Thief

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B370 pairing produces a deeply unbalanced gaming experience in Thief, a 2014 stealth title. The data shows a processor with flagship-tier compute capability paired with a graphics solution that ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. This combination results in a severe bottleneck that prevents the CPU from ever demonstrating its potential in this game, with frame rates that struggle to remain playable at higher settings.

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

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D brings substantial processing power to this pairing. The chip features 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This is a 9000-series processor built on a 4 nm process at TSMC, and it carries a 128 MB L3 cache — a configuration that typically excels in gaming workloads that benefit from large pools of fast-accessible memory.

Benchmark data supports the CPU's high-end positioning. The processor achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739. The Geekbench multi-core result of 22884 and single-core result of 3041 further confirm its strength. The processor's percentile ranking versus all CPUs sits at 91, placing it in the top tier of available processors. In 3DMark testing, the chip scores 12490 with 16 threads and 13795 with max threads, showing strong scaling as more threads are utilized.

The nearest rivals in synthetic averages highlight the competitive field. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF posts an average score of 55093, which is 0.6% lower than the 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54762. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54053 (1.3% behind), the Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53701 (2% behind), and the Intel Core i7-14700F scores 53620 (2.1% behind). These margins are tight, indicating that the 9900X3D is not dramatically ahead of its nearest competitors in raw compute.

However, in Thief, the CPU's role is largely theoretical. The game is from 2014, and the measured frame rates are consistently low across all resolutions and settings. The 12-core, 24-thread configuration and the high boost clock are essentially idle resources because the graphics subsystem is the limiting factor. The data suggests that even a much weaker processor would produce nearly identical frame rates in this specific configuration, as the Intel Arc B370 simply cannot feed frames fast enough to engage the CPU meaningfully.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combined performance of this CPU-GPU pair is notably poor within the benchmark database. The combo ranks 2634 out of 2851 tested combinations in Thief, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This is a striking result for a processor that ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, and it directly illustrates the impact of the graphics bottleneck.

The rank reflects the measured frame rates, which are dominated by the GPU's limitations. The Intel Arc B370 has a percentile ranking of 5 among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score is 1184 based on the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The nearest GPU rivals show how closely packed the field is at this performance tier: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% higher), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher). Only the AMD FirePro M2000 scores lower at 1168 (1.4% behind).

The gap between the CPU's potential and the combo's actual rank is stark. A top-10% processor paired with a bottom-5% GPU yields a system that ranks in the bottom 8% of all combos for this game. This suggests that for Thief, the GPU selection is the single most important determinant of overall performance, and that the 9900X3D's extensive compute resources are wasted in this configuration. The data implies that users seeking playable frame rates in this title would need to prioritize a significantly stronger graphics solution over CPU investment.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Resolution scaling in Thief reveals a predictable pattern that confirms the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 78 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops this to 53 FPS, a reduction of 25 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 31 FPS, which is a 47 FPS drop from 1080p. This scaling behavior is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor.

The Medium settings row provides additional detail. At 1080p, the average is 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. At 1440p, this drops to 41 FPS (min 35, max 47), and at 4K it falls to 24 FPS (min 20, max 27). The consistent downward progression across resolutions indicates that the GPU's rendering capability is saturated at every step.

High settings follow the same trend: 45 FPS at 1080p, 31 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings yield 43 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. The differences between High and Ultra at the same resolution are small — 2 FPS at 1080p, 2 FPS at 1440p, and 1 FPS at 4K — which indicates that the GPU is already at its limit and additional settings increases have minimal impact.

The scaling pattern strongly suggests that the CPU is not the limiting component. If the 9900X3D were the bottleneck, resolution changes would produce smaller FPS variations because the CPU workload would remain constant. Instead, the large FPS drops with increasing resolution point directly to the Intel Arc B370's limited pixel throughput and memory bandwidth, which is system-shared and system-dependent.

FAQ

*Q: Why does the combo rank so poorly in Thief despite having a high-end CPU?*

A: The combo ranks 2634 out of 2851 tested combinations because the Intel Arc B370 GPU ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The processor's 91st percentile ranking cannot compensate for the graphics bottleneck, resulting in low frame rates across all settings.

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

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce an average of 78 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 43 FPS. This represents a 35 FPS difference, indicating that the graphics settings have a substantial impact on the GPU's workload.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54762 is 0.6% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55093), 1.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54053), 2% higher than the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701), and 2.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620).

Q: Is the frame rate consistent at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: The data shows some variation. At 1080p Medium, the range is 50 to 68 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 35 to 47 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range narrows to 20 to 27 FPS, with the average at 24 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU have any competitive advantages over its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B370's average benchmark score of 1184 is 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168), but it trails the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192) by margins of 0.2% to 0.7%.

Q: What does the resolution scaling data indicate about the system's balance?

A: The large FPS drops from 1080p to 4K (for example, 78 to 31 FPS at Low settings) indicate that the GPU is the limiting component. A CPU-bound system would show much smaller performance differences across resolutions.

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

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process at Intel. Its base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2400 MHz, and it features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operation units. The GPU also includes 10 ray tracing cores, though this feature is unlikely to be relevant for Thief given its age.

Memory is a critical limitation for this GPU. The card uses system-shared memory with a system-shared bus width and system-dependent bandwidth. This means the GPU relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory, which is dual-channel with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. Unlike a discrete GPU with dedicated VRAM, the Arc B370 must compete with the CPU for memory access, and the shared nature of the memory subsystem likely contributes to the low frame rates observed.

The GPU's compute throughput is modest. It delivers 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 12.29 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (at a 2:1 ratio). The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. These figures place the GPU firmly in the entry-level segment, and the benchmark data confirms this: the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, with a percentile ranking of 5 among all GPUs.

The power characteristics reflect its integrated nature. The GPU has a TDP of 25 W, uses no power connectors, and has an IGP slot width. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The display outputs are listed as portable device dependent, which is consistent with its likely inclusion in a mobile or compact platform.

In Thief, the GPU's limitations are the primary driver of the measured frame rates. The system-shared memory and low compute throughput result in average FPS values that range from 17 FPS at 4K Ultra to 78 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows that the GPU is essentially overwhelmed by the game's rendering demands at higher resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides clear guidance for achieving the best playable experience with this hardware in Thief. At 1080p, the Low settings preset delivers an average of 78 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested configurations. This is the only setting that approaches a smooth experience, and it is the recommended choice for gameplay.

Medium settings at 1080p produce an average of 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. This is still playable, but the 19 FPS drop from Low to Medium suggests that the visual quality improvement may not justify the performance cost. The minimum of 50 FPS indicates that occasional dips could be noticeable.

High settings at 1080p average 45 FPS, and Ultra settings average 43 FPS. The difference between these two is only 2 FPS, which is negligible. Neither setting provides a consistently smooth experience, and both are best avoided if frame rate is the priority.

At 1440p, even Low settings only achieve 53 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium drops to 41 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 31 FPS and 29 FPS respectively. At 4K, all settings produce averages below 31 FPS, with Ultra at 17 FPS and High at 18 FPS — these are not playable by most standards.

The data suggests that the optimal configuration is 1080p with Low settings, which provides the highest average frame rate and the most headroom for maintaining smooth gameplay. If visual quality is more important than frame rate, Medium at 1080p offers a reasonable compromise with a 59 FPS average and a 50 FPS minimum. Higher settings or resolutions are not recommended given the measured performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The complete measured FPS data for this combination is presented below, organized by resolution and settings.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 78 FPS
• Medium: Average 59 FPS, Minimum 50 FPS, Maximum 68 FPS
• High: Average 45 FPS
• Ultra: Average 43 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 53 FPS
• Medium: Average 41 FPS, Minimum 35 FPS, Maximum 47 FPS
• High: Average 31 FPS
• Ultra: Average 29 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 31 FPS
• Medium: Average 24 FPS, Minimum 20 FPS, Maximum 27 FPS
• High: Average 18 FPS
• Ultra: Average 17 FPS

The data reveals a consistent pattern across all settings. The 1080p Low configuration is the only one that breaks the 60 FPS threshold, and the 1080p Medium configuration is the only other that maintains an average above 50 FPS. Every other configuration falls below 50 FPS, with the 4K configurations all falling below 32 FPS.

The minimum and maximum values at Medium settings provide additional insight. At 1080p, the range is 50 to 68 FPS, which is a spread of 18 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 35 to 47 FPS, a spread of 12 FPS. At 4K, the range is 20 to 27 FPS, a spread of 7 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes more consistently saturated as pixel count increases, leaving less variance in frame delivery.

The differences between High and Ultra settings are minimal across all resolutions: 2 FPS at 1080p, 2 FPS at 1440p, and 1 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the Ultra preset offers no meaningful performance penalty over High, but also that the GPU is too limited to benefit from the additional settings headroom. The overall picture is a system that can handle Thief at low resolutions and settings, but which falls short of smooth performance at higher demands.