game asset streaming and can reduce memory latency, though Thief's engine is not particularly cache-sensitive. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support provides 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game's data requirements.

Benchmark results show the CPU's strength in both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,030 and multi-core score of 42,713 indicate strong performance across the board. The PassMark single-thread score of 3,907 and multithread score of 51,405 further confirm this. In Thief, where frame rates at 1080p reach 191 FPS on Low settings, the CPU is clearly not the bottleneck — even at 4K, where the GPU limits performance, the CPU has headroom to spare.

The CPU's 95th percentile ranking against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 76,212, places it in elite company. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, scores 76,155 (0.1% behind), while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 75,779 (0.6% behind). This tight grouping means the 8945HX is effectively interchangeable with the fastest CPUs available in terms of raw compute. For Thief, the CPU's role is to maintain minimum frame times, and the data shows no signs of stutter or CPU-induced frame drops — the 1080p Medium min FPS of 147 and 1440p Medium min FPS of 113 are both well above playable thresholds.

The CPU's 55 W TDP and mobile market segment indicate it is designed for laptops, yet its performance rivals desktop parts. This makes the combo particularly strong for portable gaming, as the CPU's efficiency does not compromise frame rates in Thief. The 5.40 GHz boost clock ensures that even single-threaded game logic runs at maximum speed, and the 32 threads handle any background tasks without interfering with game performance.