Thief

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 was measured in Thief (released 2014-02-24) across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data set includes average frame rates for every cell, plus min/max FPS for the Medium preset at all resolutions. The i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread desktop CPU with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost of 5.00 GHz; the RX 6600 packs 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 128-bit bus with a boost clock of 2491 MHz. Because the data is measured, not estimated, these numbers reflect actual in-game behavior for this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling

The most direct question is how much frame rate suffers as resolution climbs. Across all four presets, the average FPS falls by roughly one‑third to one‑half when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and then by another half or more when stepping to 4K UHD (3840×2160). Taking the Medium preset as a concrete example: at 1920×1080 the average is 108 FPS, at 2560×1440 it drops to 74 FPS (−31% relative to 1080p), and at 3840×2160 it collapses to 44 FPS (−49% relative to 1440p). The High preset follows a similar pattern: 82 → 56 → 33. Low settings show the biggest absolute headroom: 142 FPS at 1080p, 98 at 1440p, and 57 at 4K. Even the Ultra preset, which yields 78 FPS at 1080p, falls to 54 and then 32 at 1440p and 4K respectively.

This steep drop indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck when resolution increases. The CPU, with its strong multi‑core performance (Cinebench R23 multi‑core score of 28,838, single‑core 4,071), can easily feed the system at 1080p, but the RX 6600's limited memory bandwidth and 8 GB frame buffer become the determining factor at 4K. Notice that at 1080p Low, the average frame rate of 142 FPS suggests the CPU is not pinned; the game is rendering more frames than the GPU can shade. At 4K Low, the same run yields only 57 FPS, meaning the GPU is constraining. The scaling between resolutions is nearly linear in the amount of pixels – from 1080p to 4K there is roughly four times the pixel count, and the drop in FPS (e.g., Low 142 to 57) proportionally close to that ratio (~2.5x drop, not 4x, which would be 35.5 FPS). So the drop is not purely pixel‑count driven, but it is substantial. The measured numbers show that the RX 6600 cannot keep up with the CPU’s output beyond 1440p; at 1440p Medium (74 FPS) and 4K Low (57 FPS) the system is still playable, but at 4K High (33 FPS) or Ultra (32 FPS) it becomes a slideshow.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU+GPU combination ranks 2892nd out of 3720 tested combos within Thief. That means only 828 tested configurations perform worse, while 2891 perform better. In percentage terms, this combo sits in the bottom 22.4% of the tested pool (or, equivalently, it outperforms 77.6% of better‑performing sets? Careful: better performance means lower rank; so 2892th is worse than 2891 others, better than 828. So it's at the 2892/3720 = 77.7% percentile as a lower rank, so it's below average. Within the full database, the CPU itself stands at the 85th percentile among all CPUs (its average benchmark score 35,365), while the GPU sits at the 63rd percentile among all GPUs (average score 19,036). The combination’s ranking reflects a skilled CPU but a mid‑range GPU. In terms of sibling combinations, the i7‑12700KF's nearest rivals (by average CPU score) include the i7‑13700T (35403, nearly identical), i5‑13600T, and i7‑12700K. None of these rival CPUs are paired with the RX 6600 in this data set, so no direct positional swap is possible. The low combo rank suggests that the GPU is the bottleneck in Thief – the CPU could drive a much faster GPU, but the RX 6600 holds the system back. For comparison, if the CPU were paired with a GPU that fits its tier, the combo rank would certainly be better. But given this hardware match, the in‑game experience is largely dictated by the GPU’s limits.

CPU Role

The i7‑12700KF uses Intel’s Alder Lake‑S architecture on the 10 nm node, with 12 cores and 20 threads (the die has 8 performance and 4 efficiency cores). Its base clock is 3.60 GHz overclocked to 5.00 GHz, and the measured multi‑threaded (Cinebench R23) score of 28,838 points puts it above 85% of all CPUs. Single‑thread performance is 4,071 points. In specific workloads within Thief, the game does not require extreme CPU power – this title’s code is from 2015, and its engine does not heavily multi‑thread, judging by the fact that at 1080p Low the i7 delivers 142 FPS while the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were inadequate, we would see frame drops when lowering resolution to 1080p or to Low presets that minimize GPU load; instead, FPS increases from 78 (1080p Ultra) to 142 (1080p Low), clearly showing the GPU is the constraining part even at 1080p. CPU utilization is not provided, but the data implies the i7‑12700KF is never saturated. Its large 25 MB shared L3 cache, dual‑channel memory support (DDR4/DDR5), and PCIe Gen 4 lanes do not appear to be exercised since the GPU is weaker. The CPU’s own benchmarks (e.g., Passmark multi‑thread 34,092, single‑thread 3,984) confirm it is a top‑tier desktop part in 2021, but in Thief the per‑resolution average drops exactly track the GPU’s performance envelope.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920×1080 with Medium settings?

A: 108 FPS, with a minimum of 92 and a maximum of 124.

Q: How much frame rate does the combo produce at 4K with High preset?

A: The average is 33 FPS, which is not enough for smooth 60 Hz playback.

Q: The RX 6600 has how much VRAM and what memory bus?

A: 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128‑bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the CPU’s boost clock and TDP?

A: The boost clock is 5.00 GHz and the TDP is 125 W.

Q: In terms of µm performance, how far does the i7‑12700KF fall behind its closest rival?

A: Its closest rival is the Intel Core i7‑13700T, with the i7‑12700KF being 0.1% faster (average score 35,365 vs 35,403).

Q: At what resolution and preset does the measured minimum FPS drop to 32?

A: 4K Ultra (3840×2160, Ultra) average is 32 FPS, and 4K High average is 33 FPS – both that low.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the 7 nm process (Navi 23) with RDNA 2.0 architecture. It has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, and 28 RT cores. Its boost clock of 2491 MHz, game clock of 2044 MHz, and base clock of 1626 MHz define its raw compute: FP32 performance 8.928 TFLOPS. The 128‑bit memory interface delivers 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth from the 8 GB GDDR6. In Thief, these specs produce the measured frame rates we have. The GPU’s own percentile (63rd among all GPUs) aligns with this mid‑range pedigree. Its closest rivals by average score are the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (0% difference) and the NVIDIA RTX 4050 Mobile (‑0.1%), showing that the RX 6600 sits at a performance level similar to older higher‑end workstation GPUs or a modern mobile RTX chip. But in practice, 8 GB is the limit for 4K High settings: the measured 33 FPS average at 4K High and 32 at 4K Ultra confirm that the GPU cannot sustain 60 FPS at any 4K preset. Even at 1440p Ultra, it manages only 54 FPS. The strongest headroom appears at 1080p Medium, where 108 FPS keeps the system smooth, and 1080p Low can push to 142. The 64 ROPs and 128‑bit bus cause a memory bottleneck at high pixel counts; the lack of extra memory bandwidth (compared to higher‑end cards) is directly observed in the steep 4K performance.

Settings Recommendations

If the goal is a smooth, high‑refreshen gameplay (≥100 FPS), the 1080p Medium preset is the best–preset‑tested‑configuration per the measured rows: it yields 42% more average FPS than High (108 vs 82) and 29% more than Ultra (108 vs 82). Lowering to Low increases the average from 108 to 142, but that preset is visually inferior. For 1440p, the Medium preset (74 FPS) is the for a balanced experience; High gives 56 and Ultra 54, both playable but noticeably less smooth. At 4K, none of the measured combos achieve 60 FPS; the best is Low (57 FPS). While 57 is close, anything above 50 is arguably still watchable for a stealth. For a locked 60 FPS at 4K, the data shows you would need to turn down further than the test’s preset or accept 30‑ish rates. Based on the measured rows, the recommended setups are: 1080p – Medium or High (108 or 82 FPS); 1440p – Medium (74); 4K – Low (57) with the understanding that settings only the Low preset crosses 50. If raw FPS is the priority, 1080p Low delivers 142. The Medium setting also provides min/max bounds: at 1080p Medium you have a minimum of 92 and maximum of 124, giving a consistent range, while at 1440p Medium the min is 63 and max 85. These numbers suggest no large stuttering spikes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following are all measured average FPS, and for Medium presets also the minimum and maximum FPS from the dataset.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS (Medium only) | Max FPS (Medium only) |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| 3840×2160 | High | 33 | – | – |

| 3840×2160 | Low | 57 | – | – |

| 3840×2160 | Medium | 44 | 37 | 50 |

| 3840×2160 | Ultra | 32 | – | – |

| 2560×1440 | High | 56 | – | – |

| 2560×1440 | Low | 98 | – | – |

| 2560×1440 | Medium | 74 | 63 | 85 |

| 2560×1440 | Ultra | 54 | – | – |

| 1920×1080 | High | 82 | – | – |

| 1920×1080 | Low | 142 | – | – |

| 1920×1080 | Medium | 108 | 92 | 124 |

| 1920×1080 | Ultra | 78 | – | – |

The pattern is monotonic: for each resolution, Low > Medium > High > Ultra in average FPS, confirming that the GPU is fully utilized. The sharpest drop between settings is between Low and Medium: from 142 to 108 at 1080p ( 25.8% drop), then to 82 High, 78 Ultra. At 4K, the difference between High and Medium is only 33 vs 44 (11 FPS), indicating that the GPU is quickly saturating. The 4K Medium is the only 4K preset with a minimum line (37 FPS) other than Lo (no min recorded). The minimum values for Medium are 92, 63, and 37 for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively, showing that the lowest frame dip roughly scales with resolution. This data provide a complete picture: the i7‑12700KF may be an top percent CPU, but the RX 6600 in Thief delivers concrete functional results which are best described as a 1080p/1440p setup and clearly not a 4K‑oriented configuration.