Thief

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2634th out of 2851 tested combinations for Thief, placing it in the bottom 8% of all measured systems. This is a remarkably low standing that immediately signals the GPU is the dominant constraint, as the combo sits below 92% of all other tested pairings. The data suggests this configuration is not optimized for Thief's demands, and the ranking reflects a system that will struggle to deliver smooth gameplay even at modest settings. The percentile ranking of the GPU alone, sitting at just 5% among all GPUs, aligns with this poor overall combo position, while the CPU's 72nd percentile ranking indicates the processor is far more capable than the final results suggest.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position at 2634 out of 2851 tested combinations places it firmly in the lower tier of systems measured for Thief. This ranking is not a marginal miss—it represents a fundamental performance ceiling imposed by one component. The data indicates that 92.4% of all tested combos outperform this pairing, which is a stark outcome for a game released with relatively modest hardware requirements. The ranking becomes more telling when examining the components individually: the CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile among all processors, while the GPU languishes in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. This 67-point gap between component percentiles is the clearest evidence that the graphics solution is the bottleneck, dragging an otherwise competent processor down to near-bottom performance.

The nearest rival combos for the CPU provide context for what the processor alone can achieve—the AMD EPYC 7643 scores only 0.1% lower on average, and the Intel Core i7-1355U is 0.3% behind, showing the i5-12400 is competitive with much more expensive server and mobile parts in synthetic benchmarks. However, these CPU benchmarks do not translate to Thief performance because the GPU cannot keep pace. The combo rank of 2634 is not a reflection of CPU weakness but rather a demonstration of how a low-end integrated graphics solution can cripple an entire system's gaming potential. The data shows a system that is theoretically capable of much more, held back by a single component that cannot handle the game's rendering demands at any resolution or setting.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the primary factor determining this combo's performance, and its specifications paint a clear picture of its limitations. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, but these clock speeds are less relevant than the memory configuration—the card uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it relies on the system's main RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. This shared memory arrangement typically introduces significant latency and bandwidth constraints compared to discrete graphics memory, which is particularly problematic for a game like Thief that requires frequent texture and geometry data access. The GPU's 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output pipelines are modest figures, and the 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 performance places it in the entry-level category.

The GPU's benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is telling, as its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (0.2% faster) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (0.5% faster)—both are over a decade old. This places the Arc B370 in performance territory that was considered low-end even in the early 2010s, which explains why Thief, a 2014 title, runs so poorly. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs means 95% of all graphics solutions tested perform better, and this is reflected in the measured frame rates. The 25 W TDP and IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) form factor confirm this is not a discrete solution but rather an integrated graphics unit, which fundamentally limits its ability to handle demanding game loads. The data shows a GPU that is outclassed by nearly every other option, and Thief's results are the direct consequence of this hardware limitation.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how drastically the Arc B370's performance collapses as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 78 FPS, but this drops to 53 FPS at 1440p and 31 FPS at 4K—a 32% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 41% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is steeper than typical GPU-bound scenarios, suggesting the shared memory architecture struggles with the increased pixel count and memory bandwidth demands of higher resolutions. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (78 to 53 FPS) represents a 25 FPS loss for a 1.78x increase in pixel count, while the jump to 4K (31 FPS) shows another 22 FPS loss for a 2.25x increase from 1440p. This nonlinear degradation indicates the system is not simply pixel-bound but also memory-bandwidth-bound.

The Medium settings show a similar pattern: 59 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are consistent across settings, with 1440p representing roughly 70% of 1080p performance and 4K representing roughly 40-41% of 1080p performance. This consistent ratio across all settings suggests the limiting factor is the GPU's raw throughput rather than any specific setting's computational cost. However, the fact that even at 1080p Low the system cannot maintain 60 FPS with headroom (78 FPS is the best case) indicates the GPU is already near its maximum capability at the lowest resolution. The data implies that at any resolution above 1080p, the Arc B370 is severely overburdened, and the CPU's potential is entirely masked by the GPU's inability to keep up—a classic case of GPU-bound performance where resolution scaling reveals the graphics card as the sole bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this combo. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 78 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches smooth gameplay for this configuration. The Medium preset achieves 59 FPS, which is playable but borders on the edge of acceptable frame rates, while High (45 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider optimal. The 1440p results are more problematic: Low yields 53 FPS, Medium 41 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS. None of these reach 60 FPS, and even the Low preset struggles to maintain a consistent experience. At 4K, all settings fail to reach playable levels—Low manages 31 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 18 FPS, and Ultra 17 FPS—making 4K effectively unplayable for this game.

The recommendation based on the data is to run Thief at 1080p with Low settings to achieve the best balance of visual quality and performance. The 78 FPS average at 1080p Low provides the smoothest experience, and the 23 FPS improvement over Medium (59 FPS) is substantial enough to justify the visual downgrade. For players who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness, 1080p Medium at 59 FPS is the highest setting that remains near the playable threshold, with the minimum FPS of 50 and maximum of 68 indicating acceptable frame pacing. However, the data suggests that even Medium settings push the GPU to its limits, and the 22% performance drop from Low to Medium (78 to 59 FPS) shows how quickly the Arc B370's performance degrades with increased graphical load. The Ultra preset at 1080p (43 FPS) is not recommended, as it offers only marginal visual improvements over High (45 FPS) while delivering a significantly worse frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its best performance across all resolution tiers. The Low preset achieves an average of 78 FPS, representing the only setting that comfortably exceeds standard monitor refresh rates. Medium produces 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 and maximum of 68, showing a playable but variable frame rate. High drops to 45 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS, both below the 60 FPS target. The performance delta between Low and Medium is 19 FPS (24%), while the difference between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS (4.4%), suggesting diminishing returns at the higher settings. This pattern indicates that the GPU's rasterization and shading capabilities are the limiting factor, as the incremental cost of higher-quality textures and effects becomes too demanding for the hardware.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly across all presets. Low settings yield 53 FPS, which represents a 32% reduction from the 1080p result. Medium achieves 41 FPS (35 to 47 range), High produces 31 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent 30-35% performance penalty across all settings, confirming that the GPU is uniformly stressed by the increased pixel count. The 1440p results are marginal at best—even Low settings hover near the edge of playability, and the lack of a 60 FPS result at any preset makes this resolution unsuitable for smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the results are unusable for practical gaming: Low averages 31 FPS, Medium 24 FPS (20 to 27 range), High 18 FPS, and Ultra 17 FPS. The 4K performance represents a 60-61% reduction from 1080p across all settings, and the data shows that this resolution is entirely beyond the Arc B370's capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU's synthetic benchmarks are respectable: it scores 15,989 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 2,257 in single-core, and 8,564 in Geekbench multi-core. The 3DMark multi-threaded scores range from 1,692 (2 threads) to 5,890 (max threads), showing good scaling with thread count. Its average benchmark score of 18,683 places it in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% lower) and Intel Core i7-1355U (0.3% lower).

However, the CPU's theoretical capabilities are entirely irrelevant to Thief's performance in this combo. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation—even at 1080p Low (78 FPS), the game is clearly GPU-bound, as the Arc B370 cannot push frames faster than its pixel and texture throughput allows. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient for Thief, a game that primarily relies on single-threaded performance for game logic and physics. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and PassMark single-thread score of 3,456 indicate the processor has adequate single-core performance for this game's engine. The data suggests that if the GPU were replaced with a more capable discrete solution, the i5-12400 would likely support significantly higher frame rates, but this combo's results are entirely constrained by the Arc B370. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 163 mm² die size confirm it is a mainstream desktop part, and its performance characteristics are not the cause of this combo's low ranking.

FAQ

Q: Why does this combo rank so poorly for Thief despite having a modern CPU?

A: The combo ranks 2634th out of 2851 tested combinations because the Intel Arc B370 GPU is the limiting factor. The GPU ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with benchmark scores comparable to decade-old cards like the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (0.5% faster). The CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile, but its capabilities are masked by the GPU's inability to render frames quickly enough.

Q: Can this system play Thief at 60 FPS?

A: Only at 1080p with Low settings, where it achieves 78 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS. At 1440p or 4K, no settings preset reaches 60 FPS—the best 1440p result is 53 FPS at Low, and the best 4K result is 31 FPS at Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data clearly identifies the GPU as the bottleneck. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking versus the CPU's 72nd percentile, combined with the fact that performance scales almost entirely with resolution and settings (not CPU load), confirms the Arc B370 is the sole constraint. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient for Thief's demands.

Q: What are the best settings for 1440p gameplay?

A: At 1440p, Low settings provide the highest average FPS at 53, but this is still below 60 FPS. Medium achieves 41 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS. No 1440p preset delivers a fully smooth experience, so 1080p is recommended for playable frame rates.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). This places it in performance territory comparable to early-2010s hardware.

Q: Is 4K resolution viable for this combo in Thief?

A: No. At 4K, the best result is 31 FPS at Low settings, with Medium at 24 FPS, High at 18 FPS, and Ultra at 17 FPS. All 4K results are below 32 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable at this resolution regardless of settings.