Thief

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a decisive performance profile in Thief, a 2014 stealth title that remains surprisingly demanding at higher resolutions. The benchmark data shows a system that is overwhelmingly capable at 1080p, but begins to show its limits as pixel count rises, making resolution scaling the most critical factor in how you experience this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling curve as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 162.4 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 110.3 FPS, a 32% reduction. The jump to 3840x2160 is even more punishing, with High settings yielding 63.6 FPS — a 61% drop from the 1080p figure. This pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER becomes the limiting component well before the CPU does.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread from Low (213.6 FPS) to Ultra (159.1 FPS) is 54.5 FPS. At 1440p, that spread grows to 80.8 FPS (186.7 Low vs 105.9 Ultra). At 4K, the spread compresses slightly to 50.6 FPS (114.3 Low vs 63.7 Ultra), but the absolute numbers tell the story: 4K Ultra is playable but not smooth by modern standards, while 4K Low remains fluid.

The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this pairing. The difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings (162.4 vs 110.3 FPS) is noticeable but acceptable, while the visual clarity gain is substantial. At 4K, even Medium settings (84.8 FPS) fall short of the 90+ FPS threshold that many players prefer for a stealth title where quick reactions matter less than atmosphere.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 SUPER brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for Thief's texture-heavy environments at all tested settings, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS drops are consistent with compute-bound scaling rather than memory capacity issues. The card's 7168 shading units and 80 ROPs handle the game's DirectX 11-era rendering efficiently.

Clock speeds are modest but effective: a 1980 MHz base and 2475 MHz boost. The GPU's 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, scores only 0.2% higher on average, while the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE trails by 0.3%. This places the 4070 SUPER in a tightly contested performance band, but the Thief results show it pulling ahead in practical terms.

The GPU's 220 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a straightforward fit for most systems. The 1x 16-pin power connector and 550 W suggested PSU are reasonable requirements. The card's 267 mm length and 112 mm height should clear most mid-tower cases without issue. In Thief, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck at 4K, but it never becomes a liability — even at 4K Ultra, the 63.7 FPS result is above the 60 FPS baseline for smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread Raptor Lake processor with a 3.40 GHz base clock and 5.40 GHz boost. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample room for Thief's AI-driven stealth mechanics and level streaming. The CPU's 125 W TDP is modest for its performance class, and its 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it is not the limiting factor in this pairing.

Benchmark data shows the CPU's multi-threaded strength: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 39000, while single-core reaches 5505. The 3DMark results scale predictably from 1136 (single-thread) to 12412 (max threads). This thread scaling is more than sufficient for a 2014 title like Thief, which was designed for quad-core processors of that era. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, scores 0.1% higher on average — a negligible difference that confirms the 13700K is not leaving performance on the table.

The CPU's support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory, along with dual-channel configuration, gives builders flexibility. The integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU installed. The 10 nm process node and 257 mm² die size keep thermals manageable. In Thief, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU without stalling — and the data shows it does so effectively at every resolution tested, as FPS scaling tracks GPU load rather than CPU constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 140th out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. That places it in the top 8.5% of all configurations in the database. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 93rd percentile and GPU's 84th percentile standings, with the GPU being the more binding constraint in this title.

The ranking is strong but not elite, which aligns with the measured FPS data. At 1080p, this combo is in the top tier, producing frame rates that exceed the refresh rates of most monitors. At 1440p, it remains highly competitive, with High settings delivering 110.3 FPS. At 4K, the combo falls into mid-pack territory for high-refresh gaming, but remains perfectly playable for a stealth game where consistent frame pacing matters more than raw FPS.

The delta between this combo's rank and the theoretical maximum is explained by the GPU's position relative to the CPU. The 4070 SUPER's 0.2% deficit to the RTX A6000 in average score suggests that a stronger GPU would push this combo higher in the rankings, but the CPU would still have headroom. The data indicates this pairing is well-matched for 1440p gaming, with 4K being a compromise rather than a strength.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 213.6 FPS, Medium reaches 191.1 FPS, High hits 162.4 FPS, and Ultra maintains 159.1 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is a mere 3.3 FPS, suggesting that Ultra is essentially free at this resolution. The 54.5 FPS gap between Low and Ultra indicates the GPU has significant headroom even at maximum settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers remain strong but show the GPU starting to work harder. Low settings hit 186.7 FPS, Medium drops to 148 FPS, High manages 110.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 105.9 FPS. The High-to-Ultra gap shrinks to 4.4 FPS, again making Ultra the obvious choice. The 80.8 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is the largest of any resolution, reflecting the GPU's diminishing returns as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes significantly. Low settings produce 114.3 FPS, Medium reaches 84.8 FPS, High drops to 63.6 FPS, and Ultra yields 63.7 FPS. Notably, High and Ultra are nearly identical (0.1 FPS difference), indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not compute-intensive at this resolution — or that the GPU is already saturated. The 50.6 FPS gap between Low and Ultra is the smallest of the three resolutions, confirming that 4K is where the GPU becomes the hard limit.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, Ultra settings are the clear choice. The 159.1 FPS result is only 3.3 FPS below High, and the visual enhancements from Ultra are worth the negligible performance cost. Players with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors will easily saturate their refresh rates even at maximum settings.

At 1440p, Ultra remains the recommended preset. The 105.9 FPS result is comfortably above 60 FPS and only 4.4 FPS below High. The visual quality gains from Ultra — improved shadows, textures, and draw distances — are significant in a stealth game where environmental detail matters. Players with 120Hz displays will need to drop to Medium (148 FPS) for full refresh rate utilization, but the jump from Medium to Ultra is visually substantial.

For 4K, the recommendation depends on display refresh rate. Players with 60Hz displays should use Ultra, as the 63.7 FPS result exceeds the refresh rate and provides the best visual experience. Those with 120Hz+ displays will need to drop to Low (114.3 FPS) for smooth motion, but this sacrifices significant visual quality. A middle ground is Medium at 84.8 FPS, which is smooth but not full refresh rate. Given that Thief is a stealth game with deliberate pacing, prioritizing visual fidelity at 4K Ultra is the practical choice — the 63.7 FPS result is sufficient for the genre's slower gameplay tempo.