Thief

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a broad range of frame rates in Thief, spanning from a playable 36.1 FPS at 4K Ultra to a very fluid 168.7 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured data indicates that the optimal balance of visual quality and performance depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 96.6 FPS offers a strong combination of smoothness and fidelity, while the Ultra preset at 94.9 FPS is nearly identical in cost and provides the full visual experience. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 70.9 FPS is the recommended choice for maintaining a 60+ FPS experience with enhanced detail, as the Ultra preset dips to 66.8 FPS. For 3840x2160, the data suggests that the Medium preset at 56 FPS is the most viable option for a near-60 FPS target, given that High drops to 40.5 FPS and Ultra falls below 40 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combination reveals a clear performance hierarchy across the four presets. At 1920x1080, the difference between High and Ultra is minimal—96.6 FPS versus 94.9 FPS—making Ultra the superior choice for users who prioritize image quality without sacrificing meaningful frame rate. The Medium preset at 130.5 FPS and Low at 168.7 FPS offer higher headroom for high-refresh-rate displays, but the visual compromise is substantial compared to the near-parity of High and Ultra. For most users at this resolution, Ultra provides the best experience, as the 1.7 FPS cost over High is imperceptible.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation shifts slightly. The High preset at 70.9 FPS comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra at 66.8 FPS also remains above it. The data indicates that High is the safer recommendation here, as the 4.1 FPS gap between the two presets provides a small buffer against demanding scenes. Medium at 88.1 FPS and Low at 116.3 FPS are viable for competitive play or high-refresh monitors, but High strikes the best balance for a single-player stealth title where visual atmosphere matters.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets reach a solid 60 FPS. Ultra at 36.1 FPS is the lowest measured value, while High at 40.5 FPS and Medium at 56 FPS show a steep scaling curve. The Medium preset is the only one that approaches playability, and the data strongly suggests it as the optimal choice for 4K, as the jump from Medium to High costs 15.5 FPS—a 27.7% reduction—for a modest visual gain. Low at 70 FPS is the only 4K setting that clears 60 FPS, but it negates the purpose of rendering at such a high resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary driver of these results, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Thief, a title from 2014, this memory configuration is more than sufficient for all tested presets, as the game's texture and geometry demands are well within the card's capacity. The GPU's clock speeds—a base of 1605 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz—are consistent across the measured rows, indicating that the performance scaling is driven by the preset's workload rather than thermal or power throttling.

The GPU's 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs deliver a peak pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s, which is directly reflected in the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 168.7 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it falls to 36.1 FPS—a 78.6% reduction. This aligns with the 4x pixel count increase from 1080p to 4K, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck in this pairing. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting to 4.40 GHz, provides sufficient single-thread performance to avoid limiting the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent scaling across resolutions.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present in the hardware, but Thief does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS, so these features have no impact on the measured results. The card's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the raw compute resource that drives the pixel and texture rates, and the data shows that it is well-matched to the i5-12400F for this game. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206, places it as a mid-to-upper-tier card, and the measured FPS values in Thief are consistent with that positioning.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400F + RTX 2070 SUPER combination achieves a rank of 968 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 41st percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking is interesting given the individual component standings: the CPU sits in the 77th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 65th percentile. The data suggests that Thief's engine is not particularly demanding on modern hardware, allowing many higher-tier combos to achieve similar or better frame rates, which pushes this mid-range pairing down the overall list.

The CPU's nearest rivals help contextualize its performance. The i5-12400F's average benchmark score of 19221 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-8700K at 19210 (a 0.1% difference) and the Intel Core i5-1335U at 19167 (0.3% ahead). It also edges out the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3% and trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7%. These tight margins indicate that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game, as any of these processors would likely produce similar results when paired with the same GPU. For the GPU, the RTX 2070 SUPER's average score of 22206 is bracketed by the NVIDIA RTX A400 at 22307 (-0.5%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 22006 (0.9%), showing that it sits in a narrow performance band. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 is 2.5% behind, while the RTX 4060 Mobile is 2.3% ahead.

The combo's rank of 968 suggests that while the individual parts are competent, the pairing does not unlock any special synergy for Thief. The game's 2014 release date means it was designed for hardware of that era, and even mid-range modern components exceed its requirements. The data shows that the combo's performance is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not exceptional in the broader context of all 1642 tested combinations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values show a clear progression: Low at 168.7, Medium at 130.5, High at 96.6, and Ultra at 94.9. The step from Low to Medium costs 38.2 FPS (a 22.6% reduction), while the step from Medium to High costs 33.9 FPS (a 26.0% reduction). Interestingly, the gap between High and Ultra is only 1.7 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects have minimal impact on this hardware at 1080p. This suggests that the Ultra preset is effectively free in performance terms, making it the recommended setting for most users at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the scaling is steeper. Low delivers 116.3 FPS, Medium drops to 88.1 FPS, High to 70.9 FPS, and Ultra to 66.8 FPS. The percentage drops are more consistent here: Low to Medium is a 24.2% reduction, Medium to High is 19.5%, and High to Ultra is 5.8%. The 1440p data shows that the GPU is beginning to feel the resolution increase, as the High-to-Ultra gap grows from 1.7 FPS at 1080p to 4.1 FPS at 1440p. Still, all settings except Ultra remain above 70 FPS, giving users flexibility.

At 3840x2160, the performance falls off dramatically. Low is the only preset above 60 FPS at 70, followed by Medium at 56, High at 40.5, and Ultra at 36.1. The scaling from Medium to High is a 27.7% drop, and from High to Ultra is a 10.9% drop. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant compromises: Ultra is below 40 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for playable stealth action, while Medium at 56 FPS is borderline acceptable. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K costs 14 FPS (a 20% reduction), which is a substantial visual upgrade for a modest frame rate penalty.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Thief?*

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 with the High preset at 70.9 FPS offers the best balance, as it provides solid visual fidelity while maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. The 1080p Ultra setting at 94.9 FPS is also excellent for users prioritizing smoothness.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX A400?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 22206, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX A400's 22307. This difference is negligible in real-world gameplay, and the measured FPS in Thief would be nearly identical between the two.

*Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Thief at 4K Ultra?*

A: Yes, the 8 GB GDDR6 memory is more than adequate for this game. The measured 36.1 FPS at 4K Ultra is limited by compute and pixel throughput, not memory capacity, as Thief's 2014-era assets are not VRAM-intensive.

Q: Why does the combo rank at 968 out of 1642 when the CPU and GPU are both above average?

A: The CPU is in the 77th percentile and the GPU in the 65th percentile, but Thief is an older title that does not heavily stress modern hardware. Many higher-tier combos achieve similar frame rates, pushing this mid-range pairing to the 41st percentile of all tested configurations.

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The difference is only 1.7 FPS—96.6 FPS for High versus 94.9 FPS for Ultra. This makes Ultra the recommended setting at 1080p, as the visual enhancements come at virtually no performance cost.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K?

A: No, none of the 4K presets reach 60 FPS. The closest is Medium at 56 FPS, while Low at 70 FPS is the only 4K setting above 60 FPS but requires significant visual compromises. For a stable 60 FPS experience, 1440p High at 70.9 FPS is the recommended target.