Thief

The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT pairing delivers a surprisingly balanced experience in Thief, but the data reveals a clear ceiling: at 4K Ultra, the combination falls to 51.9 FPS, marking the only preset where it dips below the 60 FPS threshold. This suggests that while the GPU is the primary driver at higher resolutions, the CPU’s capabilities are more than adequate for a 2014 stealth title, leaving the system’s performance squarely in the hands of the graphics card’s headroom.

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

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, featuring 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU demonstrates a solid multi-threaded capability, scoring 10297 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4324 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, while its single-thread performance is respectable at 1453 in Cinebench R23 single-core. These scores place the CPU in the 73rd percentile of all processors, indicating it is a competent mid-range part.

For Thief, a game released in 2014, the CPU’s role is less demanding than in modern titles. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 125.2 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all configurations. This high frame rate at low settings suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this scenario; instead, it is the GPU that is being utilized heavily. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads provide ample headroom for the game’s logic and physics, which are unlikely to stress a processor of this caliber. Even at 1080p Ultra, where the frame rate drops to 102.8 FPS, the decline is more attributable to increased GPU load than CPU limitations. The benchmark results indicate that the i5-10400F’s performance, relative to its nearest rivals, is competitive: it is 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552 and 1.1% behind the Intel Core i5-8500. This places it in a comfortable position to feed the RX 6800 XT without causing significant frame pacing issues.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a high-end graphics card based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, featuring a Navi 21 chip with 4608 shading units. It comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. The card’s boost clock is rated at 2250 MHz, with a game clock of 2015 MHz. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU achieves a Passmark G3D score of 24980 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 154506, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A550M, which it leads by 0.5%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, which it trails by 2.6%.

In Thief, the GPU’s role is dominant. The measured FPS data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, frame rates drop, and as settings increase, frame rates drop further. At 1080p Low, the card produces 125.2 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, this falls to 51.9 FPS. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K, where texture memory requirements are unlikely to exceed 8 GB. The card’s high clock speeds and raw compute power allow it to handle the game’s DirectX 11 workload efficiently, as evidenced by its Passmark DirectX 11 score of 264. The GPU’s performance is the primary factor in the system’s results, especially at 1440p and 4K, where the CPU’s influence diminishes.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience is achieved at 1440p High settings, which yields 88.6 FPS. This configuration offers a significant visual upgrade over Low settings while maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS target. At 1080p High, the system hits 101 FPS, which is also excellent, but the jump to 1440p High provides better image clarity without a substantial performance penalty—only a 12.4% drop from 1080p High. For those seeking maximum fidelity, 1440p Ultra delivers 91.2 FPS, which is only slightly lower than High settings at the same resolution, making it a viable option for users with high-refresh-rate monitors. However, 4K is not recommended for Ultra settings, as the 51.9 FPS average falls below the smoothness threshold. The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combination, balancing visual quality and performance.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 863rd out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the middle of the pack, which is surprising given the GPU’s high percentile ranking. The rank indicates that while the GPU is powerful, the overall system performance is tempered by other factors, likely the CPU’s mid-range standing. The combo’s position suggests that many other pairings, possibly with more recent or higher-end CPUs, achieve better frame rates. However, the data shows that this combo still delivers playable performance at most settings, with the only sub-60 FPS result occurring at 4K Ultra. The rank of 863 out of 1642 means that roughly half of the tested combinations perform better, but this does not detract from the fact that the system is capable of running the game smoothly at 1080p and 1440p.

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

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 101 FPS at 1080p to 88.6 FPS at 1440p, a decrease of 12.3%, and then to 57.8 FPS at 4K, a further drop of 34.8% from 1440p. This steep decline at 4K indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, placing immense strain on the graphics card. Conversely, the CPU’s influence is minimal, as the frame rate at 1080p Low (125.2 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (102.8 FPS) shows only a modest 17.9% difference, suggesting that the CPU can handle the game’s processing demands without becoming a bottleneck. The data confirms that the RX 6800 XT is the primary driver of performance, and its capabilities are fully utilized at 4K, where it struggles to maintain 60 FPS on Ultra settings.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system’s performance across all resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings yield 125.2 FPS, Medium settings produce 114.2 FPS, High settings achieve 101 FPS, and Ultra settings reach 102.8 FPS. The difference between Medium and Ultra is minimal, with only an 11.4 FPS gap, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong. Low settings hit 111.2 FPS, Medium settings achieve 101.6 FPS, High settings produce 88.6 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 91.2 FPS. Interestingly, Ultra settings outperform High settings by 2.6 FPS at this resolution, which is likely due to the game’s optimization for higher presets.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limits become apparent. Low settings still manage 93.7 FPS, Medium settings drop to 71.9 FPS, High settings fall to 57.8 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 51.9 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra at 4K results in a 5.9 FPS loss, pushing the system below the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that 4K is only viable at Low or Medium settings, where the frame rates remain playable.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Thief?

A: The highest average FPS is 125.2, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: At what resolution and settings does the combo drop below 60 FPS?

A: The combo drops below 60 FPS only at 3840x2160 resolution with High settings (57.8 FPS) and Ultra settings (51.9 FPS).

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The CPU scores 1453 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 10297 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, indicating a strong multi-threaded capability relative to its single-thread score.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, based on its average benchmark score.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between Medium and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: No, the difference is minimal. Medium settings yield 114.2 FPS, while Ultra settings achieve 102.8 FPS, a gap of only 11.4 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 863rd out of 1642 tested combinations, placing it in the middle of the field.