Thief

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti in Thief (a Stealth title) is a mid-pack combination: it ranks 1856th of 3720 tested combos in this game. The data is measured (not simulated) and spans 12 configurations (three resolutions × four settings), producing average framerates ranging from 125 FPS at 1080p Low down to 56 FPS at 4K Ultra. The following sections analyze the GPU, CPU, resolution scaling, and settings behaviour of this pairing in Thief.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Comet Lake (14 nm) processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It supports 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. Its measured average benchmark score is 14,185, placing it at the 68th percentile of all tested CPUs. In Thief, the CPU’s role is evident at the lower end of the resolution scale: the FPS gap between settings shrinks as pixel count rises.

At 1920×1080, the CPU remains more influential. With Ultra settings the CPU delivers 100 FPS, while Low boosts to 125 FPS (a difference of 25 FPS). At 2560×1440 Ultra reaches 89 FPS and Low 110 FPS (21 FPS gap), and at 3840×2160 Ultra hits 56 FPS while Low reaches 92 FPS (36 FPS gap). The increasing gap at higher resolutions (both in absolute numbers and relative to the settings levels) indicates that at 4K the GPU is the primary bottleneck, whereas at 1080p the i5-10400F’s single-threaded capability limits the scene.

The CPU’s threading performance is shown by its 3DMark scores: 4,748 (16 threads), 3,929 (8 threads), 2,560 (4 threads), and 1,350 (2 threads). Its Cinebench R23 multi-thread score of 10,283 and single-core 1,451 show a balanced design that can feed the RTX 3080 Ti in lower resolutions but not at very high frame rates in 4K. Notably, the CPU’s percentile (68th vs. all CPUs) aligns with its positioning Core 10th Gen (Comet Lake), which is now several generations old — but Thief is not a demanding CPU title, and the data shows that even this mid-range part keeps the GPU well occupied except at 1080p Low. The analyzer’s nearest–CPU rivals (all within ±0.6% of the average composite) are the Intel Xeon 6756E (+0.2%), Core 7 160UL (-0.3%), AMD EPYC 7552 (+0.5%), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (-0.6%). Those deltas are tiny, reinforcing that the CPU sits in a flat performance plateau.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is 12 GB GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, moving 912.4 GB/s. It is built on the Ampere architecture (GA102, 8 nm Samsung) with 10,240 shading units, 80 RT cores, and 320 tensor cores. Its base clock is 1365 MHz, boost 1665 MHz, and the memory runs at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The GPU’s composite benchmark score is 41,187, ranking at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40,870, +0.8%), NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (41,707, -1.2%), NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41,897, -1.7%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (40,377, +2.0%). The launch MSRP of this card was 1,199 USD.

In Thief, the measured results highlight the GPU’s capability: at 6 1920×1080 Ultra the card still delivers 102 FPS (average), and at 4K High it reaches 59 FPS. At 4K Ultra the average is only 56 FPS – just shy of the 60 FPS smoothness target. The GPU’s compute capabilities, drawn from its PassMark G3D score of 26,896, are more than enough for Thief, even at the highest preset. The performance scaling follows the expected curve: Low to Ultra at 1080p moves from 125 to 100 (a drop of ~20%), at 1440p from 110 to 89 (~19% drop), and at 4K from 92 to 56 (~39% drop). The larger proportional drop at 4K implies that memory bandwidth (912.4 GB/s) and TMU/ROP rates (532.8 GTexel/s @ 186.5 GPixel/s) become the governing factors as pixel count expands.

The GPU’s VRAM capacity is 12 GB, and Thief (2014) is well under that requirement, even at 4K Ultra. The memory bus width of 384-bit contributes to the card’s ability to keep multiple textures balanced. The measured numbers show the GPU can handle up to ~ 56 FPS at the most demanding preset – a reasonable but not locked experience for a 4K display.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS rows allow a clear observation of how the workloads scale from 1920×1080 to 2560×1440 and finally to 3840×2160. Using the most explicit data (the Low preset), the average framerates are 125 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p, and 92 FPS at 4K. That is a step-down of 15 FPS between 1080p and 1440p, an additional 18 FPS between 14400p and 4K. The Ultra preset shows a similar monotonicity: 100 FPS → 89 FPS → 56 FPS (a drop of 11 FPS then 33 FPS). The much larger decrement in the final step (from 1440p to 4K) indicates that at 4K both GPU raster fill and pixel-shading limit the system, while the 1080p-to-1440p step is less punishing because the GPU still has headroom.

At the medium preset, the only one with min/max recorded, the scaling is:

• 1080p: 113 avg, 96 min, 130 max
• 1440p: 99 avg, 85 min, 114 max
• 4K: 77 avg, 66 min, 89 max

The min-to-max gap narrows with resolution (from 130→96 = 34 FPS at 1080p, to 68→66 = 34 FPS at 1440p, to 89→66 = 23 FPS at 4K). This implies that at 4K the framerate becomes more stable (a smaller oscillation range) – consistent with the occurrence of GPU bottlenecking that reduces frame-time variance. Conversely, at 1080p the larger min/max spread suggests the CPU is occasionally imposing stalls, revealing CPU dependency at lower resolutions.

Overall the resolution scaling data show a dominated GPU-bound system at 4K, with frames rising as the pixel count is decreased. The incremental effect on settings is linear in each resolution, because the GPU is the dominant constraint across the board.

Settings Recommendations

Thief’s preset hierarchy is Low → Medium → High → Ultra. Based on the measured values, the best experience at each resolution depends on the target average frame rate.

• 1920×1080: All presets exceed 100 FPS, with Ultra at 100, High at 102, Medium at 113, and Low at 125. There is no compelling reason to avoid Ultra here; the framerate impact is minimal, with the biggest relative loss (from Low to Ultra) being just 25 FPS. The previously mentioned min/max variance at Medium (96–9 → 130) is not any worse than this, so Ultra is a clear choice.

• 2560×1440: Ultra gives 89 FPS, still smooth enough for a 60 Hz (or many 144 Hz) display. Medium delivers 99 FPS with a min/max of 85–114, which is more consistent for high‑refresh playback. For demanding users, Ultra at 1440p is acceptable; the difference between High (90) and Medium (99) is only 9 FPS, so Ultra is recommended if it matches the display’s refresh rate.

• 3840×2160: Ultra lands at 56 FPS, slightly below the 60 FPS smoothness threshold; High averages 59 FPS, also marginal. Medium is the standout: 77 FPS avg with a 89– down to 66 min, which is comfortably above 60 FPS. Therefore the Medium preset at 4K yields the most stable experience — the only preset where the min FPS is still above 60 fps. Low is even higher (92 FPS) but at obvious visual fidelity cost.

For a player with a standard 60 Hz display at 4K, the Medium preset is the single best balance: it requires the smallest measurable trade-off (77 FPS avg) while still maintaining playability. At 1440p or 1080p, Ultra is undeniably the top‑performing choice because the frame rates remain in triple digits or near 90 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following fps values were measured for the Intel Core i5-10400F + NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti in Thief. All entries are averages unless noted.

1920×1080 (Full HD)

• Low: 125 FPS (avg)
• Medium: 113 FPS (avg, min 96, max 130)
• High: 102 FPS (avg)
• Ultra: 100 FPS (avg)

2560×1440 (Quad HD)

• Low: 110 FPS (avg)
• Medium: 99 FPS (avg, min 85, max 114)
• High: 90 FPS (avg)
• Ultra: 89 FPS (avg)

3840×2160 (4K UHD)

• Low: 92 FPS (avg)
• Medium: 77 FPS (avg, min 66, max 89)
• High: 59 FPS (avg)
• Ultra: 56 FPS (avg)

These data points (from measuredFps) form the complete picture of the combo’s behavior. The only preset at any resolution with explicit min/max is the Medium tier, and the‌OOC statistics show that 4K Medium is the most frame‑stable configuration (e.g., 66–89 frame window vs. 7–30 at 1440p Medium).

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 3080 Ti GPU or the Core i5‑10400F CPU the limiting factor in Thief?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 56 FPS while 1080p Ultra stays at 100 FPS. Since the 4K render pipeline stresses the GPU (12 GB memory, 912.4 GB/s bandwidth), the GPU acts as the primary constraint at high resolutions. In 1080p Low the 125 FPS vs. the same resolution’s High-only 102 FPS indicates the CPU still has headroom; the scaling is consistent with the GPU bottleneck dominating.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset if I play at 2560×1440?

A: The data shows Ultra at 1440p yields 89 FPS, with High at 90 FPS. This is a mere 1 FPS difference between the two, so Ultra adds almost no cost. The measured framerates for these two presets are within the margin of error, making Ultra the better choice for visual improvement.

Q: Is 4K playable with this combo?

A: Yes – but only on Medium creates 77 FPS; High and Ultra drop to 59 and 56 FPS, respectively. The Medium record 66 FPS comments, which is above 60… the most consistent config for 4K.

Q: How does the CPU benchmark score compare to the other limited options?

A: The i5‑10400F has a composite score of 14,184 with all CPUs at the 68th percentile. Its nearest rivals – Intel Xeon 6756E (14,163, +0.2%), Core 7 160UL (14,432, −0.3%), AMD EPYC 7552 (14,115, +0.5%), and Ryzen 3 7320C (14,200, −0.6%) – are essentially at the same level. The CPU’s single‑thread performance (C23 single‑core 1,248) is more than enough for Thief’s older engine.

Q: Which resolution offers the best settings for a 60 Hz display?

A: At 2560×1440, all presets exceed 89 FPS, so a 60 Hz display is easily fed; even the Ultra preset is above refresh. For 3840×2160 the Medium preset (77 FPS) is the only one that stays comfortably above 60 FPS, making it the best ‑.

Q: Show the exact list of the 12 measured frame rates.

A: The full measurements are: 1080p Low 125, Medium 113 (96–130), High 101, Ultra 100; 1440p Low 110, Medium 98 (96–114), High 90, Ultra 89; 4K Low 92, Medium 77 (66–89, with min/max), High 59, Ultra 56.