Thief

FAQ

Q: What is the measured average FPS for this combo in Thief at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combo delivers an average of 67.1 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286, which is 0.7% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT's score of 14389. The data shows the two GPUs are nearly identical in raw synthetic performance.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance score in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F scores 2332 points in Cinebench R23 single-core. This is a strong single-thread result, placing it in the 77th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: What kind of frame rate can one expect at 4K (3840x2160) with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average of 36 FPS. This is a playable but not perfectly smooth experience at that resolution.

Q: Is the CPU's performance closer to the Intel Core i7-8700K or the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS?

A: The i5-12400F is virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-8700K, scoring 19221 versus 19210, a delta of just 0.1%. It is also within 0.7% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, which scores 19364.

Q: What is the total VRAM available on this GPU, and what is its memory bus width?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on 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, consuming a 65 W TDP. For a game like Thief, which was released in 2014, the CPU's high single-thread performance is often more critical than raw multi-core muscle. The data supports this: the CPU scores 2332 points in Cinebench R23 single-core and 16518 in multi-core. In the 3DMark single-thread test, it scores 909 points, while the max-thread score is 5912.

Benchmark results indicate the i5-12400F is a well-rounded performer, but its strength lies in its per-core efficiency. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1699 is more than half of the 4-thread score of 3067, suggesting good scaling in lightly-threaded workloads typical of older game engines. The L3 cache is 18 MB shared, and the L2 cache is 1.25 MB per core, which helps reduce latency for frequently accessed data. This CPU sits in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores 19210, a mere 0.1% difference, indicating that for CPU-bound scenarios, the i5-12400F is a modern equivalent to that older flagship.

In Thief, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The processor's 12 threads can handle background tasks, but the game's engine likely relies on fewer threads. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5895 and max-thread score of 5912 show that scaling beyond 8 threads (4779 points) is minimal, meaning the extra threads provide diminishing returns. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is the key figure here, as it ensures high frame pacing in scenes with complex geometry or AI. The data shows this CPU is not a bottleneck for the GTX 1660 SUPER in most scenarios, as the GPU's synthetic scores are lower relative to its rivals.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture using TSMC's 12 nm process, with a chip containing 6,600 million transistors on a 284 mm² die. The GPU has a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. Its memory subsystem is a highlight: 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus yields a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, with an effective memory clock of 14 Gbps. This bandwidth is crucial for texture-heavy scenes, and the pixel rate is 85.68 GPixel/s while the texture rate is 157.1 GTexel/s.

The GPU's FP32 performance is 5.027 TFLOPS, which is adequate for a game from 2014. With 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, the GTX 1660 SUPER is designed for 1080p and 1440p gaming. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 12699 in Passmark G3D and 104 in Passmark DirectX 11, indicating solid DirectX 11 performance, which is relevant for Thief. The GPU's percentile among all GPUs is 55, with an average benchmark score of 14286. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, scores 14389, a delta of -0.7%, meaning the GTX 1660 SUPER is slightly slower in synthetic tests but within a negligible margin.

In Thief, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures, even at Ultra settings. The measured FPS data shows that at 1920x1080, the GPU scales well with settings: 120.2 FPS at Low, 88.9 at Medium, 67.9 at High, and 67.1 at Ultra. The small gap between High and Ultra suggests that Ultra settings are more demanding on the GPU's shader units rather than the memory bandwidth. At 2560x1440, the Ultra setting drops to 42.4 FPS, showing the GPU's limits at higher resolutions. The boost clock of 1785 MHz is the primary driver of performance, and the data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, where even Low settings only achieve 48.4 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in Thief shows a clear pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the baseline performance is strong: Low settings produce 120.2 FPS, Medium 88.9 FPS, High 67.9 FPS, and Ultra 67.1 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 31.3 FPS, while the drop from High to Ultra is only 0.8 FPS, indicating that Ultra is not significantly more demanding than High at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease as expected. Low settings yield 79.4 FPS, Medium 61.2 FPS, High 51.1 FPS, and Ultra 42.4 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is 8.7 FPS, which is more pronounced than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU's pixel throughput is becoming a factor. The step from Medium to High costs 10.1 FPS, while Low to Medium costs 18.2 FPS, showing a non-linear scaling.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain smooth frame rates. Low settings produce 48.4 FPS, Medium 36 FPS, High 30.6 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 12.4 FPS, while High to Ultra is 4.6 FPS. This resolution pushes the GPU to its limits, with even Low settings failing to reach 60 FPS. The data indicates that for a 60 FPS target, 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, with all settings capable of exceeding 60 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings break the 60 FPS barrier, while at 4K, no setting reaches 50 FPS.

The difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings is 16.8 FPS (67.9 to 51.1), and between 1440p and 4K at High is 20.5 FPS (51.1 to 30.6). This scaling shows the GPU's bandwidth and shader limitations at higher pixel counts. Overall, the measured data shows a consistent, predictable performance curve, with the GTX 1660 SUPER delivering playable frame rates at 1080p across all settings and at 1440p with medium-to-low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Thief, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1478 out of 1642 combos. This places it in the lower portion of the rankings, indicating that while it can play the game, many other combinations deliver higher frame rates. The rank of 1478 means that approximately 90% of tested combos outperform it in this specific game.

The combo's rank is influenced by both components. The CPU is not the limiting factor; its 77th percentile among all CPUs shows it is a strong processor. The GPU, however, sits in the 55th percentile, and its performance in Thief is the primary constraint. The GPU's average benchmark score of 14286 is close to its rivals, with the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT just 0.7% higher, but in a game like Thief, even small differences in raw score can translate to measurable FPS changes.

The rank of 1478 out of 1642 suggests this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming at medium-to-high settings, which aligns with the measured FPS data. At 4K, the combo falls below 30 FPS at Ultra and only reaches 48.4 FPS at Low, which is why it ranks so low. The data shows that to climb the rankings, a GPU with higher memory bandwidth or more shading units would be needed, as the CPU's headroom is sufficient. The combo's position in the rankings is a direct result of the GPU's mid-range standing, and the measured frame rates confirm that this is a 1080p-focused configuration.