Thief

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 presents an interesting study in bottleneck dynamics within the 2014 stealth title Thief. The data indicates that this combination delivers playable frame rates across all tested resolutions, but the scaling pattern reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the processor at lower resolutions. The performance delta between 1080p and 4K is significant, but not as dramatic as one might expect from a GPU of this caliber, suggesting that the i5-10400F is holding the RTX 4080 back from its full potential in this particular game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear, predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline tells the story of the system's limiting component. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 102 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops performance to 90 FPS, a reduction of 12 FPS or roughly 11.8%. At 4K High, the average falls to 75 FPS, which is 27 FPS lower than the 1080p result—a 26.5% decrease from the baseline.

This scaling pattern is atypical for an RTX 4080, which is a GPU designed to handle 4K workloads with relative ease. The fact that 4K High only costs 26.5% of the 1080p performance suggests the CPU is not feeding the GPU sufficient frames at 1080p. If the GPU were the sole limiting factor, the drop from 1080p to 4K would be much steeper, often exceeding 40-50% for such a high-end graphics card. The relatively modest drop indicates that at 1080p, the i5-10400F is capping the frame rate, and as resolution increases, the GPU becomes more involved, but the CPU still remains a bottleneck.

Looking at the Low settings across resolutions reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 125 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 110 FPS, and at 4K Low, it settles at 92 FPS. The spread between 1080p and 4K Low is 33 FPS, which is a 26.4% reduction. This is nearly identical to the percentage drop seen at High settings, which is telling. When settings are lowered, the GPU workload decreases, yet the frame rate does not scale up proportionally at 1080p. This indicates that the CPU is the primary limiter in low-resolution scenarios, preventing the RTX 4080 from achieving higher frame rates.

The Ultra settings data further confirms this trend. The difference between 1080p Ultra (100 FPS) and 4K Ultra (72 FPS) is 28 FPS, a 28% drop. This consistency across all quality presets—roughly a 26-28% reduction from 1080p to 4K—is a hallmark of a CPU-bound system. The RTX 4080 is capable of much higher frame rates at 1080p, but the i5-10400F's six cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz, are not sufficient to drive the GPU to its limits in Thief. The data suggests that the game's engine, released in 2014, is likely single-thread or lightly-threaded, which does not favor the i5-10400F's architecture.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 1695 out of 3720 combos for Thief. This places it in the 45.6th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 45% of the combinations in the database but lags behind more than half. This is a surprisingly low ranking for a system with an RTX 4080, which is one of the fastest GPUs available.

The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for this ranking. The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185, placing it at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score include the Intel Xeon 6756E (14163, +0.2% delta), the Intel Core 7 160UL (14232, -0.3% delta), the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115, +0.5% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277, -0.6% delta). While these are not direct gaming comparisons, they indicate that the CPU's compute performance is mid-pack, which aligns with its modest ranking when paired with a top-tier GPU.

The combo's ranking suggests that Thief is not a game where the RTX 4080's strengths are fully utilized, and the i5-10400F's limitations are exposed. For context, the GPU alone ranks at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209, +0.1% delta), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828, -1.1% delta), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698, -2.6% delta), and AMD Radeon 8060S (55757, -2.7% delta). The GPU is clearly a high performer, yet the combo rank indicates that the CPU drags down the overall result. This is a classic case of a high-end GPU being paired with a mid-range CPU, resulting in a system that cannot fully express the GPU's capability in CPU-bound scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a formidable piece of hardware. Based on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, it features 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The memory clock is 1400 MHz, translating to 22.4 Gbps effective. The GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz.

In Thief, the GPU's massive memory bandwidth and 16 GB capacity are more than sufficient for the game's demands. The game released in 2014, so its texture sizes and memory usage are modest by modern standards. The RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor at any resolution or setting tested. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU handles 4K Ultra settings with an average of 72 FPS, which is playable, but not the high refresh rate experience the GPU is capable of delivering in other titles.

The GPU's pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s are far above what Thief requires. The fact that the GPU is not the bottleneck is evident from the resolution scaling analysis. At 1080p, the frame rates are capped at 100-125 FPS depending on settings, which is low for an RTX 4080. In a GPU-bound scenario, one would expect 1080p frame rates to be significantly higher, often exceeding 200 FPS in older titles. The data shows that the GPU is idling, waiting for the CPU to send draw calls.

The GPU's compute performance, as measured by Passmark's G3D score of 34457, places it at the 86th percentile. However, this raw compute power is not fully utilized in Thief. The game's engine likely does not leverage the RTX 4080's advanced features like ray tracing or DLSS, which are not relevant to a 2014 title. The GPU's performance in this game is purely rasterization-based, and even then, it is held back by the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 125, which is the peak for any resolution and setting combination. Medium settings produce an average of 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS. High settings yield an average of 102 FPS, while Ultra settings produce an average of 100 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 25 FPS, which is relatively narrow, indicating that the CPU is limiting performance across all settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop slightly. Low settings average 110 FPS, Medium averages 99 FPS (with a minimum of 85 and a maximum of 114), High averages 90 FPS, and Ultra averages 89 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, roughly 12-15%. This suggests that the GPU is starting to take on more of the workload, but the CPU is still a significant factor.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are the lowest but still playable. Low settings average 92 FPS, Medium averages 83 FPS (with a minimum of 71 and a maximum of 96), High averages 75 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is again consistent, around 16-20%. Notably, the minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 71, which is above the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered acceptable for smooth gameplay.

The data shows that the i5-10400F + RTX 4080 combo can handle Thief at 4K Ultra with an average of 72 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for high refresh rate monitors. For 1440p, the combo is well-suited, with High settings averaging 90 FPS and Ultra averaging 89 FPS. At 1080p, the combo is CPU-bound, with all settings hovering between 100-125 FPS, which is lower than what the GPU could theoretically deliver.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 10th-generation processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel's 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 CPU has a 12 MB shared L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The CPU's TDP is 65 W, indicating a modest power draw.

In Thief, the CPU's role is critical, and the data suggests it is the primary bottleneck. The CPU's benchmark scores paint a picture of a mid-range processor. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 10283, and single-core is 1451. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 6257, and single-core is 1420. These scores place the i5-10400F at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. However, Thief is an older game that likely does not scale well with multiple cores. The game was released in 2014, before the widespread adoption of 6-core processors, so its threading model is likely optimized for 2-4 cores.

The CPU's single-thread performance is critical for this game. The 3DMark single-thread score is 688, and the Passmark single-thread score is 2541. While these are decent scores, they are not exceptional for modern gaming. The boost clock of 4.30 GHz is helpful, but the architecture's IPC (instructions per clock) is lower than newer designs. This explains why the combo's frame rates cap out at 125 FPS at 1080p Low. The CPU simply cannot process the game's logic and draw calls fast enough to feed the RTX 4080.

The CPU's multi-threaded scores, such as the Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 4318, indicate that it can handle multi-threaded workloads. However, Thief does not appear to benefit significantly from the 12 threads. The fact that the frame rates do not increase dramatically when settings are lowered from Ultra to Low at 1080p (only a 25 FPS difference) is a strong indicator that the CPU is the limiting factor. The GPU has the headroom to produce more frames, but the CPU cannot supply the data.

The nearest rivals to the i5-10400F in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, which has a slightly higher score of 14277 (-0.6% delta). This suggests that the i5-10400F's performance is competitive with entry-level Ryzen parts, but for a game like Thief, a higher single-thread performance would be beneficial. The data indicates that a CPU with stronger single-core performance would likely yield higher frame rates in this title, even at the expense of multi-core capabilities.

FAQ

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

A: The combo produces an average of 102 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: How does the frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 113 at 1080p to 99 at 1440p, and finally to 83 at 4K. This represents a 26.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 the performance bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the data indicates the Intel Core i5-10400F is the limiting component. The GPU ranks at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks at the 68th percentile. The narrow FPS spread across settings at 1080p suggests the CPU caps performance.

*Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations in Thief?*

A: This combination of the i5-10400F and RTX 4080 ranks 1695 out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the 45.6th percentile.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 72, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 71, indicating smooth performance.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance relate to the game's results?

A: The i5-10400F has a 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and a Passmark single-thread score of 2541. Since Thief is from 2014 and likely relies on single-thread performance, the CPU's modest scores explain why frame rates cap at 125 FPS even at 1080p Low, indicating the CPU is the primary constraint.