Thief

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

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 in a dual-channel configuration, yielding 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

For a 2014 stealth title like Thief, the CPU's single-thread performance is typically more relevant than its multi-thread capabilities. The benchmark data supports this: the 3dmark single-thread score is 868, while the 2-thread score is 1691, suggesting that scaling beyond two threads yields diminishing returns for lightly-threaded workloads. The Cinebench R20 single-core score of 852 versus the multicore score of 6036 indicates that the processor can leverage all 12 threads when needed, but games from this era rarely require that.

The i5-11400F's percentile ranking of 75 among all CPUs places it in the upper quartile of processors. Its average benchmark score of 17181 sits nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U scores 17189 (0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P scores 17212 (-0.2% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17215 (-0.2% delta). The Intel Core i5-1240U trails slightly at 17141 (0.2% delta). This clustering means the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo's performance; it delivers consistent, mid-range computational throughput.

In Thief specifically, the data shows frame rates that rise substantially when moving from Low to Medium settings at every resolution, but the gap between High and Ultra is narrow. At 1080p, Low delivers 145.2 FPS while Medium drops to 119.1 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond 120 FPS at lower settings. The 4.40 GHz boost clock helps maintain high minimum frame pacing in scenes with multiple AI actors, a common scenario in stealth gameplay where guards patrol and react to player actions.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 6 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1720 MHz, with a game clock of 2250 MHz and a boost clock of 2655 MHz. The memory operates at 2250 MHz, translating to 18 Gbps effective. The card has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 32 ray tracing cores.

The RX 7600's percentile ranking of 63 among all GPUs places it in the upper half of graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 20258 is closely matched by its rivals: the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 20146 (0.6% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 20088 (0.8% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (-1.3% delta), and the Intel Arc B570 scores 20556 (-1.5% delta). This tight grouping indicates the RX 7600 sits in a competitive performance tier despite being an entry-level 7000-series part.

For Thief, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is more than adequate for a 2014 title, even at 4K. The measured FPS data confirms that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 145.2 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 62.2 FPS — a 57% reduction. This scaling pattern is typical of GPU-bound scenarios. The 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth appears sufficient for Thief's textures, as the game's 2014 release predates the high-bandwidth demands of modern titles.

The pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s provide enough fill-rate headroom for the game's indoor environments and shadow-heavy stealth scenes. The FP32 throughput of 21.75 TFLOPS is not heavily taxed by a game of this era, which relies more on rasterization than compute shaders.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 1243 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the ranking distribution, which may seem counterintuitive given the individual component percentiles (CPU at 75, GPU at 63). The discrepancy arises because Thief is an older title where many higher-ranked combos likely use processors with higher single-thread performance or GPUs with better driver optimization for legacy DirectX 9/11 workloads.

The data shows that the combo's ranking is dragged down by the GPU's relatively modest performance in older API scenarios. The GPU's PassMark DirectX 11 score is 172, while its DirectX 12 score is 58 — indicating that the card is significantly faster in modern APIs. Thief, released in 2014, primarily uses DirectX 11, which is not the RX 7600's strongest API based on these benchmark figures. The CPU's 3dmark 2-thread score of 1691 suggests adequate single-thread performance for the game's AI and physics, but the overall combo ranking reflects that this pairing is better suited for newer titles.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo achieves in Thief?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 145.2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 34.9 at 3840x2160 on both High and Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U is statistically identical at 17189 (0% delta), while the Intel Core i7-1260P and Core Ultra 7 164U are both 0.2% slower. The Intel Core i5-1240U is 0.2% faster.

Q: Is the GPU's performance consistent with its rivals?

A: The RX 7600 scores 20258 on average. The RX 7600 XT is 0.6% slower, the RX 460 is 0.8% slower, the RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.3% faster, and the Intel Arc B570 is 1.5% faster.

Q: What resolution gives the smoothest experience?

A: At 1920x1080, all settings exceed 88 FPS, with Low reaching 145.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low achieves 106.4 FPS, but Ultra drops to 57.2 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low reaches 62.2 FPS, with all other settings below 47 FPS.

Q: How much does the CPU matter in this game?

A: The CPU's 2-thread 3dmark score of 1691 and single-thread score of 868 indicate strong performance for lightly-threaded workloads. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is unlikely to bottleneck in Thief, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank?

A: The combo ranks 1243 out of 1642 tested combinations in Thief, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 145.2 FPS average, Medium yields 119.1 FPS, High reaches 89.7 FPS, and Ultra achieves 88.7 FPS. The delta between High and Ultra is only 1 FPS, suggesting that Ultra settings add visual effects that are nearly free in performance terms at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down predictably. Low settings still provide 106.4 FPS, Medium drops to 84.8 FPS, High reaches 59.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 57.2 FPS. The High-to-Ultra gap remains narrow at 2.4 FPS, but the step from Medium to High is a significant 25.2 FPS reduction, indicating a heavier GPU load from High's additional effects.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings produce 62.2 FPS, Medium drops to 47.0 FPS, and both High and Ultra settle at 34.9 FPS. The identical High and Ultra scores suggest that at 4K, the GPU is saturated and the extra Ultra settings either have no additional cost or the game caps the effect of these settings at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component clearly. At Low settings, the combo goes from 145.2 FPS at 1080p to 106.4 FPS at 1440p (a 26.7% reduction) and then to 62.2 FPS at 4K (a 57.2% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline from 1440p to 4K indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 119.1 FPS at 1080p, 84.8 FPS at 1440p (28.8% drop), and 47.0 FPS at 4K (60.5% drop from 1080p). High settings show 89.7 FPS at 1080p, 59.6 FPS at 1440p (33.6% drop), and 34.9 FPS at 4K (61.1% drop). Ultra settings mirror High: 88.7 FPS at 1080p, 57.2 FPS at 1440p (35.5% drop), and 34.9 FPS at 4K (60.7% drop).

The consistent 60% FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings above Low points to a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's performance headroom is demonstrated by the fact that at 1080p, even Ultra settings maintain 88.7 FPS — a level where the 6-core processor can still feed the GPU effectively. The transition from 1440p to 4K produces the largest proportional drops, confirming that the RX 7600's 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but insufficient for maintaining high frame rates at 4K in this title. The data suggests that for a smooth 60 FPS experience, 1440p with Medium settings (84.8 FPS) is the highest quality configuration that clears this threshold, while 4K playable frame rates require Low settings (62.2 FPS) and even then barely exceed 60 FPS.