Thief

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti delivers a strong performance profile in Thief, a stealth title released on 2014-02-24. The database records measured frames per second across three resolutions and four quality presets, offering a clear view of how this combination handles the game’s rendering demands. The CPU, part of the Core 12th Gen series with Alder Lake architecture, uses 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The GPU, based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s. These specifications shape the observed performance, and the following analysis walks through the data step by step.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Thief?

A: The highest average frame rate in the measured data is 192 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, scores 27872, which is 0.3 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896, also 0.3 percent higher, while the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, which is 0.3 percent lower.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti sits in the 86th percentile when compared to all GPUs in the database, indicating it outperforms the majority of tested cards.

Q: Which settings preset provides the highest average frame rate at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 169 FPS, followed by Medium at 153 FPS, High at 121 FPS, and Ultra at 116 FPS.

Q: Does the combo rank highly among all tested CPU and GPU combinations in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 369 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 10 percent of all recorded pairings for this game.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded across all tested settings?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 68 FPS, observed at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti uses the GB203 chip on a 5 nm process node from TSMC, with 45,600 million transistors and a die size of 378 mm². Its base clock is 2295 MHz, boosting to 2452 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a title like Thief that was designed around older hardware but benefits from modern throughput. The GPU has 8960 shading units, 280 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units, along with 70 ray tracing cores and 280 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 235.4 GPixel/s, texture rate is 686.6 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute reaches 43.94 TFLOPS.

In Thief, the GPU’s role becomes evident when examining frame rates across resolutions. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 124, while High settings drop to 71 FPS. The difference between Low and High at 4K is 53 FPS, which is a large gap driven by shading complexity and texture loads. Medium settings at 4K produce 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 and maximum of 108, showing that the GPU can sustain playable rates even with intermediate quality. Ultra at 4K drops to 68 FPS, which is the lowest recorded value in the dataset. The GPU’s memory bandwidth appears sufficient for 4K, as the 896.0 GB/s throughput handles the game’s assets without causing severe dips below the averages.

At 2560x1440, the GPU scales more comfortably. Low settings reach 169 FPS, Medium hits 153 FPS with a range of 130 to 176, High delivers 121 FPS, and Ultra sits at 116 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, identical to the 4K spread, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Low achieves 192 FPS, Medium delivers 174 FPS with a range of 148 to 200, High reaches 157 FPS, and Ultra produces 155 FPS. The gap from Low to Ultra is 37 FPS at 1080p, narrower than at higher resolutions, which suggests that the CPU begins to play a larger role in limiting maximum frame rates as resolution decreases.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 49957. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, scores 50001, which is 0.1 percent higher, while the Intel Arc A550M scores 49737, 0.4 percent lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 50951, 2 percent higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT scores 48477, 3.1 percent lower. These comparisons show that the RTX 5070 Ti sits in a competitive mid-to-high tier, and its performance in Thief reflects that positioning.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, based on Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with PCIe Gen 4 providing 20 lanes from the CPU. Its release date is 2021-11-03, and its launch MSRP was $264.

In Thief, the CPU’s contribution is visible in the frame rate behavior at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 37 FPS, while at 3840x2160, the difference is 53 FPS. This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU can deliver high frame rates but starts to cap the GPU’s output. The highest recorded average, 192 FPS at 1080p Low, is likely near the CPU’s limit for this game’s engine. The CPU’s single-thread performance, measured by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1016 and a cinebench r23 single-core score of 3302, supports its ability to handle older titles like Thief, which often rely on a few fast cores.

The CPU’s multithreaded capabilities also matter, as Thief can use multiple cores for physics and AI. The 3dmark 16-thread score is 7956, and the max-thread score is 7952, showing consistent scaling. Cinebench r23 multicore reaches 23391, and Geekbench multicore scores 12137. Passmark multithread reaches 27575. These numbers indicate that the i5-12600KF has ample headroom for background tasks and any game logic that uses more than one thread. However, the measured frame rates show that at 1080p, the CPU is not the bottleneck, since even Ultra settings at 1080p achieve 155 FPS, which is well above typical display refresh rates.

The CPU ranks in the 79th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27799. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, scores 27872, which is 0.3 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896, also 0.3 percent higher, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887, 0.3 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, 0.3 percent lower. These close margins show that the i5-12600KF is well positioned for gaming workloads, and its 10-core design provides a balance between single-thread speed and multithreaded throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 369 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places the pairing in the top 10 percent of all recorded CPU and GPU combinations for this specific game. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU’s high single-thread performance and the GPU’s large memory pool and fast rendering throughput. The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on the GPU is a factor, as Thief’s textures and geometry at 4K Ultra can benefit from larger frame buffers, and the measured data shows playable frame rates even at that demanding setting.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits above the median. The 369th rank out of 3720 means that roughly 3351 other combinations deliver lower performance in Thief, while 369 deliver higher. The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking and the CPU’s 79th percentile ranking both contribute to this strong position. The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, has nearly identical average benchmark scores, but the RTX 5070 Ti’s higher memory bandwidth and newer architecture likely give it an edge in this game’s specific rendering paths. The CPU’s rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, score slightly higher in synthetic tests, but the measured FPS data shows that the i5-12600KF does not bottleneck the GPU in Thief.

The combo rank also benefits from the game’s age. Thief was released in 2014, and its engine is not as demanding as modern titles. This means that even mid-range components from 2025 can achieve high frame rates, and the RTX 5070 Ti is far above the minimum requirements. The result is a smooth experience across all tested settings, with the lowest average FPS being 68 at 4K Ultra, which is still playable. The highest average, 192 FPS at 1080p Low, shows that the combo can push well beyond 144 Hz at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with average FPS recorded for each combination. Minimum and maximum values are only provided for Medium settings at each resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 192 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 174 FPS, with a minimum of 148 and a maximum of 200. High settings achieve 157 FPS, and Ultra delivers 155 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 37 FPS, which is the smallest gap across all resolutions. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU together are capable of sustaining high frame rates, and the quality presets have a moderate impact on performance.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 169 FPS. Medium settings average 153 FPS, with a minimum of 130 and a maximum of 176. High settings reach 121 FPS, and Ultra produces 116 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, which is wider than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more stressed as pixel count increases. The Medium preset’s minimum of 130 FPS shows that even during demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 124 FPS. Medium settings average 94 FPS, with a minimum of 80 and a maximum of 108. High settings drop to 71 FPS, and Ultra falls to 68 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, identical to the 1440p spread. This consistency suggests that the GPU’s rendering workload scales linearly with resolution for this game. The Medium preset at 4K still maintains an average of 94 FPS, which is smooth for most displays, while Ultra at 4K stays just above 60 FPS.

The data shows that the combo handles 1080p and 1440p with ease, even on Ultra settings. At 4K, the Low and Medium presets provide the best playable experiences, while High and Ultra are close to 60 FPS but do not exceed it. The minimum FPS values for Medium settings at each resolution, 148 at 1080p, 130 at 1440p, and 80 at 4K, indicate that frame pacing is stable without severe drops.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the display resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 155 FPS, which is high enough for 144 Hz monitors, and the difference from High is only 2 FPS. The Medium preset provides 174 FPS, which is suitable for 170 Hz or higher refresh rates, but the jump from Medium to Ultra costs 19 FPS while improving visual quality. For 1080p, Ultra is the recommended preset because it maintains a high average frame rate while offering the best visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 121 FPS, which is sufficient for 120 Hz displays. The Ultra preset produces 116 FPS, a drop of only 5 FPS from High, and both are above 60 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 153 FPS, which is ideal for higher refresh rate monitors, but the visual quality difference between Medium and High is noticeable in a stealth game with detailed environments. For 1440p, High is the balanced choice, as it provides a smooth frame rate while preserving most graphical details.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 124 FPS, which is the highest average at 4K, but Low settings will reduce texture quality and shadows significantly. The Medium preset averages 94 FPS, with a minimum of 80 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and offers better visual quality than Low. The High preset averages 71 FPS, which is playable but leaves little room for frame drops, and Ultra averages 68 FPS, which is just above 60 FPS but may dip below in complex scenes. For 4K, Medium is the recommended preset because it balances average frame rate, minimum FPS, and visual quality.

The recorded data shows that Medium settings consistently provide the highest minimum FPS values across all resolutions, which is important for avoiding stutter in a stealth game where sudden frame drops can affect gameplay. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 148 FPS, at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 130 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 80 FPS. These values indicate that Medium is the safest preset for consistent performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the workload shifts between the CPU and GPU. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 192 at 1080p to 169 at 1440p, a decrease of 23 FPS, and then to 124 at 4K, a further decrease of 45 FPS. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 68 FPS, which is 35.4 percent lower than the 1080p value. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at low settings, as the CPU is able to feed frames quickly at 1080p but the GPU’s rendering throughput decreases as pixel count rises.

At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 174 at 1080p to 153 at 1440p, a decrease of 21 FPS, and then to 94 at 4K, a further decrease of 59 FPS. The total drop is 80 FPS, which is 46 percent lower than the 1080p value. The minimum FPS also scales, from 148 at 1080p to 130 at 1440p and 80 at 4K. The larger relative drop at 4K suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading units become more taxed as resolution increases, while the CPU’s role remains consistent.

At High settings, the average FPS drops from 157 at 1080p to 121 at 1440p, a decrease of 36 FPS, and then to 71 at 4K, a decrease of 50 FPS. The total drop is 86 FPS, which is 54.8 percent lower than the 1080p value. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 155 at 1080p to 116 at 1440p, a decrease of 39 FPS, and then to 68 at 4K, a decrease of 48 FPS. The total drop is 87 FPS, which is 56.1 percent lower than the 1080p value.

The data shows that the limiting component shifts as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU’s single-thread performance, measured by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1016, allows the GPU to output up to 192 FPS, but the Ultra preset reduces this to 155 FPS, indicating that the GPU is still the main driver of quality-based performance differences. At 4K, the GPU’s raw throughput, with a pixel rate of 235.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 686.6 GTexel/s, determines the frame rates, and the CPU has enough headroom to avoid being a bottleneck. The consistent 53 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at both 1440p and 4K supports this interpretation, as the CPU’s impact does not change with resolution, while the GPU’s workload increases.