Thief

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Thief shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 169.8 FPS, which drops to 147.1 FPS at 1440p and further to 88.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 47.7% reduction in average frame rate from 1080p to 4K at High settings, indicating that the scaling is not linear but rather steepens significantly at higher resolutions.

Examining the Low preset reveals a similar trajectory: 211.3 FPS at 1080p, 183.8 FPS at 1440p, and 153.4 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 13.0%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 16.5%. This pattern suggests that even at Low settings, where the GPU workload is comparatively lighter, the resolution scaling still imposes a substantial penalty. The fact that the 4K Low result (153.4 FPS) remains above the 1080p High result (169.8 FPS) by a margin of 9.6% underscores that the GPU has significant headroom even at the highest resolution tier tested.

For Medium settings, the measurements are 189.9 FPS at 1080p, 169.4 FPS at 1440p, and 112.0 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium figure is 41.0% lower than the 1080p Medium figure, which is the largest relative drop across all presets. This indicates that Medium settings at 4K place a disproportionately heavy load on the graphics pipeline relative to the lower resolutions. Conversely, the Ultra preset shows the smallest absolute difference between 1080p and 1440p: 166.6 FPS versus 143.1 FPS, a 14.1% decline. The Ultra 4K result of 85.4 FPS is the lowest recorded across all configurations.

The scaling behavior points to the GPU as the primary limiting component at 4K, particularly at higher presets. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 512-bit bus width provide ample bandwidth, yet the sheer pixel count at 3840x2160 still causes frame rates to compress. At 1080p, the gap between Low (211.3 FPS) and Ultra (166.6 FPS) is 26.8%, while at 4K, the same preset gap is 44.3% (153.4 FPS versus 85.4 FPS). This widening gap confirms that the GPU becomes progressively more saturated as resolution climbs, with the CPU's role diminishing correspondingly.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the observed performance envelope. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, paired with 21760 shading units and 680 tensor cores. The memory subsystem consists of 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. These figures align with the measured results, where even the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) maintains an average of 85.4 FPS — well above playable thresholds.

The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate provide the raw throughput needed to sustain high frame rates across all tested settings. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s is particularly relevant for Thief, a game that relies heavily on shadow rendering and dynamic lighting. At 4K, the pixel throughput requirement is substantial, yet the RTX 5090 still delivers 88.8 FPS at High settings, indicating that the GPU's rasterization capabilities are not fully taxed until Ultra preset is applied.

The VRAM capacity of 32 GB is far beyond what Thief requires, but it eliminates any possibility of memory capacity becoming a bottleneck. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and geometry data transfer do not impede frame pacing. Benchmark results for the GPU show a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, posts an average score of 84241 with a deltaPct of 0.1%, meaning the RTX 5090 is essentially tied with its sibling in raw compute terms.

The GPU's 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs are well-balanced for this title's rendering requirements. Given that Thief was released in 2014, the game's engine does not fully exploit modern features like ray tracing cores (170 present) or DirectX 12 Ultimate features. Consequently, the RTX 5090 operates well below its theoretical peak, with the measured frame rates reflecting the game's older rendering pipeline rather than the GPU's maximum capability.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 19 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places the pairing in the top 1.2% of all configurations, a remarkable standing given the game's age and the CPU's mid-range positioning. The CPU itself holds a 93rd percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 49166, while the GPU sits at the 94th percentile with an average score of 84306.

Relative to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i5-14600K's average score of 49166 is 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062) and 0.4% below the Intel Core i5-14600KF (49367). The gap to the AMD EPYC 4345P (49595) is 0.9%, and the i5-14600K leads the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698) by 1.0%. These narrow margins indicate that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game, as Thief's performance is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at the tested resolutions.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5090's average score of 84306 is 0.1% above the RTX 5090 D (84241) and 0.2% above the RTX 5050 Mobile (84171), while trailing the NVIDIA CMP 40HX (85637) by 1.6%. The near-parity with the RTX 5050 Mobile is notable, as it suggests that the desktop card's massive compute resources are not fully utilized by Thief's DirectX 11-era rendering. The combo's rank of 19 reflects the synergy between a capable CPU and an extremely powerful GPU, though the game's age means that many lower-tier combinations could achieve similar frame rates at lower resolutions.

The data indicates that this combo's rank is primarily attributable to the GPU's raw strength rather than any specific CPU advantage. At 1080p Low, the system produces 211.3 FPS, which is likely near the engine's frame rate ceiling. The fact that the combo ranks 19th out of 1642 suggests that only configurations with even more powerful CPUs or more favorable memory configurations can exceed this performance, and even then, the differences are likely marginal.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 88.8 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K produces 112.0 FPS, a 26.1% improvement over High, while the Low preset reaches 153.4 FPS. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 85.4 FPS, which is only 3.8% below High but likely incurs additional visual quality degradation for minimal frame rate gain.

For 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 147.1 FPS, and Ultra reaches 143.1 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is just 2.7%, making Ultra the preferred choice for users who prioritize image quality without sacrificing responsiveness. The Medium preset at 1440p (169.4 FPS) offers a 15.2% improvement over High, but the visual differences between Medium and High in Thief are typically more pronounced than the frame rate delta suggests.

At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 166 FPS, with Ultra at 166.6 FPS, High at 169.8 FPS, Medium at 189.9 FPS, and Low at 211.3 FPS. Given that even Ultra maintains a high frame rate at 1080p, there is no reason to compromise on settings at this resolution. The data shows that the Ultra preset at 1080p (166.6 FPS) is only 1.9% slower than High (169.8 FPS), making Ultra the clear recommendation for 1080p displays.

The optimal configuration depends on resolution. For 4K, the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as the jump to Ultra provides only a 3.8% frame rate reduction while Medium's 26.1% gain over High comes at a noticeable visual cost. For 1440p, Ultra is recommended due to the negligible 2.7% penalty versus High. For 1080p, Ultra is also recommended, as the 1.9% difference from High is imperceptible in practice.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Thief?

A: The highest average FPS is 211.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is 28.7% higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 166.6 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest rival in GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306, which is 0.1% above the RTX 5090 D (84241) and 0.2% above the RTX 5050 Mobile (84171). It trails the NVIDIA CMP 40HX (85637) by 1.6%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the 85.4 FPS result being the lowest across all configurations. The CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom, with the i5-14600K scoring 32881 in Cinebench R23 multicore.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the frame rate drops from 169.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 88.8 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 47.7%. This indicates substantial GPU load scaling with resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 19th out of 1642 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.2% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's 94th percentile standing among all GPUs.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide any benefit over High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers 166.6 FPS versus High's 169.8 FPS, a difference of only 1.9%. Given the negligible performance penalty, Ultra is the recommended preset at this resolution for maximum visual quality.