Thief

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a strong performance profile in Thief, with measured results indicating that the system is capable of high and consistent frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. The data shows that the most balanced experience, offering both high visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, is achieved at the High preset. At 1920x1080, High produces an average of 160.4 FPS, while at 2560x1440 it maintains 113.8 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it still holds above 60 FPS at 67.5 FPS. This makes High the only preset that remains comfortably playable at 4K, as the Ultra preset drops to 60.9 FPS at that resolution, which is borderline for smooth motion. The Medium preset offers a substantial FPS boost over High at 2560x1440 (146.2 vs 113.8) and 3840x2160 (86.1 vs 67.5), but the visual compromise may not be worth it given that High already exceeds 60 FPS at 4K. Low settings provide the highest frame rates—194.7 FPS at 1080p and 111.7 FPS at 4K—but are only recommended for competitive play or extremely high refresh rate displays, as the graphical downgrade is significant.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the High preset is the optimal choice for this configuration, as it is the highest quality setting that maintains an average FPS above 60 at 3840x2160. At 67.5 FPS, the 4K High experience is fluid, and the performance headroom is sufficient for most displays. The Ultra preset, while offering the maximum visual quality, produces 60.9 FPS at 4K, which is only marginally above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves no room for frame time spikes. At lower resolutions, the choice becomes less critical; at 1920x1080, the difference between High (160.4 FPS) and Ultra (158.8 FPS) is negligible, suggesting that the GPU is not the primary constraint at that resolution. For users with 1440p monitors, the High preset at 113.8 FPS is the sweet spot, as it provides a 6.6 FPS advantage over Ultra (107.2 FPS) while delivering nearly identical visual quality. The Medium preset at 1440p (146.2 FPS) is only advisable if the user prioritizes frame rate above all else, but the data shows that the CPU-GPU combination is strong enough that High is the better balance. Low settings are not recommended for this hardware, as the frame rate gains—such as 194.7 FPS vs 160.4 FPS at 1080p—do not justify the severe reduction in visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091, indicating strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance that is well-suited for gaming workloads. In the context of Thief, a 2014 title with a stealth genre focus, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game logic updates. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the FPS difference between Low (194.7) and High (160.4) is 34.3 FPS, which is a 21% drop, indicating that the game is still partially GPU-limited even at 1080p. The CPU's 3DMark scores—9983 in max threads and 1043 in single-thread—place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, and it is closely matched with rivals like the Intel Core i5-14400 (deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Core i9-12900HX (deltaPct 0.2), with the i7-13800H slightly ahead at -0.2 deltaPct. This positioning suggests that the i7-12700KF has ample processing power for Thief's demands, and its 25 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain low-latency access to frequently used data. The processor's support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory, with a dual-channel memory bus, provides flexibility, though the measured results do not isolate memory speed as a factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. Its boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1980 MHz, combined with 7168 shading units, produce a pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s. The GPU's raw compute capability is 35.48 TFLOPS for FP32, which places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. In Thief, the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: at 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 111.7 (Low) to 60.9 (Ultra), a drop of 50.8 FPS, or 45%, when moving from Low to Ultra. This significant performance penalty at 4K highlights the GPU's workload in pixel shading and memory bandwidth. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for Thief, as the game's 2014 release date predates the high VRAM demands of modern titles, and the measured FPS at Ultra settings does not indicate any memory-related stuttering or frame drops. The RTX 4070 SUPER's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (deltaPct -0.2) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (deltaPct -0.3), showing that it sits in a competitive performance tier. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 29995 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627 further corroborate its strong standing, and the data suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, as evidenced by the 67.5 FPS at High settings versus 111.7 FPS at Low.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting to play at 2560x1440 with this hardware?

A: The High preset is the best choice at 2560x1440, delivering an average of 113.8 FPS. This is 6.6 FPS higher than Ultra (107.2 FPS) and 32.4 FPS lower than Medium (146.2 FPS), but it offers the best balance between visual quality and performance.

Q: Does this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K on the highest settings?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 60.9 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the High preset at 67.5 FPS offers more headroom and is recommended for a consistently smooth 4K experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35355. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, scores 35336 with a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning the i7-12700KF is slightly ahead. The Intel Core i7-13800H scores 35416 with a deltaPct of -0.2, indicating it outperforms the i7-12700KF by a small margin.

Q: Is the GPU the limiting factor at 1920x1080?

A: The data suggests the GPU is not the primary limiter at 1080p, as the FPS difference between Low (194.7) and Ultra (158.8) is only 35.9 FPS, or 22%. This indicates that the CPU is also contributing to the frame rate ceiling at this resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and High settings at 3840x2160?

A: At 4K, Low settings produce 111.7 FPS, while High settings produce 67.5 FPS. This is a difference of 44.2 FPS, or a 39.6% reduction in performance when moving from Low to High, which is a substantial cost for increased visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER's benchmark score compare to the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 42576, while the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE scores 42723 with a deltaPct of -0.3. This indicates the RX 7650 GRE is 0.3% faster in aggregate benchmarks, a negligible difference.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across the three tested resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling, with the most substantial FPS drops occurring at 4K. At the High preset, the average FPS decreases from 160.4 at 1920x1080 to 113.8 at 2560x1440, a drop of 46.6 FPS (29%), and then to 67.5 at 3840x2160, another drop of 46.3 FPS (41%). This consistent ~29% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and ~41% reduction from 1440p to 4K indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary limiting component, as its pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are taxed more heavily at higher resolutions. The scaling is even more pronounced at the Low preset: 194.7 FPS at 1080p drops to 171.8 FPS at 1440p (an 11.8% reduction) and then to 111.7 FPS at 4K (a 35% reduction). This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU still has enough headroom at 1080p and 1440p to maintain high frame rates, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the steepest decline, from 158.8 FPS at 1080p to 107.2 FPS at 1440p (32.5% drop) and then to 60.9 FPS at 4K (43.2% drop), which is consistent with the GPU being pushed to its limits by the combination of high resolution and maximum settings. The data indicates that a user targeting 4K gaming should select the High preset (67.5 FPS) rather than Ultra (60.9 FPS) to ensure a stable experience, while 1440p and 1080p users have the flexibility to use Ultra settings, as both exceed 100 FPS (107.2 and 158.8, respectively). This scaling behavior confirms that the i7-12700KF provides sufficient processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck, allowing the GPU's performance to define the frame rate experience across all resolution and settings combinations.