Thief

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a 1080p experience that ranges from playable to excellent in Thief, but the combination struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K, with a combo rank of 2296 out of 2851 tested configurations. This pairing is clearly CPU-capable for the game’s stealth mechanics, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs, and the data shows that only the Low preset at 1440p and 1080p, along with Medium at 1080p, cross the 60 FPS threshold comfortably.

FAQ

*Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Thief?*

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B570 combo ranks 2296 out of 2851 tested combinations, placing it in the lower portion of all tested configs for this game.

Q: Does this pairing achieve 60 FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 77, which is above the 60 FPS target, though not by a massive margin.

Q: What is the best average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 133, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only measured result that exceeds 120 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has an average benchmark score of 57498, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555) and 0.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 7313 (57399). It also trails the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115) by 1.1% and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323) by 1.4%.

Q: Is the GPU performance comparable to any specific rival cards?

A: The Intel Arc B570’s average benchmark score is 20556, which is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750 (20582). It also scores 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480) and 0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662).

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for Medium settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 86, with a maximum of 116 and an average of 101, indicating a stable frame delivery.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2296 out of 2851 tested combinations places this pairing firmly in the bottom 20% of all CPU-GPU combos tested for Thief. This is a surprisingly low rank given the hardware involved, but the data indicates that the Intel Arc B570’s performance ceiling is the primary constraint. The Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end desktop CPU, but Thief is a 2014 title that does not heavily tax modern multi-core processors, so the CPU’s advantages are largely untapped. The GPU, however, sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556, which is competitive with mid-range cards like the Intel Arc A750 (20582) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534). This suggests the combo’s low rank is not due to a weak GPU per se, but rather because Thief’s engine and settings demand more from the graphics card at higher resolutions than this GPU can deliver.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the combo’s performance scales predictably with resolution and settings. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 73 (Ultra) to 133 (Low), which are respectable numbers for a game of this era. At 1440p, the range drops to 50 (Ultra) to 91 (Low), and at 4K, it falls further to 29 (Ultra) to 54 (Low). The rank of 2296 suggests that many other combos achieve higher frame rates, likely because they pair faster GPUs with similar or better CPUs. The Ryzen 9 9900X’s 12 cores and 24 threads are overkill for Thief, which was released in 2014 and does not utilize more than a few threads effectively. Therefore, the ranking reflects a GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions, not a CPU deficiency.

In terms of competitor comparisons, the Ryzen 9 9900X’s nearest rivals—such as the AMD EPYC 9015 (deltaPct -0.1%) and the Intel Core i9-14900 (deltaPct -1.1%)—show that the CPU is within 1.5% of its closest peers in average benchmark score. This means swapping the CPU for a slightly faster or slower model would have minimal impact on Thief’s frame rates, as the game is not CPU-bound. The GPU’s rivals, including the Intel Arc A750 (deltaPct -0.1%) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct 0.1%), also show that the Arc B570 is in a tight performance band, but none of these cards would dramatically change the combo’s rank in this game. The data suggests that a higher-tier GPU would be necessary to significantly improve the rank, but that is beyond the scope of this analysis.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has 64 MB of L3 cache, with 1 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This is a desktop-class CPU with a TDP of 120 W, designed for high-end workloads, and it sits at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 57498. In Thief, however, the CPU’s role is limited because the game’s engine, released in February 2014, was built for older hardware with fewer cores. The measured FPS data shows that the combo achieves 133 FPS at 1080p Low, which indicates that the CPU can easily feed the GPU at lower settings, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase.

The CPU’s single-thread performance, as measured by benchmarks like 3dmark_single_thread (1286) and cinebench_r23_singlecore (2253), is strong, but Thief does not require extreme single-thread speeds to run well. The multi-thread scores, such as cinebench_r23_multicore (32172) and geekbench_multicore (22174), are impressive, yet the game does not use more than a few cores. This is evident from the fact that at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 73, which is only slightly lower than the 77 FPS at 1080p High, suggesting that the GPU is already nearing its limits rather than the CPU. The 12 cores and 24 threads are essentially idle headroom for this title, and the CPU’s 92nd percentile ranking does not translate into a high combo rank because the GPU holds the pairing back.

The CPU’s memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s also provides ample bandwidth for Thief, but it is not a factor in the game’s performance since the GPU has its own 10 GB of GDDR6 memory with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Ryzen 9 9900X’s PCIe Gen 5 support (24 lanes) ensures fast communication with the GPU, but the Intel Arc B570 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, which is sufficient for this game. In summary, the CPU is not a limiting factor in Thief; it provides more than enough processing power, and the data shows that the GPU dictates the frame rates across all resolutions and settings. The combo’s rank of 2296 is thus a reflection of the GPU’s mid-range performance rather than any CPU deficiency.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 133, which drops to 91 at 1440p (a 31.6% reduction) and then to 54 at 4K (a 40.7% reduction from 1440p). This pattern holds across all settings. For High settings, the averages are 77 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p (a 31.2% drop), and 31 FPS at 4K (a 41.5% drop from 1440p). Medium settings show 101 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p (a 31.7% drop), and 41 FPS at 4K (a 40.6% drop). Ultra settings follow the same trend: 73 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p (a 31.5% drop), and 29 FPS at 4K (a 42% drop from 1440p).

The consistent percentage drops across settings—roughly 31% from 1080p to 1440p and 41% from 1440p to 4K—indicate that the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain more constant as resolution increases, because the CPU’s workload does not scale with pixel count. Instead, the GPU’s rendering load increases with resolution, and the Arc B570’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The GPU’s 160-bit memory bus and 80 ROPs also contribute to this scaling behavior, as higher resolutions require more memory bandwidth and pixel throughput.

The fact that even at Low settings, the 4K average FPS is only 54—barely above the 60 FPS target—reinforces that the GPU is the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 133 FPS shows the CPU can easily handle the game, but the GPU cannot sustain that performance as resolution climbs. The 4K Medium result of 41 FPS (with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47) further shows that the GPU’s limitations are not just about average FPS but also about frame consistency, as the minimum FPS drops below 40. For a stealth game like Thief, where smooth movement and quick reactions matter, these frame rates at 4K are suboptimal. The recommendation is to stick to 1080p or 1440p for a better experience, as the data shows that 4K is not viable for this combo in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 73 (Ultra) to 133 (Low). The Medium setting at 1080p yields an average of 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 and a maximum of 116, indicating a stable frame delivery. High settings at 1080p produce an average of 77 FPS, with no minimum or maximum provided. These numbers show that 1080p is the sweet spot for this pairing, as all settings except Ultra exceed 75 FPS, and even Ultra maintains a playable 73 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low settings yield an average of 91 FPS, which is still above 60, but High settings fall to 53 FPS, Medium to 69 FPS (with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 79), and Ultra to 50 FPS. This means that at 1440p, only Low and Medium settings provide a smooth experience, while High and Ultra dip below 60 FPS. The Medium setting’s minimum of 59 FPS is close to the 60 FPS target, but the average of 69 suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable in fast-paced scenes.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings produce an average of 54 FPS, which is below 60, while Medium drops to 41 FPS (with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47), High to 31 FPS, and Ultra to 29 FPS. None of these results are ideal for a smooth experience, and the 4K Ultra average of 29 FPS is nearly unplayable for a stealth game that requires precise timing. The data indicates that this combo is not suited for 4K gaming in Thief, as even the lowest settings cannot maintain 60 FPS.

The pattern across all resolutions is that the GPU’s performance degrades predictably with increasing settings and resolution. The Arc B570’s 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are adequate for 1080p and 1440p at lower settings, but they are not enough for 4K. The GPU’s 18 ray tracing cores are irrelevant for this game, as Thief does not use ray tracing, and the 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s textures, but the memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions. Overall, the measured FPS data shows that this combo is best used at 1080p, with 1440p viable only at Low or Medium settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s resolution and performance preferences. At 1920x1080, the best experience is achieved with High settings, which deliver an average of 77 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS target and provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. Low settings at 1080p yield 133 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual fidelity is reduced. Medium settings at 1080p offer 101 FPS with a minimum of 86, which is also a strong choice for those who want smoother frame rates than High without sacrificing too much quality. Ultra settings at 1080p drop to 73 FPS, which is still playable, but the visual improvement over High is marginal in a game from 2014, so High is the recommended preset for most users.

At 2560x1440, the situation changes. Low settings produce 91 FPS, which is smooth, but the game’s visuals will look dated. Medium settings at 1440p yield 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable for most users. High settings at 1440p drop to 53 FPS, and Ultra to 50 FPS, both of which are below 60 and may cause noticeable stuttering in a stealth game where timing is crucial. Therefore, Medium is the recommended setting at 1440p, as it provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the understanding that occasional dips below 60 FPS may occur.

At 3840x2160, none of the settings provide a recommended experience. Low settings at 4K yield 54 FPS, which is close to 60 but not consistent, and Medium drops to 41 FPS, High to 31 FPS, and Ultra to 29 FPS. These frame rates are too low for a game that requires precision and smooth movement, so the data suggests avoiding 4K with this combo. If a user insists on 4K, Low settings are the only viable option, but even then, the average FPS is below 60. The best overall experience is at 1080p with High settings, which offers 77 FPS and a good visual presentation, or 1080p with Medium settings for 101 FPS and a higher frame rate buffer. For those with 1440p monitors, Medium settings at 1440p (69 FPS) are the best compromise, but users should be prepared for frame rate dips below 60 in demanding scenes.