Thief

# FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 delivers the highest frame rates, with the Low preset reaching 133 avg FPS and even Ultra hitting 73 avg FPS. At 2560x1440, the same settings yield 91 and 50 avg FPS respectively, while 3840x2160 drops to 54 avg FPS on Low and 29 avg FPS on Ultra.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 places it nearly even with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, deltaPct -0.1). It also edges out the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M by 0.4% and trails the AMD Radeon R9 M390X by 0.5%.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K sits in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881. Its closest rival is the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, which scores 46971, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i7-13700K is essentially tied with that chip.

Q: Does the GPU's 10 GB VRAM create any bottleneck at 4K in this game?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo produces 31 avg FPS on High and 29 avg FPS on Ultra, indicating the GPU is heavily taxed. The 10 GB GDDR6 memory with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game's demands, but the frame rates suggest the rendering load, not VRAM capacity, is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K has a launch MSRP of $409.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 2296 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the lower half of all tested systems for this specific game.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, operates at a fixed 2500 MHz base and boost clock. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 160-bit bus. This memory configuration provides ample capacity for Thief's assets, but the GPU's raw throughput is the decisive factor in the measured results.

The GPU's 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units produce a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute performance of 11.52 TFLOPS and FP16 of 23.04 TFLOPS (2:1) indicate a mid-range class part. In synthetic benchmarks, the Arc B570 scores 14195 in Passmark G3D and 2649 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

For Thief, the GPU's role is dominant. At 3840x2160, the Arc B570 delivers only 54 avg FPS on Low and 41 avg FPS on Medium, with High at 31 and Ultra at 29. These numbers reveal a steep performance cliff as settings increase at 4K. The GPU is clearly the bottleneck at this resolution, as even the Low preset cannot reach 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the picture improves significantly: Low hits 91 avg FPS, Medium 69, High 53, and Ultra 50. This resolution range represents the practical ceiling for playable frame rates with this GPU.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic scoring—the RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% delta) and Arc A750 (-0.1% delta)—suggest the Arc B570 performs in line with those parts. However, Thief's specific engine and settings scaling show that the GPU's performance degrades predictably with resolution. The 10 GB VRAM does not appear to cause texture thrashing, as the frame rate drops are consistent with compute-bound rendering rather than memory capacity limits.

# How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this Intel Core i7-13700K + Intel Arc B570 pairing ranks 2296 out of 2851 combos for Thief. This places the system in the 80th percentile of tested combos (calculated from rank position), meaning roughly 20% of tested systems perform worse. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning rather than any CPU limitation, as the i7-13700K is a top-tier processor.

The combo's rank is driven entirely by the GPU's measured performance in Thief. The Arc B570's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the i7-13700K's 89th percentile among CPUs, creates a system where the GPU is the constraining component. The rank of 2296 indicates that most combos ahead of this one feature more powerful GPUs, while the CPU's high percentile suggests it is not holding back the GPU in this title.

To contextualize the rank, consider that the GPU's nearest rivals—the RTX 3070 Mobile and Arc A750—would likely produce similar frame rates in Thief, given their nearly identical average benchmark scores. The combo's position in the lower half of all tested combos (555 slots from the bottom) underscores that this is not a high-end gaming configuration for this game, but rather a competent mid-range setup. The data shows that for Thief specifically, the combo's performance is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but falls short at 4K with higher settings.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 54 avg FPS
• Medium: 41 avg FPS (min 35, max 47)
• High: 31 avg FPS
• Ultra: 29 avg FPS

At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain smooth gameplay. Only the Low preset exceeds 50 FPS, while Medium dips to 41 and High/Ultra fall below 32. The 12 FPS gap between Low and Medium indicates a significant settings scaling penalty, while the difference between High and Ultra is minimal (2 FPS), suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 91 avg FPS
• Medium: 69 avg FPS (min 59, max 79)
• High: 53 avg FPS
• Ultra: 50 avg FPS

At 1440p, the combo becomes viable for competitive play on Low and Medium. The 91 FPS on Low provides headroom above 60 FPS, while Medium's 69 FPS is still smooth. High and Ultra drop to 53 and 50 respectively, which are playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 41 FPS drop, highlighting the GPU's sensitivity to settings at this resolution.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 133 avg FPS
• Medium: 101 avg FPS (min 86, max 116)
• High: 77 avg FPS
• Ultra: 73 avg FPS

At 1080p, the combo delivers excellent performance. Low hits 133 FPS, Medium exceeds 100, and even Ultra maintains 73 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS, while the jump from Low to Medium is 32 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for this hardware combination in Thief.

The data reveals consistent patterns: each resolution step down from 4K to 1440p to 1080p yields roughly 1.7x to 2x performance improvement at the same settings. The Medium preset consistently shows the smallest min-to-max variance, indicating stable frame pacing, while Low and Ultra likely have wider variance but lack recorded min/max values.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1920x1080 (best experience): The Ultra preset at 73 avg FPS provides the highest visual quality while maintaining smooth, playable performance. If competitive play is the priority, Low at 133 FPS offers maximum responsiveness. Medium at 101 FPS provides a balanced middle ground with good visual fidelity and high frame rates. The data shows that High at 77 FPS is nearly identical to Ultra at 73 FPS, making Ultra the better choice for only a 4 FPS cost.

For 2560x1440: The Medium preset at 69 avg FPS is the recommended choice for the best combination of visual quality and performance. Low at 91 FPS is suitable for players prioritizing frame rate over graphics, while High at 53 FPS and Ultra at 50 FPS are borderline for smooth gameplay. The 16 FPS difference between Medium and High suggests that Medium is the practical ceiling for 1440p gaming with this combo.

For 3840x2160: The Low preset at 54 avg FPS is the only viable option for 4K gaming, and it still falls short of 60 FPS. Medium at 41 FPS is playable but not ideal, while High at 31 and Ultra at 29 are too low for smooth gameplay. Players with 4K displays should either accept Low settings or drop to a lower resolution for a better experience.

The data indicates that the Medium preset consistently offers the most stable frame pacing, as evidenced by the min/max values (35-47 at 4K, 59-79 at 1440p, 86-116 at 1080p). This stability is valuable for maintaining consistent input response. For most users, the recommendation is clear: 1080p with Ultra settings provides the best overall experience, while 1440p with Medium offers a good balance for higher-resolution displays.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K, based on Raptor Lake architecture, features 16 cores and 24 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 30 MB shared L3. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, with PCIe Gen 5 providing 20 lanes. This processor is designed for high-end desktop workloads, and its benchmark results confirm strong performance across both single-threaded and multi-threaded tests.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-13700K scores 12412 in 3DMark max threads, 30745 in Cinebench R23 multicore, and 19429 in Geekbench multicore. Single-thread scores include 1136 in 3DMark single thread, 2116 in Cinebench R23 singlecore, and 2529 in Geekbench singlecore. The Passmark multithread score of 45887 and single thread score of 4333 further demonstrate its capabilities. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all processors places it firmly in the high-end tier.

For Thief, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The game's measured FPS data shows performance scaling that aligns with GPU load rather than CPU capability. At 1080p Low, the 133 FPS result indicates the CPU can feed the GPU sufficient frames, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution and settings increase. The CPU's 24 threads provide ample headroom for the game's engine, which is unlikely to stress more than a few cores given its 2014 release.

The CPU's nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (deltaPct -0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (-0.3%), AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (0.5%), and Intel Xeon w3-2535 (0.5%)—all score within 0.5% of the i7-13700K. This tight clustering indicates that no meaningful CPU bottleneck exists when pairing any of these processors with the Arc B570. The combo's rank of 2296 out of 2851 in Thief is therefore attributable to the GPU's performance ceiling, not the CPU's capabilities.

The CPU's 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform, combined with its Raptor Lake architecture, provide a robust foundation for gaming. However, the data shows that Thief's performance is overwhelmingly GPU-bound, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops across resolutions and the CPU's high benchmark scores relative to the GPU's mid-range results. In essence, the i7-13700K ensures the Arc B570 oper-ates at its full potential, but the GPU's hardware limits define the combo's performance in this title.