Thief

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable experience in Thief, but the data shows that the balance between CPU and GPU shifts heavily depending on resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 128 FPS average, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios; at 4K Ultra, average FPS drops to 28, which is barely a slideshow. The CPU’s high multi-threaded and single-threaded benchmark scores ensure it won’t bottleneck the GTX 1070 at any tested setting, so the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the role of each component, and the best settings for a smooth experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with everything on Ultra?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 70 FPS. This is the second-lowest average at 1080p, only behind the 74 FPS on High, and it is still fully smooth for a stealth title.

Q: How much faster is Low at 1080p compared to Ultra?

A: The 128 FPS average at Low is 82% higher than the 70 FPS average at Ultra. This makes Low the best choice for competitive or high-refresh display.

Q: Can the GTX 1070 handle 1440p with this CPU?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 the Medium preset shows a 66 FPS average (with 56 min and 76 max), which is perfectly playable. The High preset also maintains a 51 FPS average, so 1440p is viable for medium to high quality.

Q: Is 4K resolution playable with this combination?

A: The data shows 4K (3840x2160) is only playable at Low settings, where the average is 51 FPS. At Medium the average drops to 39 FPS, and High/Ultra averages are 30 and 28 FPS respectively, which are below the typical smoothness threshold.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12600KF’s average benchmark score is 27799, which is within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27712) and within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896). It is 0.3% behind the Intel Core i9-10900K (27872) and 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (27887).

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile rank relative to all GPUs?

A: The GTX 1070 sits in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9780. Its nearest rival, the AMD FirePro W5000, scores 9803, a 0.2% difference.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 12th Gen Alder Lake desktop processor with 10 cores and 16 threads, a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. It has a 125W TDP and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700 with 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: 3DMark 16-thread score is 7956, 8-thread score 6128, and 4-thread score 3806. Single-thread performance is also solid, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302.

The CPU’s role in this game is to feed the GPU with frames; and given the GTX 1070’s mid-range status (47th percentile), the i5-12600KF will never be the bottleneck in Thief. The 3DMark max-thread score of 7952 and the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 show high multi-threading, but Thief is not a heavily threaded title; it relies more on single-core speed. The i5-12600KF’s single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302) is excellent, so it will keep the GTX 1070 fed at all settings. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27799 places it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, so it is a high-end part that will not hold back the GPU at any resolution.

The CPU’s high performance is also visible in Passmark tests: multi-thread score of 27575, single-thread score of 3925, and integer math score of 87830. This level of performance ensures that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is more likely to be the limiter, the CPU can deliver 132 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the CPU’s frame time impact is minimal; the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the average FPS drops to 28. The CPU’s 16 threads and high clock speed also handle any background tasks without affecting game performance.

The i5-12600KF’s architecture is Alder Lake, built on Intel’s 10nm process with a die size of 215 mm². Its L3 cache is 20 MB shared, which helps in games that benefit from large caches. While Thief is not cache-sensitive, the CPU’s performance is strong enough to ensure that the GPU is the sole limiting factor at all tested settings. The CPU’s 79th percentile rank means that in a benchmark database, it outperforms 79% of all CPUs, so it is a solid foundation for a gaming rig. The CPU’s launch MSRP was $264, but that is not relevant to its performance.

Role of the GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is a Pascal-architecture GPU with 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. It has a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its FP32 performance is 6.463 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 202.0 GTexel/s. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 9780, which ranks it in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it is a mid-range card.

In Thief, the GTX 1070 is the primary performance limiter at all resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average is 132 FPS, which shows the GPU is capable of high frame rates but not limited by the CPU. At 1080p Ultra the average drops to 70 FPS, a 47% reduction. At 1440p, the average at Medium is 66 FPS, and at 4Kp Medium it is 39 FPS. This scaling shows that the GPU struggles at higher resolutions, as expected from a 47th percentile card.

The GTX 1070’s memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s and 8 GB VRAM are sufficient for Thief, which is a 2014 title. The game’s textures and geometry are not demanding enough to exceed 8 GB, so VRAM is not a concern. The GPU’s DirectX 12 API support (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 support (as per its API list) do not affect Thief, which is a DirectX 11-era game. The GPU’s pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are adequate for the game’s visuals.

The GTX 1070’s performance relative to its nearest rivals is measured: it is 0.2% ahead of the AMD FirePro W5000 (9803 vs 9780), and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (9832 vs 9780). It is 0.6% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9724) and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (9716). These are not meaningful differences, and in real gaming, the GTX 1070 will outperform all of them. The GPU is end-of-life, but for a game like Thief, it still offers a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience in Thief with this combo, the data suggests that Medium settings at 1080p provide the best balance of smoothness and visual quality. The measured average FPS at 1080p Medium is 97 FPS, with a minimum of 82 and a maximum of 111. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the minimum of 82 ensures that even in busy scenes the game stays smooth. High settings at 1080p drop the average to 74 FPS, which is still playable but not as headroom. Ultra at 1080p averages 70 FPS, which is also playable but offers no advantage over High in terms of smoothness.

At 1440p, Medium is the best choice, with an average of 66 FPS and a minimum of 56. This is acceptable for a stealth game, but the minimum of 56 is close to the edge. High at 1440p averages 51 FPS, which is still playable but will feel less responsive. Low at 1440p averages 88 FPS, but the visual trade-off is not worth it unless you have a high refresh monitor.

At 4Kp, the only playable setting is Low, with an average of 51 FPS. Medium drops to 39 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold. High and Ultra are not recommended, with averages of 30 and 28 FPS respectively. If you have a 4K display, the data suggests playing at Low settings to maintain a playable frame rate. For most users, 1080p Medium or High is the sweet spot.

The measured rows for this combo show that the difference between Medium and Ultra at 1080p is 27 FPS (97 to 70). The visual difference between Medium and Ultra in Thief is not huge, so Medium is a smarter choice. For a stealth game, frame pacing and minimum FPS matter more than absolute average, and Medium has the best minimum (82 at 1080p, 56 at 1440p).

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 3079 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the bottom 17% of all combinations, which is a poor ranking. However, this is due to the GPU’s age and performance, not the CPU. The CPU is in the 79th percentile, but the GPU is in the 47th percentile, and the GPU is the bottleneck.

The combo’s rank of 3079 means that many other combos achieve higher FPS in Thief, but this is expected with a 2016 GPU. The i5-12600KF is a strong CPU, but the GTX 1070 is the limiting factor. The combo outperforms 641 other combos that were tested, which is still a significant number. For a game like Thief, which is not extremely demanding, this combo can still deliver 60 FPS at 1080p Medium, but it cannot handle high resolutions with high settings.

The rank is also affected by the fact that Thief is a CPU-light game, so the GPU’s performance is the primary factor in the combo’s standing. The GTX 1070’s 47th percentile is a mid-range position, and the combo’s rank of 3079/3720 reflects that. When compared to other combos, this setup is in the bottom 20% of all tested combos, but it is still capable of playable frame rates at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this game is provided for three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). The data is measured, not simulated.

1920x1080: The average FPS is 128 at Low, 97 at Medium, 74 at High, and 70 at Ultra. The Medium setting has a minimum of 82 and a maximum of 111. Low is the fastest: 128 FPS is a high frame rate. High is 74, and Ultra is only 4 FPS less than High.

2560x1440: The average FPS is 88 at Low, 66 at Medium, 51 at High, and 48 at Ultra. Medium has a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 76. Low is the only setting that reaches 90 FPS, and Ultra is just below 50.

3840x2160: The average FPS is 51 at Low, 39 at Medium, 30 at High, and 28 at Ultra. Medium has a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 45. Low is the only playable setting at 4Kp, and all other settings are below 40 FPS.

The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU’s performance is not a factor, as the 1080p Low FPS of 128 is a high frame rate. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4Kp is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the GTX 1070 can deliver good performance, but at 4Kp, it falls below 30 FPS on most settings. For the best experience, use 1080p Medium or Low, and avoid 4Kp unless you are willing to accept Low settings.

The minimum FPS values are only provided for Medium settings: 82 at 1080p, 56 at 1440p, and 33 at 4Kp. These indicate that the game can have frame dips in busy scenes, but at 1080p Medium, the minimum of 82 is still smooth. At 1440p Medium, the 56 minimum is borderline, and at 4Kp Medium, the 33 minimum is a stutter. The average FPS is a good indicator, but the minimum FPS is crucial for a stealth game where smoothness is important.

The measured FPS data indicates that the GTX 1070 is a mid-range GPU, and the i5-12600KF is a high-end CPU. The combo is CPU-bound in 1080p, but at 1440p and 4Kp, the GPU is the bottleneck. The i5-12600KF’s high single-core performance ensures that the CPU never limits the GPU, so the GPU’s performance is the only factor. The 1080p Medium setting offers the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, with a 97 average and 82 minimum. The 1080p Low setting is the fastest, with a 128 average. For 1440p, Medium is the best, with a 66 average. For 4Kp, Low is the only playable setting, with a 51 average.

The GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM is more than enough for this game, so the VRAM is not a limiting factor. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s is also adequate, so the memory subsystem is not a bottleneck. The CPU’s 20 MB of L3 cache and 10 cores are more than required for a game from 2014, so the CPU is never a problem. The performance of this combo is determined solely by the GPU’s capabilities.

The data shows that the i5-12600KF is a high-performance CPU that is not a bottleneck in Thief. The GTX 1070 is a mid-range GPU that is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The combo is ranked 3079 out of 3720, which is not a flattering score, but the game is playable at 1080p and 1440p. The best settings are 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium, depending on your resolution. For 4Kp, you must use Low settings to get a playable frame rate. The CPU’s benchmark scores are high, but the GPU’s 47th percentile makes it the limiting factor.