Thief

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. In the context of Thief, a 2014 stealth title, this CPU is massively overprovisioned for the game’s threading demands. The benchmark data shows the CPU’s average benchmark score is 54450, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (avg score 54681, deltaPct -0.4%), the Intel Core i7-14700F (avg score 54097, deltaPct 0.7%), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (avg score 55304, deltaPct -1.5%). These deltas are all under 2%, meaning the 9900X is within a narrow performance band of its closest competitors. For Thief, which was released in 2014, the CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are unlikely to be fully utilized; the game’s engine was designed for far fewer threads. The single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1286 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 6555, is more relevant for a game of this era, ensuring that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. The CPU’s 64 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support (with dual-channel bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s) provide ample memory bandwidth for the game’s data streams, but again, these are modern specifications that far exceed the requirements of a 2014 title.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Ryzen 9 9900X’s core configuration and clock speeds are the primary factors in its CPU role, but for Thief, the relationship is one of overwhelming headroom. The processor has 12 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU’s multithreaded capabilities, such as a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 46438 and a passmark_multithread score of 54643, are exceptional. However, Thief was released in 2014, and its engine does not scale to 12 cores. The data from the measured FPS shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 153.7, which is the highest recorded across all settings and resolutions. This suggests that the CPU is capable of delivering very high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily taxed. The single-thread performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1286 and a passmark_single_thread score of 4672, is strong enough to drive the game’s logic without issue. The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs further confirms its high-end status. In practical terms, the CPU is never the limiting factor in this combo; the data shows that FPS drops are primarily tied to resolution and GPU load, not CPU capabilities. The 4 nm process node and TSMC foundry are modern attributes, but they do not change the fact that the game’s workload is too simple to stress this processor. The CPU’s 120 W TDP and socket AM5 platform are specifications that speak to its modern design, yet for Thief, the result is that the CPU sits idle relative to its potential, allowing the GPU to dictate performance.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER plays the decisive role in this combo’s performance. This GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1470 MHz, with a boost clock of 1650 MHz, and memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU’s benchmark scores include a passmark_g3d score of 16462 and a 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 2011. It ranks in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (avg score 19706, deltaPct 0.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (avg score 19680, deltaPct 0.5%), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (avg score 19623, deltaPct 0.8%). The RTX 2060 SUPER is positioned just above these cards, with deltas of less than 1.3%, indicating a tight competitive cluster. For Thief, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for all tested settings, as the game’s textures from 2014 do not require more. The data shows a clear GPU-bound pattern: at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 84, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 33.2. This scaling is directly tied to the GPU’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. The GPU’s 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 105.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are the specifications that determine how many pixels can be processed per second. As resolution increases, the pixel count multiplies, and the GPU’s workload increases proportionally, which is reflected in the FPS drops. The GPU’s 175 W TDP and dual-slot design are physical attributes, but they do not affect the measured FPS. The data clearly indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the component that scales the frame rate across the tested resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo, and at what settings?

A: The highest average FPS is 153.7, recorded at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU’s average benchmark score compare to its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has an average benchmark score of 54450, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D has a score of 54681, representing a deltaPct of -0.4% (the 9900X is slightly lower).

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all GPUs, and what does that indicate?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER ranks in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, indicating it performs better than 63% of GPUs in the database.

Q: At 1440p resolution, what is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS on Low settings is 106.2, while on Ultra settings it is 60.9, a difference of 45.3 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or the GPU appear to be the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 65.7 on Low to 33.2 on Ultra, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s capabilities are not fully exercised at this resolution.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combos in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1176 out of 1642 total combos tested in Thief.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1176 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This ranking places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is a reflection of the GPU’s age and tier rather than the CPU’s capabilities. The CPU is a high-end, modern processor with a 94th percentile ranking, but the GPU is a mid-range card from the GeForce 20-series, ranking in the 63rd percentile. The combination’s rank is pulled down by the GPU’s performance ceiling. The data shows that the GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the RTX 2070 (deltaPct 0.5%), are extremely close in average score, yet the combo’s rank of 1176 suggests that many other GPU and CPU pairings achieve higher FPS in this specific title. The CPU’s nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-14700F (deltaPct 0.7%), have similar CPU performance, but the GPU remains the deciding factor for the combo’s overall standing. In a game like Thief, which is not CPU-intensive, the CPU’s high ranking does not translate into a high combo ranking. The 1642 total combos tested include a wide range of modern GPUs, and the RTX 2060 SUPER sits below many of them in terms of raw FPS output. This rank of 1176 is a data point that indicates the GPU is the primary limitation. The deltaPct values for the GPU’s rivals (0.3% to 1.3%) show that the RTX 2060 SUPER is at the edge of its performance class, and the combo rank reflects that positioning within the broader set of all tested hardware pairings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a consistent drop in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, which is a clear indicator of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 153.7. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings, the average FPS drops to 106.2, a decrease of 47.5 FPS. At 4K Low, the average FPS further drops to 65.7, another decrease of 40.5 FPS. This pattern holds across all settings. For High settings, the FPS goes from 92.5 at 1080p to 61.7 at 1440p and then to 34.2 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly a 30% reduction in FPS, and the drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly a 45% to 50% reduction, depending on the settings. This scaling is consistent with the GPU’s workload increasing with pixel count. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s are the physical limits that govern this scaling. The CPU’s performance, with its high single-thread scores (cinebench_r23_singlecore of 6555), does not change with resolution, so the FPS drop is entirely attributable to the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU can push frame rates above 150 FPS on Low settings, but the GPU cannot maintain that at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 33.2 is less than a quarter of the 1080p Low average FPS, highlighting the GPU’s role as the primary bottleneck. The scaling is not linear, but it is steep, indicating that the GPU is working at its limits at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are as follows: Low settings yield 153.7 FPS, Medium settings yield 117.7 FPS, High settings yield 92.5 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 84 FPS. This shows a clear step-down as settings increase, with the difference between Low and Ultra being 69.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low settings yield 106.2 FPS, Medium settings yield 80.9 FPS, High settings yield 61.7 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 60.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 45.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor. At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low settings yield 65.7 FPS, Medium settings yield 50.6 FPS, High settings yield 34.2 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 33.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 32.5 FPS. The data reveals that the largest FPS drop occurs between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings (a decrease of 47.5 FPS), while the smallest drop occurs between 1440p and 4K at Ultra settings (a decrease of 27.7 FPS). This suggests that the GPU’s performance ceiling is more evident at higher resolutions, where even reducing settings from Ultra to Low does not yield the same relative improvement as at 1080p. At 4K, going from Low to Ultra costs 32.5 FPS, but at 1080p, it costs 69.7 FPS, showing that the GPU has less headroom at higher resolutions. The absence of min and max FPS values in the data means only the averages are available, but the consistent pattern across all settings confirms a stable, GPU-dominated performance profile.