Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, remains a demanding benchmark even for modern flagship hardware. The data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 shows a configuration that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions but reveals interesting CPU scaling characteristics at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across the three primary resolutions and four quality presets, providing a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies and how this combo ranks among the 1642 tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates demonstrate a classic resolution scaling curve, with the most significant performance drop occurring between 1440p and 4K. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 169.3 FPS at 1080p to 151.1 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 18.2 FPS. However, the jump to 4K is far more punishing, with the average plummeting to 88.7 FPS, a 62.4 FPS drop from the 1440p result. This steep decline at 3840x2160 strongly indicates that the rendering workload is overwhelming the GPU's capabilities, pushing it to its limits.

At the Low preset, the scaling pattern shifts. The 1080p result of 207.8 FPS drops to 186.2 FPS at 1440p, and then to 149 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1440p to 4K is 37.2 FPS, which is less severe than the High preset's 62.4 FPS drop. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU begins to play a more significant role in limiting performance, especially at lower resolutions, though the GPU still handles the 4K pixel throughput.

The Medium preset shows intermediate scaling, with 186.6 FPS at 1080p, 164.7 FPS at 1440p, and 111.4 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, the most demanding, yields 170.2 FPS, 139.8 FPS, and 86.2 FPS respectively. The 4K Ultra result of 86.2 FPS is the lowest recorded for this combo, highlighting the immense graphical load of the game's maximum settings on the RTX 5090. The data consistently shows that the frame rate penalty for moving from 1440p to 4K is substantially larger than the penalty from 1080p to 1440p, a clear sign that the RTX 5090's 32 GB frame buffer and massive compute resources are being fully taxed at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as 32,889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,643 in single-core, position it as a high-performing desktop CPU, ranking in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs. In Thief, its role is crucial at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p performance at Low settings is only 21.6 FPS, while the gap between Low and High settings at 1080p is 38.5 FPS. This suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames at 1080p, but the GPU's raw speed is still the defining factor for the final output. However, the fact that the 1080p Low result (207.8 FPS) is not significantly higher than the 1440p Low result (186.2 FPS) indicates that a performance ceiling is being approached. This ceiling is likely a combination of the CPU's single-thread performance and the game engine's draw-call submission overhead.

The processor's strong single-core score of 4,643 in Cinebench R23 is a key asset for Thief, which is known to rely heavily on a few primary threads for game logic and scene management. The data implies that the i5-14600KF's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures that these critical threads are processed quickly, preventing the CPU from becoming a severe limiter even at high frame rates. The 20 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the primary performance driver in this game is the high-frequency single-core capability. Compared to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, the 14600KF shows a 0.4% higher average benchmark score, indicating nearly identical performance potential.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achieved with this CPU and GPU combo in Thief?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 207.8 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to the 1080p Ultra performance?

A: The 4K Ultra average is 86.2 FPS, while the 1080p Ultra average is 170.2 FPS. This represents a 84 FPS difference, or a 49.4% reduction in frame rate when moving to the higher resolution.

Q: Is this combination more limited by the CPU or GPU in Thief?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The large frame rate drops when moving to 4K, particularly at High and Ultra settings, indicate the graphics card is saturated. The CPU's influence becomes more apparent only at 1080p with lower settings, where the frame rate ceiling is approached.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 186.2 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 139.8 FPS. The difference between these two settings is 46.4 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's benchmark performance compare to its closest rival, the RTX 5090 D?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84,306, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D's score of 84,241. This indicates they have virtually identical performance levels.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K with Medium settings?

A: The average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 111.4 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its highest frame rates. The Low preset leads with an average of 207.8 FPS. Medium and High settings produce 186.6 FPS and 169.3 FPS, respectively. The Ultra preset, while the most demanding, still delivers a very high 170.2 FPS. This places the 1080p performance well above the 144 Hz refresh rate threshold for all settings, except for the High and Ultra presets which are very close to it.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains excellent for competitive play. The Low preset yields 186.2 FPS, and the Medium preset follows closely at 164.7 FPS. High settings produce 151.1 FPS, comfortably above 144 Hz. The Ultra preset drops to 139.8 FPS, which is just below the 144 Hz mark but still highly playable. The spread between the lowest and highest settings at this resolution is 46.4 FPS, showing a moderate impact from quality presets.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes the dominant factor. The Low preset achieves an average of 149 FPS, which is a strong result for 4K. Medium settings drop to 111.4 FPS. The High and Ultra presets yield 88.7 FPS and 86.2 FPS, respectively. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is minimal, at just 2.5 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects are nearly as efficient as High for this GPU. The 4K results show that for a 60 FPS experience, all settings are viable, but for 144 Hz 4K gaming, only the Low preset comes close to achieving it.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 25th out of 1642 tested combos for Thief. This places it in the top 1.5% of all configurations tested, indicating an exceptionally high level of performance. The rank confirms the strength of both components, as the GPU is among the fastest available, and the CPU provides the necessary single-thread speed to avoid major bottlenecks.

The ranking also suggests that only a few other combinations, likely featuring top-tier CPUs with even higher single-core performance or more exotic memory configurations, were able to outperform it. Given that the RTX 5090's nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D, is only 0.1% slower on average, and the i5-14600KF is only 0.4% faster than the i5-14600K, this combo's position in the rankings is driven by the sheer power of the GPU. The performance gap to the next tier of GPUs is likely significant enough to justify this high placement, even with a mid-range enthusiast CPU like the i5-14600KF. The data confirms that this is a top-tier pairing for Thief, delivering exceptional frame rates across all resolutions and settings.