Thief

The Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination ranks 1040th out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s position in the overall hierarchy—the RX 6650 XT sits at the 72nd percentile of all GPUs—while the CPU is notably stronger, sitting at the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. The result is a pairing where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at demanding settings, but the processor’s headroom ensures that frame rates remain consistent when graphical load is reduced.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1040 out of 1642 indicates that in Thief, this system falls behind the majority of tested configurations, though it is far from the bottom. The data shows a clear pattern: the combo’s standing is dragged down by the GPU, which is only marginally ahead of its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, by a delta of 0.0 percentage points. In contrast, the CPU is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-13620H, trailing by just 0.1 percentage points in average benchmark score, and is within 0.5 percentage points of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D. This suggests that while the processor is competitive with mid-range parts from its generation, the graphics card is the limiting factor in determining the overall rank in this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. Its clock speeds are substantial for its class: a base of 2055 MHz, a game clock of 2410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. In Thief, these specifications translate to playable performance at 1080p, but the GPU’s 8 GB frame buffer and 64 ROPs become a constraint at higher resolutions. The measured FPS shows that at 4K Ultra, the card manages only 35.2 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, while at 1080p Low it reaches 162.5 FPS, indicating that the card has ample raw compute for lighter settings. The GPU’s 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 337.3 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for the game’s stealth-focused environments, but the data clearly shows that it is the component that dictates the combo’s lower-tier ranking.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the Medium preset is the optimal choice across all resolutions, as it provides a significant jump in frame rate over High without the steep cost of Ultra. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 122.4 FPS, which is 28.5 FPS higher than High (93.9 FPS) and only 35.9 FPS lower than Low (162.5 FPS). At 1440p Medium, the frame rate of 86.3 FPS remains highly playable, while High drops to 66.3 FPS and Ultra falls to 61 FPS. Even at 4K Medium, the 50.6 FPS average is acceptable for a stealth game, whereas High (39.5 FPS) and Ultra (35.2 FPS) are not. Low settings offer the highest frame rates—162.5 FPS at 1080p and 109.4 FPS at 1440p—but the visual fidelity loss is unnecessary given the playable Medium results.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Thief at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured data shows that Ultra settings yield an average of 86.5 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and only 35.2 FPS at 4K. Only the 1080p and 1440p results clear the 60 FPS threshold, with 4K falling well short.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236, which is 0.1 percentage points ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201) and 0.5 percentage points behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365). It also beats the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103) by 0.5 percentage points.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 280.3 GB/s bandwidth. This configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results—where Ultra averages 35.2 FPS—indicate that the frame buffer and bandwidth are inadequate for high-resolution, high-detail play.

Q: Which resolution offers the best performance-to-quality ratio for this combo?

A: 1440p Medium is the sweet spot, delivering 86.3 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a substantial visual upgrade over 1080p, while avoiding the steep performance penalties seen at 4K.

Q: Does the GPU’s benchmark percentile align with its in-game performance?

A: The GPU is at the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, which is consistent with its measured FPS in Thief. It performs admirably at lower resolutions, hitting 162.5 FPS at 1080p Low, but its rank in the combo list (1040 of 1642) reflects its limitations at higher settings.

Q: Is the CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: No. With 10 cores, 16 threads, a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, and a 20 MB L3 cache, the CPU is capable of high frame rates. The evidence shows that when settings are lowered, FPS scales dramatically—from 86.5 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 162.5 FPS at 1080p Low—confirming the GPU is the primary constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate deltas across resolutions are stark. At Ultra settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 25.5 FPS (from 86.5 to 61), and from 1440p to 4K it is another 25.8 FPS (from 61 to 35.2), a total decline of 51.3 FPS from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the trend is similar: 1080p yields 122.4 FPS, 1440p yields 86.3 FPS, and 4K yields 50.6 FPS, showing a 71.8 FPS total drop. The Low preset demonstrates the most dramatic scaling, dropping from 162.5 FPS at 1080p to 109.4 FPS at 1440p and then to 66.5 FPS at 4K. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU’s performance headroom is evident from the fact that even at 4K Low, the frame rate more than doubles the 4K Ultra result (66.5 vs 35.2 FPS). The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are the likely culprits for the steep decline at higher resolutions, where memory bandwidth becomes critical.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 20 MB shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory give it strong synthetic benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and a single-core score of 3004. In Thief, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with enough data to keep frame rates high, and the data shows it succeeds admirably. The measured FPS at Low settings—162.5 FPS at 1080p, 109.4 FPS at 1440p, and 66.5 FPS at 4K—demonstrates that the processor is not a bottleneck, as these numbers are far higher than the GPU’s Ultra settings results. The CPU’s percentile rank of 82 against all CPUs, coupled with its near-identical performance to the Intel Core i7-13620H (0.1 percentage points difference), confirms that it has ample compute power for this 2014 title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its most consistent results: Low settings average 162.5 FPS, Medium averages 122.4 FPS, High averages 93.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 86.5 FPS. The step from Medium to High costs 28.5 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs only 7.4 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the top end. At 1440p, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers: Low averages 109.4 FPS, Medium averages 86.3 FPS, High averages 66.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 61 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to 5.3 FPS, suggesting that Ultra is nearly as demanding as High at this resolution. At 4K, the GPU struggles: Low averages 66.5 FPS, Medium averages 50.6 FPS, High averages 39.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 35.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 31.3 FPS, but even the Low preset fails to maintain a solid 60 FPS, highlighting the GPU’s resolution ceiling. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the best balance of frame rate and visual quality, with 4K Medium being the only 4K setting that approaches playability at 50.6 FPS.