Thief

Resolution Scaling

The recorded data for Thief with the Intel Core i5-10400F and Intel Arc B370 shows a steep performance drop as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average frame rate is 78 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 with the same settings reduces that average to 53 FPS, a 32% reduction. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 31 FPS, which is 60% below the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that the graphics subsystem is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions.

The scaling behavior across the three resolutions is not perfectly linear. From 1080p to 1440p, the FPS drops by 25 frames, while from 1440p to 4K, it drops by 22 frames. The pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K is substantially larger than from 1080p to 1440p, yet the frame rate reduction is similar in absolute terms. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that other bottlenecks, likely memory bandwidth or fill rate limitations, begin to flatten the curve.

For Medium settings, the same trend appears. The 1080p average is 59 FPS, 1440p is 41 FPS, and 4K is 24 FPS. The 4K result is only 41% of the 1080p value. High settings show 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. Across every preset, the 4K averages remain below 31 FPS, which confirms that this integrated graphics solution cannot deliver a playable experience at 4K for this title.

The data indicates that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU can still feed the GPU adequately, as evidenced by the 78 FPS Low result. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with even Low settings only reaching 31 FPS. The combination of a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a 25 W integrated GPU means that the GPU's compute resources, specifically its 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in Thief.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear picture of how each preset behaves at each resolution. For 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 78 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset. Medium drops to 59 FPS, and High sits at 45 FPS. Ultra is only 2 FPS behind High at 43 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 19 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 14 FPS. This suggests that the Low preset is substantially lighter on the GPU, while Medium and above impose similar loads.

For 2560x1440, Low averages 53 FPS, Medium 41 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS, whereas the difference between Medium and High is 10 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 31 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 18 FPS, and Ultra 17 FPS. The Ultra preset is effectively identical to High at this resolution, with only a 1 FPS gap.

The best experience per the measured rows depends on the target frame rate. At 1080p, Low is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the choice for smooth play. Medium at 59 FPS is nearly there, and the recorded minimum for Medium at 1080p is 50 FPS, which is still acceptable for most scenarios. High and Ultra both stay above 40 FPS, which may be playable in slower sections of a stealth game.

At 1440p, Low is the only preset that stays above 50 FPS. Medium at 41 FPS is borderline, and High at 31 FPS is likely too choppy for consistent play. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, and even Low at 31 FPS is below the commonly accepted threshold for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that users should prioritize Low at 1440p or Medium at 1080p for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate.

The Medium preset at 1080p provides a reasonable middle ground, with an average of 59 FPS and a minimum of 50 FPS. This keeps the game responsive while offering more visual detail than Low. For users who can tolerate lower frame rates, High at 1080p offers 45 FPS, which is still above the 30 FPS minimum that many players consider acceptable for a stealth title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz, and it boosts to 4.30 GHz. The processor has 12 MB of shared L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU's benchmark scores show a single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark, a 4-thread score of 2560, and a max-thread score of 4735.

In Thief, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at most resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 78 FPS indicates that the CPU can drive frame rates well above 60 FPS when the GPU is not heavily taxed. The 3dmark single-thread score of 688 and the passmark single-thread score of 2541 suggest adequate per-core performance for a 2014 game. Thief was released in February 2014, and its CPU demands are moderate by modern standards.

The 12 threads from the 6 cores provide headroom for background tasks and game logic. The cinebench r23 multicore score of 10283 and the geekbench multicore score of 6257 indicate that the CPU is capable of sustained multi-threaded workloads. However, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor long before the CPU maxes out. At 4K Low, the average is 31 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p Low result. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively stable across resolutions.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is shared with the integrated GPU, which uses system memory for its frame buffer. This shared memory arrangement means that the GPU's performance is dependent on the CPU's memory subsystem. The data shows that this dependency does not cause catastrophic failures, but it does contribute to the steep resolution scaling. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 4748 and 8-thread score of 3929 show that the CPU scales well with additional threads, but Thief does not appear to leverage more than a few cores effectively.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Thief?

A: The highest average FPS is 78, recorded at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to 4K High?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 17 FPS, while 4K High averages 18 FPS. The difference is only 1 FPS, indicating that Ultra offers no meaningful performance advantage over High at this resolution.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for Medium settings at 1080p?

A: The minimum FPS for Medium settings at 1920x1080 is 50 FPS, with a maximum of 68 FPS and an average of 59 FPS.

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1440p in Thief?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 2560x1440 is 53 FPS, achieved with Low settings. No preset at 1440p reaches 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's thread count relate to Thief's performance?

A: The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, so the CPU's 12 threads are not the limiting factor. The 1080p Low result of 78 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can support frame rates well above the GPU's capability at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the average FPS for Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The average FPS for Ultra at 1920x1080 is 43 FPS, which is only 2 FPS lower than the High preset at the same resolution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 ROPs. The GPU includes 10 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 300 MHz, and it boosts to 2400 MHz. The GPU operates at a TDP of 25 W, which is extremely low for a graphics solution. The memory is system shared, with bandwidth listed as system dependent. The GPU's FP32 throughput is 6.144 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s.

The GPU's benchmark score in 3dmark steel nomad dx12 is 1184, which places it at the 5th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1190, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M with 1192. The Arc B370 is 0.2% slower than the Mobility Radeon HD 5570, 0.5% slower than the Radeon HD 5770, and 0.7% slower than the Radeon HD 7650M. This positions the GPU as a very low-end solution, comparable to discrete GPUs from over a decade ago.

In Thief, the GPU's limitations are evident from the resolution scaling. At 1080p, the GPU can deliver 78 FPS on Low, but this drops to 59 FPS on Medium and 45 FPS on High. The 20 ROPs and 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate limit the fill rate, which becomes critical at higher resolutions. The 4K results, ranging from 17 FPS on Ultra to 31 FPS on Low, show that the GPU simply cannot handle the pixel workload at 4K.

The shared system memory means that the GPU has no dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is system dependent, which can cause performance variability. The recorded data does not include separate VRAM usage, but the system shared configuration implies that the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The CPU's 42.7 GB/s dual-channel bandwidth is the ceiling for both components. This shared arrangement likely contributes to the steep performance drop at 4K, where the GPU needs to access significantly more data for each frame.

The GPU's ray tracing cores are present but do not appear to affect Thief's performance, as the game predates ray tracing by several years. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support is irrelevant for a game that was designed for earlier API versions. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's raw rasterization performance is the determining factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combo includes 12 measured configurations, covering three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows. Low settings produce an average of 78 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Medium settings produce an average of 59 FPS, a minimum of 50 FPS, and a maximum of 68 FPS. High settings produce an average of 45 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 43 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are as follows. Low settings produce an average of 53 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 41 FPS, a minimum of 35 FPS, and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings produce an average of 31 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 29 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are as follows. Low settings produce an average of 31 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 24 FPS, a minimum of 20 FPS, and a maximum of 27 FPS. High settings produce an average of 18 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 17 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum data at every resolution. At 1080p, the range is 50 to 68 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 35 to 47 FPS. At 4K, the range is 20 to 27 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum is 18 FPS at 1080p, 12 FPS at 1440p, and 7 FPS at 4K. This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is consistently saturated, leaving less room for variation.

The performance differences between presets are consistent across resolutions. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Medium is 19 FPS, between Medium and High is 14 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 2 FPS. At 1440p, the gaps are 12 FPS, 10 FPS, and 2 FPS respectively. At 4K, the gaps are 7 FPS, 6 FPS, and 1 FPS. The shrinking gaps at higher resolutions reinforce that the GPU is the limiting factor, as preset changes have diminishing returns when the GPU is already overloaded.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the Intel Arc B370 ranks 3433 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places the combo in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is among the least capable setups for this game.

The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of this low combo rank. The CPU, in contrast, ranks at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, which is a solid mid-range position. The disparity between the CPU's percentile and the GPU's percentile explains why the combo performs so poorly in a GPU-intensive game like Thief.

The nearest GPU rivals for the Arc B370 all score within 1.4% of its benchmark result. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 is 0.2% faster, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 is 0.5% faster, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M is 0.7% faster. The AMD FirePro M2000 is 1.4% slower. These rivals are all legacy mobile or low-end desktop parts, confirming that the Arc B370 performs at a level comparable to GPUs from more than a decade ago.

The combo rank of 3433 means that 287 other tested combos perform worse than this setup in Thief. The bottom 8% positioning suggests that this combo is only suitable for the most undemanding scenarios. The measured FPS data supports this, as only the 1080p Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, and the 4K results are all below 31 FPS. For a stealth game that relies on atmosphere and lighting, the visual compromises required to achieve playable frame rates would be significant.