Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, remains a demanding benchmark for modern hardware. This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER across the game’s four quality presets and three primary resolutions. The data indicates a system capable of high refresh-rate gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K performance requires more careful settings selection to maintain smooth frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the system’s performance scales as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 219 FPS at 1080p to 191.6 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 27.4 FPS. Moving to 4K, the average falls to 113.9 FPS, representing a substantial 105.1 FPS decrease from the 1080p result. This significant drop indicates that at 4K, the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor, as the pixel count quadruples and the rasterization workload increases dramatically.

The scaling pattern changes with higher quality settings. At the Ultra preset, the average frame rate is 155.4 FPS at 1080p, drops to 106.9 FPS at 1440p, and further to 61.3 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 60.5%, which is slightly less severe than the 48% drop observed at the Low preset. This suggests that while the GPU is still the bottleneck at all resolutions, the CPU’s role becomes more pronounced at lower settings and resolutions where frame rates are exceptionally high. The 219 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at very high rates, but the GPU’s workload at 4K limits overall throughput.

The data shows that the transition from 1080p to 1440p is less punishing than the jump to 4K. For instance, at High settings, the average drops from 166.8 FPS at 1080p to 114.6 FPS at 1440p, a 31.3% reduction. However, from 1440p to 4K, the average drops from 114.6 FPS to 66.7 FPS, a 41.8% reduction. This non-linear scaling is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, where the fill-rate and memory bandwidth demands at 4K become increasingly difficult to satisfy. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the sheer pixel count at 2160p dictates the performance ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

In Thief, the combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 121 out of 1,642 tested combinations. This places the setup in the top 7.4% of all tested combos, indicating a very high level of performance relative to the broader database. The percentile ranking for the CPU alone is 96, meaning it outperforms 96% of all CPUs in the database, and the GPU sits at the 84th percentile.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i7-14700KF with a delta of 0%, the AMD EPYC 9115 with a delta of 0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X with a delta of -0.5%. This indicates that the i7-14700K is essentially performance-equivalent to its KF variant and the Ryzen 9 9950X in synthetic tests, with negligible differences of less than one percent. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 with a delta of -0.2% and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE with a delta of -0.3%, showing that the RTX 4070 SUPER’s raw compute performance is closely matched by these other cards.

Given this hardware pairing, the rank of 121 is a strong result. The CPU’s high multi-core performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,534) and the GPU’s solid 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4,627 contribute to a system that is well-balanced for a game like Thief, which is not particularly demanding on modern hardware. The rank suggests that this combo is better suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming than for maxed-out 4K, as the FPS data confirms.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Thief?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440, the system delivers an average of 114.6 FPS on High settings and 106.9 FPS on Ultra, making it the sweet spot for high refresh rate gaming. At 1920x1080, frame rates exceed 155 FPS on all presets, while 3840x2160 sees averages drop below 70 FPS on High and Ultra, which may not be ideal for all users.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at lower resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 219 FPS. This high number suggests the Intel Core i7-14700K, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is capable of feeding the GPU effectively, minimizing CPU bottlenecks even at these high frame rates.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER a good match for the i7-14700K in this game?

A: Yes, the pairing is balanced. The combo ranks 121st out of 1,642 tested combinations, placing it in the top 7.4% of all tested setups. The CPU’s performance is near the top of the database (96th percentile), and the GPU is also above average (84th percentile), resulting in a well-matched system.

Q: What is the performance cost of enabling Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, moving from High to Ultra settings reduces the average frame rate from 66.7 FPS to 61.3 FPS, a drop of 5.4 FPS. The difference from Medium to Ultra is larger, with the average falling from 86.9 FPS to 61.3 FPS, a 25.6 FPS reduction.

Q: How does the 1080p Low preset compare to the 4K Ultra preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset achieves an average of 219 FPS, while the 4K Ultra preset achieves 61.3 FPS. This represents a 157.7 FPS difference, highlighting the massive performance gap between the lowest and highest demand configurations.

Q: Is the system capable of 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160, the High preset averages 66.7 FPS and the Medium preset averages 86.9 FPS, both comfortably above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 61.3 FPS, which is just barely above the 60 FPS threshold.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended configuration. The data shows this yields an average of 114.6 FPS, which is well-suited for smooth gameplay on high refresh rate monitors. This setting provides a significant visual improvement over Medium while only costing 33 FPS on average (147.6 FPS on Medium vs. 114.6 FPS on High). At 1440p, the Ultra preset is also viable, delivering 106.9 FPS, but the minor visual gains over High may not justify the 7.7 FPS average reduction for all users.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers an average of 219 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or extremely high refresh rate displays. However, this comes at a significant visual quality cost. The Medium preset at 1080p, averaging 197.6 FPS, offers a better balance for those who still want high frame rates but are willing to sacrifice some visual fidelity. At 4K, the Medium preset is the safest choice for a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 86.9 FPS. The High preset at 4K, at 66.7 FPS, is also acceptable, but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 61.3 FPS, is usable but may experience occasional dips below 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 219 FPS. This is the highest measured result of the entire dataset. Medium settings produce an average of 197.6 FPS, while High settings yield 166.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of 155.4 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 63.6 FPS, showing a clear performance hierarchy.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU’s workload. The Low preset averages 191.6 FPS, a decrease of 27.4 FPS from the 1080p result. Medium settings average 147.6 FPS, and High settings average 114.6 FPS. The Ultra preset is the first to drop below the 110 FPS mark, averaging 106.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 84.7 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The Low preset averages 113.9 FPS, which is still a playable frame rate. Medium settings produce an average of 86.9 FPS. High settings average 66.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 61.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 52.6 FPS, which is smaller than at 1440p, indicating that all settings are hitting a similar GPU-bound ceiling. The data shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER can handle 4K in Thief, but only the lower presets provide a high-performance margin.