Thief

Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B570 is a pairing that spans two very different eras of Intel's hardware lineup: a 14th-generation Raptor Lake CPU with a 10 nm process, and a 5 nm Battlemage GPU from the newer Arc 5 series. Both components are currently active in their respective product lines, and this combination sits at rank 2296 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. The data here presents a mixed bag, with a strong CPU that appears to be hamstrung by a GPU that runs out of steam at higher resolutions. This analysis explores how the measured frame rates scale, what settings are playable, and where each component's limits actually lie.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking pattern in the measured data is how drastically average frame rates collapse as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves a solid 133 FPS average. That number drops to 91 FPS at 1440p, and then to 54 FPS at 4K. This represents a 32% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 41% reduction from 1440p to 4K. For a game like Thief, a stealth title that likely has a mix of both static and dynamic scenes, this level of scaling points heavily toward the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises.

Looking at the Medium preset tells a similar story with slightly different numbers. The average FPS at 1080p Medium is 101, falling to 69 at 1440p, and then to 41 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 32%, and from 1440p to 4K it is again around 41%. The consistency of these percentage drops across different presets is a clear signal that the performance ceiling at higher resolutions is being dictated by the graphics processor, not the central processor. The CPU can likely feed frames fast enough at 1080p, but the Arc B570's fixed memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s and 10 GB of GDDR6 are working harder as the pixel workload expands.

The High and Ultra presets reinforce this conclusion. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS bottoms out at 29, which is below the 31 FPS seen at 4K High. The gap between High and Ultra at every resolution is relatively small — 4 FPS at 1080p, 3 FPS at 1440p, and 2 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the Ultra preset is not introducing a massive new computational burden, but rather that the GPU is already near its limits at these resolutions, so any additional load results in diminishing returns. The data implies that the limiting component at 4K is unambiguously the GPU, while at 1080p, there is enough headroom to suggest the CPU is still capable of more.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a smooth experience, the measured rows offer clear guidance. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers a 101 FPS average with a recorded minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. This is the only preset at any resolution that shows both minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating a stable frame delivery. The Low preset at 1080p hits 133 FPS, but the Medium settings likely provide a better visual compromise for a game from 2014, where the graphical leap from Low to Medium may be more pronounced than from Medium to High. The High preset at 1080p yields 77 FPS, which is still playable, but the step down from Medium is a 24 FPS loss. Given the data, Medium at 1080p appears to be the sweet spot for balancing smoothness and visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again stands out as the most balanced option. It produces a 69 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth. The High preset at 1440p drops to 53 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutters in a stealth game that relies on careful timing. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 91 FPS, but the visual penalty is likely too steep for most users. Therefore, Medium at 1440p is the recommended choice, as it is the only preset that keeps the average FPS above 60 while still offering a middle-ground visual quality.

At 4K, the situation becomes challenging. The Low preset averages 54 FPS, which is playable but not consistently smooth. The Medium preset drops to 41 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 31 FPS and 29 FPS respectively. For a game that is not a competitive shooter, 41 FPS might be acceptable, but the data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant compromises. The Low preset at 4K is the only one that stays above 50 FPS, making it the only viable option for those who insist on 4K resolution. However, the 54 FPS average is precarious, and the lack of minimum FPS data for that row means dips could be more severe. The best experience per the measured rows is clearly Medium at 1080p, which offers a 101 FPS average and a documented minimum of 86 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its architecture is Raptor Lake, and it carries a 20 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU performs admirably; for instance, it scores 21645 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3055 in single core. Its percentile ranking against all CPUs is 83, meaning it outperforms 83% of all tested processors. The nearest rivals in the data pack include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U with a deltaPct of 0.1% and the Intel Core i9-11900 with a deltaPct of 0.2%, indicating the i5-14400F is closely matched with those chips in overall average benchmark score.

In the context of Thief, the CPU's role seems to be largely peripheral in limiting performance at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 133 FPS, which is a high number but not indicative of a CPU bottleneck. A CPU bottleneck would typically manifest as a plateau where increasing GPU load does not change FPS, but here the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU has the multi-threading capacity (16 threads) and the high boost clock (4.70 GHz) to handle the game's logic and AI, which is likely not very demanding for a 2014 title. The 10 cores are more than sufficient for a game of that era, meaning the CPU is probably idling while the GPU struggles.

However, the CPU's performance characteristics still matter for the overall combo ranking. The i5-14400F's strong single-thread score of 3055 in Cinebench R23 likely helps maintain high frame rates in less demanding scenes, such as indoor areas or dialogue sequences. The data does not provide per-core utilization, but the combination of high boost clock and a large L3 cache suggests that the CPU can deliver data to the GPU without causing stalls. The fact that the combo ranks at 2296 out of 2851 suggests that while the CPU is competent, the GPU is dragging the overall performance down, especially at 4K where the CPU's contributions are minimized.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 2296 out of 2851 tested combos, this pairing sits in the bottom 20% of all configurations tested in Thief. This ranking is surprising given the individual component strengths. The CPU has a percentile of 83, meaning it is stronger than most, while the GPU has a percentile of 65, indicating it is above average but not exceptional. The combination of an above-average CPU and GPU should theoretically yield a mid-tier ranking, but the data suggests otherwise. The low rank likely stems from the GPU's inability to handle 4K resolutions, which pulls down the average FPS across all tested settings.

Compared to other combos, this pairing is lagging significantly. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a deltaPct of 0.1% and the Intel Arc A750 with a deltaPct of -0.1%. This means the Arc B570 performs nearly identically to those GPUs in general benchmarks. Yet, in Thief, the combo's rank implies that many other CPU-GPU pairings outperform it. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, have similar average scores, but when paired with different GPUs, they likely achieve higher frame rates in this game. The data implies that the Arc B570 is the weak link in this specific title, as its performance at 4K is particularly poor, with an average of just 29 FPS on Ultra. This drags down the overall combo ranking even though the CPU is capable.

The rank of 2296 also suggests that for 1080p gaming, this combo is likely competitive, but the dataset includes all resolutions, and the 4K results are heavily weighted in the ranking calculation. The fact that the combo ranks below the midpoint indicates that most other tested configurations can deliver better performance in Thief, likely due to more balanced GPU performance across resolutions. The data does not specify what other combos are tested, but it is clear that this pairing's performance is not sufficient to place it in the upper echelons.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the best resolution. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS, which is the highest preset with a documented minimum above 60 FPS.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Thief?*

A: The data shows that 4K is playable but not smooth. The Low preset averages 54 FPS, while Medium drops to 41 FPS. High and Ultra fall below 31 FPS, which may be too choppy for most players.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750. This indicates near-identical general performance, but in Thief, the combo rank suggests it underperforms at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has a percentile of 83 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 83% of tested processors. Its average benchmark score is 32279, which is close to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p to 4K across all settings suggest the Arc B570 is struggling with pixel workload, while the CPU's strong benchmark scores imply it has headroom.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest recorded average FPS is 29, which occurs at 4K Ultra. The lowest minimum FPS documented is 35, which is seen at 4K Medium, suggesting that some dips can be more severe than the average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its best performance. The Low preset averages 133 FPS, which is the highest average across all resolutions. Medium averages 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 and a maximum of 116. High averages 77 FPS, and Ultra averages 73 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is 32 FPS, which is significant, while the step from High to Ultra is only 4 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop considerably. Low averages 91 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 79, High averages 53 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to 3 FPS, indicating the GPU is nearing its limits.

At 3840x2160, the performance falls off a cliff. Low averages 54 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 47, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is just 2 FPS, which is negligible. The data shows that the combo cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K on any preset, with the closest being Low at 54 FPS.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units. The GPU clock runs at a constant 2500 MHz for both base and boost, which is unusual but indicates a fixed frequency. Its memory configuration is 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 14195 in PassMark G3D and 7281 in PassMark GPU Compute, with a percentile of 65 against all GPUs.

In Thief, the GPU's role is clearly the limiting factor at high resolutions. The 10 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for a 2014 game, but the 160-bit bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth may struggle with the memory-heavy textures at 4K. The GPU's fixed clock of 2500 MHz means it does not boost dynamically, which could cause performance to plateau under load. The nearest rival in the data pack is the Intel Arc A750 with a deltaPct of -0.1%, meaning the B570 is slightly slower in average benchmark score. This close performance suggests that the B570 is not a major upgrade over its predecessor, and in Thief, it shows.

The GPU's FP32 performance is 11.52 TFLOPS, which is decent for a mid-range card. However, the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo only manages 29 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playability. This suggests that the GPU is not just bandwidth-limited but also compute-limited at higher resolutions. The texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s are respectable, but they are not enough to keep up with the pixel density of 4K. The GPU's role in this combo is to provide adequate performance at 1080p and 1440p, but it fails to deliver a smooth experience at 4K, which is a significant drawback for a card with 10 GB of memory.