Thief

# Thief with Intel Core i5-11400F + AMD Radeon RX 9060

The data for this combination places it at rank 1676 out of 2851 tested combos for Thief, which puts it slightly below the median of the tested pool. The measured FPS values across all resolutions and settings show a system that can handle the game at 1080p comfortably but begins to strain at higher resolutions, particularly at Ultra settings. This analysis walks through the measured results to explain what the numbers indicate about the CPU, GPU, and their interaction in this 2014 stealth title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 99 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same High preset drops that to 68 FPS, a reduction of 31 FPS or roughly 31%. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 40 FPS, which is 59 FPS below the 1080p figure and only 40% of the 1080p performance.

The scaling pattern across settings tells a more detailed story. At Low settings, the system moves from 146 FPS at 1080p to 117 FPS at 1440p and then to 69 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low figure is less than half of the 1080p Low figure, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor even at the lowest settings when pixel count increases dramatically. The resolution scaling at Medium settings shows 130 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K, with the 1440p Medium result retaining 68% of the 1080p performance while the 4K Medium retains only 40%.

Ultra settings show the most severe scaling. The combo achieves 94 FPS at 1080p Ultra, drops to 65 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and falls to 38 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest measured FPS in the entire dataset and sits just below the 40 FPS High 4K figure, suggesting that the game's Ultra preset adds enough additional load that 4K becomes nearly unplayable for smooth gameplay. The difference between 4K High at 40 FPS and 4K Ultra at 38 FPS is only 2 FPS, which indicates that at 4K the system is already so constrained that the jump from High to Ultra has diminishing impact.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less punishing than from 1440p to 4K across all settings. At High, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 31 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 28 FPS. At Low, those drops are 29 FPS and 48 FPS respectively. The larger 1440p-to-4K drop at Low settings suggests that the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint at 4K, whereas at 1080p and 1440p the CPU can still feed the GPU adequately.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F brings six cores and twelve threads to this combination, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for how it handles game workloads. In Cinebench R23, it scores 14340 multicore and 2024 singlecore. The single-thread score of 868 in 3DMark is relevant for older games like Thief, which often rely heavily on one or two threads.

The CPU's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 71, meaning it outperforms 71% of tested processors. Its average benchmark score of 17177 places it near several rivals: the AMD EPYC 7H12 scores 17120 with a delta of 0.3%, the Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239 with a delta of -0.4%, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278 with a delta of -0.6%. These differences are minor, indicating that the i5-11400F's computational throughput is competitive with those alternatives.

In the context of Thief, the CPU's twelve threads are likely more than sufficient given the game's 2014 release. The measured FPS trends show that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 146 FPS, which suggests the CPU can drive high frame rates when the GPU is not saturated. If the CPU were a bottleneck at 1080p, we would expect to see similar FPS numbers regardless of graphics settings, but the data shows Low at 146 FPS versus Ultra at 94 FPS, a 52 FPS gap. This indicates that at 1080p, the GPU is the primary limiter even at Low settings, and the CPU has headroom to push beyond 146 FPS if the GPU allowed it.

The CPU's passmark multithread score of 16908 and single-thread score of 2981 further support that it is not the limiting factor in this game. The game's stealth genre typically features smaller environments and fewer on-screen entities than open-world titles, which means the CPU's six cores are unlikely to be fully taxed. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data feeding for the GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Thief?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 146, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 130 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 99 FPS at 1080p High and 94 FPS at 1080p Ultra.

Q: Can this combo run Thief at 4K smoothly?

A: At 4K, the best result is 69 FPS with Low settings. Medium settings at 4K yield 52 FPS, High yields 40 FPS, and Ultra yields 38 FPS. For smooth 4K gameplay, only Low settings exceed the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium and above fall below it.

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

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177. It is 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120), 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239), and 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17278). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating near-parity performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce 146 FPS average while Ultra produces 94 FPS, a difference of 52 FPS. The Medium preset at 130 FPS sits between these values, and High at 99 FPS is closer to Ultra than to Medium.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014. It is 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129), 1% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862), and 1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852). The GPU's percentile ranking is 59 against all GPUs.

Q: Which resolution shows the smallest drop in FPS between Low and Ultra?

A: At 4K, the difference between Low (69 FPS) and Ultra (38 FPS) is 31 FPS. At 1440p, the difference is 52 FPS (117 Low versus 65 Ultra). At 1080p, the difference is 52 FPS as well (146 Low versus 94 Ultra). The 4K gap is proportionally smaller because the GPU is heavily constrained at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all four settings presets exceed 90 FPS average. The Medium preset delivers 130 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS and a maximum of 149 FPS, which provides a smooth experience with substantial visual improvements over Low. High at 99 FPS is also viable, while Ultra at 94 FPS offers the highest visual quality while still maintaining near-100 FPS performance. For 1080p, Medium or High offers the best balance between visual fidelity and frame rate stability.

At 2560x1440, the choices narrow. Low settings produce 117 FPS, which is smooth, but Medium delivers 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 102 FPS. The 76 FPS minimum ensures that dips remain above 60 FPS, making Medium the recommended preset for 1440p. High at 68 FPS is playable but leaves less headroom, while Ultra at 65 FPS approaches the edge of smoothness. The data indicates that Medium at 1440p provides the best experience because it stays comfortably above 60 FPS even in the minimum frame time.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low at 69 FPS is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS average. Medium at 52 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS may be acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay, but it falls below the 60 FPS threshold. High at 40 FPS and Ultra at 38 FPS are likely too low for responsive gameplay. For 4K, Low settings are the only recommendation if frame rate is prioritized, though Medium could be considered for players who prefer visual quality over smoothness.

The min FPS data available for Medium settings shows that at 1080p the minimum is 110 FPS, at 1440p it is 76 FPS, and at 4K it is 45 FPS. These minimums indicate that frame time consistency degrades significantly at higher resolutions, with the 4K Medium minimum falling below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for acceptable performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 holds rank 1676 out of 2851 tested combos for Thief. This places it in the 41st percentile of all tested combinations, meaning roughly 59% of tested combos outperform it in this game. The rank reflects the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings, weighted by the game's performance characteristics.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 71 against all CPUs and the GPU's percentile ranking of 59 against all GPUs provide context for the combo's overall rank. The GPU's lower percentile ranking relative to the CPU suggests that the graphics card is the more limiting component in this pairing for Thief. The CPU's average benchmark score of 17177 places it in the upper-middle range of processors, while the GPU's average benchmark score of 16014 places it in the middle range of graphics cards.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 16129 and is 0.7% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700, which scores 15852 and is 1% behind. These small deltas indicate that the RX 9060 sits in a competitive tier where minor performance differences separate products. The combo rank of 1676 suggests that within Thief specifically, this pairing performs adequately but not exceptionally, consistent with the GPU being the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo shows twelve data points covering four resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 146 FPS with no min or max values recorded. Medium settings at 1080p produce 130 FPS average with a minimum of 110 FPS and maximum of 149 FPS. High settings at 1080p produce 99 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 94 FPS average. The 1080p results show a clear progression where each higher preset reduces FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium at 16 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 117 FPS average. Medium settings produce 89 FPS average with a minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 102 FPS. High settings produce 68 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 65 FPS average. The 1440p results show a steeper decline from Low to Medium at 28 FPS, while the drop from High to Ultra is only 3 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the upper end of the settings scale.

At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 69 FPS average. Medium settings produce 52 FPS average with a minimum of 45 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS. High settings produce 40 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 38 FPS average. The 4K results show that even the jump from Low to Medium costs 17 FPS, and the progression from High to Ultra costs only 2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is saturated at this resolution regardless of preset.

Comparing the same settings across resolutions shows the scaling pattern. Low settings go from 146 FPS at 1080p to 117 FPS at 1440p to 69 FPS at 4K. Medium settings go from 130 FPS at 1080p to 89 FPS at 1440p to 52 FPS at 4K. High settings go from 99 FPS at 1080p to 68 FPS at 1440p to 40 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings go from 94 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 1440p to 38 FPS at 4K. In every case, the 1440p result retains between 65% and 80% of the 1080p performance, while the 4K result retains between 40% and 47% of the 1080p performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The GPU has 28 ray tracing cores and delivers 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its texture rate is 334.9 GTexel/s and pixel rate is 191.4 GPixel/s.

The GPU's memory configuration includes 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The base clock is 1700 MHz, the boost clock is 2990 MHz, and the game clock is listed at 2400 MHz. Memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed. These specifications position the GPU with a benchmark average of 16014 and a percentile ranking of 59 against all GPUs.

In Thief, the GPU's role as the primary performance limiter is evident from the resolution scaling data. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 17631 and DirectX 11 score of 182 indicate its capability in legacy API workloads, which is relevant for a 2014 game. The DirectX 9 score of 280 and DirectX 10 score of 104 show lower performance on older API paths, though Thief uses DirectX 11 as its primary rendering path.

The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 0.7% higher on average, which translates to a negligible difference in real-world gaming. The AMD Radeon R9 370X and RX 7700 both score 1% lower, placing the RX 9060 in a tight performance band. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Thief's texture requirements at all tested settings, as the game's 2014 release predates the high-VRAM demands of modern titles. The memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s supports the pixel throughput needed at 1440p, though the 4K results indicate that raw pixel fill rate becomes the limiting factor at that resolution.

The GPU's 64 ROPs and 191.4 GPixel/s pixel rate directly influence the 4K performance numbers. At 4K, the system must process roughly four times the pixels of 1080p, and the measured FPS drops to approximately 40% of the 1080p values across most settings. This aligns with the pixel rate being the constraint, as the GPU's compute and texture resources are less stressed at lower resolutions where the CPU can maintain higher frame rates.