Thief

The Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers a playable, if not flawless, experience in Thief, with performance that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The data shows a system that is clearly GPU-limited at higher settings, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower presets and resolutions. This pairing ranks in the middle of the pack, with its strongest results found at 1080p and 1440p where the balance between the two components is most effective.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates that 2560x1440 on Medium settings is the sweet spot. It delivers a strong 76.8 FPS average, which is a significant jump from the 56.8 FPS seen at High settings, while maintaining a high level of visual fidelity compared to Low.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 perform compared to its closest rivals?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 places it in a tight race. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 760M and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA P106-100, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is 0.7% ahead of it. The performance delta is minimal, showing these cards are closely matched in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck for the Arc B580 in this game?

A: The benchmark results suggest the CPU is not the primary bottleneck, especially at higher settings. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the FPS drops to 30.9. However, at 1080p Low, the 148.8 FPS average shows the CPU can keep up, though the GPU is still the main driver of the frame rate.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets?

A: The jump from High to Ultra is steep. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 85.2 to 83.2, a small 2 FPS difference. However, at 1440p the difference is more pronounced, dropping from 56.8 to 58.6 FPS, which is counterintuitive and suggests variance. At 4K, the drop is significant, from 33.3 to 30.9 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i5-14400F is effectively tied with its nearest rivals. Its average benchmark score of 32508 is 0% different from the Intel Core i7-12800H, 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 250 and Intel Core i7-13705H.

Q: Does the game scale well with settings at 4K?

A: Yes, but the scaling is aggressive. The Arc B580 produces 60.4 FPS on Low, which drops to 48.0 FPS on Medium, then to 33.3 FPS on High, and finally to 30.9 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear and consistent performance cost for each increase in visual quality.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the central component determining the experience in Thief. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a substantial resource for a 2014 title. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, and it operates with a power target of 190 W. The data shows that the GPU's performance is the primary factor in the FPS differences between settings.

At 4K resolution, the GPU's workload becomes the definitive constraint. The Arc B580 manages 33.3 FPS on High and 30.9 FPS on Ultra, indicating that the card is being pushed to its limits. The synthetic benchmark scores contextualize this performance; the Arc B580's Passmark G3D score of 15748 and its 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest it is a mid-range performer. Its performance is nearly identical to the RTX 4060, which is 0.7% faster, and the Radeon 760M, which is 0.1% slower. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3068 further confirms its position, and the data suggests that while it can handle the game, it is not a high-end card capable of maxing out the game at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and the Intel Arc B580 achieves a rank of 1293 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, indicating that while it is far from the worst performer, it is not among the top configurations for this game. This ranking reflects the balance of the two components.

The CPU is a strong performer, sitting in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508. This is a high mark, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.2% of its score. However, the GPU is less impressive, sitting in the 66th percentile with an average score of 23021. The GPU's closer competition with the Radeon 760M and P106-100 shows it is a mid-pack component. The resulting combo rank is a product of this pairing: a top-tier CPU with a mid-tier GPU. The benchmark results indicate that the system's overall performance in Thief is likely held back by the GPU, as the CPU has the headroom to push much higher frame rates if paired with a faster graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

For this configuration, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the data shows that the Medium preset is a strong choice. It delivers a 115.6 FPS average, which is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold, while Low produces 148.8 FPS and High produces 85.2 FPS. The jump from Medium to High results in a 30.4 FPS loss, making Medium the best balance of smoothness and visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is again the best choice. It provides an average of 76.8 FPS, which is a solid playable frame rate. The High preset drops to 56.8 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the GPU's limitations. At 4K, the situation changes. The Low preset is the only one that achieves a consistently playable frame rate, with an average of 60.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 48.0 FPS is a compromise, and the High and Ultra presets are not recommended due to their 33.3 and 30.9 FPS averages, which fall below the smoothness most players desire.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's scaling. At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates a wide range of performance. The Low preset achieves a high of 148.8 FPS, while the Medium preset delivers 115.6 FPS. The High preset produces 85.2 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the lowest at 83.2 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal, suggesting a potential bottleneck or diminishing returns on this setting.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset still delivers a very high 101.4 FPS, but the Medium preset falls to 76.8 FPS. The High preset achieves 56.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset is 58.6 FPS. Interestingly, the Ultra preset is slightly higher than High, which is an anomaly in the data. At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. The Low preset is the only one that stays above 60 FPS, with an average of 60.4 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 48.0 FPS, the High preset to 33.3 FPS, and the Ultra preset to 30.9 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a powerful processor with 10 cores and 16 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile chip. The synthetic benchmarks show it is a top-tier CPU, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093. Its Passmark single-thread score is 3723, and its multi-thread score is 25783.

In Thief, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 148.8 FPS, which is a high frame rate. However, this is likely still limited by the GPU's rendering capabilities. The CPU's high single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Geekbench single-core score of 2333, ensures it can feed the GPU with data. The benchmark results indicate the CPU is not a bottleneck in this title, as the FPS drops consistently with GPU-heavy settings and resolutions, rather than plateauing due to CPU limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the system produces 148.8 FPS. This drops to 101.4 FPS at 1440p, a 31.8% decrease. At 4K Low, the FPS falls to 60.4, a 40.4% decrease from 1440p and a 59.4% decrease from 1080p. This steep decline is a clear indicator that the GPU is the limiting component.

This pattern is consistent across all settings. At Medium, the FPS drops from 115.6 at 1080p to 76.8 at 1440p, and then to 48.0 at 4K. The data shows that the performance penalty for moving up in resolution is significant and increases as the resolution gets higher. The fact that the CPU's performance is constant across these resolutions, while the FPS drops, confirms that the Arc B580 is the primary constraint. The system cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K because the GPU lacks the raw processing power, while the CPU has ample headroom to handle the game's logic and draw calls.