Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, shows a wide performance spread when paired with the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. The data indicates that this combination is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, but the processor’s strength becomes apparent at lower settings where frame rates scale dramatically. This analysis breaks down the measured results to help you understand what this specific pairing delivers.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1920x1080, the combo achieves over 70 FPS on all settings, with the Low preset hitting 125.9 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (88.3 FPS) and Medium preset (66.3 FPS) break the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra fall below at 50.6 and 47.8 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rivals in raw compute?

A: The GTX 1070’s average benchmark score is 12331, placing it just 0.7% above the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 and 1.4% above the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER. It sits 1.3% behind the GeForce GTX 880M and 1.7% behind the Tesla K20Xm.

Q: Is the Core i7-13700K a bottleneck for the GTX 1070 in Thief?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 28.5, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor. However, at 1920x1080 Low, the FPS reaches 125.9, which shows the CPU can push high frame rates when the GPU load is reduced.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 2560x1440?

A: The Low preset delivers 88.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 47.8 FPS. This represents a substantial 40.5 FPS drop, indicating that the Ultra preset nearly halves the frame rate compared to Low at this resolution.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among all tested configurations in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 1403 out of 1642 tested combinations. This places it in the lower percentile of systems, which is consistent with the GTX 1070’s mid-range standing among all GPUs at the 51st percentile.

Q: Does the GTX 1070’s 8 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K in this game?

A: The data shows playable averages at 4K only on Low settings (50.3 FPS). At Medium, High, and Ultra, the averages fall to 37.2, 31.6, and 28.5 FPS respectively, which suggests the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute limits, rather than VRAM capacity alone, are the primary constraints.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the primary driver of the frame rate differences in Thief. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 1506 MHz with a boost clock of 1683 MHz, and it has 1920 shading units. The data shows that this hardware configuration scales predictably with settings at each resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The Ultra preset yields only 28.5 FPS, while dropping to Low raises the average to 50.3 FPS. This is a 21.8 FPS swing, which indicates that the GPU’s compute throughput (6.463 TFLOPS FP32) is insufficient for the higher-detail presets at this resolution. The pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are being saturated by the increased shader complexity.

At 1920x1080, the GTX 1070 shows more headroom. The Low preset produces 125.9 FPS, and even the Ultra preset manages 70.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 55 FPS, which suggests that the GPU’s raw performance is adequate for 1080p gaming, but the higher settings demand significantly more from the shading units. The benchmark results for the GPU, such as the Passmark G3D score of 13498, align with its 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs, confirming its mid-range position.

The GTX 1070’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the Quadro K4200 (0.7% slower) and the GTX 1650 SUPER (1.4% faster). While these are close in synthetic tests, the measured FPS in Thief indicates that the GTX 1070’s architecture handles this specific title with acceptable performance only at lower resolutions or reduced settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 1403 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the bottom 15% of all systems, which is a direct reflection of the GPU’s age and mid-tier status. The CPU, by contrast, is a top-tier part, ranking in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 47282.

The performance disparity between the two components is stark. The i7-13700K’s nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks are the i7-13700KF (0.1% faster) and the AMD EPYC 4364P (0.3% slower), all of which are within a fraction of a percent. However, this CPU power is largely untapped in Thief because the GTX 1070 becomes the limiting factor at higher settings. The combo’s low rank is not a reflection of CPU inadequacy but rather the GPU’s inability to keep pace with the processor’s capabilities.

In practical terms, this rank means the system is not competitive with modern GPU pairings. For example, the GPU’s percentile of 51 indicates that half of all GPUs perform better, which explains why this combo falls so far down the list. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield a much more significant performance improvement than a CPU change, as the i7-13700K is already among the fastest processors available.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are strong: Low hits 125.9 FPS, Medium reaches 98 FPS, High manages 75.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 70.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 55 FPS reduction, which is a 43.7% decrease in performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates decline noticeably. The Low preset still delivers a playable 88.3 FPS, and Medium remains above 60 FPS at 66.3 FPS. However, High falls to 50.6 FPS, and Ultra is just below the 60 FPS target at 47.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 40.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the combo is only playable on Low settings, which produces 50.3 FPS. Medium drops to 37.2 FPS, High to 31.6 FPS, and Ultra to 28.5 FPS. These numbers show a clear trend: the GTX 1070 cannot maintain a smooth experience at 4K on higher presets. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 21.8 FPS, which is the smallest absolute gap of the three resolutions, but the absolute performance is the lowest.

The data indicates that the most consistent experience is at 1080p, where all presets exceed 70 FPS. For 1440p, only Low and Medium are viable for a 60 FPS target. For 4K, only the Low preset approaches playability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It has 30 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its average benchmark score is 47282, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

In Thief, the CPU’s role is less pronounced than the GPU’s due to the game’s age and the low graphical demands at lower settings. The benchmark data shows that at 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 125.9 FPS, which is a high frame rate that requires a capable processor to feed the GPU. The i7-13700K’s single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505, ensures that the game’s logic and physics are not bottlenecks.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities, such as its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000, are largely irrelevant for Thief, which is not a heavily threaded title. However, the high clock speeds and large cache help maintain consistent frame pacing, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU can render frames quickly. The data suggests that the CPU is never the limiting factor in this combo; even at 1080p Low, the GPU is still the primary constraint, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rate drops as settings increase.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo depends on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is viable at 70.9 FPS, offering the highest visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 75.7 FPS is also a strong choice, providing a slight performance buffer.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 66.3 FPS is the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Low preset at 88.3 FPS is smoother but reduces visual quality significantly. The High and Ultra presets at 50.6 and 47.8 FPS respectively are not recommended for a 60 FPS target, as they fall below that threshold.

For 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 50.3 FPS approaches a playable frame rate. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets at 37.2, 31.6, and 28.5 FPS respectively are too slow for a smooth experience. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable with significant graphical compromises.

In summary, the recommended settings are: 1080p Ultra for maximum quality, 1440p Medium for a balanced experience, and 4K Low for those who prioritize resolution over detail. The GTX 1070’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Thief at these settings, but the GPU’s compute limits prevent higher presets at higher resolutions.