Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, remains a demanding benchmark even for modern hardware. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, using only the provided benchmark data. The combination produces high frame rates across all tested resolutions, but the data reveals distinct scaling patterns that inform optimal settings for different display targets.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 provides the highest average frame rates across all settings, with the Low preset achieving 184.6 FPS. However, 2560x1440 offers a strong balance, with the High preset still delivering 129.6 FPS, making it viable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Low to Ultra settings?

A: The performance penalty varies by resolution. At 1920x1080, the drop is 35.9 FPS (from 184.6 to 148.7). At 2560x1440, the drop is 33.9 FPS (from 160.6 to 126.7). At 3840x2160, the drop is 55.3 FPS (from 138.2 to 82.9), showing a larger absolute impact at 4K.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 bottlenecked by the i5-14400F in this game?

A: The data shows significant frame rate scaling with resolution, which typically indicates a GPU-bound scenario at higher settings. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads are likely sufficient, as the frame rates remain high even at 1080p, but the benchmark does not isolate CPU vs. GPU usage.

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

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 82.9 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh displays. The High preset improves to 87.3 FPS, while the Medium preset reaches 116.3 FPS, making it the best choice for a smooth 4K experience.

Q: How does the RTX 5090’s 32 GB VRAM affect Thief’s performance?

A: The 32 GB VRAM is far more than Thief requires, given its 2014 release date. The benchmark results show no signs of memory-related stuttering or frame drops, indicating that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this title.

Q: What is the most consistent settings preset across all resolutions?

A: The High preset offers the most consistent frame rates relative to Ultra. It delivers 147 FPS at 1080p, 129.6 FPS at 1440p, and 87.3 FPS at 4K, providing a predictable performance curve without the extreme penalties seen when dropping to Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, responsible for the vast majority of frame rate output. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides a 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, which is far beyond the requirements of a game from 2014. The GPU’s boost clock of 2407 MHz and base clock of 2017 MHz are high, and the benchmark results show it scales effectively with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s workload increases significantly. The measured data shows a clear drop from 138.2 FPS on Low to 116.3 FPS on Medium, and further to 87.3 FPS on High. This indicates that the RTX 5090’s raw compute power is being utilized, with the FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS being the likely driver. The transition to Ultra at 82.9 FPS shows that the most demanding settings still challenge the GPU, despite its capabilities.

The GPU’s 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores are not directly relevant to Thief, which was released before ray tracing and DLSS became standard features. However, the sheer number of shading units (21760) and texture mapping units (680) contribute to the high rasterization performance seen in the results. The GPU’s 176 ROPs also help maintain pixel throughput at 4K, as evidenced by the 82.9 FPS minimum at Ultra settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 112 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the top 6.8% of all configurations, indicating a very high-performing setup. The rank reflects the GPU’s dominance, as the RTX 5090 sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 84306.

The CPU also contributes to this ranking. The i5-14400F is in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-12800H (0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 250 (-0.2% delta), and Intel Core i7-13705H (-0.2% delta). This tight grouping shows that the i5-14400F’s CPU performance is competitive with other mid-range and high-end processors from the same era.

The high combo rank of 112 suggests that this pairing is well-balanced for Thief. The CPU is not holding back the GPU significantly, as the frame rates at 1080p remain high (184.6 FPS on Low), indicating that the GPU can still push frames without a severe CPU bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1920x1080 display, the High preset at 147 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a smooth experience on 144Hz monitors without the marginal gains of Ultra (148.7 FPS), which offers only a 1.7 FPS improvement. The Low preset at 184.6 FPS is excessive for most displays, and Medium at 166.6 FPS is a viable alternative if frame rate is the priority.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 129.6 FPS is the best balance. It is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for 120Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 126.7 FPS is nearly identical, offering only a 2.9 FPS difference, so either works. The Low preset at 160.6 FPS is unnecessary, as the visual quality loss is not justified by the frame rate gain.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 116.3 FPS is the clear recommendation. It provides a fluid experience on 120Hz 4K displays while maintaining reasonable visual fidelity. The High preset at 87.3 FPS is acceptable for 60Hz displays, but the drop to 82.9 FPS on Ultra is noticeable. The Low preset at 138.2 FPS is playable but sacrifices too much visual quality for a 2014 title that still looks good on higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high across all presets. The Low setting achieves 184.6 FPS, which drops to 166.6 FPS on Medium, 147 FPS on High, and 148.7 FPS on Ultra. The similarity between High and Ultra is notable, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces settings that have diminishing returns on visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales as expected. The Low preset reaches 160.6 FPS, Medium hits 143.9 FPS, High achieves 129.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 126.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 33.9 FPS, which is a 21.1% reduction in frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s workload increases substantially. The Low preset still achieves 138.2 FPS, but Medium drops to 116.3 FPS, High to 87.3 FPS, and Ultra to 82.9 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 4.4 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is not well-optimized for 4K in this title.

The data shows that the RTX 5090 is capable of pushing high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results are more demanding. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings shows a 32.4% reduction (from 129.6 to 87.3 FPS), which is typical for a 4K resolution increase.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core provide adequate data throughput for a game like Thief, which is not heavily threaded. The CPU’s performance in Cinebench R23 is 21914 for multi-core and 3093 for single-core, indicating strong all-around capability.

In Thief, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The benchmark results show that the CPU does not become a bottleneck until lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high (up to 184.6 FPS on Low), but the GPU is still likely the limiting factor, as the RTX 5090’s percentile ranking is higher than the CPU’s. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, has an identical average score (32513 vs. 32508), confirming that the i5-14400F is competitive with other high-end processors.

The CPU’s 65W TDP is modest, but its boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures it can handle single-threaded tasks efficiently. The Geekbench single-core score of 2333 and Passmark single-thread score of 3723 suggest that the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s demands, even at high frame rates. The data shows that the combo ranks high (112 out of 1642), indicating that the CPU and GPU work well together in this title without a significant performance imbalance.