Thief

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers a robust 1080p experience in Thief, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the combination produces an average of 125 FPS on Low settings, while 4K Ultra drops to 66 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, while the six-core Comet Lake processor keeps pace adequately at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Thief shows a consistent downward trend as resolution increases, which is expected for a GPU-bound title at higher pixel counts. At 1080p, the average frame rates range from 125 FPS on Low to 100 FPS on Ultra, a spread of 25 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the same settings produce 110 FPS and 89 FPS respectively, narrowing the gap to 21 FPS. At 4K, the range tightens further: 92 FPS on Low versus 66 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 26 FPS.

The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is instructive. For Low settings, the transition from 125 FPS to 92 FPS represents a 26.4% reduction. For High settings, the drop from 102 FPS to 70 FPS is 31.4%. The Ultra preset shows the steepest relative decline, falling from 100 FPS to 66 FPS, a 34% loss. This pattern suggests that the GPU’s shading and memory bandwidth are increasingly taxed as pixel count grows, with the most demanding settings amplifying the load.

The min FPS figures, available only for the Medium preset, reinforce this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 96 FPS, while at 1440p it drops to 85 FPS, and at 4K it reaches 71 FPS. The maximum FPS values follow a similar trajectory: 130 at 1080p, 114 at 1440p, and 96 at 4K. These numbers indicate that even the lower bound of performance remains comfortably playable across all tested resolutions, with no severe frame-time spikes evident in the averages.

The limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU’s six cores and twelve threads provide enough headroom for the GPU to reach 125 FPS on Low, but the single-thread score of 688 in 3DMark suggests that the processor is not the primary constraint. At 4K, the GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth become the deciding factors, as the frame rates plateau between 66 and 92 FPS depending on settings. The data shows no resolution where the i5-10400F becomes a hard bottleneck, but the diminishing returns from 1440p to 4K point to the RTX 4070 Ti’s compute limits.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 102 FPS. This places the combo well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, with the minimum not reported but the Medium preset’s 96 FPS floor suggesting stability.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to the 1080p Ultra preset?

A: The 4K Ultra average is 66 FPS, which is 34% lower than the 1080p Ultra average of 100 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K, with the RTX 4070 Ti’s 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 throughput being the primary driver of the reduction.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data does not show a clear CPU bottleneck. The processor’s 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 10283 are sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the 125 FPS result at 1080p Low. The FPS scaling with resolution suggests a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining high frame rates?

A: Based on the measured rows, 1080p offers the highest averages, with all presets exceeding 100 FPS. The 1440p results are also strong, staying above 89 FPS even on Ultra, while 4K drops below 70 FPS on the most demanding presets.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1733 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the upper half of the database. This position reflects a balance between the CPU’s mid-range standing and the GPU’s high-end performance.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 Ti’s memory capacity affect 4K performance?

A: The 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus width provide 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The 4K results, ranging from 66 to 92 FPS, indicate that the memory subsystem is sufficient for Thief’s demands, as the game’s release date predates high-VRAM requirements.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process node. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide respectable single-thread performance, as reflected in the 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and the Geekbench single-core score of 1420. These figures are adequate for Thief, a 2014 stealth title that does not heavily utilize modern multi-core processors.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 suggest that the processor can handle the game’s background tasks, but the single-thread performance is more relevant for frame pacing. The PassMark single-thread score of 2541 indicates that the i5-10400F is not a weak link, but it also does not offer the headroom of higher-tier CPUs.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role appears secondary. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 125 FPS, which is the highest average recorded. If the CPU were severely limiting, this value would likely cap at a lower number regardless of GPU potential. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 2560 and 8-thread score of 3929 show moderate scaling, but the game’s engine likely relies more on a few cores. The 2-thread score of 1350 reinforces that the processor’s top-end performance is sufficient for this title’s demands.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the i5-10400F’s average benchmark score of 14185 is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon 6756E (14163, 0.2% higher) and the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115, 0.5% higher). This places the CPU in a tight performance band, but the real-world gaming results show no signs of the processor lagging behind the GPU. The TDP of 65 W and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game’s memory access patterns.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1733 out of 3720 tested configurations places it in the 46.6th percentile, meaning it outperforms roughly 53% of all tested combos. This is a solid mid-tier result, driven primarily by the RTX 4070 Ti’s strong performance. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 84 among all GPUs contrasts sharply with the CPU’s 68th percentile, indicating that the graphics card is the dominant contributor to the combo’s overall standing.

The rank reflects the balance between the two components. A higher-ranked combo would typically pair the RTX 4070 Ti with a more powerful processor, but the data shows that the i5-10400F does not drag the results down significantly. The 1080p Ultra average of 100 FPS and the 1440p Ultra average of 89 FPS demonstrate that the combo can handle high settings without issue. The drop to 66 FPS at 4K Ultra is more attributable to the GPU’s limits than the CPU.

In the context of the database, this rank means that users with this combo can expect consistent performance across most titles, but Thief specifically shows that the GPU is the star. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core 7 160UL (14232, -0.3%) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277, -0.6%), have similar average scores, but the gaming results would likely differ based on their core configurations. The i5-10400F’s six cores and twelve threads provide a stable foundation, as evidenced by the measured FPS across all three resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the clear performance driver in this combo, and the measured FPS data confirms its dominance. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for the 4K results. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5024 and the PassMark G3D score of 31624 place it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, indicating strong overall capability.

The GPU’s clock speeds of 2310 MHz base and 2610 MHz boost, combined with 7680 shading units, yield a pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s. These specifications allow the combo to achieve 125 FPS at 1080p Low and 110 FPS at 1440p Low. The FP32 throughput of 40.09 TFLOPS is the key metric for Thief’s rendering workload, and the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows this resource being consumed.

The memory clock of 1313 MHz, effective at 21 Gbps, is sufficient for the game’s textures and geometry. The 4K Medium preset shows an average of 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU can maintain playable frame rates even when the memory subsystem is heavily utilized. The 4K Ultra average of 66 FPS, while lower, still exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the RTX 4070 Ti has enough headroom for this title.

The GPU’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45152, -0.8%) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45384, -1.3%), both of which have slightly higher average benchmark scores. However, the RTX 4070 Ti’s 0.8% deficit to the RTX 5090 Mobile is negligible in real-world gaming, and the measured FPS in Thief confirms that this GPU is more than capable. The TDP of 285 W and the suggested 600 W PSU are part of the package, but the performance data speaks for itself.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. The Low preset averages 125 FPS, followed by Medium at 113 FPS (minimum 96, maximum 130), High at 102 FPS, and Ultra at 100 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 25 FPS, showing that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution. The Medium preset’s minimum of 96 FPS indicates that even the most demanding scenes stay well above 90 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop but remain strong. Low achieves 110 FPS, Medium hits 99 FPS (minimum 85, maximum 114), High reaches 90 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 89 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 21 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p. The Medium minimum of 85 FPS is still playable, but the reduced headroom suggests the GPU is working harder.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more varied. Low averages 92 FPS, Medium averages 83 FPS (minimum 71, maximum 96), High averages 70 FPS, and Ultra averages 66 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 26 FPS, similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are significantly lower. The Medium minimum of 71 FPS is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, indicating that 4K pushes the GPU to its limits.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU provides enough support at 1080p and 1440p. The Medium preset’s min/max values at each resolution offer the only frame-time data, and they consistently show a range of about 24-25 FPS, suggesting stable performance without major stutters.

Settings Recommendations

For the best measured experience, the 1080p Ultra preset offers an average of 100 FPS, which is indistinguishable from High at 102 FPS in terms of smoothness. The data shows that Ultra provides only a 2 FPS penalty over High at this resolution, making it the recommended choice for maximum visual quality without sacrificing performance. The Medium preset at 113 FPS is also viable, but the jump to Ultra is worth the small cost.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 89 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 90 FPS is nearly identical, so users should opt for Ultra to get the best visuals. The Medium preset at 99 FPS offers a slight advantage in frame rate, but the difference is minimal. The Low preset at 110 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes the highest possible refresh rate.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts. The Ultra preset at 66 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for frame-time spikes. The High preset at 70 FPS is a better balance, offering 4 FPS more headroom. The Medium preset at 83 FPS is the sweet spot for 4K, providing a comfortable buffer above 60 FPS while still maintaining good visual quality. The Low preset at 92 FPS is the best for competitive play, but it sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a single-player stealth title.

Based on the measured rows, the optimal configuration is 1080p Ultra for maximum quality or 1440p Ultra for a balance of resolution and frame rate. For 4K, the Medium preset is the safest choice, as its minimum of 71 FPS ensures that even the heaviest scenes remain smooth. The data does not support using Low settings at any resolution, as the GPU is capable of much higher quality without significant FPS penalties.