Thief

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Thief with the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 570 shows a steep performance curve as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 75 FPS, which is the highest recorded average across the entire measurement set. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 51 FPS, a reduction of 32%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 at Low yields only 30 FPS, meaning the jump from 1080p to 4K at Low settings cuts performance by 60% from the original 75 FPS figure.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. High settings show 43 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. Medium settings record 57 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings follow the same trajectory: 41 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p transition costs roughly 30% of the frame rate at every preset, while the 1440p to 4K transition costs another 40% to 43%.

These ratios indicate that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the primary limiting component in this configuration. The RX 570 has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, with a 256-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 4 GB GDDR5 frame buffer becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions, especially when texture detail and shading complexity increase. The GPU's pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s are modest figures by modern standards, and the recorded frame rates reflect that constraint.

The 4K numbers are particularly telling. At both High and Ultra settings, the average FPS is 17, identical to the minimum recorded at Medium (19 FPS) and well below the Medium maximum of 26 FPS. This suggests the GPU is saturated at 4K regardless of how much graphical work is being asked of it. The difference between Low and High at 4K is only 13 FPS, whereas at 1080p the same settings gap produces 32 FPS of headroom. The resolution scaling data confirms that this is a GPU-bound scenario at 1440p and above, with the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads providing ample headroom that the RX 570 cannot fully utilize.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combination?

A: The highest measured average is 75 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best is 57 FPS at 1080p on Medium, followed by 43 FPS at 1080p on High.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: At Low settings, yes, with 75 FPS average. At Medium, the average drops to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra settings average 43 and 41 FPS respectively, so only the Low preset crosses 60 FPS at 1080p.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its closest rivals in general GPU benchmarks?

A: The database places the RX 570 at the 74th percentile among all GPUs. Its closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which scores 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 M295X is 0.7% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 470 is 0.8% higher. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 trails by 1.2%.

Q: What is the best resolution for playable frame rates with this hardware?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where any preset reaches 60 FPS or above. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS, which is the only other preset near the 60 FPS mark. At 1440p, the best result is 51 FPS on Low, and at 4K the best is 30 FPS on Low.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-14700F bottleneck the RX 570 in Thief?

A: The data does not indicate CPU bottlenecking. The i7-14700F has a 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 53620. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6505P, scores 53701, which is only 0.2% higher. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and single-core score of 4958 provide far more processing power than a 2014 stealth game requires, so the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What are the CPU's core and clock specifications?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F has 20 cores and 28 threads with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It uses the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process with a 65 W TDP and 33 MB of shared L3 cache.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake-R architecture. Its base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz position it as a high-end desktop part, and the benchmark data confirms that positioning. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 places it well above the majority of tested CPUs, and the single-core score of 4958 indicates strong per-thread performance. The Geekbench multi-core score of 19620 and single-core score of 2429 reinforce this picture.

In Thief, a game released in 2014, the CPU's role is largely secondary. The game's engine was designed for the hardware of its era, which typically featured 4-core or 6-core processors. The i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads far exceed what Thief can utilize, so the recorded FPS figures are almost entirely determined by the AMD Radeon RX 570's output. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53620, means it sits near the top of the database. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6505P at 53701 (0.2% higher), the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 at 53469 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X at 53288 (0.6% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7313P at 53206 (0.8% higher). These delta percentages are all within 1%, indicating that the i7-14700F is essentially tied with several other high-end processors in overall compute performance.

The CPU's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, dual-channel memory bus, and PCIe Gen 5 with 16 CPU lanes provide a modern platform foundation. The 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache offer substantial caching capacity for game workloads. However, in Thief specifically, the measured FPS does not scale with CPU capability. The fact that the 4K High and Ultra presets both record 17 FPS, identical to each other, strongly suggests that the GPU is the sole performance gate. If the CPU were the bottleneck, higher settings at the same resolution would typically show smaller FPS differences because the CPU work per frame is relatively constant. Instead, the GPU's rendering load drives the frame rate down.

The CPU's 65 W TDP is modest for a 20-core part, which indicates efficient power management, but this has no direct impact on the game's FPS. The launch MSRP of $359 places it in the upper mid-range tier, but pricing is not a factor in the measured performance. The data shows a processor that is vastly overprovisioned for Thief, leaving the RX 570 as the clear performance limiter.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this combination at 3551 out of 3720 tested combos for Thief. This is a low placement, sitting in the 4.5th percentile of all tested configurations. The ranking reflects the severe GPU limitation at the resolutions and settings measured. A combo ranking near the bottom of a 3720-entry list indicates that most other CPU and GPU pairings deliver higher average FPS in this title.

The RX 570's general benchmark percentile of 74 among all GPUs does not translate into strong Thief performance. The GPU's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M at 28874 average score (0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon R9 M295X at 28580 (0.7% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 470 at 28996 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 at 28421 (1.2% lower). These close aggregate scores suggest that the RX 570 is a mid-pack GPU, but Thief's specific rendering demands, combined with the RX 570's 4 GB memory capacity, push this combo down the rankings.

The combo rank of 3551 out of 3720 means that only 169 tested combinations perform worse. This is a significant data point for builders who prioritize Thief performance. The CPU's high percentile (91) and the GPU's mid percentile (74) create a large imbalance in this pairing for this game. The CPU is capable of driving far more powerful GPUs, but the RX 570's 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and 4 GB frame buffer constrain the entire system.

Comparing the combo rank to the individual component percentiles illustrates the mismatch. A 91st percentile CPU paired with a 74th percentile GPU yields a 4.5th percentile game-specific result. This indicates that Thief is particularly demanding on the GPU relative to other titles, or that the RX 570's architecture (GCN 4.0, 14 nm process, 5.7 billion transistors on a 232 mm² die) handles this game inefficiently. The measured FPS data shows no scenario where the combo exceeds 75 FPS, and only one preset (1080p Low) crosses the 60 FPS line.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for this hardware in Thief. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 75 FPS average, which is the only measurement that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset averages 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS, putting it just below the smoothness threshold. High and Ultra at 1080p average 43 and 41 FPS respectively, which are playable but noticeably less fluid.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 51 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower stealth game but not ideal. Medium at 1440p averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 45 FPS. High at 1440p drops to 30 FPS, and Ultra falls to 28 FPS. The 1440p results all fall below 60 FPS, and even the best preset at this resolution does not reach 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets are recommended for smooth gameplay. Low averages 30 FPS, Medium averages 23 FPS with a minimum of 19 FPS and maximum of 26 FPS, and both High and Ultra average 17 FPS. These numbers are below the threshold for consistent playability, though a patient player might tolerate 30 FPS on Low at 4K.

The data suggests that 1080p Medium is the best balance for this combo. The 57 FPS average with a 48 FPS minimum provides relatively stable frame pacing while offering better visual quality than Low. The 48 FPS minimum is the highest minimum recorded across all presets and resolutions except for 1080p Medium itself, which has no competitors above it in the minimum FPS column. For players who prioritize frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low at 75 FPS is the smoother option. For players who want the best visual quality while staying near playable frame rates, 1080p Medium is the recommended choice. No settings above Medium at any resolution are advisable, as all High and Ultra presets at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K produce average frame rates below 45 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range was tested. Low produced an average of 75 FPS. Medium produced an average of 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS. High produced an average of 43 FPS. Ultra produced an average of 41 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 34 FPS, which is the largest settings delta across all resolutions.

At 2560x1440, the averages step down significantly. Low averaged 51 FPS. Medium averaged 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 45 FPS. High averaged 30 FPS. Ultra averaged 28 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 23 FPS, smaller than at 1080p, which indicates the GPU is beginning to saturate.

At 3840x2160, the averages compress further. Low averaged 30 FPS. Medium averaged 23 FPS, with a minimum of 19 FPS and maximum of 26 FPS. High averaged 17 FPS. Ultra averaged 17 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 13 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets produce identical averages. The Medium preset's minimum of 19 FPS is 2 FPS higher than the High and Ultra averages, showing that even a single settings tier can matter at this resolution.

The Medium preset is the only settings tier with full minimum and maximum data across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the range is 48 to 65 FPS, a 17 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 33 to 45 FPS, a 12 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 19 to 26 FPS, a 7 FPS spread. This narrowing range with increasing resolution is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, where higher resolutions reduce the impact of scene complexity variance because the GPU is already near its limit.

The FPS deltas between resolutions at the same settings are consistent. For Low, 1080p to 1440p drops from 75 to 51 FPS (24 FPS loss), and 1440p to 4K drops from 51 to 30 FPS (21 FPS loss). For Medium, the drops are 57 to 39 (18 FPS) and 39 to 23 (16 FPS). For High, the drops are 43 to 30 (13 FPS) and 30 to 17 (13 FPS). For Ultra, the drops are 41 to 28 (13 FPS) and 28 to 17 (11 FPS). The absolute FPS losses shrink as resolution increases, confirming that the GPU's render output is the limiting factor and that further resolution increases would yield diminishing absolute FPS losses until the GPU is fully maxed out.