Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, remains a demanding benchmark for modern hardware, and the data for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 reveals a clear performance profile. This combination places 576th out of 3720 tested combos, putting it in the top 15.5% of all systems tested for this game. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings show a component balance that shifts depending on the workload, with the GPU becoming the primary constraint as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a predictable but steep decline in frame rates, indicating that the RTX 5060 is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 142 at 1080p to 90 at 1440p, a 36.6% reduction, and then further to 47 at 4K, which is a 47.8% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution directly dictates the workload on the graphics card.

The Low preset shows even more dramatic scaling, moving from 284 FPS at 1080p down to 179 FPS at 1440p and finally 94 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops here are 37.0% and 47.5% respectively, showing that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the bottleneck. This is a key indicator that the CPU, an Intel Core i5-14400F with 10 cores and 16 threads, has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's raw throughput is what caps performance as pixel count increases.

The Medium preset data provides additional insight with min and max FPS values. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 201 FPS with a minimum of 171 and a maximum of 232 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 127 FPS, with a tighter range of 108 to 146 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 66 FPS, with a range of 56 to 76 FPS. The narrowing of the frame time variance relative to the average suggests that at higher resolutions, the workload becomes more consistent, further confirming that the GPU is operating near its capacity limits.

The data indicates that the i5-14400F is not a significant constraint in this game at any resolution. The most telling evidence is the performance at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 284 FPS. Such a high frame rate would only be possible if the CPU can process frames quickly enough to feed the GPU, and the fact that the GPU still scales down by roughly half when moving to 4K shows that the RTX 5060 is the sole limiting factor. This combo is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, where High settings yield a playable 90 FPS, but pushing to 4K at Ultra will result in a sub-60 FPS experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 4K displays, the High preset is the only viable option for smooth gameplay, delivering an average of 47 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 45 FPS, which is barely below the High preset, but the Medium preset at 66 FPS offers a more comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Given the minimal difference between High and Ultra at 4K (47 vs 45 FPS), the High preset is recommended for a balance of visual fidelity and performance, as the 2 FPS gain from dropping to Medium is not worth the visual downgrade, but the 19 FPS gain from moving to Medium over Ultra might be for some users.

At 1440p, the system is capable of delivering high refresh rate experiences. The High preset averages 90 FPS, which is excellent for most monitors. The Ultra preset averages 85 FPS, a mere 5 FPS drop from High, making it the recommended choice for 1440p users who prioritize visual quality, as the performance cost is negligible. The Medium preset at 127 FPS is for those with 144Hz displays, but the jump from High to Medium is 37 FPS, which is significant, suggesting that the extra frames are necessary for competitive play. Low at 179 FPS is unnecessary for most, but it shows the raw capability of the combo.

For 1080p, the system is exceptionally powerful. The Ultra preset averages 135 FPS, which is more than enough for high-refresh-rate gaming. The High preset at 142 FPS is nearly identical, so Ultra is the clear winner for 1080p. The Medium preset at 201 FPS is for esports-level refresh rates, but the visual trade-off is steep. The data shows that the GPU is so powerful at this resolution that the CPU begins to become more relevant, but the frame rates are so high that it is a moot point for most users. The recommended preset for the best experience per the measured rows is Ultra at 1080p or 1440p, and High or Medium at 4K depending on the user's tolerance for frame rates below 60.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the defining component in this system for Thief. Its performance metrics, including a 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 26331, place it as a mid-to-high-range part. The GPU's memory configuration is notable: 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is crucial for texture streaming and memory-intensive scenes, and the data shows it is sufficient for Thief at all tested settings, as there are no anomalies in the frame rate data that would indicate memory throttling.

The GPU's boost clock of 2497 MHz and base clock of 2280 MHz are key to its performance. In Thief, the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is directly correlated with the GPU's ability to fill pixels, which is rated at 119.9 GPixel/s. The pixel rate, combined with the texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s, explains why the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 3840 shading units and 120 tensor cores are the primary compute engines, and they are fully utilized as resolution increases.

Comparing the RTX 5060 to its nearest rivals in the database, the data shows a tight grouping. The GPU is 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT in average benchmark score, but 0.3% behind both the AMD Radeon 860M and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550, and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary. This places the RTX 5060 in a performance band where small percentage differences translate to a few frames per second in real-world gaming. In Thief, the measured FPS at 1080p High is 142, which aligns with this mid-range positioning. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is a potential concern for future titles, but for Thief, the data shows no such limitation, as the frame rates remain consistent across all settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i5-14400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 achieves a rank of 576 out of 3720 tested combinations in Thief. This places it in the 84.5th percentile of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mid-range build. The ranking indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems tested for this game, and it is competitive with high-end configurations from previous generations.

The CPU's individual performance is a contributing factor to this high rank. The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279 and sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, which is 0.1% faster, and the Intel Core i9-11900, which is 0.2% slower. The CPU's multi-core performance is robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645, which ensures that it will not bottleneck the GPU in most gaming scenarios. The combo rank reflects this balance, showing that the system is not held back by a weak CPU.

In the context of Thief, the combo rank of 576 is likely due to the GPU's performance scaling. The game is not particularly CPU-intensive, so the i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient. The GPU, however, is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as seen in the resolution scaling data. The fact that this combo ranks in the top 15.5% of all tested systems suggests that the RTX 5060 is a capable card for this game, and the CPU is a suitable partner. The deltaPct values for the CPU's rivals are all within 0.5%, indicating that the i5-14400F is at the center of a tight performance cluster, and any of these CPUs would yield similar results in Thief.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 135 FPS, with a minimum of 171 FPS at Medium settings being the only recorded min/max data for that resolution.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 47 FPS on High, 66 FPS on Medium, 94 FPS on Low, and 45 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a min/max of 56 to 76 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Thief?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 284 FPS, and the frame rate drops by roughly half at each step up to 4K, showing the GPU's rendering capacity is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: For a 144Hz monitor at 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers an average of 127 FPS, which is close to the refresh rate. The High preset at 90 FPS would not fully utilize a 144Hz display.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems for Thief?

A: This combo ranks 576th out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 15.5% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and bandwidth?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This is sufficient for Thief at all tested settings, as frame rates remain consistent.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of performance across resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers high frame rates across the board. The Low preset achieves an average of 284 FPS. The Medium preset averages 201 FPS, with a minimum of 171 FPS and a maximum of 232 FPS. The High preset averages 142 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 135 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, the system is capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors without issue, and the CPU is not a limiting factor.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the GPU's workload increasing. The Low preset averages 179 FPS. The Medium preset averages 127 FPS, with a minimum of 108 FPS and a maximum of 146 FPS. The High preset averages 90 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 85 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, but the system still offers playable and often high-refresh-rate performance.

At 3840x2160, the system becomes GPU-bound. The Low preset averages 94 FPS. The Medium preset averages 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. The High preset averages 47 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 45 FPS. This resolution is the most demanding, and only the Low and Medium presets provide frame rates above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below that threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a supporting role in Thief, but its capabilities ensure that it does not hinder the GPU. With 10 cores and 16 threads, based on a Raptor Lake architecture, the CPU has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 20 MB of L3 cache. This configuration provides ample processing power for the game's AI and physics calculations, which are not particularly demanding by modern standards.

The CPU's benchmark scores show it is a strong performer. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 21645, and its single-core score is 3055. The Geekbench multi-core score is 11268, with a single-core score of 2058. These scores place the CPU in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279. The nearest rivals are all within a 0.5% performance delta, indicating that the i5-14400F is competitive with other mid-range and high-end CPUs from recent generations.

In Thief, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and process game logic. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 284 FPS, which reflects the CPU's ability to handle frame generation at high rates. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, but the data shows a steady increase as resolution decreases. The CPU's 65W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile and efficient choice, and its performance in this game is more than adequate to complement the RTX 5060.