Thief

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Thief at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset delivers a playable average of 49.6 FPS. High and Medium sit at 27.9 and 37.8 FPS respectively, while Ultra drops to 26.3 FPS — all below the typical 60 FPS target, and even below 30 FPS for the higher presets.

Q: What is the best resolution for a smooth experience with this hardware?

A: The data clearly favors 1920x1080. Every preset at this resolution exceeds 68 FPS, with Low reaching 129.8 FPS, Medium at 99 FPS, and High at 76.1 FPS. Even Ultra holds at 68.2 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where all settings remain fluid.

Q: How does the GTX 1070's memory configuration affect Thief's performance?

A: The GPU carries 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. With Thief's 2014-era engine, this memory subsystem is more than adequate; the bottleneck at higher resolutions is the GPU's raw compute, not its memory capacity.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU in this game?

A: No. The i5-13400F has 10 cores and 16 threads with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21279 and single-core score of 3004 place it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, so it provides ample headroom for a GPU that ranks in the 51st percentile.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The gap is substantial. Low averages 84.4 FPS, Medium 63.5 FPS, High 53.5 FPS, and Ultra 47.9 FPS. That is a 36.5 FPS difference between the lowest and highest presets, representing a 76% performance hit for Ultra settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Thief?

A: It ranks 1409th out of 1642 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 15% of configurations. This is primarily due to the GTX 1070's age, as the CPU is far more competitive relative to its peers.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of an Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 sits at rank 1409 out of 1642 tested combos for Thief. That places this system firmly in the lower tier of configurations, with roughly 86% of tested setups delivering higher average frame rates in this title. The ranking reflects a significant mismatch: the CPU is a modern 13th-gen part, while the GPU is an end-of-life Pascal architecture card from 2016.

Looking at the components individually, the CPU's average benchmark score of 25236 puts it in the 82nd percentile of all processors, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13620H (0.1% faster) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (0.5% slower). The GPU, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 12331, placing it in the 51st percentile. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (0.7% faster), GTX 880M (1.3% slower), GTX 1650 SUPER (1.4% slower), and Tesla K20Xm (1.7% slower).

This percentile gap — 82 for the CPU versus 51 for the GPU — explains why the combo ranks so low. Thief is a GPU-bound title at higher settings, and the GTX 1070's mid-pack standing drags the overall result down. The CPU is essentially never the limiting factor; its 3DMark max-thread score of 7307 and single-thread score of 960 indicate it can feed frames far faster than the GPU can render them.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is built on the Pascal architecture using the GP104 chip, fabricated on TSMC's 16 nm process. It packs 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The card's base clock runs at 1506 MHz with a boost of 1683 MHz, while its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory operates at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus for 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth.

For Thief, the GPU's role is decisive. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, average frame rates drop proportionally. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the card produces 68.2 FPS; at 2560x1440 Ultra, it falls to 47.9 FPS; at 3840x2160 Ultra, it collapses to 26.3 FPS. This scaling indicates the card is compute-limited at higher resolutions, not memory-limited — the 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient, but the 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput cannot sustain high pixel counts.

The GTX 1070's DirectX support (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 are more than adequate for Thief, a 2014 title that predates these APIs' widespread use. Its PassMark DirectX 11 score of 100 and DirectX 12 score of 48 show it is strongest in legacy APIs, which aligns well with Thief's engine requirements. The 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU are modest, making this a practical card for the game's demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the GTX 1070 delivers consistently playable results. Low settings average 129.8 FPS, which is exceptionally smooth. Medium drops to 99 FPS, still well above typical 60 Hz displays. High comes in at 76.1 FPS, and Ultra holds at 68.2 FPS. Every preset at this resolution clears the 60 FPS threshold, with Low nearly doubling it.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades but remains usable for most presets. Low averages 84.4 FPS, Medium 63.5 FPS, and High 53.5 FPS. Ultra falls to 47.9 FPS, which is playable but noticeably below the 60 FPS mark. The step from Medium to High costs 10 FPS, while High to Ultra costs another 5.6 FPS — diminishing returns as settings climb.

At 3840x2160, the card struggles. Low averages 49.6 FPS, which is borderline acceptable. Medium drops to 37.8 FPS, High to 27.9 FPS, and Ultra to 26.3 FPS. Only the Low preset approaches playability, and even then it falls short of 60 FPS. The 4K results confirm that this GPU is not suited for high-resolution gaming in Thief, regardless of settings.

The scaling between resolutions is steep: at Ultra, 1080p to 1440p costs 20.3 FPS, and 1440p to 4K costs another 21.6 FPS. At Low, the same transitions cost 45.4 FPS and 34.8 FPS respectively, showing that the card's headroom shrinks disproportionately as pixel count rises.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1920x1080 display, the data supports using Ultra settings without hesitation. At 68.2 FPS, Ultra delivers the full visual experience while maintaining smooth gameplay. If you prefer higher frame rates for competitive or fast-paced play, High at 76.1 FPS is a marginal sacrifice in visuals for an 8 FPS gain, but Ultra is the better default.

At 2560x1440, Medium is the sweet spot. The 63.5 FPS average stays above 60 FPS, while High drops to 53.5 FPS — a noticeable dip that may introduce stutter on 60 Hz panels. Low at 84.4 FPS is viable if you prioritize frame rate over visuals, but Medium offers the best balance of image quality and performance.

For 3840x2160, only Low is recommended. The 49.6 FPS average is below ideal, but it is the sole preset that remains playable. Medium at 37.8 FPS and High at 27.9 FPS are too sluggish for consistent gameplay, and Ultra at 26.3 FPS is effectively a slideshow. If 4K is your target, this GPU will require significant settings compromises.

The overall best experience per the measured rows is 1920x1080 Ultra. It provides the highest visual quality at a frame rate that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the only configuration that fully utilizes the GPU's capabilities without sacrificing smoothness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a Raptor Lake-S desktop processor with 10 cores and 16 threads. It runs at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosts to 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3. This is a modern, high-performance part that ranks in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs.

In Thief, the CPU's role is supportive rather than primary. The game is largely GPU-bound, as evidenced by the FPS scaling with resolution changes. At 1080p Low, the CPU must feed frames at up to 129.8 FPS, and its 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and 2-thread score of 1880 demonstrate it can handle this load. The PassMark multithread score of 25032 and integer math score of 79942 further confirm ample processing headroom.

The CPU's strongest benchmark results — Cinebench R23 multicore at 21279 and Geekbench multicore at 10971 — show it is far more capable than the GPU. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the Core i7-13620H (0.1% faster) and Ryzen 5 5600X3D (0.5% slower). None of these rivals present a meaningful difference, indicating the i5-13400F is a stable, mid-high tier performer.

For Thief specifically, the CPU will not bottleneck the GTX 1070 at any resolution or setting. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is pushed hardest, the CPU's single-core performance (Cinebench R15 single-core score of 302) is more than sufficient for the game's 2014-era threading model. The 10-core configuration also provides future-proofing for newer titles, though that is irrelevant to this benchmark's scope. The CPU's launch MSRP is $196, positioning it as a mainstream part that punches well above its class in compute tasks.