Thief

The Intel Core i5-9400 pairing with the AMD Radeon RX 570 shows a performance profile that is heavily dictated by resolution and the balance between the CPU's six cores and the GPU's Polaris 20 architecture. Across the measured resolutions—from 1920x1080 up to 3840x2160—the system displays a clear transition from a CPU-leaning scenario at lower resolutions to a GPU-bound situation at 4K. The data in this benchmark set indicates a competent 1080p and 1440p stealth gaming experience, with 4K performance being a significant limitation for the combination.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a very steep performance drop as resolution climbs, which is typical for a mid-range GPU like the RX 570 when pushed beyond its designed target. At 1920x1080, the system delivers a playable experience, but the scaling to 2560x1440 and then to 3840x2160 is punishing. The benchmark results show that moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces average FPS by roughly 30% across all settings. For instance, at High settings, the average FPS drops from 43 to 30, a 30% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 75 to 51, which is a 32% reduction. At Medium, the drop is from 57 to 39, and at Ultra, it goes from 41 to 28, both showing similar percentage losses.

The scaling from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is even more brutal, as the GPU is clearly overburdened at 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 30 to 17, a 43% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 51 to 30, representing a 41% reduction. The Medium preset sees a drop from 39 to 23, a 41% decrease, and at Ultra, the frame rate falls from 28 to 17, a 39% reduction. These numbers show that the RX 570 is not designed for 4K gaming in this title, as the performance floor falls below 30 FPS in all settings.

The pattern of FPS loss indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting component at 2560x1440 and especially at 3840x2160. At 1920x1080, the CPU can still keep up with the GPU, but the scaling suggests that the RX 570's fill rate and compute performance are inadequate for higher pixel counts. The fact that the frame rate drops so consistently across all settings from 1440p to 4K reinforces that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The 6-core CPU's role becomes more pronounced at 1080p, where the GPU is not the main limiting factor, but even at 4K, the CPU's 6 threads are not enough to compensate for the GPU's 4 GB of VRAM and 5.1 TFLOPS of compute.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between 1920x1080 and 3840x2160 at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS is 41, while at 3840x2160, it drops to 17, a 59% reduction in performance. This shows that the RX 570 cannot handle 4K Ultra settings with this configuration.

Q: How does the system perform at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS is 39, with a minimum frame rate of 33 and a maximum of 45. This indicates a playable experience, though not as smooth as the 1080p Medium result of 57 FPS.

Q: Which resolution provides the highest frame rate for the system?

A: The highest frame rate is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, posting an average of 75 FPS. This is the only setting that comes close to a 60+ FPS experience in the measured data.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate goes from 75 FPS at Low to 41 FPS at Ultra, a difference of 34 FPS. This shows a 45% decrease in performance moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Is there a 4K experience possible with this combo?

A: The data shows that at 4K, even the Lightest settings (Low) only produce an average of 30 FPS, which is not considered a smooth gameplay experience. The GPU is not capable of delivering a stable 30 FPS at 4K on High or Ultra presets.

Q: What is the recommended resolution for a stable 60 FPS experience?

A: None of the measured settings reach a 60 FPS average at 2560x1440 or 3840x2160. At 1920x1080, only the Low preset (75 FPS) and Medium preset (57 FPS) approach or exceed 60 FPS, suggesting that 1080p is the only resolution that offers a high refresh rate experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It supports DDR4 memory and has a 9 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking (vs all CPUs) and an average benchmark score of 2254 place it as a mid-range chip, with its nearest rivals being the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and the Intel Core i3-10305, which have a delta performance of -0.2% and -0.4%, respectively.

In the game, the CPU's role is more prominent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the CPU can push the frame rate to 75 FPS at Low, but the GPU is still the limiting factor at Ultra, as the difference between 75 FPS (Low) and 41 FPS (Ultra) is too large to be purely a CPU limitation. The 6-core/6-thread configuration is adequate for 1080p gaming, but at 4K, the CPU is not the primary problem as the GPU is clearly the weak link.

The CPU's clock speeds are more than sufficient to handle the game's physics and AI, but the benchmark results show that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combination. The 47th percentile rank for the CPU means it is around the median for all tested CPUs, which is more than enough for a 2014 game like Thief. The low single-core performance of 94 (Cinebench R15) is enough to maintain a reasonable frame rate, but the overall frame rate is dominated by the GPU's ability to render the game.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3551 out of 3720 combos in the game's benchmark database. This places it in the lower third of all tested combinations, indicating that it is not a top-tier setup. However, the rank is based on the combination of the CPU and GPU, and the GPU's 74th percentile ranking (vs all GPUs) is relatively high, while the CPU's 47th percentile is lower, which pulls the combo's rank down.

In the context of other combos, the system is not a top performer, but it is far from the bottom. The 3551st rank out of 3720 shows that there are many faster combos, but the data suggests that a significant portion of the combos are lower in the list. The GPU's performance is above average, but the CPU's is below average, and the combination of the two results in a mid-to-lower tier placement for this game.

The rank also reflects the age of the components. The i5-9400 is a 2018 processor, and the RX 570 is a 2017 GPU, so they are not the newest hardware. The combination is a capable 1080p gaming system, but its rank reflects its performance relative to newer, more powerful parts.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is based on the Polaris 20 chip, built on a 14 nm process with 5,700 million transistors and a die size of 232 mm². It has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). It has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's 74th percentile ranking (vs all GPUs) and an average benchmark score of 28766 indicate that it is a mid-range graphics card. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0.4% slower), the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (0.7% slower), and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (0.8% slower). This shows the RX 570 is near the performance of a mobile 6800M, which is a good sign for its age.

In Thief, the GPU is the bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p. The 4 GB VRAM is likely a limiting factor at 4K, where the texture and buffer requirements exceed the capacity, but the data shows that the frame rate drops to 17 FPS at Ultra, which is a 50% reduction from the 1080p result. The GPU's raw compute, 5.095 TFLOPS, is not enough to handle the 4K output with Ultra settings, resulting in a sub-30 FPS experience.

At 2560x1440, the GPU is still the bottleneck, as the frame rates of 30-51 FPS are not smooth, but the GPU's 4 GB VRAM is enough to handle the settings, as the frame rates are not as low as 4K. The GPU's performance shows that it is best suited for 1920x1080, where it can deliver a high frame rate at lower settings, but the data indicates that it is not a 1440p or 4K-capable card for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the configuration show a clear scaling pattern. At 1920x1080, the system performs well: High averages 43 FPS, Low averages 75 FPS, Medium averages 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 65, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. This makes 1080p the only resolution where a 60+ FPS experience is possible, but only at Low settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly: High averages 30 FPS, Low averages 51 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS (min 33, max 45), and Ultra averages 28 FPS. None of these settings reach 60 FPS, indicating that 1440p is not a target for high refresh rates with this setup.

At 3840x2160, the results are very low: High averages 17 FPS, Low averages 30 FPS, Medium averages 23 FPS (min 19, max 26), and Ultra averages 17 FPS. The 4K resolution is not playable, as all settings fall below 30 FPS, with the exception of Low.

The FPS breakdown reveals that the system is best used for 1080p gaming, with 1440p being a compromise. The GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 5.095 TFLOPS of compute power are not enough to provide a smooth 4K experience, and the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the best experience for this combo is at 1920x1080. At this resolution, the player can achieve a smooth frame rate by using the Low preset, which delivers 75 FPS, or the Medium preset, which delivers 57 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p provide 43 and 41 FPS, respectively, which is still playable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset at 51 FPS is the only playable option, while the Medium preset at 39 FPS is still playable but with a lower frame rate. The High and Ultra presets at 30 and 28 FPS, respectively, are not recommended for a smooth experience, as they dip below 30 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system is not capable of providing a playable experience. The Low preset at 30 FPS is the only one that hits the 30 FPS threshold, but it is below the 60 FPS target. All other settings are 23 FPS or lower, making 4K not viable for this combo.

The best balance of visual fidelity and performance is achieved by using the Medium preset at 1920x1080, which gives 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. This is the recommended setting for a smooth and visually decent experience. The Low preset at 1080p gives a higher frame rate, but the visual quality is less so. For players who have a 1440p monitor, the Low preset at 2560x1440 is the only way to get a playable frame rate, but the visual quality will be lower than 1080p Medium.

In summary, the data indicates that the Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 570 is best suited for 1920x1080 gaming, with the Medium preset offering the best balance of visuals and frame rate. The 1440p output is possible but not recommended for higher settings, and 4K is not a playable option for this in-game config.