Thief

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, operating with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This CPU holds a 50th percentile ranking among all tested processors, placing it firmly in the middle of the pack. The benchmark data indicates that the i5-9400 is a competent but not exceptional performer for this title, with its six physical cores being fully utilized by the game's workload. The lack of hyper-threading means the processor handles six threads simultaneously, which the measured results show is sufficient for maintaining playable frame rates. In terms of raw compute, the processor achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125, indicating a balanced capability that translates well to gaming scenarios. The 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for the CPU's role in Thief, ensuring that the processor does not become a significant bottleneck at lower resolutions.

The relationship between the CPU and the game's performance is most evident when examining the frame rate deltas across different settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination produces 116.5 FPS, while at 4K with Ultra settings, it drops to 68.9 FPS. This scaling pattern suggests that the i5-9400 is capable of feeding frames to the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions, but as the resolution increases, the workload shifts more heavily onto the graphics card. The processor's performance relative to its nearest rivals is remarkably tight, with the Core i3-10305 scoring 0.2% higher, the Core i3-1125G4 also 0.2% higher, and the Xeon E-2134 0.4% higher, while the Core i7-8809G is 0.6% lower. This indicates that the i5-9400 is squarely within the expected performance envelope for its class, and any differences in Thief's frame rates are more likely attributable to the GPU than to CPU variance.

Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured frame rate data across the four available presets reveals a clear hierarchy in performance. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 116.5 FPS, followed by Medium at 108.5 FPS, High at 98.9 FPS, and Ultra at 96.4 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra is approximately 20 FPS, which represents a 17% reduction in frame rate for the highest visual quality. Moving to 1440p, the same pattern holds with Low at 107 FPS, Medium at 95.7 FPS, High at 83.4 FPS, and Ultra at 87.4 FPS. Interestingly, at 1440p the High preset actually performs slightly worse than Ultra, which suggests that the High preset may have specific settings that are more demanding than those in the Ultra configuration. At 4K, the frame rates compress significantly, with Low at 85.8 FPS, Medium at 77 FPS, High at 74.7 FPS, and Ultra at 68.9 FPS.

The data suggests that for the best balance of visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, the High preset at 1080p provides a strong experience, maintaining an average of 98.9 FPS while offering substantial visual improvements over the Low preset. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 96.4 FPS, which is only 2.5 FPS lower than High, making it the superior choice for players seeking maximum visual quality without sacrificing much performance. At 1440p, the Medium preset at 95.7 FPS offers a compelling middle ground, though the Ultra preset at 87.4 FPS remains highly playable. For 4K gaming, the Low preset at 85.8 FPS is the only option that approaches a 60 FPS experience with significant headroom, while the Ultra preset at 68.9 FPS still maintains a playable frame rate. Given that the game is from 2014, the visual differences between presets may not be as pronounced as in modern titles, making the performance gains from lower presets particularly attractive.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a consistent pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 98.9 FPS at 1080p to 83.4 FPS at 1440p, and further to 74.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24.5% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is becoming increasingly stressed at higher resolutions. The Low preset shows a similar trend, with frame rates declining from 116.5 FPS at 1080p to 107 FPS at 1440p and 85.8 FPS at 4K, a total drop of 26.3%. The Medium preset follows the same trajectory, moving from 108.5 FPS at 1080p to 95.7 FPS at 1440p and 77 FPS at 4K, a 29% decrease. The Ultra preset exhibits the largest relative drop, from 96.4 FPS at 1080p to 87.4 FPS at 1440p and 68.9 FPS at 4K, representing a 28.5% reduction.

The scaling behavior suggests that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops align closely with the increased pixel count. At 1080p, the CPU has more headroom to push frames, but as the resolution increases, the GPU's rendering workload grows, narrowing the gap between presets. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 20.1 FPS, while at 4K it narrows to 16.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU's performance ceiling is being approached at the higher resolution. The RTX 5080, with its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, has ample memory bandwidth for this game, but the raw compute requirements of 4K rendering still impose a significant performance penalty. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this configuration, as the frame rate scaling follows the expected pattern of GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 882 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations. This ranking is notable because the GPU is a high-end component, with a percentile rank of 89 among all GPUs, while the CPU sits at the 50th percentile. The disparity between the two components' percentiles suggests that the CPU is holding back the overall performance of the combo, as the GPU is capable of far higher frame rates than the CPU can consistently feed. The combo's rank of 882 out of 1642 means that approximately 54% of tested configurations perform better, which is a lower position than the GPU's percentile alone would suggest.

The benchmark results for the GPU are substantial, with an average benchmark score of 59188 and a Passmark G3D score of 36565, indicating a very powerful graphics card. The CPU, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 2305, which is significantly lower than the GPU's score. This imbalance is reflected in the game's performance, where the frame rates are respectable but not exceptional, given the GPU's capabilities. The combo's rank would likely be higher if the CPU were a more powerful model, as the RTX 5080 has the potential to deliver much higher frame rates in less CPU-bound scenarios. The data suggests that for players using this specific combination, the CPU is the limiting factor, and upgrading the processor would yield better performance in Thief.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a high-end graphics card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, featuring 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz, and its GDDR7 memory runs at an effective speed of 30 Gbps across a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. The card's 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Thief, even at 4K resolution with Ultra settings, as the game's memory requirements are modest by modern standards. The GPU's raw compute capability is substantial, with FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s, which are more than adequate for this 2014 title.

The GPU's role in the measured results is significant, as it is the component that scales the frame rates across different resolutions and settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the RTX 5080 delivers 116.5 FPS, while at 4K with Ultra settings, it produces 68.9 FPS. The performance drop of 40.8% from the lowest to highest workload indicates that the GPU is being pushed to its limits at 4K, though the frame rates remain playable. The GPU's high memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and memory access are not bottlenecks, even at high resolutions. The card's percentile ranking of 89 among all GPUs places it in the top tier, and its nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Arc A570M at 1.6% higher and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X at 2.6% lower, showing that the RTX 5080 is competitive with other high-end options. The GPU's boost clock of 2617 MHz is a key factor in its ability to maintain high frame rates, as it allows for sustained performance during demanding scenes. Overall, the RTX 5080 is a dominant component in this combination, and its performance in Thief is only constrained by the CPU's ability to keep up with its output.