Thief

Thief, the 2014 stealth title, remains a demanding showcase for modern hardware. Benchmark results for the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet still provides exceptional frame rates across all settings. The data indicates a versatile configuration capable of delivering a smooth experience from 1080p to 4K, with the choice of settings serving as the primary lever for performance tuning.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rates show that the Ultra preset is the primary target for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 157.9 FPS, which is only 5.4% slower than the High preset's 166.9 FPS. This small performance cost for maximum visual fidelity makes Ultra the clear choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors at this resolution. The data suggests that the CPU and GPU combination has ample headroom to absorb the extra load from Ultra settings without compromising the experience.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset still holds up remarkably well, producing an average of 108.3 FPS. This is a significant achievement, as it means the system can maintain a triple-digit frame rate at the most common high-resolution gaming standard. The High preset at 1440p yields 112 FPS, a marginal 3.4% increase over Ultra. Given the negligible difference, the Ultra preset remains the recommended option for 1440p users who prioritize image quality, as the performance penalty is virtually imperceptible.

The situation changes at 3840x2160, where the demands on the GPU become significantly more pronounced. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 60.7 FPS, which is still playable but no longer provides the headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. The High preset at 4K achieves 63.4 FPS, a modest 4.4% improvement over Ultra. For 4K users, the High preset is the recommended choice, as it offers a slightly more stable frame rate while retaining most of the visual enhancements. The Medium preset at 85.8 FPS is also a viable alternative for those who prefer a smoother experience over maximum detail, providing a substantial 41.4% performance increase over Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary driver of performance in Thief, as evidenced by the scaling of frame rates with resolution. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for the game's assets at all tested settings, as the frame rate drops are consistent with compute-bound limitations rather than memory capacity issues. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with its 7168 shading units, provides the raw throughput necessary for high frame rates.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process by TSMC, with a die size of 294 mm² and 35,800 million transistors. This design yields a pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s, which are directly relevant to Thief's rendering workload. The GPU's FP32 performance of 35.48 TFLOPS indicates substantial compute capability, but the benchmark results show that the game's engine is more dependent on the rasterization and texture processing pipelines. The GPU's performance profile in Thief aligns with its overall benchmark standing, where it ranks in the 84th percentile of all GPUs and scores 29,995 in Passmark G3D, placing it near the NVIDIA RTX A6000, which has an average score of 42,653.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of Thief. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 206.4 FPS at 1080p to 111.5 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 46%. This substantial drop indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. The scaling is more pronounced at higher settings, with the Ultra preset dropping from 157.9 FPS at 1080p to 60.7 FPS at 4K, a 61.6% reduction. This steeper decline at Ultra settings further confirms that the GPU's rendering load is the primary bottleneck.

The data shows a consistent pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 48.5 FPS (206.4 vs. 157.9), while at 4K, the same settings gap is 50.8 FPS (111.5 vs. 60.7). This suggests that the relative cost of Ultra settings remains constant across resolutions, but the absolute frame rates are lower at 4K due to the increased pixel count. The performance at 2560x1440 serves as a middle ground, with the Low preset achieving 186.5 FPS and the Ultra preset at 108.3 FPS, indicating that the system is well-balanced for this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 SUPER and Core i7-14700F combination delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 206.4 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the dataset. The Medium preset follows at 186.5 FPS, while the High preset reaches 166.9 FPS. The Ultra preset, despite being the most demanding, still produces an average of 157.9 FPS. These numbers indicate that the system is not CPU-limited at 1080p, as even the Ultra preset maintains a frame rate well above the 144 Hz threshold for high-refresh-rate gaming.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. The Low preset drops to 186.5 FPS, a 9.7% decrease from 1080p. The Medium preset achieves 146.6 FPS, while the High preset delivers 112 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 108.3 FPS, which is still a comfortable frame rate for most monitors. The scaling between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 41.9%, which is slightly less than the 23.5% drop seen at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance is significantly constrained by the GPU. The Low preset achieves 111.5 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 46% drop from the 1080p result. The Medium preset drops to 85.8 FPS, while the High preset manages 63.4 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 60.7 FPS, which is the lowest recorded average. This data shows that 4K gaming is only viable with lower settings, as the Ultra preset barely maintains a 60 FPS average. The system's overall rank in Thief is 150 out of 1642 tested combinations, placing it in the top 9% of all configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Ultra preset is the best choice for 2560x1440, delivering an average of 108.3 FPS. The High preset offers only a marginal 3.4% improvement at 112 FPS, so the visual benefits of Ultra outweigh the small performance cost.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER perform at 4K in Thief?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU achieves a 63.4 FPS average on the High preset and 60.7 FPS on Ultra. The Low preset reaches 111.5 FPS, showing that 4K is playable but requires settings adjustments to maintain high frame rates.

Q: Is the Core i7-14700F a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p, the system achieves over 200 FPS on Low settings, and the frame rate drops are consistent with GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample processing power.

Q: How does the system's performance compare to other hardware combinations?

A: The combination ranks 150th out of 1642 tested in Thief, placing it in the top 9.1% of all configurations. The GPU's average benchmark score of 42,576 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A6000, which scores 42,653, indicating comparable overall performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the High and Ultra presets?

A: The difference is minimal. At 1080p, High achieves 166.9 FPS and Ultra achieves 157.9 FPS, a 5.7% difference. At 1440p, the gap narrows to 3.4% (112 vs. 108.3 FPS), and at 4K, it is 4.4% (63.4 vs. 60.7 FPS).

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB VRAM affect performance in Thief?

A: The benchmark results show no evidence of VRAM limitations. Frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, and the GPU's 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game's requirements at all tested configurations.