Thief

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B390 combination delivers playable performance only at lower resolutions and settings in Thief, with a stark performance cliff emerging as resolution increases. The data shows a system where the GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck, rendering the high-end CPU largely irrelevant for this title's frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second (FPS) data reveals a dramatic and consistent performance drop as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 86 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 59 FPS, a reduction of 27 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 35 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p performance. This pattern holds across all settings presets, indicating a severe scaling penalty.

The scaling behavior points directly at the GPU as the limiting component. When resolution increases, the number of pixels the renderer must process grows exponentially. The Intel Arc B390, with its low performance percentile, is unable to keep up with this demand. The frame rate drops are not linear; they are steep, suggesting that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated quickly. For instance, at 1080p High, the average is 50 FPS, but at 4K High, it plummets to 20 FPS. That is a 60% reduction in performance for a 4x increase in pixel count.

The implication is clear: the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is not the limiting factor in this scenario. A CPU bottleneck would manifest as a smaller FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p, as the GPU would still have headroom. Instead, the consistent and significant drops at every step suggest the GPU is working at its maximum capacity even at 1080p, and any additional pixel load directly reduces output. The data indicates that this game, when paired with this GPU, is a purely resolution-bound scenario. The 4K results, ranging from 19 FPS at Ultra to 35 FPS at Low, are largely unplayable, while 1440p offers a marginal improvement, and 1080p is the only resolution where the combo approaches acceptable smoothness.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive factor in this system's Thief performance. Its benchmark data shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is an exceptionally low score, and the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M, which are entry-level mobile parts from years ago. The data indicates this is a very weak graphics processor.

The GPU's specifications corroborate its low performance. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 24 raster output units (ROPs). Its boost clock is listed at 2500 MHz. While the clock speed is respectable, the low core counts and the fact that it uses "System Shared" memory are significant drawbacks. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," meaning it relies on the system's main DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This architecture is a major bottleneck for gaming, as shared memory is slower and competes with the CPU for bandwidth.

In Thief, this translates to the measured FPS. The GPU's weak pixel throughput is the primary reason the 4K Ultra setting yields only 19 FPS, while even 1080p Low can't exceed 86 FPS. The game's demands for texture fill and shading simply overwhelm the B390's capabilities. The data suggests that the GPU's 24 ROPs are a particular constraint, as the resolution scaling penalty is so severe. The "System Shared" memory further compounds this, likely causing stutter and limiting the minimum FPS, although min FPS is only provided for Medium settings. For the Medium preset, the min FPS is 56 at 1080p, 38 at 1440p, and 22 at 4K, showing that frame pacing degrades with resolution as well.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Thief, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2534 out of 2851 combos. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems, a very poor result. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a top-tier component.

The CPU's individual ranking is strong. Its average benchmark score is 54762, which puts it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. However, the combo rank is dragged down entirely by the GPU. This creates a massive discrepancy between the potential of the processor and the actual gaming performance. The data shows that the GPU is so weak that it negates the CPU's high standing. The combo's rank of 2534 is indicative of a system where the graphics card is the sole performance arbiter. If the GPU were even a mid-range part, this combination would rank much higher, but with the B390, it is consigned to the bottom tier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance envelope across all tested settings. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 86 FPS, Medium averages 66 FPS with a min of 56 and max of 75, High averages 50 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 38 FPS, showing that the GPU struggles even at the lowest resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop considerably. Low produces 59 FPS, Medium averages 45 FPS with a min of 38 and max of 52, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 26 FPS, but the overall performance is lower. The 1440p Low setting is the only one in this resolution that achieves a playable average above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low averages 35 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS with a min of 22 and max of 30, High averages 20 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. None of these averages approach a smooth 60 FPS target. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is just 1 FPS, indicating that the GPU is completely maxed out and the settings have little impact on performance.

A notable observation is the difference between High and Ultra presets. At 1080p, the drop from High to Ultra is only 2 FPS (50 to 48). At 1440p, it is 1 FPS (34 to 33). At 4K, it is also 1 FPS (20 to 19). This suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not significantly more demanding than High, or that the GPU is so bottlenecked that it cannot render the extra detail anyway. Conversely, the jump from Low to Medium yields a consistent 20 FPS penalty at 1080p (86 to 66) and 14 FPS at 1440p (59 to 45), showing a more substantial increase in load.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a flagship processor, and its data shows it is more than capable of handling Thief. It has 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture. Its base clock is 4.40 GHz and it boosts to 5.50 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739. Its Passmark single-thread score is 4646.

In Thief, a game from 2014, the CPU's role is likely minimal. The game was designed for the multi-core processors of its era, but it is not heavily threaded by modern standards. The 9900X3D's powerful single-core performance and high core count are vastly overkill for this title. The FPS data confirms this, as the performance is consistently low across all resolutions, which would not be the case if the CPU were the bottleneck. A CPU bottleneck would show high FPS at 1080p that plateaus or drops only slightly at higher resolutions.

The data implies that the CPU is essentially idle, waiting for the GPU to deliver frames. The Ryzen 9's 128 MB of L3 cache and high clock speeds are irrelevant when the GPU can only produce 20 FPS. The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF and Intel Core i7-14700F, but these comparisons are moot in this gaming context. The processor's contribution to the Thief results is to ensure there are no frame drops due to CPU limitations, but it cannot help the GPU achieve higher frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: Why is the performance so poor in Thief despite having a high-end CPU?*

A: The data shows the Intel Arc B390 GPU is the limiting factor. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU is ranked in the 91st percentile, but the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to utilize it.

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Thief with this hardware?*

A: The 1920x1080 resolution is the only one that provides consistently playable averages. At 1080p Low, the average is 86 FPS, and at Medium, it is 66 FPS. Higher resolutions like 1440p and 4K produce averages that are mostly below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect the results?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. Its memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent." This configuration is a significant bottleneck, as it relies on slower shared system memory, which impacts performance in a memory-intensive game like Thief.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a better experience than High?

A: No. The FPS difference between High and Ultra is negligible. At 1080p, it is 50 FPS vs 48 FPS; at 1440p, it is 34 FPS vs 33 FPS; and at 4K, it is 20 FPS vs 19 FPS. The Ultra preset does not offer a playable advantage, making High a more sensible choice.

Q: Is the CPU's 12-core/24-thread configuration being fully utilized?

A: The FPS data suggests it is not. The consistent low FPS across all resolutions indicates a GPU bottleneck, not a CPU one. The game likely only uses a few cores, and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's other cores remain idle, as the GPU cannot feed data to the CPU fast enough.

Q: What do the minimum FPS numbers tell us about frame pacing?

A: The only min FPS data is for Medium settings. At 1080p, the min is 56 FPS; at 1440p, it is 38 FPS; and at 4K, it is 22 FPS. This shows that frame pacing degrades significantly as resolution increases, leading to stutter and inconsistent gameplay at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combination is at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which yields an average of 86 FPS. This is the only configuration that offers a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 1080p is also viable, with an average of 66 FPS and a minimum of 56 FPS, providing a good balance of visual quality and performance.

For players who prioritize visual fidelity, the High preset at 1080p is the highest setting that maintains an average of 50 FPS, though this is below the ideal 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it only offers a marginal visual improvement over High while delivering the lowest average FPS at each resolution. At 1440p, the Low preset is the only acceptable option, with an average of 59 FPS, but it still falls short of the smoothness found at 1080p. All 4K settings are not recommended due to sub-30 FPS averages. The data suggests that 1080p Low is the best overall experience, with 1080p Medium as a strong alternative for those who want slightly better visuals.