Thief

FAQ

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the Intel Core i5-11400F?

A: The launch MSRP is $157.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-11400F compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U?

A: The average benchmark score for the i5-11400F is 17,181, which is essentially identical to the Ryzen 7 5700U's 17,189, showing a deltaPct of 0. The i5-11400F also sits within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-1260P and Core Ultra 7 164U, and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1240U.

Q: What is the GPU's standing among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti falls in the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25,120. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25,180, a deltaPct of -0.2, meaning the RTX 3060 Ti trails by a negligible margin.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 3060 Ti have, and what type is it?

A: It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

Q: What are the core and thread counts for the CPU?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz.

Q: What is the combo's rank in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 1,214 out of 1,642 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database for this specific game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz define its processing headroom. For a game like Thief, a stealth title from 2014, the CPU’s single-thread performance is often more critical than raw core counts, though the 12 threads help with background tasks and engine overhead.

Benchmark data confirms its balanced profile. In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 14,372 in multi-core and 2,029 in single-core tests. The single-core score of 2,029 indicates strong per-thread capability, which directly influences how quickly the game logic, AI routines, and physics calculations are processed. The multi-core score of 14,372 shows that the processor can handle more demanding computational loads without bottlenecking the GPU in most scenarios.

The CPU's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it outperforms three-quarters of tested processors in general benchmarks. Its average benchmark score of 17,181 places it in a tight cluster with competitors like the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17,189) and Intel Core i7-1260P (17,212), with deltas of 0% and -0.2% respectively. This indicates that for Thief, the CPU provides consistent frame pacing without being a limiting factor, especially at lower resolutions where draw calls and game logic become more prominent.

The processor's memory support for DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the game's requirements. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce latency when accessing frequently used data. In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role becomes apparent at 1920x1080 resolution, where the frame rates are highest—144.5 FPS on Low settings—suggesting the CPU can feed frames efficiently when the GPU is not overwhelmed by pixel work.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with an 8 nm process node. Its base clock of 1410 MHz boosts to 1665 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is crucial for Thief, as the game's textures and shadow maps can consume significant VRAM at higher settings.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial: 4,864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. It also includes 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores, though Thief predates widespread ray tracing use, so these features likely remain idle. The FP32 performance of 16.20 TFLOPS provides ample raw throughput for the game's DirectX 11-era rendering pipeline.

In the Passmark G3D benchmark, the RTX 3060 Ti scores 20,349, which places it in the 69th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 25,120 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25,180) and slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25,235), with deltaPct values of -0.2% and -0.5% respectively. This suggests that in Thief, the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences between settings and resolutions.

The 200 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a mid-range power draw, but the measured FPS data shows that the GPU's capabilities scale predictably: at 1920x1080 Low, the card achieves 144.5 FPS, while at 3840x2160 Ultra, it drops to 35.7 FPS. This scaling highlights the GPU's role in handling resolution-dependent workloads—higher resolutions increase pixel fill rate demands, which the 80 ROPs and 133.2 GPixel/s pixel rate must satisfy.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1,214 out of 1,642 tested combos in Thief. This places the pairing in the 74th percentile of all combos, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the tested systems but trails the top performers. The ranking reflects a balanced setup where neither component severely bottlenecks the other, but the overall frame rates are moderate for a modern stealth game.

The CPU's 75th percentile ranking and the GPU's 69th percentile ranking suggest that the combo is well-matched on paper. However, the combo's position in Thief (1,214 out of 1,642) indicates that the game favors higher-end configurations. The measured FPS data shows that at 2560x1440 Ultra, the combo averages 57.9 FPS, which is playable but not exceptional. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average drops to 35.7 FPS, which may be below the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh displays.

Comparatively, the combo's performance is consistent with the deltaPct values of its nearest rivals. The CPU's average score is within 0.2% of its closest competitors, and the GPU's average score is within 0.7% of its rivals. This means that swapping the CPU or GPU for a similarly performing part would yield nearly identical results in Thief, making this combo a stable, predictable choice for mid-range gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. On Low settings, the average FPS is 144.5, which is excellent for fast-paced gameplay. Medium settings yield 115.4 FPS, High settings produce 92.4 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 83.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 61.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU has headroom at this resolution and that settings adjustments have a significant impact.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings average 109.2 FPS, which is still very smooth. Medium settings produce 81.8 FPS, High settings deliver 64.3 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 57.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 51.3 FPS, showing that resolution increases the GPU's workload more than the CPU's.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings average 65 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings drop to 49.1 FPS, High settings produce 37.7 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 35.7 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 29.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, as the 8 GB VRAM and 448 GB/s bandwidth are pushed to their limits.

The data shows a clear trend: resolution scaling is more punishing than settings scaling. For example, going from 1080p Low (144.5 FPS) to 1440p Low (109.2 FPS) results in a 24.4% drop, while going from 1440p Low to 4K Low (65 FPS) results in a 40.5% drop. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel rate are primary constraints at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience on this combo, the data suggests prioritizing resolution over settings. At 1920x1080, even Ultra settings provide 83.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This makes 1080p Ultra the most visually rich option that still maintains high performance. If a higher refresh rate is preferred, dropping to High settings yields 92.4 FPS, a 9 FPS improvement with minimal visual compromise.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to High settings, which average 64.3 FPS. This is playable, but Ultra settings at 57.9 FPS may cause noticeable stuttering on 60 Hz displays. Medium settings at 81.8 FPS offer a better balance for competitive play, but High provides the best visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

For 3840x2160, Low settings at 65 FPS are the only viable option for maintaining playable frame rates. Medium settings at 49.1 FPS are borderline, and High (37.7 FPS) and Ultra (35.7 FPS) are too low for enjoyable gameplay. If 4K is a priority, the data indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti is not sufficient for high-quality settings, and users should consider lowering resolution or accepting lower visual presets.

The optimal configuration is 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, delivering 83.4 FPS. This provides the highest visual quality while remaining well above the 60 FPS threshold. For users with 1440p monitors, High settings at 64.3 FPS is the recommended balance, as it offers nearly the same visual quality as Ultra but with a 6.4 FPS improvement. The data clearly shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with high settings, or 1440p with medium-to-high settings, and that 4K should be reserved for Low settings only.