Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, is tested here with an Intel Core i5-10400F and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER. In the database's measured results, this combination ranks 1461st out of 1642 tested combos, placing it in the lower portion of the field. The CPU ranks at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, so the pairing's synthetic component strength is notably CPU-heavy.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame value is a direct verdict: 1461 out of 1642. That means the large majority of tested builds deliver higher average FPS in Thief than this one. The rank is a game-specific result, not a general hardware judgment.

Looking at the components separately, the i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168 and a 73rd percentile ranking. Its nearest rivals in the CPU database are tightly clustered: the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 with a deltaPct of +0.4, the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277 with a deltaPct of -0.8, the Intel Core i5-8500 scores 14332 with a deltaPct of -1.1, and the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 scores 14336 with a deltaPct of -1.2. In synthetic terms, the i5-10400F is effectively a dead heat with these parts, sitting within about a point of the center of its nearest-rival group.

The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286 and a 55th percentile ranking. Its nearest GPUs are similarly close: the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 scores 14314 with a deltaPct of -0.2, the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics scores 14315 with a deltaPct of -0.2, the AMD Radeon Vega 11 scores 14352 with a deltaPct of -0.5, and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores 14389 with a deltaPct of -0.7. The GPU is not a standout in its own right, but it is also not an outlier on the low end.

The Thief rank of 1461 is lower than the CPU's 73rd percentile would suggest, which is consistent with the game being more sensitive to the GPU side of this combo. The GPU's 55th percentile is the weaker synthetic rating, and Thief's measured FPS behavior reflects that imbalance.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this combo in Thief?

A: It ranks 1461st out of 1642 tested combos. The CPU is at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU is at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, so the CPU is the stronger component in general benchmark terms.

Q: How close is the GTX 1660 SUPER to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER averages 14286 in synthetic benchmarks. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 at 14314 with a deltaPct of -0.2, the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics at 14315 with a deltaPct of -0.2, the AMD Radeon Vega 11 at 14352 with a deltaPct of -0.5, and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT at 14389 with a deltaPct of -0.7. All are within a fraction of a percent in average score.

Q: Which 1440p preset is best for this combo?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium averages 61.3 FPS. Low averages 80.2, High averages 49.7, and Ultra averages 45.7. Medium is the highest preset in the measured rows that holds a clear margin over the next step down.

Q: Is Ultra worth using at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 67.2 FPS and High averages 66.9. The measured results show essentially no average FPS penalty for moving from High to Ultra. Medium averages 91.7 and Low averages 119.5, but if visual quality is the goal, Ultra is effectively free at 1080p.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Low averages 49.3 FPS, Medium averages 40.0, High averages 28.4, and Ultra averages 25.9. Low is the only 4K preset that stays above 40.0 in the measured data, and even that preset does not reach the frame rates delivered at lower resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor?

A: The CPU has the 73rd percentile and the GPU the 55th percentile. The measured FPS drops heavily as resolution increases, and the CPU specifications do not change across those rows, so the data points to the GPU as the primary constraint in Thief.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS table for this combo shows a clear pattern across every preset: as resolution climbs, average FPS falls.

| Preset | 1920x1080 | 2560x1440 | 3840x2160 |

|---|---:|---:|---:|

| Low | 119.5 | 80.2 | 49.3 |

| Medium | 91.7 | 61.3 | 40.0 |

| High | 66.9 | 49.7 | 28.4 |

| Ultra | 67.2 | 45.7 | 25.9 |

Taking the Low preset as the cleanest resolution test, average FPS goes from 119.5 at 1080p to 80.2 at 1440p to 49.3 at 4K. Medium goes from 91.7 to 61.3 to 40.0. High goes from 66.9 to 49.7 to 28.4. Ultra goes from 67.2 to 45.7 to 25.9.

This pattern is classic GPU-limited scaling behavior. The CPU does not change when the resolution changes, but the render load on the GPU increases substantially with pixel count. The 4K results are the most telling: even Low settings cannot hold 50 FPS average, and the Ultra preset drops into the mid-20s. At 1080p, the same GPU and CPU combination posts much higher numbers, which indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the component that runs out of headroom at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset contains average FPS values only; min and max FPS are not provided for any row.

1920x1080

• Low: 119.5
• Medium: 91.7
• High: 66.9
• Ultra: 67.2

At 1080p, Low and Medium are clearly the fastest measured presets. High and Ultra are close enough that the data treats them as effectively identical, with Ultra actually averaging 67.2 against High's 66.9. This is a useful result for players who want maximum visual quality without dropping below 1080p.

2560x1440

• Low: 80.2
• Medium: 61.3
• High: 49.7
• Ultra: 45.7

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the highest-quality setting that still stays comfortably above the 4K results. Low retains a large margin at 80.2, but High and Ultra fall below Medium's result. The gap between Medium and High is substantial in the measured data, so High is not a small step down from Medium; it is a clear performance hit.

3840x2160

• Low: 49.3
• Medium: 40.0
• High: 28.4
• Ultra: 25.9

At 4K, every preset runs below the corresponding 1440p result. Low is the only setting that averages above 40.0, and Medium lands exactly at 40.0. High and Ultra are both under 30. This makes 4K the least practical resolution for this combo in Thief.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows suggest a simple rule: use the highest preset that stays clear of the next lower step's frame rate penalty.

At 1080p, Ultra is the recommended setting for visual quality. It averages 67.2 FPS, which is effectively the same as High's 66.9, so there is no measured reason to avoid Ultra. Medium at 91.7 and Low at 119.5 are available for situations where extra frame rate headroom matters more than image quality.

At 1440p, Medium is the strongest measured balance. It averages 61.3 FPS, while Low averages 80.2 and High drops to 49.7. The jump from Medium to High costs a large amount of average FPS, so High is a poor trade in the measured data. Ultra at 45.7 is even worse. For 1440p, the data favors Medium.

At 4K, the choice is much narrower. Low averages 49.3, Medium averages 40.0, High averages 28.4, and Ultra averages 25.9. The only setting that avoids falling into the 20s is Low, and it is still the weakest 4K result of any preset in terms of frame rate. Players who insist on 4K should use Low; players who want smoother motion should drop to 1440p Medium instead.

Overall, the measured data points to 1080p Ultra as the best visual preset for this combo, with 1440p Medium as the best resolution-plus-settings compromise. 4K is not a strong option for this pairing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Comet Lake desktop processor. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz, a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, 12 MB of shared L3 cache, a 65 W TDP, and dual-channel DDR4 support with 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. These specifications define a solid mainstream part, and the synthetic benchmarks back that up.

The CPU scores 1453 single-core and 10297 multi-core in Cinebench R23, 610 single-core and 4324 multi-core in Cinebench R20, and 1454 single-core and 5783 multi-core in Geekbench. In 3DMark, the thread-scaling progression is 688 single-thread, 1350 for 2 threads, 2560 for 4 threads, 3929 for 8 threads, 4748 for 16 threads, and 4735 for max threads. The 16-thread and max-thread scores are nearly identical, which shows the CPU's thread resources are effectively saturated by sixteen threads in that workload. PassMark reports 2541 single-thread and 12115 multithread.

In Thief, the CPU is very unlikely to be the main limiting component. The measured frame rates change sharply with resolution: the same preset at 1080p can double the 4K average. The CPU's cores and clocks remain constant in all of those rows, so the performance swings are tied to GPU workload. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 119.5 average FPS, which indicates the CPU can drive high frame rates in this game. At 4K Low, the average FPS falls to 49.3 even though the CPU is the same. The GTX 1660 SUPER, with its 55th percentile GPU ranking, is the part that holds this combo back at higher resolutions.

The practical takeaway is that the i5-10400F is not the bottleneck in Thief for this pairing. Its six cores, twelve threads, and 4.30 GHz boost clock provide enough processing headroom, and the measured data shows the GPU becoming the limiting factor as resolution and settings increase.