Thief

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a dominant 1080p experience in Thief, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. This combination ranks in the 85th percentile of all tested configurations in this game, placing it at position 252 out of 1642 combos. The measured results show that while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes the definitive limiting factor at 4K, particularly under higher graphical presets.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, running on a 10 nm process node. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz can boost up to 5.30 GHz, and it features a substantial 24 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 2 MB of L2 per core. This hardware configuration places the CPU in the 93rd percentile of all processors tested, with an average benchmark score of 49166. The data shows that this processor sits within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X in average score, while being 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-14600KF and 0.9% behind the AMD EPYC 4345P. In Thief, the CPU’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4642, ensures that frame pacing remains stable even when the GPU is fully saturated.

At 1080p, the CPU’s influence is most apparent in the Low preset, where the frame rate reaches 208.5 FPS. This result indicates that the processor can feed frames far beyond typical display refresh rates, and the gap between Low and Medium settings at 1080p (208.5 vs 187.4 FPS) demonstrates that the CPU still has reserve capacity when graphical load increases. However, the CPU’s role diminishes at higher resolutions; the shift from 1080p to 4K at High settings yields a 60% drop in average FPS (from 149.1 to 59.3), which points directly to GPU-bound performance. The 14-core configuration, while powerful for multitasking, does not meaningfully affect Thief’s frame rates beyond the 1080p tier, as the game’s engine appears to scale primarily with single-thread speed and GPU throughput.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process by Samsung. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and memory runs at 19 Gbps effective. These specifications place the card in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 41224. The nearest rival data shows the RTX 3080 Ti sits within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, while being 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070.

In Thief, the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient even at 4K Ultra settings, where the measured average FPS of 55.3 is the lowest across all tested configurations. The card’s raw compute power, rated at 34.10 TFLOPS FP32, drives the 4K Low preset to 100.3 FPS, which is a remarkable 81% higher than the 4K Ultra result. This spread between presets at 4K (from 55.3 to 100.3 FPS) highlights the GPU’s sensitivity to shading complexity and texture memory demands. At 1440p, the RTX 3080 Ti maintains excellent playability, with Ultra settings hitting 93.9 FPS and Low settings reaching 175.9 FPS. The data suggests that the GPU is the dominant performance component in Thief at all resolutions above 1080p, with the 4K High result of 59.3 FPS sitting just below the 60 FPS threshold often targeted for smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data in Thief reveals a pronounced GPU bottleneck that intensifies with pixel count. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all settings drops by approximately 16% for Low (208.5 to 175.9), 11% for Medium (187.4 to 132.9), 32% for High (149.1 to 101.9), and 34% for Ultra (141.6 to 93.9). The larger drops at High and Ultra settings indicate that these presets place additional load on the GPU’s shading units and memory subsystem, while the CPU remains relatively unburdened. The transition from 1440p to 4K produces even steeper declines: Low falls by 43% (175.9 to 100.3), Medium by 41% (132.9 to 78.1), High by 42% (101.9 to 59.3), and Ultra by 41% (93.9 to 55.3).

These consistent 40%+ drops from 1440p to 4K across all presets are a textbook sign of a GPU-limited scenario. The RTX 3080 Ti’s memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s becomes the limiting factor as pixel throughput demands increase, and the 10,240 shading units are fully occupied at 4K. Critically, the 1080p to 4K scaling for the Low preset (208.5 to 100.3 FPS, a 52% drop) is less severe than the High preset (149.1 to 59.3 FPS, a 60% drop), confirming that higher graphical fidelity accelerates the GPU bottleneck. The CPU’s contribution is negligible in this scaling; if the processor were the limiting factor, the FPS drops would be more uniform across settings, but the data shows settings-based divergence that tracks GPU workload.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium achieves 187.4 FPS, which is only 21.1 FPS lower than Low but 38.3 FPS higher than High. This suggests that Medium captures most of the visual improvements over Low without incurring the performance penalty of High. At 1440p, Medium delivers 132.9 FPS, comfortably above the 100 FPS mark and only 13% behind High’s 101.9 FPS while providing smoother motion. The Medium preset’s advantage is most pronounced at 4K, where it hits 78.1 FPS compared to High’s 59.3 FPS and Ultra’s 55.3 FPS.

For users targeting 60 FPS as a minimum, the data shows that High at 4K (59.3 FPS) is marginally below this threshold, while Medium at 4K (78.1 FPS) provides a 31.7% safety margin. At 1440p, Ultra achieves 93.9 FPS, which is highly playable, but Medium’s 132.9 FPS leaves significant headroom for future driver optimizations or background tasks. The Low preset is only recommended for competitive play at 1080p, where 208.5 FPS maximizes refresh rate utilization, but it sacrifices the visual quality that Thief’s stealth gameplay benefits from. In summary, Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering consistent frame rates above 78 FPS even at 4K, while Ultra is best reserved for 1440p or lower where the 93.9 FPS result remains fluid.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 252nd out of 1,642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 85th percentile of all configurations. This is a strong result, given that the database includes many high-end pairings. The ranking reflects the synergy between a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU, though the percentile placement indicates that there is still a meaningful performance ceiling above this combo. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking and the GPU’s 83rd percentile ranking combine to produce a system that is more CPU-limited at 1080p and GPU-limited at 4K, which is typical for this class of hardware.

The combo’s rank of 252 suggests that the RTX 3080 Ti, while an excellent card, is not the absolute fastest in the database—its nearest rivals include the RTX 3090 and RTX 5070, which slightly outperform it in average score. However, the i5-14600K’s strong single-thread performance helps push frame rates higher in CPU-light scenarios, as seen in the 1080p Low result of 208.5 FPS. The 85th percentile placement indicates that this combo outperforms the majority of tested systems, but users seeking the absolute top-tier Thief experience would need a higher-end GPU. The data does not specify the exact combos ranked above this one, but the deltaPct values for the CPU’s rivals suggest that pairing this processor with a faster GPU could yield significant improvements.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for Thief with this combo is as follows:

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 208.5 FPS
• Medium: 187.4 FPS
• High: 149.1 FPS
• Ultra: 141.6 FPS

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 175.9 FPS
• Medium: 132.9 FPS
• High: 101.9 FPS
• Ultra: 93.9 FPS

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 100.3 FPS
• Medium: 78.1 FPS
• High: 59.3 FPS
• Ultra: 55.3 FPS

The 1080p results show a narrow spread between Medium and Ultra (187.4 to 141.6 FPS, a 24% difference), indicating that the GPU is not fully saturated at this resolution and the CPU’s 5.30 GHz boost clock helps maintain high frame rates. At 1440p, the spread widens to 47% between Low and Ultra (175.9 to 93.9 FPS), reflecting increased GPU workload. The 4K results show the largest spread at 45% between Low and Ultra (100.3 to 55.3 FPS), with the Ultra preset delivering only 55.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows no min or max FPS values, so only average frame rates are available for analysis.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the best resolution to run this combo at in Thief for a 60 FPS target?*

A: The 4K High preset achieves 59.3 FPS, which is just below 60 FPS, while 4K Medium delivers 78.1 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, 1440p Ultra is the safest choice at 93.9 FPS, or 4K Medium if higher resolution is preferred.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 208.5 FPS, while Ultra achieves 141.6 FPS. This represents a 47.2% performance increase for Low, a difference of 66.9 FPS.

*Q: Is this GPU or CPU bottlenecked in Thief at 4K?*

A: The data shows a 43% FPS drop from Low to Ultra at 4K (100.3 to 55.3 FPS), which indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The CPU’s influence is minimal at this resolution, as frame rates scale directly with graphical workload.

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

A: This combo ranks 252nd out of 1,642 tested combinations, placing it in the 85th percentile. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Medium achieves 132.9 FPS, while High achieves 101.9 FPS. This is a 30.4% difference, with Medium providing smoother performance at a modest visual quality cost.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti outperform the RTX 3090 in this game?

A: Based on average benchmark scores, the RTX 3080 Ti is 0.5% behind the RTX 3090 (41224 vs 41441). The measured FPS data in Thief does not include direct comparisons, but the GPU’s overall score suggests it is nearly equivalent.