Thief

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 673rd out of 1,642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the upper half of all configurations. This is a strong result for a stealth title from 2014, indicating that the combination delivers a fluid experience at most settings, though the data shows some notable bottlenecks at higher resolutions. The combo’s standing reflects a balanced pairing where the GPU carries the load at 1080p and 1440p, while the CPU’s six cores prove sufficient for the game’s engine.

How This Combo Ranks

The 673rd position out of 1,642 combos puts this configuration in the 59th percentile of all tested systems. This is a respectable placement, though not elite, given that Thief is a title that scales well with GPU power. The ranking suggests that the RX 7800 XT is doing most of the heavy lifting, as the i5-11400F’s performance is adequate but not exceptional for this workload. Compared to the CPU’s overall percentile of 75 across all benchmarks, the combo’s in-game rank is slightly lower, indicating that Thief is more sensitive to graphics throughput than raw processor muscle. The GPU’s own percentile of 76 aligns more closely with the combo’s standing, reinforcing that the graphics card is the primary driver of these results. In practical terms, this rank means the setup outperforms roughly 59% of all tested configurations, making it a solid choice for smooth 1080p and 1440p gameplay, with 4K being playable but not consistently above 60 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock reaches 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz, and the memory runs at 19.5 Gbps effective. These specifications are directly reflected in the measured frame rates. At 1080p, the GPU’s headroom is evident, with scores ranging from 120.4 FPS at Ultra to 144.5 FPS at Low, showing that the card is never the limiting factor at this resolution. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Thief’s textures, even at 4K, where the card still manages 51.5 FPS at Ultra. The 624.1 GB/s bandwidth ensures that memory throughput is not a bottleneck, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from 1080p to 1440p, where High settings only drop from 120.8 to 90.7 FPS. The RX 7800 XT’s 3840 shading units and 96 ROPs contribute to its strong pixel throughput, which is crucial for a game that relies on detailed environments. The GPU’s percentile of 76 among all graphics cards corroborates its position as a high-end part, and the measured data shows it performs accordingly in this title.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to the Medium preset as the optimal balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. At 1080p, Medium delivers 131 FPS, which is only 13.5 FPS below Low but provides significantly better visuals. At 1440p, Medium hits 115.9 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while High drops to 90.7 FPS and Ultra falls to 86.9 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 25.2 FPS, making Medium the sweet spot for competitive or fast-paced play. At 4K, Medium yields 69.8 FPS, which is playable, but High drops to 52.4 FPS and Ultra to 51.5 FPS, making Medium the only 4K preset that consistently clears 60 FPS. Low settings are unnecessary for this hardware at 1080p and 1440p, as the GPU has ample headroom, but at 4K, Low offers 94.2 FPS for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals. The data suggests that Medium is the default recommendation, with High being viable at 1080p and 1440p for users who prefer enhanced textures at the cost of some smoothness.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Thief at 4K with high settings?

A: At 4K with High settings, the average frame rate is 52.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. For a smoother experience, Medium settings at 4K achieve 69.8 FPS, making it the recommended 4K preset.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT’s 16 GB VRAM affect performance?

A: The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth ensures that memory capacity is never a limiting factor, even at 4K Ultra, where the card still produces 51.5 FPS. The VRAM is overprovisioned for this 2014 title, so texture loading is not an issue.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: At 1440p, the combo delivers between 86.9 FPS (Ultra) and 127.8 FPS (Low), making it the resolution where the GPU’s power is fully utilized without hitting CPU bottlenecks. 1080p is also excellent, but the GPU is underutilized, as shown by the narrow gap between Low and Ultra (144.5 vs 120.4 FPS).

Q: Is the i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RX 7800 XT?

A: The CPU’s six cores and 12 threads are sufficient to avoid major bottlenecks at 1080p, where the GPU is the limiting factor. However, at 4K, the frame rates drop more sharply, indicating that the GPU is the primary constraint, not the processor. The CPU’s 75th percentile ranking supports its adequacy for this title.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other configurations?

A: The combo ranks 673rd out of 1,642 tested, placing it in the upper 59% of all systems. This is a solid result, though not top-tier, reflecting the GPU’s strong performance and the CPU’s mid-range capabilities.

Q: What are the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low yields 127.8 FPS, while Ultra drops to 86.9 FPS, a difference of 40.9 FPS. This shows that the GPU has enough headroom to handle even the most demanding settings, but the visual gains from Ultra may not justify the frame rate loss for all users.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases, with the most significant drop occurring between 1440p and 4K. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 120.8 at 1080p to 90.7 at 1440p (a 25% reduction), and then to 52.4 at 4K (a 42% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline at 4K indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the RX 7800 XT’s raw throughput cannot sustain high frame rates at 3840x2160. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings: Low goes from 144.5 to 127.8 to 94.2, Medium from 131 to 115.9 to 69.8, and Ultra from 120.4 to 86.9 to 51.5. The 4K Ultra result of 51.5 FPS is the lowest measured, showing that the card is working at its limits. Interestingly, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is relatively modest (around 30 FPS for High), suggesting that the GPU has enough bandwidth and shading power to handle the jump. The 4K drop, however, is severe, with the card losing nearly half its 1440p performance, which points to the 256-bit memory bus and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth being insufficient for the pixel load at that resolution. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s performance remains consistent across resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, based on the Rocket Lake architecture. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for Thief’s CPU demands. In the measured results, the CPU’s role becomes apparent at 1080p, where the frame rates are high enough that the processor could become a limiting factor if it were weak. However, the data shows that even at 1080p Low (144.5 FPS), the CPU is able to feed the GPU adequately, as the frame rate is not capped by processor speed. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14,372 and single-core score of 2,029 indicate solid performance, and its 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs supports this. At 4K, the CPU is clearly not the bottleneck, as frame rates drop due to GPU load, not processor limitations. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (avg score 17,189) and Intel Core i7-1260P (avg score 17,212), show that the i5-11400F is competitive with other mid-range processors, with a delta of 0% against the 5700U. This suggests that the CPU is well-matched to the GPU for this game, providing enough headroom to avoid stutter while not being powerful enough to push frame rates higher at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low achieves 144.5 FPS, Medium hits 131 FPS, High reaches 120.8 FPS, and Ultra produces 120.4 FPS. The small gap between High and Ultra (0.4 FPS) indicates that the GPU is not stressed at this resolution, and the CPU is able to maintain high throughput. At 2560x1440, the scores are still strong but show more differentiation: Low hits 127.8 FPS, Medium achieves 115.9 FPS, High drops to 90.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 86.9 FPS. The 25.2 FPS gap between Medium and High at this resolution suggests that the GPU is beginning to work harder. At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop significantly: Low manages 94.2 FPS, Medium yields 69.8 FPS, High achieves 52.4 FPS, and Ultra produces 51.5 FPS. The 4K results show a clear hierarchy, with Medium being the only preset that clears 60 FPS. The data also reveals that the difference between High and Ultra at 4K is negligible (0.9 FPS), meaning that Ultra offers no practical benefit over High at this resolution. Across all resolutions, the Low preset provides the highest frame rates, but the Medium preset offers the best balance, with 131 FPS at 1080p, 115.9 FPS at 1440p, and 69.8 FPS at 4K. These measured numbers confirm that the combo is capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p with any preset, while 4K requires Medium settings to maintain playable frame rates.