Thief

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti presents a compelling study in system balance for the 2014 stealth title Thief. The measured frame rates reveal a configuration where the RTX 4070 Ti is the clear performance driver, but the data also shows that the 4-core, 8-thread CPU can maintain pace even at lower resolutions where processor load is typically highest. This combination ranks 282nd out of 1642 tested combos in this game, placing it comfortably in the top 17.2% of all system configurations evaluated, indicating an overall strong performance profile for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K provides a textbook example of GPU-bound behavior, with the frame rate dropping predictably as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 140.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 116.5 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 24 FPS, and then further to 69.3 FPS at 3840x2160. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is a 17.1% drop, while moving from 1440p to 4K results in a much more substantial 40.5% decline. This pattern strongly suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti’s rendering pipeline becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The scaling pattern holds true across all settings presets, but the magnitude of the drop changes. At Low settings, the system achieves 170.4 FPS at 1080p, 151.2 FPS at 1440p, and 118.5 FPS at 4K. The transition from 1080p to 1440p only costs 11.3% performance, but the jump to 4K still incurs a 21.6% penalty. This smaller relative drop at Low settings indicates that when the GPU has less work per pixel, the CPU’s influence becomes more apparent, though the i3-12100F still manages to feed the GPU adequately to maintain over 118 FPS even at 4K.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling curve, with frame rates of 133.7 FPS at 1080p, 114.6 FPS at 1440p, and 68 FPS at 4K. The 1440p to 4K transition here represents a 40.7% performance loss, nearly identical to the High preset’s 40.5% drop. This consistency across higher quality settings reinforces that the RTX 4070 Ti’s compute and memory subsystem is the bottleneck at 4K, rather than the CPU. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, appears sufficient for the game’s demands, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K overwhelms the GPU’s 80 ROPs and 240 TMUs.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting the highest refresh rates at 1080p, the data shows that even the Ultra preset delivers an excellent 133.7 FPS average. However, the Medium preset at 150.7 FPS offers a 12.7% performance uplift over Ultra while likely providing a visually similar experience in a 2014 title. The Low preset pushes to 170.4 FPS, but the gains over Medium are only 13.1%, suggesting diminishing returns for the visual fidelity sacrificed. For competitive or high-refresh gameplay, Medium at 1080p appears to be the sweet spot, balancing the 150.7 FPS average with reasonable image quality.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. High settings produce 116.5 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra only drops to 114.6 FPS, a mere 1.6% difference from High, making Ultra the preferable choice for this resolution since the performance cost is negligible. Medium at 137.8 FPS is tempting for higher refresh rates, but the visual upgrade from Medium to Ultra costs only 16.8% performance, which is a reasonable trade-off for a game that can run this fast. Low at 151.2 FPS is viable for esports-style play, but the visual compromise is significant.

At 4K, the choice becomes more critical. High settings deliver 69.3 FPS, just above the 60 FPS target, while Ultra drops to 68 FPS, a 1.9% reduction that is nearly imperceptible. Given this tiny delta, Ultra is the clear recommendation for 4K owners, as it provides the best image quality with a negligible performance penalty. Medium at 94.1 FPS offers a 38.4% uplift over Ultra and could be preferred for those with 120 Hz displays, but the game’s stealth mechanics benefit from the higher detail of Ultra. Low at 118.5 FPS is only for players prioritizing maximum frame rate over all else, as the visual downgrade is substantial.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti achieves a rank of 282 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 82.8th percentile of all configurations. This is a strong showing for a CPU that sits at the 72nd percentile among all processors and a GPU at the 85th percentile among all graphics cards. The combo rank suggests the pairing is well-matched for this title, with the CPU’s 4-core, 8-thread configuration proving sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU in most scenarios.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the i3-12100F’s average benchmark score of 13516 is within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462). This indicates that for Thief’s workload, the i3-12100F punches well above its price point, matching much more expensive processors in synthetic tests. The GPU’s nearest rivals show similar clustering: the RTX 4070 Ti’s average score of 44900 is only 0.6% behind the RTX 5090 Mobile (45152) and 1.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A730M (45592). This tight grouping suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti is performing at the expected level for its class.

The rank of 282nd overall is particularly impressive given that the combo includes a modest 4-core CPU. Many higher-ranked combinations likely feature more powerful processors, but the measured frame rates in Thief show that the i3-12100F is not the limiting factor. The game’s 2014 release date means it does not heavily utilize multi-threading, so the i3-12100F’s strong single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 893) and 3.30 GHz base clock boosting to 4.30 GHz are sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4070 Ti.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 170.4 FPS, Medium reaches 150.7 FPS, High hits 140.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 133.7 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 36.7 FPS, or 21.5% of the Low value, showing that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution to render even the highest quality settings without dipping below 130 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected decline. Low produces 151.2 FPS, Medium 137.8 FPS, High 116.5 FPS, and Ultra 114.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 36.6 FPS, but the percentage difference grows to 24.2%, indicating that the GPU is starting to feel the pressure of additional pixels. The High to Ultra gap shrinks to just 1.9 FPS, suggesting that these two presets are nearly identical in performance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens significantly. Low still manages 118.5 FPS, but Medium drops to 94.1 FPS, High falls to 69.3 FPS, and Ultra reaches 68 FPS. The Low to Ultra spread widens to 50.5 FPS, a 42.6% difference. The High to Ultra delta remains minimal at 1.3 FPS, confirming that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading capacity are exhausted at this resolution, making the difference between High and Ultra negligible. The 4K numbers show that while the RTX 4070 Ti can handle the resolution, players will need to accept either lower settings for high refresh rates or stick with High/Ultra for a solid 60+ FPS experience.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 68 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is 13.3% above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings deliver 69.3 FPS, providing a minimal performance difference of 1.9%.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The data indicates that Ultra settings at 2560x1440 produce 114.6 FPS, only 1.6% lower than High at 116.5 FPS. Since the performance gap is negligible, Ultra is the recommended choice for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F bottlenecking the RTX 4070 Ti in this game?

A: The measured frame rates suggest minimal bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 170.4 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 13516 places it within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, showing competitive performance for this workload.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 282nd out of 1642 tested combos, placing it in the top 17.2% of all systems. This is a strong result given the CPU’s 72nd percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all graphics cards.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings?

A: The difference is minimal across all resolutions. At 1080p, High produces 140.5 FPS versus Ultra’s 133.7 FPS, a 4.8% difference. At 1440p, the gap narrows to 1.6% (116.5 vs 114.6 FPS), and at 4K, it shrinks to 1.9% (69.3 vs 68 FPS).

Q: Is Low settings ever recommended for this combination?

A: Low settings provide the highest frame rates at every resolution (170.4 FPS at 1080p, 151.2 FPS at 1440p, 118.5 FPS at 4K), but the visual sacrifice is substantial. For 4K players targeting 120 Hz displays, Low is the only preset that exceeds 100 FPS, making it a viable option for competitive play despite the graphical downgrade.