Thief

Thief, a stealth title from 2014, remains a useful benchmark for evaluating older hardware against modern workloads. The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 creates a stark contrast: a top-tier 20-core processor paired with a 4 GB entry-level graphics card. The data from the measured FPS rows shows a system that is overwhelmingly limited by the GPU, with the CPU’s substantial headroom unable to compensate for the graphics card’s constraints at higher resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound configuration. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 74 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 51 FPS, a reduction of 31%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 at Low yields just 30 FPS, which is only 40.5% of the 1080p Low result. This scaling is not linear; the pixel count increase from 1080p to 1440p is about 78%, but the frame rate drop is only 31%, indicating that at Low settings, the GPU is still managing some efficiency, but the absolute numbers are already low.

The behavior at higher settings is even more telling. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 43 at 1080p, to 29 at 1440p, and finally to 17 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K represents a 60.5% reduction in performance. For Ultra settings, the pattern is similar: 41 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. The fact that High and Ultra both bottom out at 17 FPS at 4K suggests that the GPU’s rendering pipeline is saturated, and additional graphical features from the Ultra preset do not further impact the frame rate because the card is already at its limit.

This data indicates that the limiting component is unambiguously the GTX 1650. The i7-14700K, with its high boost clock of 5.60 GHz and 20 cores, is not the bottleneck at any resolution. The evidence is that the FPS scales almost entirely with resolution and settings, which are GPU-centric variables. A CPU bottleneck would show frame rates that are more consistent across resolutions, but here we see a halving of performance from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, confirming that the graphics card is the primary constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the decisive factor in this configuration’s Thief performance. Its specifications, detailed in the FACT PACK, explain the measured results. The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s. This is a modest amount of memory and bandwidth for a 2014 game, but the card’s compute capabilities are the larger issue. With 896 shading units and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, the GTX 1650 offers a theoretical FP32 performance of 2.984 TFLOPS. These figures place the card in the 40th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 7472 is closely matched by rivals like the AMD Radeon R7 350 (7425) and the Intel Arc A310 (7550).

The GPU’s clock behavior is directly reflected in the FPS data. The base clock of 1485 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz are not adjustable in the measured rows, but the performance at 1080p Medium (56 FPS) versus 1080p Low (74 FPS) shows the card’s headroom. The 18 FPS difference between those presets indicates that the GPU is working harder at Medium, but still deliverable. However, at 4K, the card is overwhelmed. The 4K Medium result shows a minimum FPS of 19 and a maximum of 26, with an average of 23. The tight range around the average suggests the GPU is consistently hitting its performance ceiling rather than experiencing intermittent spikes.

The VRAM capacity of 4 GB is also relevant. Thief, being a 2014 title, does not require massive memory pools, but at 4K with higher detail settings, the 4 GB frame buffer can become a limiting factor. The fact that High and Ultra both yield identical 17 FPS averages at 4K suggests that the game may be swapping or reducing texture quality, but the GPU’s raw compute is still the primary wall. The GTX 1650’s position in the 40th percentile of all GPUs reinforces that it is a low-end part in the current landscape, and its interaction with a game like Thief at high resolutions is expected to be poor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the i7-14700K and the GTX 1650 ranks 3595 out of 3720 combos for Thief. This places it in the bottom 3.4% of all tested systems, which is a strong indicator of the overall performance ceiling. The comboRankInGame field provides this exact position, and the data suggests that while the CPU is exceptional, the GPU drags the entire system down to near the bottom of the rankings.

The rank reflects the average FPS across all measured settings and resolutions. The i7-14700K, which sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 69355, is capable of delivering high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. However, in Thief, the GPU is the bottleneck, and the combo’s rank is determined by the GTX 1650’s limitations. The nearest CPU rivals to the i7-14700K, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X with a score of 69515 and a deltaPct of -0.2, show that the processor is not the issue. The GPU’s nearest rivals, including the Intel UHD Graphics 750 with an avgScore of 7441 and a deltaPct of 0.4, highlight that the GTX 1650 is only marginally better than integrated graphics in some scenarios.

The ranking demonstrates that for Thief, the combination is fundamentally unbalanced. A user with a CPU of this caliber would typically expect high frame rates, but the data shows this is not the case. The combo’s rank of 3595 out of 3720 means that nearly all other tested configurations, likely including those with mid-range GPUs, outperform this setup in Thief.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across four resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are the most playable, though still limited. Low settings yield an average of 74 FPS, which is smooth. Medium settings drop to 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS, indicating a playable experience with some frame time variance. High settings reduce the average to 43 FPS, and Ultra to 41 FPS. These 1080p numbers show that the GTX 1650 can handle Thief at lower presets, but High and Ultra sit below the 60 FPS threshold, which may be undesirable for some users.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades significantly. Low settings produce 51 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably lower than 1080p. Medium averages 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 45. High and Ultra yield 29 FPS and 28 FPS, respectively. These numbers indicate that 1440p is only viable at Low settings for a consistent frame rate, and even that is borderline.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unusable for smooth gameplay. Low settings average 30 FPS, Medium averages 23 FPS with a minimum of 19 and a maximum of 26, and both High and Ultra average 17 FPS. The 4K data shows that the GTX 1650 cannot provide a playable experience at this resolution, regardless of settings. The minimum FPS of 19 at 4K Medium is below the 20 FPS threshold often considered the absolute minimum for playability.

The data across all rows shows a clear pattern: the GTX 1650 is capable of delivering 60+ FPS only at 1080p Low. Every other configuration falls below that mark. The 74 FPS at 1080p Low is the only measured average above 60 FPS, and the next best is 56 FPS at 1080p Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a high-end desktop processor with 20 cores and 28 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 33440.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2160 in single-core, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 69355 is comparable to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 9115 (69288) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515), with deltaPct values of 0.1 and -0.2, respectively.

In the context of Thief, the CPU’s role is minimal because the game is not demanding on modern processors. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 74 FPS, which is likely a GPU limit rather than a CPU limit. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain similar across resolutions, but we see a significant drop at higher resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the constraint. The i7-14700K’s 33 MB of L3 cache and 20 cores are far more than Thief requires, and the game likely uses only a few threads.

The CPU’s high single-core performance, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2160, is irrelevant here because the GPU cannot keep up. The processor is essentially idle from a gaming perspective, with its capabilities far exceeding the demands of this title. The measured FPS does not change in a way that would suggest CPU involvement; the drop from 1080p to 4K is entirely attributable to the GPU’s pixel processing limits. The CPU’s TDP of 125 W and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are specifications that would matter in CPU-intensive games, but Thief does not fall into that category.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve in Thief?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 74, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system run Thief at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 30 at Low settings to 17 at High and Ultra settings. None of these results are playable, with the lowest average being 17 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 7472. The Intel Arc A310 has a score of 7550, which is 1% higher (deltaPct of -1). The AMD Radeon HD 8850M has a score of 7447, which is 0.3% lower.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations for Thief?

A: The combo ranks 3595 out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the bottom percentile of all systems for this game.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-14700K bottleneck the GTX 1650 in Thief?

A: No, the data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The i7-14700K is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, while the GTX 1650 is in the 40th percentile. The FPS drops consistently with resolution increases, which is a GPU-bound pattern.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo at 2560x1440 Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 33, with an average of 39 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only configuration that provides a consistently smooth experience is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which averages 74 FPS. This is the sole setting and resolution combination that exceeds the 60 FPS mark. For users who prioritize frame rate, this is the recommended choice, as it offers the best balance of playability and visual fidelity that the GTX 1650 can manage.

If a user prefers higher visual quality, 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the next best option, averaging 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS. This is still playable, but it fails to maintain a locked 60 FPS. The minimum of 48 FPS may be noticeable in fast-paced scenes. High and Ultra at 1080p average 43 FPS and 41 FPS, respectively, which are playable but not ideal for a stealth game where smooth camera movement is important.

At 2560x1440, the only viable option is Low settings, which yields 51 FPS. Medium at 1440p drops to 39 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 29 FPS and 28 FPS, respectively. These are not recommended for a good experience. At 3840x2160, no settings are recommended, as even Low only achieves 30 FPS, and the other presets are in the 17-23 FPS range, which is below acceptable playability.

The data suggests that the best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Low, which provides the highest frame rate and avoids the frame time spikes seen in the Medium setting’s minimum FPS of 48. Users should avoid 4K entirely with this GPU, as the performance is consistently poor. For a balanced approach, 1080p Medium offers a 56 FPS average, but the 48 FPS minimum suggests occasional drops that could affect gameplay. The recommendation is to stick with 1080p Low for the most consistent performance.