Thief

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 compare to its nearest rivals in overall CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400's average benchmark score is 2305, placing it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. It sits within a tight cluster: it is 0.2% ahead of both the Intel Core i3-10305 (score 2300) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (score 2299), and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (score 2295). The only rival ahead of it is the Intel Core i7-8809G, which leads by 0.6% with a score of 2319.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect Thief?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB features 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory runs at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed. In Thief, this 4 GB capacity is sufficient across all tested settings, as the game's measured FPS scales more with compute load than with memory pressure.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Thief's benchmark database?

A: This specific configuration (Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB) ranks 1501 out of 1642 total tested combinations. This places it in the lower portion of the database, indicating that while the hardware can run Thief, it is far from the top-tier setups for this title.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance compare to its multi-core performance relative to rivals?

A: The i5-9400 achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125 and a multi-core score of 7969. The multi-core score reflects its 6 cores and 6 threads, while the single-core result is modest. The gap between single-core and multi-core scores (a ratio of about 7:1) is typical for a 6-thread part, and the 50th percentile ranking suggests balanced, mid-range performance.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo achieve its highest and lowest frame rates?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 108.4 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 25.9 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The spread between these extremes—over 4x—highlights how strongly both resolution and quality preset affect this hardware.

Q: Does the GPU have any benchmark scores or rivals listed?

A: No, the RTX 3050 4 GB has an empty benchmarks array and an empty nearestRivals list. Its percentileVsAllGpus is 50, but the average benchmark score is 0, meaning no synthetic GPU benchmarks were recorded for this card in the data. Its performance must be assessed solely through the measured FPS in Thief.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA107 chip fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz, with 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores, though Thief predates ray tracing and DLSS, so these features do not influence the measured results.

The memory subsystem is a defining characteristic: 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus provides 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a modest amount by modern standards, but for a 2014 stealth game, it is more than adequate. The pixel rate is 55.68 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 111.4 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute at 7.127 TFLOPS. The card's TDP is 90 W, requiring a single 6-pin power connector and a suggested 250 W power supply.

In the context of Thief, the GPU's role becomes clear when examining the measured FPS. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the combo hits 60.6 FPS, barely above the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 25.9 FPS. The GPU's compute throughput, not its 4 GB VRAM, is the limiting factor at high settings. The card's 7.127 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is sufficient for 1080p gaming but struggles to maintain playable rates at higher resolutions with Ultra presets. The 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is also a potential bottleneck at 4K, where pixel throughput demands more data movement.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling. At Low settings, the combo delivers 108.4 FPS at 1080p, 76 FPS at 1440p, and 46.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 29.9% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 38.6% drop from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the progression is 62.5 FPS (1080p), 46.3 FPS (1440p), and 27.5 FPS (4K)—a 25.9% drop then a 40.6% drop. The pattern repeats at Medium (81.5 → 55.6 → 33.2 FPS, drops of 31.8% and 40.3%) and Ultra (60.6 → 40.5 → 25.9 FPS, drops of 33.2% and 36.0%).

The scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component. When resolution increases, the pixel workload grows quadratically, and the RTX 3050's 55.68 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes the constraint. At 1080p, the GPU can feed enough frames to keep the i5-9400 busy; at 4K, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth (192.0 GB/s) are overwhelmed. The CPU's role diminishes at higher resolutions, as the frame time becomes dominated by GPU rasterization.

Notably, the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than from 1080p to 1440p across all settings. This suggests that the GPU hits a hard wall near 4K, where the 128-bit memory interface and 32 ROPs cannot sustain the pixel throughput. The i5-9400's 6-core/6-thread configuration with a 4.10 GHz boost clock is never the bottleneck in these tests, as even the lowest GPU-bound frame rates (25.9 FPS at 4K Ultra) do not indicate CPU stalls.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance. Low settings produce 108.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target and represents the only triple-digit result in the entire dataset. Medium settings achieve 81.5 FPS, High settings reach 62.5 FPS, and Ultra settings dip to 60.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 47.8 FPS, a 44.1% reduction. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra is minimal (1.9 FPS), suggesting diminishing returns beyond High.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. Low settings yield 76 FPS, still comfortably playable. Medium settings produce 55.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but within a usable range. High settings deliver 46.3 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 40.5 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 46.7% reduction in frame rate, slightly steeper than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings manage 46.7 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. Medium settings drop to 33.2 FPS, High settings to 27.5 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 25.9 FPS. None of the 4K presets achieve 60 FPS, and only Low clears the 30 FPS "playable" bar. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 20.8 FPS, a 44.5% reduction, consistent with the other resolutions.

Looking across all 12 data points, the combo shows a consistent pattern: Low settings at 1080p is the only configuration that exceeds 100 FPS, while Ultra at 4K is the only one below 30 FPS. The median average FPS across all rows is approximately 51 FPS, indicating that this hardware is best suited for 1080p or medium-quality 1440p gaming in Thief.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and frame rate preference. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 60.6 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS standard. Given that High produces 62.5 FPS (1.9 FPS higher) and Medium achieves 81.5 FPS, the data suggests that Ultra offers no tangible benefit over High at this resolution—the 1.9 FPS difference is within measurement noise. For a 60 FPS target, High is the most efficient choice, yielding 62.5 FPS with less GPU load than Ultra.

At 2560x1440, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low settings provide 76 FPS, which is the only preset that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings at 55.6 FPS are close but miss the mark. For players who prioritize smoothness, Low is the only viable option at 1440p. Those who prefer visual quality over frame rate could consider Medium at 55.6 FPS, which is within 8% of the 60 FPS target and likely acceptable for a stealth game where precise timing is less critical than in action titles. High and Ultra (46.3 FPS and 40.5 FPS) are below 50 FPS and offer diminishing visual returns.

At 3840x2160, the data is unambiguous: only Low settings (46.7 FPS) are playable. Medium drops to 33.2 FPS, which is borderline, while High (27.5 FPS) and Ultra (25.9 FPS) are too low for comfortable gameplay. The recommendation for 4K is to use Low settings, accepting the visual compromise for a playable frame rate. Alternatively, players should consider reducing the resolution to 1440p with Medium settings, which yields 55.6 FPS—a better balance than 4K Low.

Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is 1920x1080 with High settings, delivering 62.5 FPS. This combination provides a 60+ FPS frame rate with high-quality visuals. The Ultra preset at 1080p is a marginal downgrade in FPS (60.6) with no measurable benefit. For 1440p displays, the Low preset at 76 FPS is the only way to maintain 60+ FPS, but Medium at 55.6 FPS offers a reasonable compromise. The combo's rank of 1501 out of 1642 indicates that while it can handle Thief, it is not a high-end setup for this title—players should manage expectations accordingly.