Thief

The Intel Core i7-14700F and Intel Arc B370 combination lands at rank 2634 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This is a pairing defined by extreme asymmetry: the CPU is a top-tier performer sitting in the 91st percentile of all processors, while the GPU sits at the 5th percentile of all graphics cards. The benchmark results reflect this imbalance, showing that the integrated graphics solution severely limits the experience across all resolutions, with playable frame rates only achievable at the lowest settings and even then only at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2634 out of 2851 indicates a configuration that struggles to deliver a smooth experience in Thief. This positioning is almost entirely attributable to the Intel Arc B370's performance class, which is an integrated graphics processor rather than a discrete solution. The data shows that this GPU's average benchmark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, meaning 95% of graphics cards tested outperform it. In contrast, the Intel Core i7-14700F's average benchmark score of 53620 places it at the 91st percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 91% of processors tested.

The measured FPS data confirms this ranking is not an artifact of the ranking methodology but reflects real-world performance. At 4K Ultra settings, the combo delivers only 17 FPS average, which is below the threshold for playability. Even at 1080p Low settings, where the combo achieves its best result of 78 FPS, the margin for error is thin, and the experience would degrade significantly with any background processes or scene complexity. The ranking also implies that most other tested combinations, even those with much weaker CPUs, achieve better results in Thief because they pair those CPUs with more capable graphics solutions. The data indicates that the bottleneck is unambiguously the GPU, as the CPU's performance headroom is vast compared to what the GPU can output.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, featuring 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units. The GPU also includes 10 ray tracing cores, though Thief from 2014 does not utilize ray tracing. Its compute capabilities are rated at 6.144 TFLOPS for FP32 operations and 12.29 TFLOPS for FP16 operations.

Critically, the Arc B370 uses system shared memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This means the memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all "System Dependent," which in this configuration with the i7-14700F means reliance on the CPU's dual-channel DDR4 or DDR5 memory. This shared memory architecture creates additional latency and bandwidth contention that directly impacts performance. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184, placing it at the 5th percentile, is indicative of its limited capabilities.

The implications for Thief are clear from the measured data. At 4K resolution, the combo achieves 31 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 24 FPS on Medium, 18 FPS on High, and 17 FPS on Ultra. The pattern repeats at lower resolutions: 1440p sees 53 FPS on Low, 41 FPS on Medium, 31 FPS on High, and 29 FPS on Ultra. At 1080p, the results are 78 FPS on Low, 59 FPS on Medium, 45 FPS on High, and 43 FPS on Ultra. These numbers demonstrate that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, but even the best case scenario of 1080p Low leaves little headroom for maintaining a consistent 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of running Thief at 60 FPS at any settings?

A: No. The measured data shows that the highest average FPS achieved is 78 at 1080p Low settings, but Medium settings at 1080p drop to 59 FPS average. At 1440p, the maximum average is 53 FPS on Low settings, and at 4K, the maximum average is 31 FPS on Low settings. No measured configuration reaches a consistent 60 FPS at Medium or higher settings.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, which scores 1186 (0.2% faster). The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% faster). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% slower than the Arc B370.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 78 on Low settings to 43 on Ultra settings, representing a 45% reduction in frame rate. The Medium preset delivers 59 FPS, and High delivers 45 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is the largest single drop, losing 19 FPS.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-14700F bottleneck the Arc B370 in Thief?

A: No. The CPU is vastly more powerful than the GPU requires. The i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620, placing it at the 91st percentile of all CPUs, while the Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile of GPUs. The measured FPS scales directly with GPU load, indicating the GPU is the sole limiting factor.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded for this combo?

A: Minimum FPS values were only recorded for Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 50 FPS; at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 35 FPS; and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 20 FPS. No minimum FPS data was captured for Low, High, or Ultra presets.

Q: How does this combo's performance at 4K compare to 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 78 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 31 FPS, a 60% reduction. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 43 FPS, while 4K Ultra yields only 17 FPS. The scaling is roughly linear with pixel count, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which settings presets are viable. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 78 FPS average, which is the only configuration that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 59 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS, which is borderline playable but risks dropping below 60 FPS during demanding scenes. High and Ultra at 1080p deliver 45 FPS and 43 FPS respectively, which are playable but not smooth.

At 1440p, the Low preset achieves 53 FPS average, which is acceptable for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 41 FPS average with a minimum of 35 FPS, which is playable but noticeably stuttery. High and Ultra at 1440p drop to 31 FPS and 29 FPS respectively, which are below the threshold for comfortable play.

At 4K, no preset achieves a playable frame rate. The Low preset manages 31 FPS, Medium delivers 24 FPS, High drops to 18 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 17 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K is not a viable option for this combo in Thief.

The optimal experience, based on the measured data, is 1080p with the Low preset. This delivers the highest average frame rate at 78 FPS, providing the most consistent experience. For players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, 1080p Medium at 59 FPS is the best compromise, though the minimum of 50 FPS means occasional dips below 60 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p offer marginal visual improvements but cost significant performance, with only 45 FPS and 43 FPS respectively. The data suggests that the performance cost of moving from Low to Medium is steep (a 24% drop in FPS), while the cost of moving from Medium to High is less severe (a 24% drop), but the visual gains are unlikely to justify the frame rate loss on this hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings reveals a consistent performance hierarchy. At 1080p, the combo achieves its best results. The Low preset delivers 78 FPS average, representing the highest performance point in the entire dataset. Medium at 1080p drops to 59 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, showing a plausible frame time distribution. High at 1080p delivers 45 FPS average, while Ultra at 1080p achieves 43 FPS average, indicating that the visual quality improvements from High to Ultra cost only 2 FPS on average.

At 1440p, the performance drops are substantial. Low settings deliver 53 FPS average, which is a 32% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium at 1440p delivers 41 FPS average with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, showing a tighter range than at 1080p. High at 1440p drops to 31 FPS average, and Ultra at 1440p achieves 29 FPS average. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is 2 FPS, consistent with the pattern seen at 1080p.

At 4K, the performance falls below playable thresholds. Low settings achieve 31 FPS average, which is a 60% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium at 4K delivers 24 FPS average with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS, representing the lowest minimum FPS in the dataset. High at 4K drops to 18 FPS average, and Ultra at 4K achieves 17 FPS average. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a further 40-42% reduction in frame rate across all settings, which is consistent with the increase in pixel count from 3.7 million to 8.3 million pixels.

The data also reveals that the performance penalty for increasing settings is not uniform across resolutions. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra costs 35 FPS (45% reduction). At 1440p, the same settings change costs 24 FPS (45% reduction). At 4K, the cost is 14 FPS (45% reduction). This consistent 45% penalty suggests that the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities scale predictably with settings, with no unexpected bottlenecks or efficiency cliffs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory, with ECC support and PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. Its launch MSRP is $359.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate its high-end positioning. It scores 35122 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4958 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 19620 and single-core score of 2429. In PassMark tests, it achieves 41317 in multi-thread and 4257 in single-thread, with particularly strong results in integer math (155808), floating point math (107005), and data compression (505885). These scores place the CPU at the 91st percentile of all processors, with its average benchmark score of 53620 sitting just 0.2% below the Intel Xeon 6505P's 53701 and 0.3% above the Intel Xeon Phi 7290's 53469. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X trails by 0.6%, and the AMD EPYC 7313P trails by 0.8%.

In the context of Thief, the CPU's role is minimal because the game's performance is entirely GPU-bound. The measured FPS values show no evidence of CPU limitation: the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the CPU's massive thread count and high clock speeds provide ample headroom. The game, released in 2014, was designed for CPUs with far fewer cores and lower clock speeds, so the i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient for the game's single-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads.

The CPU's high single-core performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R15 single-core score of 499 and R20 score of 2082, ensures that Thief's main thread is never a bottleneck. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides the kind of raw single-thread performance that older games like Thief benefit from, even if the game cannot utilize the CPU's multi-core capabilities. The data confirms that the CPU's 91st percentile ranking is irrelevant to the gaming experience here, as the GPU's 5th percentile ranking dictates all measured outcomes. The CPU is effectively operating at a fraction of its capacity, with the Arc B370's system shared memory and limited compute resources creating an unbridgeable performance ceiling.