Thief

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core i7-12700K with the Intel Arc B570 in Thief?

A: This combination ranks 2296 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the lower-mid portion of the database. The rank reflects the measured performance of this specific CPU-GPU pairing across all tested resolutions and settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534 (0.1% higher). The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 0.1% above the B570. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M trails at 20480 (0.4% lower), while the AMD Radeon R9 M390X sits at 20662 (0.5% higher).

Q: What is the best average FPS achieved by this combo in Thief, and at what settings?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 133, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium delivers 101 FPS, High delivers 77 FPS, and Ultra delivers 73 FPS.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-12700K outperform or underperform its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35287. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305, which is 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428 (0.4% higher). The i7-12700K sits slightly below all four of its closest rivals.

Q: What is the measured FPS range at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average FPS of 69, with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 79. This is the only resolution/settings combination in the measured data that includes both minimum and maximum FPS values.

Q: How much VRAM does the Intel Arc B570 have, and what is its memory bandwidth?

A: The Intel Arc B570 features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2375 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, specifically the Battlemage generation (Arc 5 tier). The chip, designated BMG-G21, is fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC and contains 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 72.1M per mm². The GPU operates at a fixed base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, with no separate game clock listed. Memory runs at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), feeding 10 GB of GDDR6 across a 160-bit bus for 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The shader configuration includes 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation pipelines. Ray tracing is supported via 18 RT cores. The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s. Compute throughput reaches 11.52 TFLOPS for FP32 and 23.04 TFLOPS for FP16 (2:1 ratio). The card draws up to 150 W TDP, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and fits a dual-slot form factor with a length of 272 mm (10.7 inches) and height of 115 mm (4.5 inches). A 450 W power supply is suggested.

In Thief, the GPU's role is pivotal at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the measured average FPS drops to 31 on High settings and 29 on Ultra, indicating that the B570's compute and memory resources are strained when rendering the game's stealth environments at 4K. The 10 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's textures, but the 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 throughput appear to be the limiting factors at 4K, where the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates above 30 FPS on the highest presets. The Arc B570's benchmark percentile of 65 among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier, which aligns with the observed 4K performance.

Interestingly, the GPU's raw benchmark scores show strong DirectX 9 performance (164 in PassMark) and DirectX 11 (118), but lower DirectX 12 (72) and DirectX 10 (65) scores. Thief, being a 2014 title, likely relies on older DirectX API paths, which could favor the B570's DirectX 9 and 11 capabilities. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 is less relevant for this game, as the title predates widespread DX12 adoption. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 83514 and Vulkan score of 96844 suggest compute headroom, but the game's engine appears to be more sensitive to raw rasterization throughput, as seen in the significant FPS drops when moving from Low to Ultra settings.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12th Gen Alder Lake-S desktop processor with 12 cores and 20 threads. It runs at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boosts up to 5.00 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 25 MB shared L3. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, with PCIe Gen 4 (20 lanes from the CPU). The integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but not relevant for this dedicated GPU configuration. The TDP is 125 W, and the processor uses Intel Socket 1700. The process node is Intel's 10 nm, with a die size of 215 mm². The CPU was released in November 2021 and carries a launch MSRP of $409.

Benchmark results for the i7-12700K show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 19784, while single-core reaches 1850.5. Geekbench multi-core hits 15790 and single-core 2308. PassMark multi-thread scores 34404, with single-thread at 4013. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 2065 (2 threads) to 9979 (max threads). The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 84, indicating it outperforms the majority of tested processors.

In Thief, the CPU's role is less dominant than the GPU at high resolutions, but it becomes more relevant at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 133 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower graphical loads. The high single-thread score (1850.5 in Cinebench R23) is beneficial for a 2014 stealth title that likely relies on fewer threads for game logic and AI. However, the multi-thread capability (19784 in Cinebench R23) ensures that background tasks and any CPU-bound sections of the game do not bottleneck.

The i7-12700K's nearest CPU rivals are all within 0.4% of its average score, indicating that this processor is well-matched with its peers in synthetic benchmarks. For Thief, the 12 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient; the game's age means it likely uses only a fraction of these resources. The 5.00 GHz boost clock provides the single-thread speed needed for the game's simulation logic, while the 25 MB L3 cache helps with data locality in larger game maps. The DDR4/DDR5 memory support is flexible, but the measured FPS data suggests the CPU is not the primary limiter in this configuration, particularly at 4K where GPU load dominates.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS: Low settings produce 133 FPS, Medium produces 101 FPS (with a minimum of 86 and maximum of 116), High produces 77 FPS, and Ultra produces 73 FPS. These numbers show a clear progression: dropping from Low to Medium costs 32 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra only costs 4 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the top end.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are: Low at 91, Medium at 69 (minimum 59, maximum 79), High at 53, and Ultra at 50. The delta between Low and Medium is 22 FPS, while High to Ultra is only 3 FPS. Compared to 1080p, the 1440p results show a 32% reduction on Low (from 133 to 91), 32% on Medium (101 to 69), 31% on High (77 to 53), and 32% on Ultra (73 to 50). The consistency of this drop suggests uniform scaling with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS figures are: Low at 54, Medium at 41 (minimum 35, maximum 47), High at 31, and Ultra at 29. The gap between Low and Medium is 13 FPS, while High to Ultra is only 2 FPS. Compared to 1440p, the 4K results show a 41% reduction on Low (91 to 54), 41% on Medium (69 to 41), 42% on High (53 to 31), and 42% on Ultra (50 to 29). This steeper drop at 4K relative to 1440p highlights the GPU becoming the bottleneck.

The data reveals that the largest FPS gains come from reducing settings from High to Low, which yields 56 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. The smallest gains come from dropping from Ultra to High, which yields only 4 FPS at 1080p, 3 FPS at 1440p, and 2 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset appears to offer marginal visual benefits over High while costing very little performance, whereas the Medium preset strikes a balance between FPS and fidelity.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS behavior across resolutions shows a consistent pattern: from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by roughly 31-32% across all settings. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is steeper at 41-42%. This nonlinear scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at 4K, while the CPU retains more headroom at lower resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the combo hits 133 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p Low, it drops to 91 FPS, still smooth. At 4K Low, it falls to 54 FPS, which is borderline for 60 Hz displays. The Medium preset shows 101 FPS at 1080p, 69 at 1440p, and 41 at 4K. The 4K Medium result of 41 FPS (with a minimum of 35) indicates that the GPU is struggling to maintain smooth gameplay at this resolution, even on moderate settings.

The High preset yields 77 FPS at 1080p, 53 at 1440p, and 31 at 4K. The 4K High result of 31 FPS is below the 30 FPS console-like threshold, making it barely playable in the traditional sense. Ultra settings produce 73 FPS at 1080p, 50 at 1440p, and 29 at 4K, with the 4K Ultra result being the lowest measured anywhere.

The scaling analysis suggests that the CPU (i7-12700K with 12 cores, 5.00 GHz boost) is not the bottleneck at any resolution, as the FPS drops proportionally with pixel count. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect smaller FPS differences between 1440p and 4K due to GPU saturation. Instead, the 41-42% drop from 1440p to 4K indicates that the Arc B570's rendering throughput is the limiting factor at high resolutions. Conversely, at 1080p, the 133 FPS Low result suggests the CPU can push well beyond what the GPU can render at higher settings, making the GPU the consistent bottleneck across all measured configurations.

# Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the best balance, delivering 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS. This provides smooth gameplay with headroom for dips. The High preset at 77 FPS is also viable, but the 24 FPS difference between Medium and High is substantial. Ultra at 73 FPS is only 4 FPS below High, so if visual fidelity is paramount, Ultra costs nearly nothing over High. Low at 133 FPS is unnecessary for most displays, though it could benefit high refresh rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 69 FPS (minimum 59), which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the recommended setting for 1440p, as High drops to 53 FPS and Ultra to 50 FPS, both below 60. Low at 91 FPS provides a significant buffer but at noticeably reduced visual quality. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for 1440p, offering a playable experience without sacrificing too much detail.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces 54 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 30 FPS. Medium drops to 41 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. High at 31 FPS and Ultra at 29 FPS are borderline, with Ultra falling below 30 FPS. For 4K, the Low preset is recommended for playable frame rates, while Medium is acceptable for those who prioritize visuals over smoothness. High and Ultra should be avoided at 4K due to sub-30 FPS averages.

Overall, the Medium preset provides the best experience across all resolutions when considering the balance between frame rate and visual fidelity. At 1080p, it delivers 101 FPS; at 1440p, 69 FPS; and at 4K, 41 FPS. The Low preset is the fallback for 4K, while Ultra offers minimal gains over High and should only be used at 1080p, where the 73 FPS average is still playable.

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2296 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 20th percentile of all combinations (roughly). This low ranking is notable given the individual components' benchmark scores: the CPU ranks in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The combination of a high-tier CPU with a mid-tier GPU results in a combo that underperforms relative to what the CPU alone might suggest.

The ranking reflects Thief's specific performance characteristics, which appear to be heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The CPU's strong multi-threaded and single-threaded scores (Cinebench R23: 19784 multi, 1850.5 single) are not fully utilized in this game, as evidenced by the FPS scaling patterns. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking (average score 20556) is more indicative of the combo's overall performance, as the B570's rendering capabilities limit frame rates.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits in the lower-mid range, with 555 combinations performing worse. The 2851 total combos likely include many with more balanced GPU-CPU pairings, where a less powerful CPU is paired with a more powerful GPU, yielding better Thief performance. The i7-12700K's nearest CPU rivals (all within 0.4% of its score) would likely produce similar combo rankings when paired with the same GPU, as the CPU is not the limiting factor.

The Arc B570's nearest GPU rivals show that it is closely matched with the RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% higher score) and Arc A750 (0.1% lower). However, in Thief, the B570's 4K performance (29-54 FPS depending on settings) suggests that the GPU's bandwidth and compute resources are insufficient for high-resolution gaming in this title. The combo's 2296 rank reflects this limitation, as many other GPUs in the database likely achieve higher FPS at 4K, pulling their combos ahead. For 1080p gaming, the combo performs adequately (73-133 FPS), but the overall ranking is dragged down by the 4K results, which are common benchmarks in the database.