Thief

# Thief Performance Analysis: Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a distinctly playable experience in Thief, a 2014 stealth title that clearly favors high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets paint a picture of a combination that excels at 1080p, remains strong at 1440p, and begins to struggle only when pushed to 4K with demanding settings. This pairing sits at rank 1184 out of 1642 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all possible configurations, yet the actual gameplay metrics suggest a far more capable real-world performer than that ranking implies.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings six cores and twelve threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process, features an 18 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core, alongside 80 KB of L1 cache per core. The processor's benchmark results show a single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark and 2332 in Cinebench R23, which are critical metrics for a game like Thief that relies heavily on single-core performance for game logic and AI.

The multi-threaded capabilities are equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 9138. The processor achieves a 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-12400F sits within a tight performance envelope: it edges out the Intel Core i7-8700K by 0.1%, surpasses the Intel Core i5-1335U by 0.3%, trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7%, and leads the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3%. This clustering indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in Thief, as even older architectures deliver comparable compute performance.

In the context of Thief's measured frame rates, the CPU's 3DMark 8-thread score of 4779 and max-thread score of 5912 suggest ample headroom for the game's engine. The PassMark physics score of 1202 further reinforces that the processor can handle the game's physics calculations without introducing frame pacing issues. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination reaches 157.4 FPS, a figure that would be unattainable if the CPU were limiting performance. The data implies that the i5-12400F's 12 threads are more than sufficient for Thief's workload, even when the GPU is tasked with producing high frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip and Samsung's 8 nm process, houses 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation processors. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates across a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth at a memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU's base clock runs at 1410 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and its compute capabilities include 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s.

The GPU's benchmark scores position it at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 25120. Its nearest rivals show a remarkably tight grouping: the AMD Radeon RX 6700M is 0.2% ahead, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 is 0.5% ahead, the AMD Radeon 890M is 0.5% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is 0.7% ahead. This suggests the RTX 3060 Ti is a mid-pack performer in synthetic tests, but the Thief results tell a more nuanced story about how its memory bandwidth and pixel throughput translate to real gameplay.

The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a critical factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combination drops to 35.5 FPS, a 77.5% reduction from the 1080p Low result of 157.4 FPS. This dramatic scaling pattern indicates the GPU's memory subsystem and pixel fill rate are the primary constraints at 4K, while at lower resolutions, the GPU's raw compute power shines. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 163 and DirectX 12 score of 78 provide context for the GPU's API-specific performance, with Thief's engine likely benefiting from the former.

FAQ

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-12400F bottleneck the RTX 3060 Ti in Thief?

A: No, the data shows the CPU is not a limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combination achieves 157.4 FPS, and the CPU's single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark and 2332 in Cinebench R23 single-core indicate ample headroom. The processor's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average score of 19221, further confirms it can keep pace with the GPU.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti's average benchmark score of 25120 places it within 0.7% of all four nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon RX 6700M leads by 0.2%, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 and AMD Radeon 890M each lead by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP leads by 0.7%. These margins are negligible in synthetic testing.

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

A: The data shows 1440p provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1440p High, the average FPS is 60.9, which is right at the 60 FPS threshold, while 1440p Medium achieves 78.5 FPS. At 1080p, frame rates exceed 88 FPS even at Ultra, but 4K drops below 40 FPS at High settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the Intel Core i7-8700K?

A: The i5-12400F and i7-8700K are essentially tied, with the i5-12400F having an average benchmark score of 19221 versus the i7-8700K's 19210, a delta of just 0.1%. This indicates the newer i5 offers comparable compute performance to the older i7 in this class.

Q: Is 8 GB of VRAM sufficient for Thief at 4K?

A: The measured results suggest 8 GB is adequate for the game's memory footprint, but the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth limits performance. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 35.5, and at 4K High it's 37.7. The bottleneck is likely the GPU's pixel rate and memory bandwidth rather than VRAM capacity.

Q: What does the combo rank of 1184 out of 1642 indicate?

A: This rank places the combination in the lower 28% of all tested configurations. However, the measured frame rates show strong performance at 1080p and 1440p, suggesting the ranking is influenced by the presence of higher-end GPUs in the database rather than any deficiency in this specific pairing for Thief.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1080p, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with Low achieving 157.4 FPS, Medium at 115.5 FPS, High at 90.8 FPS, and Ultra at 88.2 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra costs only 2.6 FPS, making Ultra the recommended choice for 1080p users seeking maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1440p, the decision becomes more nuanced. Ultra delivers 60.5 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High achieves 60.9 FPS, nearly identical, while Medium reaches 78.5 FPS and Low hits 105 FPS. The data suggests choosing High at 1440p for a stable 60 FPS experience, as the 0.4 FPS difference between High and Ultra does not justify the potential frame drops. Medium is the safer choice for those prioritizing consistent frame times.

At 4K, only Low settings provide a smooth experience at 64.3 FPS. Medium drops to 45.8 FPS, High to 37.7 FPS, and Ultra to 35.5 FPS. For 4K users, the recommendation is to play at Low settings or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p with higher quality presets. The performance gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 18.5 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset imposes a significant additional load on the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 1184 out of 1642 tested configurations in Thief, placing it in the lower third of all possible pairings. This ranking might seem surprising given the measured frame rates, but it reflects the broader database of combinations that includes higher-end GPUs and CPUs. The rank is likely influenced by the RTX 3060 Ti's 69th percentile standing among all GPUs and the i5-12400F's 77th percentile among CPUs.

The data suggests this combination is a solid mid-range performer rather than a top-tier configuration. At 1080p, it outperforms many higher-ranked combinations that may be bottlenecked by weaker CPUs. The CPU's 0.1% advantage over the i7-8700K and the GPU's tight clustering with its rivals indicate that this pairing offers balanced performance without any single component dominating the other. The rank of 1184 serves as a baseline, but the actual gameplay metrics at 1080p and 1440p tell a more favorable story for users with mainstream displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers its strongest results across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 157.4 FPS, Medium reaches 115.5 FPS, High achieves 90.8 FPS, and Ultra settles at 88.2 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a total drop of 69.2 FPS, with the largest single-step decline occurring between Medium and High at 24.7 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, frame rates remain respectable but show the expected scaling penalty. Low settings deliver 105 FPS, a 33.3% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium achieves 78.5 FPS, High reaches 60.9 FPS, and Ultra produces 60.5 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra narrows to just 0.4 FPS at this resolution, suggesting the Ultra preset offers diminishing returns.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become evident. Low settings produce 64.3 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 59.2% drop from 1080p Low. Medium falls to 45.8 FPS, High drops to 37.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 35.5 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is severe, with the 4K Ultra result being 77.5% lower than the 1080p Low result. This pattern confirms that the RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the primary constraints at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound configuration. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS from 157.4 to 105, a 33.3% drop, and further to 64.3 at 4K, a 59.2% drop from 1080p. At Ultra settings, the same resolution transitions yield 88.2 to 60.5 to 35.5 FPS, representing a 31.4% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 59.7% drop from 1080p to 4K.

These scaling ratios are remarkably consistent across settings, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory resources scale predictably with pixel count. The pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s provide theoretical limits that align with the measured results. At 4K Ultra, the 35.5 FPS result is close to what would be expected from a GPU with this pixel throughput, suggesting the RTX 3060 Ti is operating near its architectural limits.

The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal. The i5-12400F's single-thread performance of 909 in 3DMark and 2332 in Cinebench R23 ensures that even at 1080p Low with 157.4 FPS, the processor is not the limiting factor. The data implies that users seeking higher frame rates at 4K would need a GPU with greater memory bandwidth and pixel throughput, while those satisfied with 1080p or 1440p gaming will find this combination well-matched.