Thief

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a playable experience in Thief, but only at specific settings. The measured data shows this combo ranks 1458 out of 1642 tested configurations, placing it in the lower-middle tier for this title. At 1080p, the combo achieves 119.8 FPS on Low settings, but that drops to 64.7 FPS on Ultra, indicating a significant performance ceiling. The system is clearly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, with 4K Ultra producing just 24.4 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Thief?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets remain above 60 FPS, with Low at 119.8 FPS and Ultra at 64.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 43.6 FPS, while 3840x2160 Ultra falls to 24.4 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35684, which is 0.3% below the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 and 0.7% below the Intel Core i5-14500HX. It sits 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700T and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13800H.

Q: Is the GPU a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: Benchmark results indicate yes. The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average score of 14286, placing it at the 55th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, scores 14389, which is 0.7% higher, confirming the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What settings preset gives the best balance of quality and performance?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 91.9 FPS, which is 27.2 FPS higher than High and 27.2 FPS lower than Low. This represents the best compromise between visual fidelity and frame rate, as Ultra only delivers 64.7 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 1458 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 11.2% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GTX 1660 SUPER's age and performance class relative to modern GPUs.

Q: Does the CPU's high core count help in this game?

A: The i7-12700K has 12 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. However, Thief is a 2014 title, and the measured FPS scales more with resolution changes than CPU settings, indicating the game is not heavily multi-threaded.

Settings Recommendations

The data shows a clear hierarchy across all resolutions: Low delivers the highest FPS, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the most demanding. At 1080p, Low produces 119.8 FPS, Medium produces 91.9 FPS, High produces 71.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 64.7 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 23.3 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 7.0 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

For the best experience, the Medium preset at 1080p is the optimal choice. It delivers 91.9 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS, while providing a meaningful visual upgrade over Low. The High preset at 1080p still maintains 71.7 FPS, which is acceptable for most players, but Ultra's 64.7 FPS is close to the 60 FPS threshold and offers marginal visual gains over High.

At 1440p, the Medium preset drops to 62.3 FPS, which is still playable, but High falls to 50.6 FPS. For 4K gaming, only Low is viable at 50.6 FPS, as Medium drops to 37.7 FPS and Ultra falls to 24.4 FPS. Given the GPU's 55th percentile ranking, players should prioritize 1080p Medium or High for the best balance of frame rate and image quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29241 and a Geekbench multicore score of 13892. The single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4128.

In Thief, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS scales consistently with resolution changes, with the 1080p Low setting producing 119.8 FPS versus 50.6 FPS at 4K Low. This 58.4% drop in FPS from 1080p to 4K is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios, where the CPU has ample headroom. The i7-12700K's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it is unlikely to bottleneck this game, even at lower resolutions.

The processor's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide sufficient bandwidth for this 2014 title. With a Passmark multithread score of 34404 and a single-thread score of 4013, the CPU is well-equipped to handle the game's physics and AI workloads, but the data does not show any CPU-specific bottlenecks in the measured FPS results.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1458 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 11.2% of all configurations. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU, which sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU sits at the 89th percentile among all CPUs.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 35684 places it within 0.8% of its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-13800H and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845. However, the GPU's average score of 14286 is slightly below its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, which scores 14389. This 0.7% deficit, combined with the GPU's lower percentile ranking, explains why the combo ranks so low despite having a top-tier CPU.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 64.7 FPS, which would be considered playable, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 24.4 FPS, which is not. This performance profile is consistent with a system where the GPU is the primary constraint, and the CPU's power is underutilized in this specific title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 1785 MHz, and it features 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The GPU's pixel rate is 85.68 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 157.1 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS.

In Thief, the GPU is the dominant performance factor. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU can achieve 119.8 FPS on Low, but this drops to 64.7 FPS on Ultra, a 45.9% reduction. At 4K, the GPU struggles significantly, with Low producing 50.6 FPS and Ultra producing 24.4 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are adequate for 1080p but insufficient for 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores support this analysis. Its Passmark G3D score is 12699, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1278. The GPU's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs means it performs below the median, which is consistent with the measured FPS results. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed and 1530 MHz base clock are modest by modern standards, but they are sufficient for a 2014 game at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers strong performance across all settings. Low produces 119.8 FPS, Medium produces 91.9 FPS, High produces 71.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 64.7 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 27.9 FPS drop, the step from Medium to High is a 20.2 FPS drop, and the step from High to Ultra is a 7.0 FPS drop.

At 2560x1440, performance decreases noticeably. Low produces 79.4 FPS, Medium produces 62.3 FPS, High produces 50.6 FPS, and Ultra produces 43.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 17.1 FPS, between Medium and High is 11.7 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 7.0 FPS. All settings except Low fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low produces 50.6 FPS, Medium produces 37.7 FPS, High produces 30.2 FPS, and Ultra produces 24.4 FPS. None of the settings achieve 60 FPS, and only Low exceeds 30 FPS, which is the minimum for acceptable gameplay in a stealth title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this configuration. For Low settings, the FPS drops from 119.8 at 1080p to 79.4 at 1440p to 50.6 at 4K. This represents a 33.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 36.2% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU that is increasingly overwhelmed by pixel count.

For Ultra settings, the drop is even more dramatic. The FPS falls from 64.7 at 1080p to 43.6 at 1440p to 24.4 at 4K. This is a 32.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 44.0% drop from 1440p to 4K. The steeper decline at higher settings indicates that the GPU's compute resources and memory bandwidth are being exhausted.

The resolution scaling analysis points to a clear conclusion: the GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting component. The CPU's high single-thread score of 4128 in Cinebench R23 and 1043 in 3DMark single-thread suggest it can handle the game's logic, but the GPU's 55th percentile ranking and 6 GB VRAM cap its ability to render at higher resolutions. The data shows that 1080p is the target resolution for this combo, with 1440p requiring medium or lower settings for acceptable performance.