Thief

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2634th out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested for this game. This is a notably low position that reflects a severe imbalance between the two components. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile against all processors, while the GPU sits in the 5th percentile against all graphics cards. That disparity—a top-tier processor paired with an entry-level graphics solution—explains why this combo lands so far down the ranking despite having a very capable CPU.

Benchmark results indicate that the combo's overall position is dragged down almost entirely by the GPU side of the equation. The Arc B370's average benchmark score of 1184 places it within 0.2% of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, which scores 1186, and within 0.5% of the ATI Radeon HD 5770, which scores 1190. These are legacy parts from a different era, and the Arc B370 is effectively competing with them in raw compute terms. The CPU, by contrast, posts an average benchmark score of 70163, sitting just 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F at 69996 and 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875. The data shows a processor that is firmly in the upper echelon of desktop CPUs, yet it is paired with a GPU that is near the bottom of the graphics hierarchy.

In Thief specifically, this combination is playable only at the lowest settings and resolutions. The measured frames per second across all twelve test configurations show that the system never reaches 60 FPS at 1440p or 4K, and only hits 78 FPS at 1080p on Low settings. The gap between the CPU's potential and the GPU's actual output is the defining characteristic of this combo, and it is the primary reason why it ranks so poorly among the 2851 tested combinations.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, which gives it a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 throughput is 6.144 TFLOPS, and FP16 performance reaches 12.29 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio.

The memory configuration is unusual: the Arc B370 uses system shared memory, with the type, bus width, and bandwidth all listed as system dependent. This means the GPU has no dedicated VRAM and instead relies on the host system's memory, which can introduce latency and bandwidth limitations depending on the CPU and motherboard configuration. In this case, the Core i7-14700KF supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus, so the shared memory bandwidth is whatever the installed system memory provides. The "System Shared" designation for memory size, type, and bus width means that performance is directly tied to the system's RAM speed and capacity, which can vary significantly between configurations.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all older ATI and AMD parts. It is within 0.2% of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, within 0.5% of the ATI Radeon HD 5770, within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and 1.4% above the AMD FirePro M2000. These are all parts from roughly a decade earlier, which contextualizes the Arc B370's performance tier. In Thief, this GPU is the clear bottleneck: the CPU could handle far more frames than the GPU can deliver, and the measured FPS numbers reflect that limitation across every resolution and settings combination.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the system scales from 1080p to 4K, and the pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 78 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 53 FPS, a reduction of 32%. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 31 FPS, which is 60% below the 1080p Low result. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows a drop from 78 to 31 FPS, a 60% reduction that is close to what would be expected from a GPU that is already near its limits at the lower resolution.

At Medium settings, the same pattern emerges. The 1080p Medium result is 59 FPS, which drops to 41 FPS at 1440p Medium (a 31% reduction) and then to 24 FPS at 4K Medium (a 59% reduction from the 1080p baseline). The High settings follow suit: 45 FPS at 1080p, 31 FPS at 1440p (a 31% drop), and 18 FPS at 4K (a 60% drop). The Ultra preset shows 43 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p (a 33% drop), and 17 FPS at 4K (a 60% drop).

The consistent 31-33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and the 59-60% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component throughout. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the resolution scaling would show smaller FPS differences, because the CPU workload would remain relatively constant regardless of resolution. Instead, the frame rate drops proportionally with the pixel count, which is the signature of a GPU that is saturated even at 1080p. The scaling data strongly suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield dramatic improvements, while the CPU is unlikely to be the constraint in any configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four settings presets at three resolutions, providing a complete picture of this combo's performance in Thief.

At 1920x1080, the system produces its best results. Low settings yield an average of 78 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches or exceeds typical display refresh rates. Medium settings drop to 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68 FPS. High settings average 45 FPS, and Ultra settings average 43 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 35 FPS, showing that the settings preset has a substantial impact even at the lowest resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates fall across the board. Low settings average 53 FPS, which is a 25 FPS reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings average 31 FPS, and Ultra settings average 29 FPS. At 1440p, even the Low preset is below 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset is just barely above 30 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 31 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that stays above 30 FPS. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 27 FPS. High settings average 18 FPS, and Ultra settings average 17 FPS. None of the 4K configurations approach 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset is effectively unplayable at 17 FPS.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p Low is the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS, 1080p Medium is the only other configuration above 50 FPS, and everything else falls below 45 FPS. The minimum FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings, where 1080p shows a minimum of 50, 1440p shows a minimum of 35, and 4K shows a minimum of 20. These minimums indicate that even the average frame rates are not the whole story; the 4K Medium configuration can drop as low as 20 FPS, which is well below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Thief at 60 FPS in any configuration?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the measured average FPS is 78. The Medium preset at 1080p comes close at 59 FPS, but every other configuration falls below 60 FPS.

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where playable frame rates are achievable. At 1440p, the best result is 53 FPS on Low, and at 4K, the best result is 31 FPS on Low, both of which are below 60 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184, which is 0.2% below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 at 1186, 0.5% below the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 1190, 0.7% below the AMD Radeon HD 7650M at 1192, and 1.4% above the AMD FirePro M2000 at 1168.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70163, which is 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F at 69996, 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875, 0.9% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515, and 1% below the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K at 70879.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The resolution scaling shows a 60% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at all settings, which is consistent with a GPU bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile, while the GPU ranks in the 5th percentile.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 2634th out of 2851 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested for this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, specifically the Raptor Lake-R refresh. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel bus, and it has Gen 5 PCIe with 16 lanes available from the CPU itself.

The processor's benchmark results place it firmly in the high-end desktop segment. In Cinebench R23, it scores 44167 in multi-core and 6235 in single-core. Geekbench results show 21462 in multi-core and 2578 in single-core. PassMark tests show a multithread score of 52425 and a single-thread score of 4480. The CPU's percentile ranking against all processors is 94, meaning it outperforms 94% of CPUs in the database.

In Thief, however, the CPU's contribution is largely irrelevant because the GPU cannot keep up. The measured FPS numbers are consistently low across all settings, and the resolution scaling pattern confirms that the CPU is not the constraint. The i7-14700KF could easily deliver far higher frame rates in this game if paired with a more capable GPU. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide substantial headroom for both gaming and multitasking, but in this specific combo, that headroom goes unused because the Arc B370 is the limiting factor.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all in the same performance tier. It is 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.9% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and 1% below the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. This places the i7-14700KF in a tight cluster of high-end processors where the differences are within a single percentage point. The CPU is more than adequate for Thief, and its performance is not the reason for this combo's low ranking.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only configuration that delivers a smooth experience in Thief is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which achieves an average of 78 FPS. This is the sole preset where the frame rate exceeds 60 FPS, and it provides the best experience for players who prioritize fluidity over visual fidelity.

For players who want better visuals while keeping FPS acceptable, 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the next best option, averaging 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS. This is close to the 60 FPS target and provides a reasonable compromise between image quality and performance. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p average 45 and 43 FPS respectively, which is playable but noticeably less smooth.

At 1440p, the recommended setting is Low, which averages 53 FPS. This is below 60 FPS but still playable for many users. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets drop to 31 and 29 FPS respectively. At 4K, none of the settings are recommended for smooth gameplay, with Low averaging 31 FPS, Medium at 24 FPS, High at 18 FPS, and Ultra at 17 FPS.

The data indicates that the system is best suited for 1080p gaming with Low or Medium settings. The 4K configurations are only viable for screenshot purposes or very undemanding gameplay, as the frame rates fall below 30 FPS in all cases. The 1440p Low setting is a viable alternative for users with higher-resolution displays who are willing to accept frame rates in the 50s. Overall, the measured rows suggest that this combo is not designed for high-fidelity gaming in Thief, and users should set expectations accordingly.