Thief

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 presents a striking contrast in Thief: a top-tier 2024 CPU paired with a 2017 GPU. The benchmark data reveals a system where the graphics card is the overwhelming bottleneck, dictating performance across all resolutions and settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS to show exactly how this pairing behaves.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a dramatic and consistent drop in frame rate as resolution increases, a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 48 FPS. Moving up to 2560x1440 at the same High preset, the average falls to 33 FPS. At 3840x2160 (4K), the average plummets to 19 FPS. This progression shows the frame rate being nearly halved when moving from 1080p to 4K (48 to 19 FPS), which signifies that the GPU's rendering workload is the primary constraint.

The story is identical across the other presets. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 83 at 1080p to 57 at 1440p, and then to 33 at 4K. For Medium, the numbers go from 63 → 43 → 25. Even the Ultra preset, which starts at 46 FPS for 1080p, falls to 31 at 1440p and bottoms out at 18 FPS for 4K.

The pattern is clear: the average FPS at each resolution gets roughly halved when jumping from 1080p to 4K. This is the typical behavior of a system where the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU has a lot of headroom, and the scaling is almost purely a function of the GPU's pixel throughput. The data suggests that the performance is so heavily tied to the RX 580 that the CPU is effectively not a variable in the equation at these settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the best resolution to play Thief at with this CPU/GPU combo?

At 1920x1080, the system is capable of a great experience. For instance, High settings average 48 FPS, and Low settings average 83 FPS. While 2560x1440 is playable, the average frame rates are lower, with High settings hitting 33 FPS and Low settings at 57 FPS. 3840x2160 is only suitable for Low settings, which averages 33 FPS, but the average frame rate is at 18-19 FPS on the higher presets.

Q: How does the RX 580 handle Ultra settings in Thief?

At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average is 46 FPS. At 2560x1440 Ultra, the average is 31 FPS. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average is 18 FPS. The data shows that Ultra is only really playable at 1080p, and even then the average is below 60 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and High settings at 1080p?

At 1920x1080, the average FPS jumps from 83 on Low to 48 on High. That is a 35 FPS gap, which is a significant performance cost.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X being fully utilized in this configuration?

The benchmark data does not directly show CPU utilization, but the scaling of the FPS with resolution strongly implies that the GPU is the main limiting factor. The 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor, but its performance is not a factor in the frame rate measured here.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the two most common settings at 1440p?

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 57 FPS while the High preset averages 33 FPS. The Medium preset lands at 43 FPS, which is a good balance.

Q: Is the RX 580's 8 GB of VRAM an issue for Thief?

The data does not provide specific VRAM usage metrics for this game. The performance data shows that even at 4K, the game runs at an average of 19 FPS on High settings, which suggests VRAM capacity is not the primary bottleneck; the GPU's processing power is.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip with a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz. It has 2304 shading units and a 256-bit memory bus with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory running at an effective speed of 8 Gbps, which provides a total bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The data shows that this GPU's performance is the central constraint in this system's Thief configuration.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide a context for the gaming results. Its passmark G3D score is 8813, the Geekbench OpenCL score is 37453, and the Geekbench Vulkan score is 45173. These scores are all moderate, aligning with its 50th percentile ranking (53rd percentile) among all GPUs. The RX 580 is positioned firmly in the mid-range, and its performance in Thief is consistent with that.

It is important to note the GPU's direct performance in Thief. At 1080p, the most intensive Ultra setting produces 46 FPS average, which is not a smooth 60 FPS experience. The scaling to 4K shows that the GPU is simply not powerful enough to maintain higher framerates at higher resolutions. The 4K High setting averages just 19 FPS, which is a significant drop.

The GPU's role is further defined by its nearest rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has an average benchmark score of 12940, which is -0.1% relative to the RX 580. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER has a score of 12986, which is -0.4% relative. These are all extremely close in terms of raw GPU benchmarks, suggesting that the RX 580 is in a very tight performance bracket. The comparison in this game shows similar frame rates for the same settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests a clear path for optimizing the gameplay experience with this combo. The most important variable is the resolution, as the GPU is the limiter.

For 1920x1080, the High preset at 48 FPS is a solid target for a good visual experience. If a higher frame rate is desired, dropping to Medium yields 63 FPS, a noticeable improvement. Ultra at 46 FPS is also viable but provides only a marginal visual improvement over High at a slight cost to the frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only one consistently above 50 FPS, averaging 57 FPS. The Medium preset at 43 FPS is acceptable, but the High preset at 33 FPS and Ultra at 31 FPS are for a lower frame rate.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only one above 30 FPS, hitting 33 FPS. The Medium preset is at 25 FPS, while High and Ultra are at 19 and 18 FPS, respectively. This resolution is not recommended for a smooth experience, but for a playable one, Low settings are the only option.

The data shows that the 1080p resolution is the sweet spot for this combo. The Medium preset at 63 FPS offers a high frame rate without sacrificing too much visual quality, while High at 48 FPS gives a more polished look at a very playable frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Here is the exact measured data for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + AMD Radeon RX 580.

1920x1080:

• Low: 83 FPS average
• Medium: 63 FPS average, with a min of 54 and max of 72
• High: 48 FPS average
• Ultra: 46 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 57 FPS average
• Medium: 43 FPS average, with a min of 37 and max of 50
• High: 33 FPS average
• Ultra: 31 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 33 FPS average
• Medium: 25 FPS average, with a min of 22 and max of 29
• High: 19 FPS average
• Ultra: 18 FPS average

The data shows a consistent trend. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 37 FPS (83 vs 46). At 1440p, the difference is 26 FPS (57 vs 31). At 4K, the difference is 15 FPS (33 vs 18). This pattern indicates that at higher resolutions, the settings have a less of an impact on the absolute FPS because the GPU is already struggling.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has a massive 64 MB of L3 cache and is built on the Zen 5 architecture. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks is exceptionally high, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253. It sits at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs.

However, the game performance data for Thief shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor. The FPS numbers are entirely dependent on the resolution and settings, which are the GPU's domain. The 9900X's capabilities are far beyond what this game requires, and the measured frame rates are what the RX 580 can provide.

This is a classic example of a CPU that is overkill for the task. The performance of the CPU is there, but the GPU cannot keep up. The evidence is that the FPS is directly proportional to the resolution changes. The fact that the same settings at 1080p produce 83 FPS and at 4K produce 33 FPS shows the GPU is the deciding factor. The CPU is not a bottleneck in any configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and the AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 3397th out of 3720 tested combos for Thief. This is in the bottom percentile of all tested configurations, which is expected given the age and tier of the GPU.

This ranking is a direct result of the GPU's performance. The CPU is a high-end processor, but the GPU is a mid-range part from 2017. The average FPS across all tested configurations is likely to be much lower than what a more modern GPU would provide.

The ranking is a strong indicator that this is not a high-performance combo for Thief. The data from the measured FPS confirms this, with an average FPS of 19 FPS at 4K High, which is unplayable. The system is capable of a decent 1080p experience, but it cannot compete with higher-end combinations. The rank is a reflection of the GPU's limitations.

The overall picture is that this CPU+GPU pairing is severely limited by the graphics card. The CPU is a power class, but the GPU is the bottleneck. For Thief, this combo is best at 1080p, where it can provide a playable experience at Medium and High settings. It is not a configuration that will excel at higher resolutions or with the highest graphical fidelity.