Thief

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 presents a stark contrast in capability within Thief. The data shows a combination where a top-tier CPU is shackled by an entry-level GPU, resulting in a rank of 1609 out of 1642 tested combinations. This pairing is defined by its bottleneck, with the GPU consistently limiting performance across all tested settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combination in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 1609 out of 1642 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 2% of all tested system configurations for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals in general processing power?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104. This places it statistically tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K (deltaPct of 0) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (deltaPct of -0.4), while being 1.3% ahead of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270.

Q: What is the performance gap between the GTX 1650 and its closest GPU rivals?

A: The GTX 1650's average benchmark score is 8713. It trails the AMD Radeon 550X by 0.4% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile by 0.4%, while leading the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 by 0.5% and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 by 0.5%.

Q: What is the highest frame rate achieved at 1080p with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 74.2 FPS, which is the highest measured average frame rate for this pairing across all tested resolutions and settings.

Q: How does the frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 42.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 15.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 62.7% decrease in performance when moving to 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary limiting factor in this configuration for Thief?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The CPU is a top-tier part, but the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and limited processing power prevent it from achieving high frame rates, especially at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the decisive component in this configuration, acting as a severe constraint on Thief's performance. Its specifications, including a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, are paired with a modest 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s. This memory configuration is a primary bottleneck, as Thief at higher settings can easily exceed the available frame buffer, forcing the system to rely on slower memory operations.

The GPU's compute capabilities are limited by its 896 shading units and a peak FP32 throughput of 2.984 TFLOPS. The benchmark data reflects this constraint. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages an average of 40.6 FPS. This figure is only slightly lower than the 42.1 FPS at High, suggesting that the GPU is already saturated and the incremental settings changes have a diminishing impact on performance. The GPU's 43rd percentile ranking among all GPUs reinforces its position as a lower-tier part that struggles to feed modern high-refresh-rate displays.

The GTX 1650's performance parity with its nearest rivals is tight. It is 0.4% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and 0.4% slower than the AMD Radeon 550X, while being 0.5% faster than the NVIDIA Quadro P2200. These are all cards in a similar performance class, meaning the observed frame rates are representative of this entire tier of hardware. The data shows that for Thief, this GPU is the hard ceiling for performance, and no amount of CPU headroom can overcome its physical limitations.

CPU Role

In stark contrast to the GPU, the Intel Core i7-14700KF is an exceptionally powerful processor that is vastly underutilized in this gaming scenario. With 20 cores and 28 threads, and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, its processing potential is enormous. Its benchmark scores are equally impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a single-core score of 6290, alongside a Geekbench single-core score of 2972. This compute power places the i7-14700KF in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a top-tier part for any workload.

Its rival comparison shows a tight race at the top. The i7-14700KF's average score of 70104 is essentially identical to the Intel Core i7-14700K, with a deltaPct of 0. It also trades blows with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which holds a -0.4% advantage. The data confirms that the i7-14700KF is not a source of any performance deficit in this system.

For Thief, a game from 2014, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, AI, and draw calls. The data suggests it performs this effortlessly. The evidence is the consistency in frame rates across different quality settings at a given resolution. For instance, at 1440p, the frame rates are 50.2 FPS (Low), 38.7 FPS (Medium), 28.5 FPS (High), and 27.2 FPS (Ultra). The significant drop from Low to Medium indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as the rendering load increases. The CPU is never the constraint here; the GPU is.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i7-14700KF and GTX 1650 achieves a rank of 1609 out of 1642 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the bottom 2% of all tested systems, a position that is wholly attributable to the GPU. The CPU is a top-5% part, but its contribution to the overall combo score is effectively nullified by the graphics card. This is a classic example of a system where component choice creates a severe imbalance.

The data shows that the combo's overall average FPS is dragged down by the GPU's inability to handle higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves a playable 74.2 FPS, but this is the only setting where the frame rate approaches what would be considered smooth for modern standards. The rank of 1609 is a direct consequence of the GPU's performance ceiling, which prevents the system from competing with combos that feature even mid-range graphics cards. The CPU's high percentile ranking does little to improve the combo's standing because the game's performance is not CPU-bound.

The 33 other combos ranked lower than this pairing are likely those with even weaker GPUs, possibly integrated graphics or older, less capable discrete cards. This rank is a clear indicator that the GTX 1650 is the defining weakness, and the system's potential is severely curtailed by its selection.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data clearly illustrates the GPU bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the system shows a wide range of performance depending on settings, from 74.2 FPS at Low to 40.6 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, these figures drop significantly, with the Low setting yielding 50.2 FPS and Ultra falling to 27.2 FPS. The most severe impact is seen at 3840x2160, where the frame rates collapse: Low produces 31 FPS, Medium 21.5 FPS, and High a nearly unplayable 15.7 FPS.

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings is 62.7% (from 42.1 to 15.7 FPS). This is a predictable outcome for a GPU with only 4 GB of VRAM and a 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth. As the resolution increases, the demand on the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth grows exponentially. The GTX 1650 cannot sustain the workload, and performance degrades accordingly.

The scaling pattern reveals that the CPU is not a factor in this degradation. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the data shows a consistent and substantial drop in FPS as resolution increases, which is the definitive signature of a GPU-bound system. The i7-14700KF is ready to process frames far faster than the GTX 1650 can render them, making the GPU the sole arbiter of this combo's performance in Thief.