Thief

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 occupies the 2,634th position out of 2,851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 8% of all recorded configurations. This rank is primarily a consequence of the GPU's position in the broader hardware landscape, as the Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The data indicates this is a combination built for 1080p playable framerates rather than high-refresh or high-resolution experiences. The combo's ranking suggests that while the CPU is more than capable of feeding this game, the graphics adapter becomes the definitive bottleneck at every measurable setting.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2,634 out of 2,851 represents a position in the lower tier of tested systems, but this is not a uniform failure across all resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 78 FPS, which would be considered smooth for the stealth genre. However, the ranking reflects aggregate performance across all measured points, and the 4K results drag the overall standing down considerably. The rank is heavily weighted by what happens at higher resolutions, where the Arc B370's integrated-class design struggles to maintain playable framerates. The data shows a clear stratification: at 1080p the combo is viable for Low and Medium presets, but at 1440p only Low settings remain above 50 FPS, and at 4K every preset falls below 32 FPS.

Benchmark results indicate the CPU side of this combination is not the limiting factor in Thief. The i5-12400F's average benchmark score of 19,039 places it at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with a delta of 0%, the Intel Core 3 201E at -0.1%, and the Intel Core i5-1335U at 0.3%. These deltas are minuscule, indicating the processor is performing exactly as expected for its class. The GPU, conversely, has an average benchmark score of 1,184, with nearest rivals including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 at -0.2%, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at -0.5%, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M at -0.7%. This places the Arc B370 in company with legacy discrete graphics from over a decade ago, which explains the sub-30 FPS results at 4K.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is architecturally distinct from typical discrete graphics cards. It is based on the Panther Lake chip with Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by Intel. The GPU features 1,280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output pipelines, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its clock speeds are relatively modest for a modern GPU: a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2,400 MHz. Critically, the memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the host system's RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a fundamental design choice that impacts performance in memory-bandwidth-sensitive scenarios, and Thief's open environments can be demanding in this regard.

The GPU's theoretical throughput figures are 48.00 GPixel/s for pixel rate and 96.00 GTexel/s for texture rate, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS. These numbers are modest by modern standards, and the 25 W TDP confirms this is an integrated-class part despite its discrete-like naming. The measured FPS data reflects these limitations. At 3840x2160, the GPU produces 18 FPS on High, 24 FPS on Medium, and 31 FPS on Low settings. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 14 FPS, showing that even the lowest preset cannot bring the game into a playable range at that resolution. The GPU's role is clearly to provide entry-level 1080p gaming, and the data supports that interpretation: at 1920x1080, Low settings yield 78 FPS, which is a perfectly serviceable experience for a stealth title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination in Thief?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable framerates across multiple presets. At 1080p, Low yields 78 FPS, Medium yields 59 FPS, High yields 45 FPS, and Ultra yields 43 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings (53 FPS) remain above the 50 FPS threshold, and at 4K, all presets fall below 32 FPS.

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

A: The Arc B370's average benchmark score is 1,184. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1,186 and a delta of -0.2%, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1,190 and a delta of -0.5%, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M with 1,192 and a delta of -0.7%. The AMD FirePro M2000 trails at 1,168 with a delta of 1.4%. These deltas are all within 1.4%, indicating the Arc B370 performs essentially on par with these legacy parts.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Thief?

A: The CPU is not the limiting factor. The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19,039 and sits at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals showing deltas under 0.3%. The GPU, however, sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The FPS scaling across resolutions confirms the GPU is the bottleneck: at 1080p Low the combo hits 78 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 31 FPS, a 60% reduction that points squarely at the graphics adapter.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. Only the Low preset at 53 FPS provides a comfortable margin above 50 FPS, so Low is the only recommended preset at this resolution.

Q: Does the Arc B370 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared" for size, type, bus width, and bandwidth. The bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," meaning performance will vary based on the host system's memory configuration. This is a notable characteristic that differentiates it from traditional discrete GPUs with dedicated video memory.

Q: What API features does the Arc B370 support in Thief?

A: The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The game Thief was released in 2014 and was designed for DirectX 11-era hardware, so these modern API capabilities are more than sufficient for the game's requirements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the base resolution, the combo delivers 78 FPS on Low, 59 FPS on Medium, 45 FPS on High, and 43 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, indicating some frame-time variance but generally stable performance. The gap between Low and Medium is 19 FPS, which is substantial, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 53 FPS, Medium produces 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 47, High produces 31 FPS, and Ultra produces 29 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 25 FPS, a 32% reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is 18 FPS, a 31% reduction. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU that is running out of fillrate and memory bandwidth as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low settings yield 31 FPS, Medium yields 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 27, High yields 18 FPS, and Ultra yields 17 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 14 FPS, meaning even the most aggressive settings reduction cannot salvage the experience. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 20, which would cause noticeable stuttering in a stealth game where smooth camera movement is essential.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the fundamental characteristics of this hardware combination. At Low settings, performance goes from 78 FPS at 1080p to 53 FPS at 1440p to 31 FPS at 4K. This represents a 32% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 60% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the progression is 59 FPS to 41 FPS to 24 FPS, with reductions of 31% and 59% respectively. This is a much steeper scaling curve than would be expected from a pure pixel-count increase, indicating that the GPU is not just limited by resolution but also by the associated increase in memory pressure from the System Shared configuration.

The scaling pattern suggests the limiting component is the GPU's fillrate and memory subsystem rather than the CPU. At 1080p, the i5-12400F can feed the Arc B370 enough data to produce 78 FPS at Low settings, but as resolution increases, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are simply insufficient for 2160p rendering in Thief, which is a 2014 title with relatively modest but still demanding scene complexity. The CPU's 3DMark scores, including a max threads score of 5,912 and a single-thread score of 909, are sufficient for this game's CPU demands, which were designed for the quad-core era of 2014.

The resolution scaling also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 35 FPS (78 vs 43). At 1440p, it narrows to 24 FPS (53 vs 29). At 4K, it narrows to 14 FPS (31 vs 17). This compression of performance across settings at higher resolutions is a classic sign of a GPU that is completely saturated, where even the reduction in geometric detail and shadow quality provided by Low settings cannot overcome the raw pixel throughput requirement.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 59 FPS, a minimum of 50 FPS, and a maximum of 68 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the minimum of 50 FPS ensures no major stutters. The Low preset at 78 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize framerate above all else, but Medium offers a significant visual upgrade for only a 19 FPS cost.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only sensible recommendation, with an average of 53 FPS. The Medium preset at 41 FPS is technically playable but falls below the 50 FPS mark, and the minimum of 35 FPS would be noticeable during fast camera movements. High at 31 FPS and Ultra at 29 FPS are not recommended for a stealth game where precise aiming and smooth traversal are important. At 3840x2160, no preset is recommended, as even Low at 31 FPS fails to provide a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset's minimum of 20 FPS confirms that 4K is beyond the capabilities of this combination.

The data also shows that the Ultra preset offers minimal gains over High at 1080p: 43 FPS vs 45 FPS, a difference of only 2 FPS. This suggests that Ultra settings in Thief include effects that are particularly taxing on the Arc B370's limited shading resources, and the visual improvement is not worth the performance cost. Players should stick with Medium at 1080p to maintain a comfortable framerate buffer.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. In Thief, a game released in 2014 that was designed for the quad-core CPUs of that era, the i5-12400F provides more than enough processing headroom. The game's AI, physics, and scripting systems are unlikely to stress even a fraction of this CPU's capabilities.

The CPU's benchmark results confirm its mid-range positioning. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 12,380, and its single-core score is 1,680. The Geekbench scores are 9,472 multicore and 1,964 single-core. The PassMark multithread score is 19,433, with a single-thread score of 3,481. These numbers place the i5-12400F at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors in the database. The nearest rivals are all within 0.3% of its average score of 19,039, including the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS at 19,047 and the Intel Core 3 201E at 19,056. This indicates the i5-12400F is a known quantity with predictable performance.

In the context of Thief, the CPU's role is to ensure that the Arc B370 is never starved of draw calls or game state updates. The FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 78 FPS, which is a respectable number for a GPU at the 5th percentile. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see the FPS plateau at 1080p regardless of settings, but the data shows a clear 35 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p. This confirms the GPU is the limiting factor, and the i5-12400F is performing its role as a capable supporting component. The CPU's 18 MB of L3 cache and 12 threads provide ample bandwidth for the game's data streaming needs, and its boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures responsive single-threaded performance for the game's main loop.