Thief

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 is a combination that lands near the very bottom of the database for _Thief_, ranking 2534th out of 2851 tested combos. This places the pairing in the 11th percentile of all recorded configurations, indicating that while the game is playable at lower settings, the overall experience is heavily constrained by the graphics solution. The Arc B390, despite being a recent-generation part, posts benchmark scores that rival decade-old entry-level discrete GPUs, and the measured frame rates in _Thief_ reflect this limitation. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance data, the roles of each component, and what settings offer the most viable experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in _Thief_?

A: The combo ranks 2534th out of 2851 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all recorded systems for this game.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score is 1482. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M trails by 1.5% with a score of 1460, and the GeForce GT 625 OEM is 2.5% behind at 1446.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 86 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset. The Medium preset drops to 66 FPS, High to 50 FPS, and Ultra to 48 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU a limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: No, the data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 19 on Ultra to 35 on Low, which indicates the graphics card cannot maintain playable frame rates at this resolution regardless of CPU headroom.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking compared to all other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F is in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039. This places it well above average, showing it is a capable processor that is not the weak link in this pairing.

Q: Does this combo provide a smooth 60 FPS experience at any setting?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p with the Low preset, where the average FPS is 86. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 59 FPS, which is just shy of a consistent 60 FPS target.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame field places this specific pairing at 2534 out of 2851 tested configurations. This is a stark indicator of its performance class; roughly 89% of all recorded combos outperform it in _Thief_. The rank is a function of both components, but the data strongly suggests the GPU is dragging the pairing down. The CPU alone is a mid-range performer, sitting in the 73rd percentile, which means it outclasses a significant majority of processors in the database. When paired with the Arc B390, however, the system's overall capability is anchored by the graphics card's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The delta between the CPU's and GPU's percentile standings is the key takeaway. The i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is capable of feeding frames far faster than the Arc B390 can render them. This is a classic imbalance scenario where the CPU has ample headroom, but the GPU cannot translate that into higher frame rates. In practical terms, the combo's ranking means users should expect performance similar to systems built around entry-level graphics solutions from several generations ago, despite the modern architecture of the Arc B390. The measured FPS data confirms this, showing that only the lowest graphical preset at 1080p yields a frame rate that is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the definitive performance limiter in this configuration. Its benchmark portfolio is minimal, with a single recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This score places the GPU in the 9th percentile of all graphics cards, and its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, 1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (score 1460, 1.5% slower), and GeForce GT 625 OEM (score 1446, 2.5% slower). These are all legacy, low-end parts, indicating that the Arc B390's raw compute performance is on par with hardware from over a decade ago.

The GPU's specifications tell a story of a power-efficient but low-throughput design. It operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and boosts to 2500 MHz, with 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The memory subsystem is "System Shared," meaning it relies on system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This shared memory architecture is a significant disadvantage in a title like _Thief_, which can be sensitive to memory bandwidth. The GPU's theoretical pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, but these figures do not translate into playable performance at higher resolutions. For instance, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 19, and even at 4K Low, it only reaches 35 FPS. The data clearly shows that the Arc B390 is not designed for high-resolution gaming, and its performance in _Thief_ is consistent with its low percentile ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a precise picture of the combo's capabilities across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system shows its best performance. The Low preset yields an average of 86 FPS, which is the only configuration that provides a substantial margin over 60 FPS. Medium drops to 66 FPS, High falls to 50 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 48 FPS. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 56 FPS and maximum of 75 FPS, showing some frame pacing variance but staying playable.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance hit is significant. The Low preset averages 59 FPS, which is borderline playable but not consistently smooth. Medium averages 45 FPS with a min/max range of 38 to 52 FPS, and High and Ultra average 34 FPS and 33 FPS, respectively. These numbers indicate that 1440p gaming is only viable at the lowest settings, and even then, it is not a locked 60 FPS experience. At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playability. The Low preset averages 35 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS (with a min of 22 and max of 30), High averages 20 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. These frame rates are below the threshold for a smooth experience, making 4K gaming impractical with this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings for this combo are heavily dependent on the target resolution and acceptable frame rate. For a standard 60 FPS target, the only viable option is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which averages 86 FPS. This provides a comfortable buffer and ensures a responsive experience in a stealth game where timing is critical. The Medium preset at 1080p, averaging 66 FPS, is also a strong candidate, as it offers a better visual quality while still staying above the 60 FPS mark.

If the user prioritizes visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset at 1080p (50 FPS) or even Ultra (48 FPS) is playable, but the drop below 60 FPS may be noticeable. At 1440p, the Low preset (59 FPS) is the only setting that approaches playability, but the frame rate is not stable enough for a strict 60 FPS lock. Any setting above Low at 1440p results in average frame rates in the 30s, which is not recommended for a game requiring precision. 4K should be avoided entirely, as the highest average FPS is 35 on Low, which falls below the minimum standard for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that users should stick to 1080p with Low or Medium settings for the best balance of frame rate and visual quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it performs admirably, achieving a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12380 and a single-core score of 1680. Its average benchmark score is 19039, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals in the CPU database are the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (score 19047, 0% difference) and the Intel Core 3 201E (score 19056, -0.1% difference), indicating that the i5-12400F is a solid mid-range performer.

In the context of _Thief_, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. Given the GPU's low performance ceiling, the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. The measured FPS at 4K, for example, shows a clear GPU limitation, as the frame rates are uniformly low across all settings. The CPU's 3DMark scores, such as 5912 for max threads and 909 for single thread, are more than sufficient for a 2014 game title. The data implies that upgrading the GPU would yield significant performance gains, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a more powerful graphics card without becoming a limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is a clear indicator of where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the system averages 86 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces this to 59 FPS, a 31% decrease. At 4K Low, the average falls to 35 FPS, which is a 59% decrease from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing the resolution directly impacts the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth demands, which the Arc B390 cannot handle.

The same trend is visible in the Medium preset. 1080p Medium averages 66 FPS, 1440p Medium drops to 45 FPS (a 32% decrease), and 4K Medium falls to 26 FPS (a 61% decrease from 1080p). If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a smaller performance delta between resolutions, as the CPU's workload would remain relatively constant while the GPU's rendering load increases. Instead, the sharp drop-off at each higher resolution confirms that the GPU is saturated. The CPU, with its high percentile ranking and robust multi-threaded scores, is not the constraint. This analysis suggests that users seeking higher resolutions would need a significantly more powerful GPU, as the current pairing is firmly anchored by the Arc B390's limited rendering capabilities.