Thief

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a solid, if not spectacular, showing in Thief, landing at rank 1287 out of 1642 tested combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all configurations, which aligns with the GPU's 66th percentile ranking among all graphics cards. The data reveals a system that is perfectly capable of high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming but begins to show its limitations as resolution increases, making it a practical choice for gamers who prioritize speed over absolute visual fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scaling curve. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 146.9 FPS, which drops to 103.3 FPS at 1440p—a reduction to roughly 70% of the original performance. Pushing further to 4K Low yields 59.5 FPS, which is just 40.5% of the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the Arc B580 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload decreases relative to the GPU's pixel-pushing duties.

When the settings are cranked to High, the same pattern emerges with slightly different magnitudes. The 1080p High result of 86.9 FPS falls to 61.9 FPS at 1440p (a 28.8% drop) and then to 33.1 FPS at 4K (a 61.9% drop from 1080p). The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with performance nearly halving. This suggests that while the i5-12400F has enough headroom to feed the GPU at 1080p and 1440p, the Arc B580's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth simply cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K with demanding settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process, is the primary driver of these results. Its 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs provide a theoretical FP32 performance of 13.67 TFLOPS, which is competitive in its class. The GPU's 2670 MHz base and boost clock are identical, indicating a fixed operating point that maximizes consistency. Memory-wise, the 12 GB GDDR6 pool on a 192-bit bus delivers 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a bottleneck at 4K.

The benchmark data shows a GPU that ranks in the 66th percentile overall, with an average benchmark score of 23021. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, which scores 23181 (a 0.7% lead), and the AMD Radeon 760M at 22999 (a 0.1% deficit). This places the B580 in a tight performance band around the RTX 4060. In Thief, the GPU's DirectX 11 score of 128 in Passmark suggests strong legacy API performance, which is relevant given the game's 2014 release date. The 80 ROPs handle pixel fill at 213.6 GPixel/s, which proves sufficient for the game's stealth-heavy environments but not for 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the Medium preset at 1440p is the sweet spot. The measured 80.4 FPS average provides a smooth experience that leverages the GPU's capabilities without overburdening it. This is 29.2% faster than High at the same resolution (61.9 FPS) while still looking substantially better than Low. At 1080p, Medium delivers 113.3 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, offering a 30.4% improvement over High's 86.9 FPS.

Ultra settings are not recommended for this combo. At 1080p, Ultra yields 85.1 FPS—nearly identical to High's 86.9 FPS—meaning the extra visual fidelity costs performance without a proportional gain. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 53.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a stealth game where quick reactions matter. The 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS is effectively unplayable, and even 4K High (33.1 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K users, Low settings at 59.5 FPS is the only viable option, but the visual compromise is significant.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the broader database of 1642 tested CPU-GPU combinations, this pairing sits at rank 1287, meaning it outperforms roughly 21.6% of tested systems in Thief. This ranking is lower than the individual component percentiles (CPU at 77th, GPU at 66th) might suggest, indicating that Thief is not particularly favorable to this pairing. The game's reliance on older DirectX 11 rendering may not fully utilize the Arc B580's modern architecture, which excels in DirectX 12 and Vulkan workloads.

The CPU's nearest rivals—the Intel Core i7-8700K (0.1% higher average score) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (0.7% lower)—show that the i5-12400F is well-matched with contemporary processors. The GPU's rivalry with the RTX 4060 (0.7% higher average score) further contextualizes the combo's position. In Thief, the data suggests that this pairing performs closer to the lower end of its expected range, likely due to the game's engine not exploiting the B580's full feature set.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides a solid foundation with 6 cores and 12 threads, clocked at a 2.50 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost. This Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process, delivers strong single-thread performance—evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332. Multi-threaded performance is equally robust, with Cinebench R23 multicore hitting 16518 and Passmark's multithread score at 19433.

In Thief, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 146.9 FPS, which indicates the CPU can handle high frame rates without bottlenecking. The 12 threads are more than sufficient for a 2014-era game, which typically utilizes 4-8 threads. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core help maintain consistent frame pacing in complex scenes. The 65W TDP and 10 nm process node also mean the CPU runs cool, preventing thermal throttling that could degrade performance during extended sessions. The i5-12400F's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221, confirms its capability to keep pace with the Arc B580 in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results across all settings. Low settings produce 146.9 FPS, Medium achieves 113.3 FPS, High reaches 86.9 FPS, and Ultra settles at 85.1 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is negligible (2.1%), suggesting that Ultra offers no meaningful benefit at this resolution. The 28.6% gap between Low and Medium shows that the GPU has headroom to spare at 1080p, with the CPU providing ample instruction throughput.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably. Low settings yield 103.3 FPS, Medium hits 80.4 FPS, High manages 61.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 53.7 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings: Low falls by 29.7%, Medium by 29.0%, High by 28.8%, and Ultra by 36.9%. The larger drop for Ultra indicates that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are becoming saturated as texture detail increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable for smooth gameplay. Low settings achieve 59.5 FPS, which is just at the edge of playability, while Medium drops to 43.6 FPS, High falls to 33.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 33 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is harsh: Low loses 42.4%, Medium loses 45.8%, High loses 46.5%, and Ultra loses 38.5%. This pattern confirms that the Arc B580's 12 GB memory buffer and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K gaming with high-quality textures. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p Medium offering a viable upgrade path for users with higher-resolution monitors.