Thief

Launched in 2014, Thief is a stealth title that remains a demanding benchmark for modern hardware, particularly at high resolutions. The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT produces a wide spread of performance, scaling from highly playable 4K Ultra to extremely high refresh rates at 1080p. The data indicates a system that is consistently capable, though the gap between settings presets reveals where the GPU and CPU each carry the load.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo achieves at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the combination averages 101.6 FPS. The lowest 4K result is 58.7 FPS on the Ultra preset.

Q: How does the Core i7-14700KF compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104, which is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K, which scores 70074 with a deltaPct of 0. It is slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115, which has a deltaPct of 0.3.

Q: What is the GPU's synthetic benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT sits in the 82nd percentile when compared to all GPUs in the benchmark database.

Q: What is the largest performance jump between settings at 1440p?

A: Moving from Ultra to Low at 2560x1440 yields a significant increase. The average FPS goes from 95.1 on Ultra to 172.4 on Low, a difference of 77.3 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter even at 1080p. The scaling from Ultra (140.6 FPS) to Low (219.8 FPS) is substantial, indicating that the graphics card is still the bottleneck, as a CPU bottleneck would show less variation between settings.

Q: How does this specific combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This configuration ranks 230th out of 1642 tested combos for Thief, placing it in the top 14% of all systems tested.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip, is the dominant factor in this system's Thief performance. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game's textures and geometry at all tested resolutions. The GPU's clock speeds are notably high, with a base clock of 1660 MHz and a boost clock of 2970 MHz. This substantial boost headroom allows the card to scale its performance dynamically, which is reflected in the steep FPS gains when moving from Ultra to Low settings.

The performance deltas between settings are stark and consistent across all resolutions. At 1440p, the Ultra preset delivers 95.1 FPS, while the High preset jumps to 100.9 FPS. Dropping to Medium yields 131.6 FPS, and Low settings push the average to 172.4 FPS. This pattern indicates that the RX 9070 XT is highly sensitive to the specific rendering workloads in Thief. The Ultra preset likely introduces heavy use of shadow quality, ambient occlusion, and other effects that tax the GPU's 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs.

The card's raw compute power is substantial, with an FP32 rating of 48.66 TFLOPS. This allows it to brute-force through the game's DirectX 11-era rendering paths with ease. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 provides a baseline for its modern API performance, but Thief was released before DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) was standard, so the card's Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6 drivers are likely more relevant for this title. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs underscores its high-end positioning, and the 4K results confirm this, with High settings achieving a smooth 61.5 FPS and Low settings reaching 101.6 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Thief, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT holds the 230th position out of 1642 total combinations. This places it in the upper echelon of performance, roughly in the 86th percentile of all systems tested. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's strong single-threaded performance and the GPU's high rasterization throughput.

The ranking also provides context for the system's overall capability. While it is not the absolute top-tier configuration, it sits well above the median, indicating that it can deliver a high-quality experience in Thief at most settings. The data shows that this combo is more than capable of handling the game's maximum settings at 1440p, where it maintains an average of 95.1 FPS. The jump to 4K Ultra drops the average to 58.7 FPS, which is still playable but shows the limits of this configuration at the highest visual fidelity.

The fact that the combo ranks 230th out of 1642 suggests there are many other pairings that offer higher absolute performance, likely with more powerful GPUs. However, the RX 9070 XT's strong showing in synthetic benchmarks, with a Passmark G3D score of 26795 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 184026, confirms that it is a formidable card. The combination's rank is a direct reflection of its measured FPS in the game, which aligns closely with its position among rivals. The GPU's nearest rivals in the database, such as the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 with a deltaPct of -0.6, are all significantly older, highlighting the RX 9070 XT's generational advantage.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional frame rates. The Ultra preset averages 140.6 FPS, which is already high. High settings increase this to 148 FPS, while Medium reaches 193.8 FPS. Low settings produce a massive 219.8 FPS average, showcasing the GPU's ability to push well beyond the limits of most high-refresh-rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains robust. The Ultra preset yields an average of 95.1 FPS, which is smooth for most gaming scenarios. High settings improve this to 100.9 FPS, and Medium jumps to 131.6 FPS. Low settings are where the card shows its strength, delivering a 172.4 FPS average. This resolution is arguably the sweet spot for this combo, as it offers high visual quality with frame rates that exceed 60 FPS on all presets.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to feel the pressure, but results remain respectable. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 58.7 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold for ideal smoothness. High settings bring it back up to 61.5 FPS, providing a playable experience. Medium settings yield 76.2 FPS, and Low settings jump to 101.6 FPS. The scaling from Ultra to Low at 4K is 42.9 FPS, demonstrating that the RX 9070 XT has enough headroom to prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity when needed.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF plays a supporting role in this configuration, providing the necessary instruction throughput to keep the GPU fed. With 20 cores and 28 threads based on the Raptor Lake architecture, it offers substantial multi-threaded capability, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 19287. However, Thief is a game from 2014 that is not heavily multi-threaded, so the CPU's single-thread performance is more critical.

The processor's base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are key metrics. The high boost clock allows it to maintain excellent single-threaded performance, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6290 and Passmark single-thread score of 4480. This strong single-core performance ensures that the game's main simulation and AI threads are not a bottleneck, even at high frame rates.

The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache is also beneficial, reducing latency for frequently accessed data. The fact that the system achieves 219.8 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU is capable of issuing draw calls fast enough to keep the GPU busy, even when the graphical load is low. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a top-tier part, and its average benchmark score of 70104 places it in the same league as the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which has a deltaPct of -0.4. In Thief, the CPU's role is to provide a stable platform, allowing the RX 9070 XT to deliver its full potential, which the data shows it does effectively.