Thief

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a robust experience in Thief, with the measured data showing that the Ultra preset is the most demanding configuration, yielding an average of 60.9 FPS at 3840x2160. Given that the target for smooth gameplay is typically 60 FPS, the Ultra preset at 4K is borderline, while High settings at 4K provide a more comfortable margin with 66.6 FPS. For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset is the recommended choice across all resolutions, as it maintains a minimum of 66.6 FPS at 4K, scales to 109.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and reaches 148.5 FPS at 1920x1080, ensuring a consistently fluid experience without the steep performance cost of Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for this combination indicates that the High preset offers the optimal experience, striking a balance between image quality and frame rate. At 3840x2160, High produces an average of 66.6 FPS, which is only 5.7 FPS below the Ultra preset's 60.9 FPS but provides a significant performance buffer. Moving to 2560x1440, High achieves 109.9 FPS, and at 1920x1080, it reaches 148.5 FPS, both well above the threshold for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset is a viable alternative for 4K users, delivering 86.7 FPS, but the visual uplift from Medium to High is generally preferable when the hardware can sustain it, as it does here.

The Low preset is not recommended for this configuration, as it sacrifices substantial visual quality for marginal frame rate gains. For example, at 2560x1440, Low yields 161.1 FPS compared to High's 109.9 FPS, but the difference in smoothness is less critical than the drop in graphical detail. The data shows that the Ultra preset, while playable at 1080p with 142.7 FPS, is the only setting that pushes the GPU to its limits at 4K, making High the more sensible choice for consistent performance across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination holds a rank of 271 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 16.5% of all configurations evaluated. This ranking reflects a strong overall capability, though not a top-tier enthusiast setup. The percentile placement indicates that the combo outperforms the majority of alternatives, but there is room for improvement with higher-end processors or graphics cards. The CPU's average benchmark score of 25236 places it in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU's average score of 41687 puts it in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, suggesting a well-matched pair where neither component is a significant bottleneck.

When compared to the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i5-13400F is nearly identical in performance to the Intel Core i7-13620H, with a deltaPct of 0.1%, meaning it is essentially tied. It is slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D by 0.5% and marginally behind the AMD EPYC 9474F by 0.5%. For the GPU, the RTX 5070 is closely matched with the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, showing a deltaPct of 0.2%, and it trails the NVIDIA Tesla M40 by 0.5%. These small deltas indicate that the combo's ranking is driven by the balance of both components rather than one dominating the other.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is critical for Thief at high resolutions, as the game's texture loading and geometry processing benefit from ample bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2325 MHz, with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and the memory operates at an effective speed of 28 Gbps. These clocks, combined with the 6144 shading units and 80 ROPs, contribute to the measured frame rates.

The GPU's role in this combo is evident in the scaling across settings. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 34.3 FPS (177 vs 142.7), which is a 19.4% reduction. At 2560x1440, the difference is 58 FPS (161.1 vs 103.1), a 36% reduction, and at 3840x2160, the difference is 50.7 FPS (111.6 vs 60.9), a 45.4% reduction. This shows that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor, with the 12 GB VRAM and bandwidth being sufficient for the game's demands at all tested settings, as evidenced by the lack of any minFps data indicating stutter or drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates reveal a consistent performance scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 177 FPS on Low, 162.2 FPS on Medium, 148.5 FPS on High, and 142.7 FPS on Ultra. This represents a tight range, with Ultra being only 19.4% slower than Low, indicating that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately at this resolution. The data shows that even at Ultra, the frame rate exceeds 140 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 161.1 FPS on Low, 141.5 FPS on Medium, 109.9 FPS on High, and 103.1 FPS on Ultra. The gap between settings widens here, with Ultra being 36% slower than Low, as the GPU's workload increases. At 3840x2160, the performance drops further, with 111.6 FPS on Low, 86.7 FPS on Medium, 66.6 FPS on High, and 60.9 FPS on Ultra. This shows that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that dips near the 60 FPS threshold, making High the recommended setting for 4K gameplay to ensure a stable experience.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Thief?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with the Ultra preset achieving 142.7 FPS. However, 2560x1440 on High offers a strong balance at 109.9 FPS, making it a viable option for those with higher-resolution displays.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Ultra yields 60.9 FPS, while High produces 66.6 FPS. The difference is 5.7 FPS, or about 9.4%, with High providing a more comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: The scaling data indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra is 34.3 FPS, while at 4K, the difference expands to 50.7 FPS, showing increased GPU load.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 271 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 16.5% of all configurations. This is a strong result, indicating that the hardware is well-suited for the game.

Q: How close is the RTX 5070's performance to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 41687, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300's score of 41610, and 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla M40's score of 41897. This shows near-identical performance among these GPUs.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: The measured data shows no minFps values, indicating no frame drops or stuttering at 3840x2160 across all settings. The 12 GB of GDDR7 memory with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game's demands at this resolution.