Thief

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 represents a specific tier of 1080p gaming hardware from the late 2010s and early 2020s. In Thief, a 2014 stealth title, this combination produces playable frame rates at lower settings but struggles significantly at higher resolutions and quality presets. The data indicates a system where the GPU is the primary constraint in most scenarios, while the six-core processor provides sufficient headroom to avoid major CPU bottlenecks.

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

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a desktop processor from the Core 10th Gen series, built on the Comet Lake architecture using a 14 nm process. It features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The processor has a 12 MB shared L3 cache, with 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 cache per core. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, and connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes. Its thermal design power is 65 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1200.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-10400F demonstrates solid multi-threaded performance. It scores 10,297 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,453 in single-core. In Geekbench, it achieves 5,783 multi-core and 1,454 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 12,115, while single-thread is 2,541. These results place the CPU in the 73rd percentile of all tested processors. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, has an average score of 14,115, which is 0.4% higher; the Intel Core i5-8500 is 1.1% higher at 14,332.

For Thief, the CPU's role is largely background. The game is not heavily threaded, and the i5-10400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than adequate for the workload. The boost clock of 4.30 GHz helps ensure that single-threaded game logic and draw call processing are handled swiftly. The benchmark results show that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is lightest, the average FPS of 73.6 suggests the CPU is not holding the system back. The processor's 3DMark scores, such as 4,748 for 16 threads and 688 for single-thread, reinforce that it has enough compute headroom for a game from 2014. The limiting factor in this combo is clearly the graphics card, as the FPS scales almost entirely with resolution and settings changes rather than showing any CPU-induced plateau.

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

The measured FPS data for Thief with this combo covers three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the game is most playable. On Low settings, the average FPS is 73.6. Moving to Medium drops this to 55.3, and High yields 41.2. Ultra settings produce an average of 43.1 FPS. This pattern shows a steep drop from Low to Medium, a smaller drop to High, and then a slight increase at Ultra, which is unusual but present in the data.

At 2560x1440, performance falls off considerably. Low settings average 52.5 FPS, which is still smooth for many players. Medium averages 40.7 FPS, High drops to 29.9 FPS, and Ultra is 30.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is about 12 FPS, while High and Ultra are nearly identical, hovering around the 30 FPS mark.

At 3840x2160, the combo is not viable for serious play. Low settings average 28 FPS, Medium 25.9 FPS, High 17.2 FPS, and Ultra 20 FPS. None of these reach the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the GPU's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth become insufficient, causing frame rates to collapse.

The GTX 1650 has a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with 896 shading units and 32 ROPs. Its passmark G3D score is 7,880, placing it in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro P2200, has a score of 8,671, which is 0.5% higher. The GPU's DirectX 11 score of 58 and DirectX 12 score of 35 in PassMark indicate modest API performance, which aligns with the FPS results seen in Thief.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming in Thief with this combo?*

A: The data shows that Low settings at 1920x1080 give an average of 73.6 FPS, while Medium drops to 55.3 FPS. For a smoother experience, Low is preferable; for better visuals, Medium still offers playable frame rates above 50 FPS.

*Q: Can this system handle 1440p in Thief?*

A: At 2560x1440, only Low settings average above 50 FPS at 52.5. Medium averages 40.7, but High and Ultra both fall to around 30 FPS. Players wanting a consistent 60 FPS would need to stick to 1080p.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its closest rival in synthetic tests?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 8,713. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro P2200, scores 8,671, which is 0.5% lower. The AMD Radeon 550X scores 8,749, which is 0.4% higher than the GTX 1650.

*Q: Is the Core i5-10400F a bottleneck for the GTX 1650 in Thief?*

A: The benchmark results indicate no CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 73.6 suggests the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU's single-thread score of 2,541 in PassMark is sufficient for this game's workload.

Q: What is the 4K performance like for this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 28 on Low settings. High settings average 17.2 FPS. This resolution is not playable with this hardware.

Q: How does the CPU rank against all other processors?

A: The Core i5-10400F is in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs tested. Its closest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, has an average score 0.4% higher, while the Intel Core i5-8500 is 1.1% higher.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested system combinations for Thief, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is ranked 1,560 out of 1,642 total combos. This places it in the bottom 5% of all tested configurations, indicating that the overall performance is notably lower than the vast majority of systems. The rank is a direct consequence of the GTX 1650's limited capabilities, particularly at higher resolutions.

The GPU's percentile of 43 among all tested GPUs reinforces this. It is a mid-to-low tier card, and when paired with a CPU that is in the 73rd percentile, the system's overall capability is dragged down by the graphics component. The measured FPS data confirms this: the combo cannot achieve 60 FPS at 1080p Ultra (43.1 FPS) and struggles to maintain 30 FPS at 1440p High (29.9 FPS). The rank of 1,560 out of 1,642 suggests that most other combinations of CPUs and GPUs tested in this game offer better frame rates. This is not a reflection of the CPU, which performs adequately, but rather of the GPU's inability to handle the game's rendering demands at higher settings.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions is a clear indicator of where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 73.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 52.5 FPS, a reduction of approximately 29%. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 28, which is a 62% drop from 1080p Low. This steep decline as resolution increases is the classic signature of a GPU-limited system.

Consider the High settings preset. At 1080p, the average is 41.2 FPS. At 1440p, it falls to 29.9 FPS (a 27% drop), and at 4K, it plummets to 17.2 FPS (a 58% drop from 1080p). The CPU's performance is constant across these resolutions; the i5-10400F does not change its output based on resolution. Therefore, the entire performance loss is attributable to the GTX 1650's rendering capabilities.

The GTX 1650 has a memory bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. At 4K, the fill rate and memory bandwidth requirements exceed what this card can provide, leading to the sub-20 FPS results on High settings. Even on Low settings at 4K, the 28 FPS average indicates the GPU is maxed out. The data shows that the system is GPU-bound in all scenarios, with the CPU having significant headroom. For a game like Thief, the recommendation based on this data is to play at 1080p with Medium or Low settings for a stable frame rate, as the higher resolutions offer no playable benefit with this hardware combination.