Thief

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER pairing delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Thief, a 2014 stealth title that remains surprisingly demanding at higher settings. The benchmark data shows this combo achieving playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra, with headroom for high-refresh monitors at 1440p. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of VRAM and the i5-12400’s six performance cores appear well-matched for this title, though the scaling patterns reveal where each component takes the lead.

FAQ

*Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo capable of running Thief at 4K?*

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 60.4 FPS at 4K Ultra and 67.4 FPS at 4K High, indicating the combo clears the 60 FPS threshold at the highest preset and maintains it when dropping to High.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw compute?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 42576, placing it 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42653) and 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723). It sits 1.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580X and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M40.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 149.3 FPS while Ultra averages 105.8 FPS. This 43.5 FPS gap shows the performance cost of maxing out visual fidelity, with Medium landing at 138.3 FPS.

Q: Does the i5-12400 hold back the RTX 4070 SUPER at 1080p?

A: The data suggests limited CPU bottlenecking. At 1920x1080, Low settings yield 168.1 FPS and Ultra yields 138.6 FPS, a 29.5 FPS spread that implies the GPU still influences performance even at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the i5-12400 rank against other CPUs in general benchmarks?

A: The processor’s average benchmark score is 19850, sitting in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K, while trailing the Intel Core i7-8700 by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4%.

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: For 4K, the High preset at 67.4 FPS offers the best balance, as Ultra drops to 60.4 FPS and Medium provides 86.5 FPS. The Low preset at 111.9 FPS is available for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves ample for Thief’s textures at all tested settings. The GPU’s 7168 shading units and 224 texture mapping units work together to deliver the measured frame rates, with a boost clock of 2475 MHz driving performance. The 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are present but less relevant for this 2014 title, which does not leverage Ray Tracing or DLSS.

The data indicates the GPU is the dominant factor in frame rate scaling across resolutions. At 1080p, dropping from Ultra (138.6 FPS) to Low (168.1 FPS) yields a 21.3% improvement, while at 4K the same preset change produces a much larger 85.3% gain (60.4 to 111.9 FPS). This widening gap at higher resolutions confirms the GPU is the primary workload driver, especially at 4K where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 84 vs all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 42576, places it in the upper tier of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals are all within 1.6% in average score, suggesting Thief performance would be nearly identical on those alternatives. The 220 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a practical choice for most systems, though the 16-pin power connector requires an appropriate PSU.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals classic resolution scaling behavior, with the GPU becoming progressively more stressed. At Ultra settings, the combo delivers 138.6 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 105.8 FPS at 1440p (a 23.7% decline), and further to 60.4 FPS at 4K (a 56.4% decline from 1080p). This steep drop at 4K indicates the game becomes heavily pixel-bound at that resolution.

At Low settings, the scaling is less dramatic: 168.1 FPS at 1080p, 149.3 FPS at 1440p (11.2% drop), and 111.9 FPS at 4K (33.4% drop from 1080p). The smaller relative decreases at Low suggest that at lower settings, the CPU’s six cores and 12 threads are better able to keep up, though the GPU still limits at 4K. Medium settings show a middle ground, with 156.5 FPS at 1080p, 138.3 FPS at 1440p, and 86.5 FPS at 4K.

The data implies that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, as all presets remain above 105 FPS. At 4K, only Low and Medium exceed 86 FPS, while High and Ultra hover near the 60-67 FPS range. This pattern suggests that players targeting 4K should use Medium or High, while 1080p and 1440p users can comfortably enable Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 325th out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 19.8% of all configurations. This percentile ranking reflects the strong synergy between the processor and graphics card, where the i5-12400’s performance does not significantly bottleneck the RTX 4070 SUPER.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 19850 and the GPU’s 42576 both sit above their respective medians, contributing to the combo’s favorable position. The i5-12400’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, has a nearly identical average score (19831, 0.1% difference), suggesting that pairing the RTX 4070 SUPER with either CPU would yield similar Thief performance. The GPU’s closest competitor, the RTX A6000, is only 0.2% ahead, reinforcing that this combo represents a balanced mid-to-high-end configuration.

The rank of 325 implies that while many combos outperform this pairing, a substantial majority of tested systems fall below it. This is consistent with the GPU’s 84th percentile and CPU’s 77th percentile, both indicating above-average hardware. The data does not show any extreme bottlenecking, as the frame rates at 1080p Low (168.1 FPS) suggest the CPU can feed the GPU adequately.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K resolution, the High preset at 67.4 FPS offers the most balanced experience, as it maintains smooth gameplay while providing better visuals than Medium (86.5 FPS) or Low (111.9 FPS). Ultra at 4K dips to 60.4 FPS, which is playable but leaves little margin for frame drops in busy scenes. Players with 4K displays should prioritize High to stay comfortably above 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 105.8 FPS is the recommended choice, as it delivers high visual quality while still exceeding 100 FPS. The Medium preset at 138.3 FPS and High at 115.3 FPS are viable alternatives for those seeking higher refresh rates, but Ultra’s 105.8 FPS is sufficient for most displays. Low at 149.3 FPS offers diminishing returns, as the visual compromise outweighs the modest FPS gain.

For 1080p, all presets exceed 138 FPS, making Ultra the clear recommendation at 138.6 FPS. High at 140.4 FPS and Medium at 156.5 FPS are nearly identical in frame rate, but Ultra provides the best image quality without sacrificing smoothness. Low at 168.1 FPS is only necessary for 165 Hz or 240 Hz monitors, where the extra 29.5 FPS over Ultra might justify the visual downgrade.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low at 168.1, Medium at 156.5, High at 140.4, and Ultra at 138.6. The spread between Low and Ultra is 29.5 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (16.1 FPS). This suggests that High settings introduce a significant rendering cost, likely from shadow or texture quality increases.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low at 149.3, Medium at 138.3, High at 115.3, and Ultra at 105.8. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 43.5 FPS, and the Medium-to-High drop becomes 23.0 FPS, indicating that resolution scaling amplifies the cost of higher presets. Ultra’s 105.8 FPS remains above the 100 FPS mark, making 1440p Ultra a viable target.

At 3840x2160, the values are: Low at 111.9, Medium at 86.5, High at 67.4, and Ultra at 60.4. The Low-to-Ultra spread reaches 51.5 FPS, and the Medium-to-High drop of 19.1 FPS is the most significant. Ultra’s 60.4 FPS is right at the edge of playability, while High’s 67.4 FPS provides a safer margin. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a nearly linear decline, with each preset step costing roughly 17 FPS on average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 contributes 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide sufficient data locality for Thief’s level streaming and AI logic. The CPU’s single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 910 and a passmark single-thread score of 3456, ensures that the game’s primary thread runs efficiently.

The processor’s multi-threaded capabilities, shown in a cinebench r23 multicore score of 15935 and a passmark multithread score of 18747, indicate it can handle background tasks without stealing resources from the game. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 19850 place it slightly above the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831, 0.1% ahead) and Intel Core i5-11600K (19771, 0.4% ahead), while remaining marginally behind the Core i7-8700 and Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX.

The data suggests the i5-12400 is not the limiting factor in most Thief scenarios. At 1080p Low, the 168.1 FPS average indicates the CPU can drive frame rates well above 144 Hz, and even at 4K Ultra, the 60.4 FPS result is more likely GPU-bound. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node contribute to efficient operation, though the game itself is not particularly CPU-intensive by modern standards. The six P-cores, without efficiency cores, provide consistent performance that scales predictably with the GPU across all tested resolutions.