Thief

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti produces a distinctive performance profile in Thief, a 2014 stealth title. The measured frame rates reveal a system that excels at high refresh rates in lower resolutions but encounters limitations at 4K with maximum settings. The data indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti, positioned in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the i7-14700KF, sitting in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, provides ample headroom. This analysis breaks down the specific FPS figures, scaling behavior, and optimal settings based solely on the measured data.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings for this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 108.9. This is the highest quality preset at the lowest tested resolution, and it remains above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating a playable experience.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its closest rival in overall benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 25120, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6700M's score of 25180. It is also 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600 and AMD Radeon 890M.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 129.9 on Low settings to 70.6 on Ultra settings. This represents a significant 45.6% reduction in frame rate when moving to the highest quality preset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rates scale dramatically with settings (from 78.8 FPS at Low to 41.2 FPS at Ultra), which indicates that the graphics card's workload is the bottleneck rather than the CPU.

*Q: What is the combo rank for this specific CPU and GPU pairing in Thief?*

A: This combination is ranked 725 out of 1642 total combos tested for the game. This places the system slightly above the middle of the performance distribution.

Q: How does the i7-14700KF's multi-core score compare to the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X?

A: The i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X's score of 70420, meaning the Intel chip performs slightly better in this metric.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the sole graphics processor in this configuration, and its specifications are central to understanding the measured results. The card features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its memory operates at 1750 MHz, with an effective data rate of 14 Gbps. The GPU is built on the Ampere architecture with an 8 nm process node and contains 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation pipelines. The base clock is 1410 MHz, with a boost clock of 1665 MHz.

These specifications directly influence the Thief results. The GPU's raw throughput, quantified by its 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, is sufficient for high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the 8 GB memory capacity and bandwidth become more critical as resolution increases. The benchmark data shows that at 3840x2160, the average FPS at Ultra settings drops to 41.2, which is the lowest measured value across all tests. This indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are strained at this resolution and quality level. The card's performance percentile of 69 places it in the upper-mid range of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 25120 is closely matched by its nearest rivals, all within a 0.7% delta.

The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 163, which is the most relevant API test for a title from 2014, suggests the card has strong legacy DirectX performance. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support is present, but the game's age means it likely leverages the older API. The 8 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for Thief at most settings, but the 4K Ultra result of 41.2 FPS shows a clear performance ceiling. The data indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti provides a balanced experience at mid-range resolutions but becomes the primary bottleneck when pushing 4K with maximum quality.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is typical for a system where the GPU is the limiting factor. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 193.2 at 1920x1080 to 129.9 at 2560x1440, and then to 78.8 at 3840x2160. This represents a 32.8% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 59.2% decrease from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with the increased pixel count placing a greater load on the GPU's shading units and memory subsystem.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is even more pronounced in absolute terms. The average FPS falls from 108.9 at 1080p to 70.6 at 1440p, and finally to 41.2 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, with a 41.6% reduction in frame rate. This suggests that the RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB memory buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at the highest pixel density, especially with the demanding Ultra preset.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this scenario. The Intel Core i7-14700KF, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, has an average benchmark score of 70104, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X. This level of CPU performance is more than adequate to feed the GPU at all tested resolutions. The fact that frame rates scale so heavily with resolution and settings confirms that the RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component. At 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound in certain scenarios, as evidenced by the high 193.2 FPS at Low settings, but at 4K, the GPU's workload dominates, leading to the lower frame rates observed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS values, the optimal settings depend on the user's display resolution and target frame rate. For a 60 FPS target, the data shows that at 3840x2160, the Medium preset delivers an average of 60.8 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that achieves this target. High settings at 4K drop to 47.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41.2 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold. Therefore, for 4K displays, the Medium preset is the recommended choice to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, there is more flexibility. The High preset delivers 76.6 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS, while Ultra achieves 70.6 FPS, also above the target. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Low preset at 1440p provides 129.9 FPS, which is suitable for 120 Hz displays. However, for the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1440p is a strong recommendation, as it offers a substantial improvement over Medium (102.8 FPS) while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, with the lowest average being 108.9 FPS at Ultra. The Ultra preset is the clear recommendation here, as it provides the highest visual quality while still delivering frame rates that are well above 60 FPS and suitable for most high-refresh-rate displays. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 193.2 FPS, which is only relevant for users with 165 Hz or 240 Hz monitors seeking maximum frame rates. The data suggests that the Ultra preset at 1080p is the best overall experience, as it provides a 26.5% higher frame rate than 1440p High while offering superior visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its highest performance levels. The Low preset achieves an average of 193.2 FPS, which is the highest value measured in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 147.6 FPS, High settings produce 113.8 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 108.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 43.6% reduction in frame rate, which is the smallest relative drop among all resolutions, indicating that the CPU is providing sufficient headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show the GPU's limitations. The Low preset averages 129.9 FPS, a 32.8% decrease from the 1080p result. Medium settings drop to 102.8 FPS, while High settings achieve 76.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 70.6 FPS, which is only 64.9% of the 1080p Ultra result. The gap between High and Ultra at this resolution is 7.8%, which is smaller than the 14.4% gap at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the primary constraint at higher quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are significant. The Low preset averages 78.8 FPS, which is a 39.3% reduction from the 1440p Low result. Medium settings achieve 60.8 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings fall to 47.8 FPS, and Ultra settings produce only 41.2 FPS. The scaling from Medium to High at 4K is a 21.4% reduction, and from High to Ultra is a 13.8% reduction. These numbers clearly demonstrate that the RTX 3060 Ti is struggling to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher quality presets. The difference between 1440p Ultra (70.6 FPS) and 4K Ultra (41.2 FPS) is a 41.6% drop, which highlights the substantial cost of increasing pixel count. Across all resolutions, the data shows a consistent pattern: the system is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but 4K requires significant settings reductions to achieve smooth performance.