Thief

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers a commanding performance in Thief, securing a combo rank of 91 out of 1642 tested combinations. This places the pairing in the top tier of all recorded systems, indicating that this hardware configuration is exceptionally well-suited for the game’s engine. The data shows a system capable of obliterating standard refresh rate targets at high resolutions, making it a top-tier choice for stealth-action play.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark results place this specific CPU-GPU combination at rank 91 out of 1642 combos, which puts it in the top 5.5% of all tested systems. This is a strong indicator that the hardware pairing provides a balanced and high-performing experience in Thief. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 48704 places it in the 86th percentile against all GPUs, while the CPU’s average score of 49166 puts it in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs. This synergy is reflected in the game’s frame rates, which show no significant bottleneck from either component. The GPU sits close to its rivals: it is 0.7% behind the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A2000, and 2% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile. The CPU is similarly competitive, being 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and 1% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H. These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, confirming that this combo is optimally matched for high-end performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the Ultra preset is entirely viable for most users, but the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance headroom. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 167.6 FPS, which is excellent, but the High preset pushes this to 175 FPS, a 7.4 FPS increase that is imperceptible in terms of smoothness but provides extra overhead for demanding scenes. At 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 112.4 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS standard, while High keeps it at 121.1 FPS. The Medium preset offers a substantial boost to 155 FPS at 1440p, which is ideal for users with high refresh rate monitors. For 4K gaming, the Ultra preset falls to 67.5 FPS, which is playable but leaves little room for drops. The High preset at 4K delivers 69.2 FPS, a marginal improvement. The data indicates that High is the sweet spot for consistent triple-digit frame rates at 1440p and playable 4K, while Medium is recommended for maximizing frame rates on high-refresh displays.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the system produces 175 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 121.1 FPS at 1440p (a 30.8% decrease), and further to 69.2 FPS at 4K (a 60.5% decrease from 1080p). This steep decline is characteristic of a title that relies heavily on pixel throughput and shader work, where the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s compute resources are the limiting factor. At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 206.7 FPS at 1080p falls to 183.1 FPS at 1440p and 121.7 FPS at 4K. The fact that the frame rate drops by over 40% between 1080p and 4K at Low settings indicates that even with reduced graphical complexity, the GPU’s fillrate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is not the bottleneck here, as the performance loss scales almost entirely with resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data provides a granular view of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 206.7 FPS on Low, 188.1 FPS on Medium, 175 FPS on High, and 167.6 FPS on Ultra. This shows a tight spread, with only a 39.1 FPS difference between the lowest and highest quality presets. At 2560x1440, the scores are 183.1 FPS (Low), 155 FPS (Medium), 121.1 FPS (High), and 112.4 FPS (Ultra). The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 70.7 FPS, showing increased GPU load. At 3840x2160, the system delivers 121.7 FPS on Low, 92.5 FPS on Medium, 69.2 FPS on High, and 67.5 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show that the Ultra preset is only slightly more demanding than High, suggesting a GPU that is nearing its limits at this resolution. The data consistently shows that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER can handle 1440p with ease, providing over 100 FPS on any preset, and remains playable at 4K with adjusted settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the dominant factor in this game’s performance. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s. This is more than sufficient for Thief, which was released in 2014 and does not require vast amounts of VRAM; the data shows no signs of memory capacity limiting performance even at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s boost clock of 2610 MHz and base clock of 2340 MHz, combined with its 8448 shading units, deliver the raw compute power needed for the high frame rates observed. The card’s FP32 performance of 44.10 TFLOPS is a key reason why the frame rates scale so well with resolution. The GPU’s benchmark score of 31811 in Passmark G3D places it in the 86th percentile, and its performance in Thief is consistent with this strong showing. The GPU is clearly the workhorse here, as evidenced by the 121.7 FPS at 4K Low, which is still a very high number for that resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K plays a supporting role, but it is not the limiting factor in this pairing. With 14 cores (6 performance and 8 efficient) and 20 threads, the CPU provides ample processing power for Thief’s game logic and AI. Its boost clock of 5.30 GHz and base clock of 3.50 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is excellent, which is crucial for older game engines. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and single-core score of 4642 confirm its high capability. However, in the measured FPS data, the CPU’s influence is minimal. The frame rate differences between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution are primarily driven by GPU load, not CPU limitations. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Low (206.7 FPS) and Ultra (167.6 FPS) is 39.1 FPS, which is a GPU-side effect. The CPU’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory help prevent any stuttering or frame pacing issues, but the benchmark data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the component that determines the final output.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo overkill for 1080p gaming?

A: Yes. At 1080p, the system produces a minimum of 167.6 FPS on Ultra settings. This is far beyond the 60 FPS standard, indicating that the hardware is heavily underutilized at this resolution.

Q: What is the best setting for 4K gaming?

A: The Ultra preset delivers 67.5 FPS at 4K, which is playable, but the High preset provides a slightly better 69.2 FPS. The Medium preset offers a significant boost to 92.5 FPS, making it the best choice for a smoother 4K experience.

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

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s average benchmark score is 48704. It is 0.7% behind the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A2000, and 2% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile. These differences are minor in gaming performance.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent drop that is typical of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU’s high single-core score of 4642 in Cinebench R23 prevents it from being a limiting factor.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 1440p on High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 121.1 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings. This provides a smooth experience for high refresh rate monitors.

Q: Is there a large performance gap between Medium and Ultra settings?

A: At 1440p, the gap is 42.6 FPS (155 FPS on Medium vs 112.4 FPS on Ultra). At 4K, the gap narrows to 25 FPS (92.5 FPS on Medium vs 67.5 FPS on Ultra), showing diminishing returns at higher resolutions.