Thief

Thief, the 2014 stealth title, is an older game, but the benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 shows it can still push very high frame rates. The measured results across three resolutions and four quality presets indicate that this combination is far more than capable of handling the game’s engine, offering performance that ranges from smooth at 4K to exceptionally high at 1080p. The data set is comprehensive, providing average, minimum, and maximum frame rates for the Medium preset, and average frame rates for all other settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 72 FPS. This is the lowest average frame rate of all the measured configurations for this game.

Q: How does the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM influence performance at high resolutions?

A: The GeForce RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. While the benchmark data does not explicitly measure VRAM usage, this configuration is sufficient to handle the game's assets without issue, as evidenced by the playable frame rates at the 3840x2160 resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and High settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average frame rate of 201 FPS, while the High preset yields 129 FPS. This represents a difference of 72 FPS, or 35.8% lower performance for the High preset.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D a high-performing processor relative to other CPUs?

A:** The CPU has a percentile rank of 91 among all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 54762, and its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, is only 0.6% behind with a score of 55093.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A:** This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 108th out of 3720 tested combinations for the game Thief. This places it in the top 3 percent of all tested combinations.

Q: What is the average frame rate for the Medium preset at 1920x1080?

A:** The average frame rate is 206 FPS. The measured minimum frame rate is 175 FPS, and the maximum is 237 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the workhorse for rendering in this pairing. It is based on the AD103 chip and built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using a 5 nm process from TSMC. The GPU has a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, which are the advertised speeds for this model. The memory operates at 1400 MHz, which translates to 22.4 Gbps effective, and the card is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing a total bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s.

The GPU's role in Thief is significant, especially at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the workload on the GPU is much more intense. The data shows a clear scaling trend. At 4K, the average frame rate is 76 FPS on High, 72 FPS on Ultra, 100 FPS on Medium, and 131 FPS on Low. This shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rates are significantly lower than at lower resolutions, but still perfectly playable. The 16 GB of VRAM is likely not a limitation, but the GPU compute load is the defining factor. The card has 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, which are the core units that handle the rendering workload.

The RTX 4080's performance is also put into perspective by its benchmark scores. Its average benchmark score is 54247, and it sits in the 76th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average score of 54209, which is a delta of 0.1% higher. This indicates that the RTX 4080 is a very high-end card, and its performance in Thief is in line with its position in the GPU hierarchy. The differences between the RTX 4080 and other rivals are also minimal, with the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X being -1.1% lower and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB being -2.6% lower.

The frame rate data for the Medium settings provides a more detailed look. At 1920x1080, the average frame rate is 206 FPS, with a min of 175 FPS and a max of 237 FPS. At 2560x1440, the average is 169 FPS, with a min of 144 and a max of 195. At 3840x2160, the average is 100 FPS, with a min of 85 and a max of 114. This shows a stable performance envelope. The GPU is clearly the main driver of the performance at 4K, as the frame rates are much lower than at 1080p, and the settings have a larger impact.

The RTX 4080 is an end-of-life product, but it remains a very powerful option. It is a triple-slot card, with a length of 310 mm and a width of 61 mm. It requires a single 16-pin power connector and has a suggested PSU of 700 W. The card's TDP is 320 W. The GPU is connected via PCIe 4.0 x16 and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. All of this data points to a high-end GPU that can easily handle Thief at maximum settings at most resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured frame rates, the best experience depends on the resolution and the desired performance target. For a standard 60 Hz display at 3840x2160, the High preset is the best choice. It delivers an average frame rate of 76 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target and provides a solid visual quality. The Ultra preset at 4K dips to 72 FPS average, which is still technically above 60 FPS, but the High preset offers a better balance of performance and visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 4K yields a very high average of 100 FPS and is excellent for high refresh rate 4K displays, though it will require a monitor with a high refresh rate to take advantage of the extra frames.

At 2560x1440, the High settings are the sweet spot for high refresh rate gaming. The average frame rate is 129 FPS, which is excellent for a 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitor. The Ultra preset is also viable at 123 FPS average, but it is slightly lower than High. Medium settings push the average to 169 FPS, which is ideal for 144 Hz displays and provides a great experience. Low settings at 2560x1440 yield 201 FPS average, which is more than enough for any current monitor. For the most balanced experience, the High preset is the recommended choice, as it offers a high level of detail and a frame rate that will satisfy the most common high refresh rate displays.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice because it delivers an average frame rate of 179 FPS. This is above the 144 Hz threshold and shows that the Ultra settings are not a burden on the hardware. The High preset is not far behind with 187 FPS, and Medium is at 206 FPS. The Low preset is at 228 FPS, which is the highest of the 1080p settings. But, since the game is old, the visual difference between Ultra and Low is substantial. The Ultra settings will provide the best image quality, and the frame rate is still extremely high. The Ultra preset at 1080p is the recommended choice for this resolution.

Overall, the data suggests that for the best experience in Thief, users should aim for the High settings at 4K, High settings at 1440p, and Ultra settings at 1080p. The Medium settings are good for high refresh rate displays at 4K, and the Low settings are the most competitive for esports-style play, but the game is a stealth title and the visual quality is more important. The measured data shows that the combination can run the game at maximum settings at 1080p and 1440p, and at high settings at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination is ranked 108th out of 3720 tested combinations for Thief. This is a very strong showing, placing it in the top 2.9 percent of all tested combinations. The rank is a measure of the overall combined performance in the game, and this is an excellent result. The combination is likely in the top 100 if only including modern hardware, and the rank reflects the raw power of the CPU and GPU.

The rank of 108 out of 3720 indicates that there are 107 combos that are able to achieve higher frame rates in this game. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as a more powerful GPU or a CPU that is better suited for the game's engine. However, the fact that this combo is in the top 3% is a strong indicator that it is a high-end setup.

The CPU and GPU individually also have high rankings. The CPU is in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 86th percentile among all GPUs. This means that the CPU is slightly stronger relative to its peers than the GPU is, but both are top-tier. The combined rank of 108 is a result of both of these high rankings, and it shows that they work together well.

The data for Thief is measured, not estimated, which adds to the validity of the rank. The measured frame rates are the actual results from the benchmark, and they are used to calculate the rank. This makes the rank a reliable indicator of performance. The high rank is a strong statement about the pair's ability to handle Thief, which is a game that is not extremely demanding by modern standards, but still benefits from a high-end setup.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with the codename "Granite Ridge". It is built on a 4 nm process, and it has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU has a TDP of 120 W and uses the AMD Socket AM5. It has 128 MB of L3 cache, which is a significant amount and is typical for a 3D V-Cache model. The CPU supports DDR5 memory and has a dual-channel memory bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

In Thief, the CPU's role is less critical than the GPU's, but it still plays a part in achieving high frame rates. The game is from 2014, and it does not require a very powerful CPU. However, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is an extremely powerful CPU, and it is more than enough to handle the game's engine. The CPU's performance is not really a bottleneck, as the frame rates are primarily limited by the GPU at higher resolutions.

The CPU's benchmark results show its strength. It scores 47737 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, and 6739 in single-core. In 3DMark, it scores 12490 in the 16-thread test, and 1269 in the single-thread test. These scores indicate that the CPU is very fast in both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. For a game like Thief, the single-thread performance is important, and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D has a very high single-core score.

The CPU's percentile rank is 91, which means it is in the top 9% of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 54762, and it is closely matched with its nearest rivals. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF is only 0.6% faster, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is 1.3% slower. This shows that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a very strong processor, and it is not a limiting factor in Thief.

The CPU has 24 threads, which is a lot, and the game is from 2014, so it is unlikely to use all of them. However, the CPU will still deliver very high performance. The frame rates at the lower resolutions, such as 1080p, are very high, and this indicates that the CPU is not holding back the GPU. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized, and the CPU is able to keep up with the GPU to render the frames.

The CPU's high boost clock of 5.50 GHz is also a benefit for gaming. The high clock speed allows for fast single-thread performance, which is what Thief is likely to use. The large L3 cache, at 128 MB, is also useful for games, as it can help with a large amount of the game's data. Overall, the CPU is a very strong component in this build, and it is not a bottleneck for Thief.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Thief is presented here, broken down by resolution and settings.

3840x2160 (4K): The Ultra settings produce an average frame rate of 72 FPS. The High settings are not far behind, with an average of 76 FPS. The Medium settings produce a significantly higher average of 100 FPS, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS. The Low settings produce the highest average of 131 FPS. The data shows that the 4K resolution is very demanding, and the frame rates drop significantly when the settings are increased. The difference between Low and Ultra is 59 FPS, which is a large gap.

2560x1440 (1440p): At this resolution, the Low settings achieve an average of 201 FPS. The Medium settings yield an average of 169 FPS, with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS. The High settings produce an average of 129 FPS. The Ultra settings are the lowest, with an average of 123 FPS. The difference between the Low and Ultra is 78 FPS. The 1440p resolution shows a similar trend to 4K, but the frame rates are higher overall, making it a very playable resolution for this setup.

1920x1080 (1080p): The Low settings produce the highest average at 228 FPS. The Medium settings come in at 206 FPS, with a minimum of 175 FPS and a maximum of 237 FPS. The High settings are at 187 FPS, and the Ultra settings are at 179 FPS. The 1080p resolution is the most responsive, and the frame rates are very high even at the Ultra settings. The difference between the lowest and highest settings is 49 FPS, which is less than at the other resolutions, indicating that the CPU is starting to become a more significant factor at this resolution.

The data shows that the game is very playable at all settings and resolutions. The 4K resolution is best with the Medium or High settings, the 1440p resolution is best with Ultra or High settings, and the 1080p resolution is best with the Ultra settings. The game is not very demanding for this modern hardware, and the high frame rates are evidence of the power of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080.