Thief

# Thief Performance Analysis: Intel Core i7-14700K + Intel Arc B370

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a severely GPU-bound experience in Thief, with the integrated-class graphics solution struggling to maintain playable frame rates at most settings and resolutions. The measured data shows this combination ranks 2634th out of 2851 tested combos in this game, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. The Arc B370, built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a 3 nm process, delivers only 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate, which proves insufficient for a 2014 stealth title at modern resolutions. The CPU side, however, is exceptionally strong — the i7-14700K with 20 cores and 28 threads scores in the 94th percentile against all CPUs and posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5, yet this computational headroom remains largely untapped due to the GPU bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across all resolution and settings combinations reveals a clear pattern: only the Low preset at 1080p achieves a frame rate that approaches smooth gameplay, with an average of 78 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 59 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS, which remains technically playable but shows the performance cliff that appears as settings increase. At 1440p, the Low preset delivers 53 FPS average, while Medium falls to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS — the latter already dipping into stutter territory for a stealth game requiring precision. At 4K, no preset achieves playable performance: Low delivers 31 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 18 FPS, and Ultra 17 FPS.

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that provides both a comfortable average and headroom above typical 60 FPS thresholds. The 78 FPS average at Low 1080p represents a 32% improvement over the Medium preset's 59 FPS at the same resolution, making the visual quality sacrifice worthwhile for the frame rate gain. Players wanting higher visual fidelity should consider Medium at 1080p, which maintains a 59 FPS average and a 50 FPS minimum, but this sits dangerously close to the edge of acceptable performance. All other combinations — including every 1440p and 4K preset — fall below the 60 FPS threshold, with 4K Medium, High, and Ultra all dropping below 25 FPS, rendering them unsuitable for active gameplay.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the dominant performance limiter in this configuration. Its specifications paint a clear picture of an integrated graphics solution masquerading as a discrete GPU: 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 20 ROPs, and 10 ray tracing cores, with a base clock of 300 MHz boosting to 2400 MHz. The memory subsystem is entirely system-shared, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent" — a critical weakness for a game like Thief that relies on texture streaming and memory bandwidth. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (deltaPct -0.2%) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (deltaPct -0.5%), both of which are over a decade old.

The GPU's 25 W TDP and IGP bus interface confirm its integrated nature, with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs. In Thief, the GPU's limitations manifest most clearly at 4K, where even the Low preset cannot reach 32 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows a 60% performance drop (78 to 31 FPS), which is consistent with a GPU that lacks dedicated memory bandwidth. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are the theoretical ceilings, and the measured frame rates suggest the actual fill rate is the binding constraint at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2634 out of 2851 tested combinations places this system in the bottom 7.6% of all configurations tested for Thief. This ranking reflects the severe mismatch between the CPU and GPU components: the i7-14700K ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, while the Arc B370 languishes in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The data shows a system where the processor contributes negligible bottlenecking — its nearest CPU rivals include the AMD EPYC 9115 (deltaPct 0.1%), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (deltaPct -0.2%), and AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (deltaPct -0.7%), all of which have nearly identical average benchmark scores. The GPU, however, sits in a performance tier with hardware from 2010-2012, and the measured FPS results confirm that this pairing cannot overcome the GPU's fundamental limitations.

The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals are all within 1.4% of its 1184 average benchmark score, indicating a tightly clustered group of low-end parts. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (deltaPct 1.4%), the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (deltaPct -0.2%), and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (deltaPct -0.5%). This positioning means the Arc B370 is competing with hardware from multiple generations ago, and Thief's results reflect this — the game's 2014 release date means it should run well on modern hardware, yet this GPU still cannot deliver 60 FPS at 1080p Medium.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Thief at 60 FPS at any resolution?

A: No. The measured data shows the highest average frame rate is 78 FPS at 1080p Low, but every other configuration falls below 60 FPS. At 1080p Medium the average drops to 59 FPS, and at 1440p Low it falls to 53 FPS. No 4K preset reaches even 32 FPS average.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this configuration?

A: Based on the measured rows, 1080p Low provides the best balance with a 78 FPS average. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 59 FPS average with a 50 FPS minimum, which is playable but lacks headroom. All higher settings or resolutions result in average frame rates below 53 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, deltaPct -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, deltaPct -0.5%), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, deltaPct -0.7%).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Thief?

A: The GPU is overwhelmingly the limiting factor. The i7-14700K scores in the 94th percentile of all CPUs with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5, while the GPU sits in the 5th percentile. The frame rate drops of 60% from 1080p to 4K at Low settings indicate GPU-bound performance.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset delivers 53 FPS average, Medium delivers 41 FPS average with a 35 FPS minimum, High delivers 31 FPS, and Ultra delivers 29 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS threshold, and the Medium preset's minimum of 35 FPS suggests noticeable stuttering.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 2634th out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 7.6% of all configurations. This low ranking reflects the GPU's 5th percentile performance tier rather than any CPU deficiency.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance degradation as resolution increases, consistent with a GPU that lacks dedicated memory bandwidth. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 78 FPS at 1080p to 53 FPS at 1440p (a 32% decrease) and further to 31 FPS at 4K (a 60% decrease from 1080p). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a fill-rate-limited GPU, where the 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes the binding constraint at higher resolutions. The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 59 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p (a 31% decrease), and 24 FPS at 4K (a 59% decrease from 1080p).

The High preset follows the same pattern with 45 FPS at 1080p, 31 FPS at 1440p (a 31% decrease), and 18 FPS at 4K (a 60% decrease). The Ultra preset delivers 43 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p (a 33% decrease), and 17 FPS at 4K (a 60% decrease). The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets — all falling between 59-60% from 1080p to 4K — strongly indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput, not CPU performance or memory bandwidth, is the limiting factor. A CPU-bound system would show much smaller frame rate differences across resolutions, but the data shows the opposite: the i7-14700K's substantial computational headroom goes unused as the GPU becomes progressively more saturated.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K provides far more processing capability than this game requires, making the CPU an insignificant bottleneck in all measured configurations. The processor features 20 cores and 28 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, built on Intel's 10 nm process with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache, providing ample bandwidth for game logic and AI calculations. The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its high-end positioning: Cinebench R23 multi-core of 33440.5, single-core of 2160, Geekbench multi-core of 20767, and single-core of 2569.

The i7-14700K's average benchmark score of 69355 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (avgScore 69515, deltaPct -0.2%) and AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (avgScore 69875, deltaPct -0.7%). In Thief, the CPU's role is to handle the game's stealth AI, physics calculations, and scene management, but the measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation. The 60% frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets prove that the GPU is the sole constraint. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most likely to bottleneck, the 78 FPS average is far below what this processor could theoretically deliver in a less GPU-limited system.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates span a wide range across the four settings presets. The Low preset delivers the highest average at 78 FPS, followed by Medium at 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS. The High preset drops to 45 FPS average, while Ultra delivers 43 FPS average. The 19 FPS gap between Low and Medium at 1080p represents a 24% performance penalty for the higher preset, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS (4.4% difference), suggesting diminishing visual returns at the top end of the settings range.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops become more pronounced. The Low preset delivers 53 FPS average, Medium drops to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and maximum of 47 FPS, High falls to 31 FPS, and Ultra reaches 29 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a 15 FPS degradation from the same preset at 1080p, a 27% decrease. The minimum frame rate of 35 FPS at Medium 1440p indicates that gameplay would experience noticeable stuttering during demanding scenes. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 2 FPS, mirroring the 1080p pattern.

At 3840x2160, all presets fall below playable thresholds. The Low preset delivers 31 FPS average, Medium drops to 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 FPS and maximum of 27 FPS, High falls to 18 FPS, and Ultra reaches 17 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K shows a 20 FPS degradation from the same preset at 1080p, a 66% decrease. The minimum frame rate of 20 FPS at Medium 4K confirms that this resolution is entirely unsuitable for this GPU. Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently provides the highest frame rates, but only at 1080p does it exceed 60 FPS. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy: resolution scaling has a 59-60% impact from 1080p to 4K regardless of settings, while settings adjustments at a fixed resolution have varying impacts, with the Low-to-Medium transition being the most costly at each resolution.