Thief

The Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers a masterclass in resolution scaling efficiency in Thief, demonstrating that the GPU is the definitive performance arbiter across all tested configurations. The data indicates a remarkably linear and predictable frame rate curve from 1080p to 4K, with the most significant performance drop occurring at the highest resolution, a clear sign that the RTX 4070 SUPER's compute capabilities are being fully saturated while the CPU maintains a stable and non-bottlenecking role throughout.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario where the i5-13400F provides ample headroom. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 146 FPS at 1080p, to 112 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 66 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54.8% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a substantial drop that unequivocally points to the rendering resolution as the primary limiting factor. The scaling pattern is smooth and consistent, with no anomalous spikes or plateaus that would suggest a CPU limitation.

The Low settings data further confirms this analysis. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 178 FPS, which drops to 157 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 114 FPS at 4K. The 64 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is nearly identical to the 80 FPS difference observed at High settings, suggesting that the GPU is the bottleneck even when the graphical load is minimal. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a much smaller delta between resolutions at Low settings, as the CPU workload remains relatively constant regardless of resolution.

Ultra settings paint a similar picture, with frame rates of 144 FPS at 1080p, 107 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS is particularly telling, as it indicates that even at the absolute maximum graphical fidelity, the RTX 4070 SUPER is still able to maintain a playable frame rate, albeit just barely above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium settings data provides the most complete picture, with average FPS of 161, 142, and 87 across the three resolutions, along with minimum FPS readings of 137, 121, and 74 respectively.

The pattern across all settings is consistent: the frame rate drops are proportionally larger when moving from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p. For example, at High settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is 34 FPS (23.3%), while the 1440p to 4K drop is 46 FPS (41.1%). This escalating penalty at higher resolutions is the hallmark of a GPU-bound workload, confirming that the i5-13400F is never the limiting component in this configuration.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the undisputed workhorse of this pairing, and its performance characteristics are perfectly matched to the demands of Thief. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is more than sufficient to handle the texture data and geometry required at 4K resolution. The benchmark results show that the GPU is never starved for memory, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates even at Ultra settings.

The GPU's clock speeds play a crucial role in its performance. With a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, the RTX 4070 SUPER is able to sustain high core frequencies under load, which directly translates to the high frame rates observed in the benchmark data. The 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power provides the raw arithmetic throughput needed to process the complex lighting and shadow calculations that are central to the stealth gameplay mechanics of Thief.

The 7168 shading units and 224 texture mapping units work in tandem to deliver the pixel and texture fill rates necessary for smooth rendering. The pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s are both substantial, and the benchmark data shows that these resources are being fully utilized at higher resolutions. The GPU's 80 ROPs are sufficient to handle the final pixel output stage, as evidenced by the 4K High result of 66 FPS.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's performance relative to its peers is solid, ranking in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 43223 places it in close competition with the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, -0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, -0.1% delta). The data shows that this desktop GPU slightly underperforms the RTX 4090 Mobile (43667, -1% delta), but this is expected given the thermal and power constraints of mobile parts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 630 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 16.9% of all configurations. This is a strong result that reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, with neither component being a significant bottleneck for the other. The combo rank of 630 suggests that this pairing is well above average for this specific game, which is consistent with the high frame rates observed across all resolutions and settings.

The CPU's individual performance contributes meaningfully to this ranking. The i5-13400F holds a 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 (25362, -0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365, -0.3% delta). The fact that the i5-13400F is within 0.3% of these competitors in synthetic benchmarks suggests that CPU performance is not a differentiating factor in the combo's overall ranking.

The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking is slightly higher than the CPU's 77th percentile, indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the stronger component in this pairing. This asymmetry is beneficial for gaming performance, as it ensures that the GPU has sufficient headroom to handle demanding titles like Thief without being held back by CPU limitations. The combo rank of 630 out of 3720 confirms the effectiveness of this pairing, placing it in the upper echelon of tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings yield an average of 178 FPS, Medium produces 161 FPS (with a minimum of 137 and maximum of 186), High reaches 146 FPS, and Ultra achieves 144 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is a modest 34 FPS, indicating that the CPU is able to feed the GPU efficiently even at the highest settings. The frame rates at 1080p are consistently above 144 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains extremely strong. Low settings produce 157 FPS, Medium averages 142 FPS (with a minimum of 121 and maximum of 164), High hits 112 FPS, and Ultra maintains 107 FPS. The 1440p data shows that the combo is still capable of delivering high-refresh-rate performance at the most common gaming resolution, with even the Ultra preset staying above 100 FPS. The Medium settings minimum of 121 FPS suggests that there is minimal frame time variance, providing a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding, but remains playable. Low settings deliver 114 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS (with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 100), High achieves 66 FPS, and Ultra drops to 63 FPS. The 4K results show that the RTX 4070 SUPER is being pushed to its limits, particularly at High and Ultra settings where the frame rates are close to the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium settings result of 87 FPS is the sweet spot for 4K gaming, providing a good balance between visual fidelity and performance.

The minimum FPS data for Medium settings is particularly informative. At 1080p, the minimum is 137 FPS, at 1440p it drops to 121 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 74 FPS. The 47 FPS reduction in minimum frame rate from 1080p to 4K is significant, but the 4K minimum of 74 FPS is still well above the playability threshold. This indicates that the combo can maintain consistent frame delivery even under heavy load, with no severe stuttering or frame drops.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F plays a supporting role in this configuration, but its specifications are well-suited to the task. With 10 cores and 16 threads, the CPU provides ample parallel processing capability for the game's logic and physics calculations. The core configuration, which includes performance and efficiency cores, allows for efficient task scheduling that keeps the GPU fed with data. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache provides fast access to frequently used data, reducing latency and improving overall system responsiveness.

The CPU's clock speeds of 2.50 GHz base and 4.60 GHz boost are sufficient for gaming workloads. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks, which are common in game logic, are executed with minimal delay. The CPU's 65W TDP indicates that it is power-efficient, which helps to keep thermals in check and allows the GPU to have access to the full power budget of the system.

The benchmark data for the CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and the 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 demonstrate that the CPU can handle demanding workloads. The Geekbench multicore score of 11068 further confirms this. However, the single-thread scores are equally important for gaming. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3191 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 960 indicate that the CPU is capable of handling the primary game thread without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 77th among all CPUs is respectable, and its average benchmark score of 25292 places it in close competition with several AMD and Intel rivals. The data shows that the i5-13400F is more than capable of keeping up with the RTX 4070 SUPER in Thief, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes, with no sudden drops that would indicate a CPU limitation.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, the sweet spot is 2560x1440 at Ultra settings, which achieves 107 FPS. For 4K gaming, Medium settings at 87 FPS provides the best balance, as High (66 FPS) and Ultra (63 FPS) are closer to the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-13400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game?

A: No, the benchmark data shows that frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes, indicating a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking and high single-thread scores (Cinebench R23 single-core of 3191) ensure it can feed the GPU effectively.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K compared to lower resolutions?

A: At 4K Ultra, the combo achieves 63 FPS, which is a 56.3% reduction from the 144 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The drop from 1440p Ultra (107 FPS) to 4K Ultra (63 FPS) is a 41.1% reduction, showing that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 630 out of 3720 tested combinations in Thief, placing it in the top 16.9% of all configurations. This is a strong result driven by the GPU's 83rd percentile ranking.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM of the RTX 4070 SUPER cause any issues at 4K?

A: No, the data shows consistent performance at 4K across all settings. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for Thief, as evidenced by the playable frame rates at Ultra settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU scores 43223 on average, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, -0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, -0.1% delta). It is 1% behind the RTX 4090 Mobile (43667).