Thief

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-14600KF compare to its closest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-14600KF posts an average benchmark score of 49,394, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49,228) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49,196). It also leads the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48,995) by 0.8%, while trailing the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 (49,796) by 0.8%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile, and what does that indicate about its standing?

A: The Intel Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile among all tested GPUs, meaning it outperforms only about 9% of the database's GPU pool. Its average 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1,482, which puts it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1,463) and 2.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1,443).

Q: How much VRAM does the Arc B390 have?

A: The Arc B390 uses system-shared memory for its VRAM, with the memory size, type, and bus width all listed as "System Shared." Memory bandwidth is described as "System Dependent," meaning it relies entirely on the host system's RAM configuration rather than dedicated graphics memory.

Q: What are the core and thread counts for the i5-14600KF?

A: The CPU has 14 cores and 20 threads, built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and it carries a 125 W TDP.

Q: Which settings preset yields the highest average FPS at 1920x1080?

A: The Low preset delivers 86 FPS average at 1920x1080, which is the highest measured result for this combo. Medium hits 66 FPS, High drops to 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Thief among all tested configurations?

A: This combination of Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2,534 out of 2,851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 11% of the database for this specific title.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck in this pairing, and the measured FPS data makes that clear. The GPU is built on Intel's Xe3-LPG architecture (Panther Lake chip) on a 3 nm process, with 1,536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. Its boost clock reaches 2500 MHz from a 300 MHz base, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Critically, the Arc B390 has no dedicated VRAM. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with bandwidth dependent on the host platform. This architecture choice has direct consequences in Thief: at 3840x2160, the GPU manages only 20 FPS on High settings and 19 FPS on Ultra. Dropping to Low at 4K raises the average to 35 FPS, but that is still far from smooth gameplay.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,482 places it in the 9th percentile overall. Its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts: the GT 520MX (1,463), GeForce 800M (1,460), GT 625 OEM (1,446), and GT 710 (1,443). The Arc B390 leads these by margins of 1.3% to 2.7%, which is a narrow gap against hardware that is several generations old.

In Thief specifically, the GPU's limits show up as resolution scaling collapses. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the High preset drops from 50 FPS to 34 FPS (a 32% loss). Going from 1440p to 4K on High drops further to 20 FPS (a 41% loss from 1440p). The shared-memory design likely exacerbates these drops, as the GPU competes with the CPU and system for memory bandwidth.

The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute at 7.680 TFLOPS. These figures suggest a part designed for integrated-class duties rather than discrete gaming performance. The TDP is just 80 W, and the slot width is listed as IGP, confirming this is an integrated graphics solution rather than a standalone card.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for this combo in Thief. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 86 FPS average, which is the only setting that approaches high-refresh territory. Medium drops to 66 FPS, High falls to 50 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 48 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low still leads with 59 FPS, but Medium drops to 45 FPS, High to 34 FPS, and Ultra to 33 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 14 FPS, which is substantial for playability.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. Low manages 35 FPS, Medium 26 FPS, High 20 FPS, and Ultra 19 FPS. These numbers are below acceptable thresholds for most action games, making 4K impractical for this hardware.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1920x1080 on Low settings. This is the only configuration that clears 80 FPS, and it does so by a wide margin. For users who want better visual fidelity, 1080p Medium at 66 FPS is the next viable step, provided the 56 FPS minimum (as measured) is acceptable.

At 1440p, Low at 59 FPS is the only preset that stays above 50 FPS average. Medium at 45 FPS is playable but with a 38 FPS minimum. High and Ultra at 34 and 33 FPS respectively are borderline.

The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with modest settings. Pushing to 1440p requires accepting Low settings, and 4K is not viable on any preset. The 4K Medium row shows a 22 FPS minimum and 30 FPS maximum, which reflects frame pacing instability rather than just low average throughput.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 86 FPS average, the highest figure in the entire dataset. Medium averages 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS and maximum of 75 FPS. High drops to 50 FPS average, while Ultra averages 48 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 38 FPS, showing that settings scaling has a significant impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades across the board. Low averages 59 FPS, which is still respectable but 27 FPS below the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 45 FPS with a 38 FPS minimum and 52 FPS maximum. High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is just 1 FPS, suggesting the GPU is hitting a compute or bandwidth wall rather than a settings-driven limit.

At 3840x2160, results fall below playable thresholds. Low averages 35 FPS, Medium 26 FPS with a 22 FPS minimum and 30 FPS maximum, High 20 FPS, and Ultra 19 FPS. The Ultra result at 4K is 29 FPS below the Ultra result at 1080p, representing a 60% performance drop from the lowest resolution to the highest.

The resolution scaling pattern is consistent: each step up in resolution costs roughly 30-40% of the previous frame rate. From 1080p Low (86 FPS) to 1440p Low (59 FPS) is a 31% loss. From 1440p Low (59 FPS) to 4K Low (35 FPS) is a 41% loss. This non-linear scaling is typical of memory-bandwidth-limited integrated graphics, which aligns with the system-shared memory design.

The Medium preset has the only complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the 56-75 FPS range shows a 19 FPS variance. At 1440p, the 38-52 FPS range shows a 14 FPS variance. At 4K, the 22-30 FPS range shows an 8 FPS variance. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently saturated as resolution increases, leaving less headroom for frame time variation.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Thief, this pairing of Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2,534 out of 2,851 combos. That places it in the 11th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 89% of other combos deliver better performance in this game.

The rank reflects a massive imbalance between CPU and GPU capability. The i5-14600KF is a high-end desktop processor with a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 49,394. The Arc B390, by contrast, sits in the 9th percentile among GPUs with an average score of 1,482. The combo's overall rank is dragged down almost entirely by the GPU's limitations.

This pairing is effectively a modern CPU strapped to an integrated-class GPU. The CPU's nearest rivals (AMD Ryzen 9 7900, Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, Core Ultra 5 245) all have comparable CPU scores within 0.8% of the i5-14600KF. But in Thief, the GPU dictates the experience, and the Arc B390's nearest rivals are GT 710-class parts from NVIDIA.

The rank of 2,534 out of 2,851 means this combo is not competitive for Thief at mainstream settings. The measured FPS data confirms this: only the 1080p Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, and no preset at 1440p or 4K reaches that threshold. For a game released in 2014, these results are notably weak, indicating that the Arc B390's integrated design cannot handle even older titles at high resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, built on Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 24 MB shared L3. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, with ECC memory support and PCIe Gen 5 (16 lanes CPU only).

The CPU's synthetic benchmarks are strong. Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 32,544 and single-core 4,594. Cinebench R20 multi-core hits 13,668 and single-core 1,929. Geekbench multi-core is 17,085 and single-core 2,445. Passmark multi-thread scores 38,697, with integer math at 125,982 and floating-point math at 93,048.

The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it is not the limiting factor in this combo. Its average benchmark score of 49,394 puts it within 0.8% of top rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388. In Thief, the CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads are far more than the game requires, given that Thief launched in 2014 and is primarily GPU-bound even on modest hardware.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, which matters for older game engines that rely on one or two primary threads. The Passmark single-thread score of 4,273 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,594 indicate robust per-core throughput. However, the measured FPS data shows that even this CPU muscle cannot compensate for the GPU's constraints at higher resolutions.

The system-shared memory design of the Arc B390 means the CPU's memory controller and platform memory bandwidth directly affect GPU performance. The i5-14600KF supports dual-channel DDR4/DDR5, but the actual memory bandwidth is system-dependent. This creates a coupling between CPU platform capabilities and GPU results that would not exist with a discrete graphics card.

In practice, the CPU's role in Thief is to feed the GPU efficiently at low resolutions where frame rates are higher. At 1080p Low (86 FPS), the CPU's single-thread performance likely keeps the frame pipeline fed. At 4K Ultra (19 FPS), the GPU is so saturated that CPU headroom is irrelevant. The bottleneck shifts entirely to the Arc B390 as resolution and settings increase, making the CPU's considerable compute resources largely unused in this title.