Thief

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers a robust performance profile in Thief, a stealth title from 2014. Measured data shows the combination achieving playable frame rates at all tested resolutions and presets, with a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, settings behavior, CPU and GPU contributions, and how this specific combination ranks among all tested setups.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the game's performance burden shifts between the CPU and GPU as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with the Low preset hitting 219 FPS and the Medium preset reaching 198 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU, and the GPU is not the primary constraint. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is substantial: 219 FPS versus 164 FPS, a gap of 55 FPS that shows the graphics settings are the main lever on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a pronounced drop from 1080p. The Low preset falls from 219 FPS to 193 FPS, a reduction of 26 FPS. The High preset drops from 172 FPS to 118 FPS, and Medium from 198 FPS to 155 FPS. The Ultra preset goes from 164 FPS to 113 FPS. This indicates that at 1440p, the GPU is starting to become a more significant factor, but the CPU still has enough headroom to keep frame rates well above 100 FPS for all settings.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop considerably. The Low preset is 120 FPS, Medium is 91 FPS, High is 70 FPS, and Ultra is 66 FPS. The relative performance gap between settings narrows dramatically at 4K. For instance, the difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 54 FPS (120 vs 66), which is similar in raw terms to the 1080p difference of 55 FPS. However, the percentage drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 45%, while at 1080p it is 25%. This shows that at 4K, the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the frame rate is heavily influenced by the graphics settings, with diminishing returns as you approach Ultra.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is classic: 1080p is CPU-bound, 1440p is a balanced mix, and 4K is GPU-bound. The data shows that the largest absolute frame rate drop happens between 1440p and 4K for the High preset (118 FPS to 70 FPS, a drop of 48 FPS). For the Low preset, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 99 FPS (219 to 120), which is the largest absolute reduction. This suggests the GPU's shading and pixel throughput are the main constraints at higher resolutions, given the game's age and the GPU's specifications.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience for this combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves 198 FPS, while High reaches 172 FPS and Ultra 164 FPS. The step from Medium to High costs 26 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs another 8 FPS. For a game like Thief, the visual difference between Medium and Ultra may be noticeable, but the marginal cost is high. The Medium preset at 1080p provides a high frame rate above 170 FPS, which is often sufficient for smooth gameplay, while the Ultra preset, at 164 FPS, is not far behind.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 155 FPS, which is a good balance. The High preset at 118 FPS is still very playable, and the Ultra preset at 113 FPS is only 5 FPS slower than Medium. This suggests that at 1440p, the Ultra preset is not as punishing as it could be, with a relatively small gap to Medium. However, the Low preset at 193 FPS is overkill for most displays, so Medium or High is the recommended choice.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the most balanced option, with 91 FPS average and a minimum of 78 FPS. The High preset at 70 FPS and Ultra at 66 FPS are both playable but close to the edge of 60 FPS displays. The Low preset at 120 FPS is very high, but the visual quality reduction may be too significant for a 4K display. The data shows that Medium at 4K offers the best compromise, with a 31 FPS improvement over High and a 29 FPS improvement over Ultra, while still maintaining above 60 FPS.

For the overall best experience, the Medium preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions. At 1080p it yields 198 FPS, at 1440p 155 FPS, and at 4K 91 FPS. It provides a consistent ratio of performance to visual quality, and the minimum FPS of 169 at 1080p and 132 at 1440p are strong. The High preset is also excellent, but it only becomes the best choice at 1080p where it still holds 172 FPS, and at 1440p it is still above 100 FPS. For players with high refresh rate monitors at 1080p, the Low preset at 219 FPS or Medium at 198 FPS are ideal, while for 4K, Medium is the most reliable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU's cache includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, with a dual-channel memory bus.

In Thief, a game from 2014, the CPU is likely not the primary bottleneck at 1080p, but the data shows its impact. The frame rate at 1080p Low is 219 FPS, which is very high, but the game's physics and AI systems can still stress the CPU. The CPU's multi-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and single-core score of 6235. In a game like Thief, which is not known for being extremely CPU-intensive, this CPU provides ample headroom.

The CPU's 28 threads are more than enough for this game, and the boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures high single-thread performance. The game's engine, while not heavily multi-threaded, still benefits from the CPU's high IPC. The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rate doesn't change much between the High and Ultra presets (172 vs 164 FPS), indicating that the CPU isn't the limiting factor at that resolution. However, at 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, and the CPU's role is less important. The CPU's percentile rank of 94% among all CPUs indicates it is a high-end part, and it is well-matched to the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 244 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, putting it in the top 6.6% of all configurations. This indicates that it is not only a strong pairing overall, but also highly effective for this particular game. The combo rank in the top 6.6% suggests the system is well-balanced, with both the CPU and GPU contributing to high frame rates.

The nearest CPU rivals, based on average benchmark score, are the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (with a delta of 0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.4% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.9% higher), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (1% lower). This CPU is competitive with these parts, and in the context of Thief, the RTX 4070 Ti's performance is a bigger factor than the CPU's exact multi-threaded score.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (with a delta of -0.8% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (-1.3% lower), the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (1.6% higher), and the Intel Arc A730M (-1.7% lower). The GPU's score in Thief is not directly compared, but the combination of the 4070 Ti and the 14700KF yields a top-tier rank, showing that the pairing is well-balanced. The GPU's doesn't have a dedicated game-specific score in the pack, but the overall combination's rank in Thief is excellent.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is a high-end GPU from the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 5.2 GB/s. The GPU has 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, along with 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is 0.09 TFLOPS, and it has a TDP of 285 W.

In Thief, the GPU is the main determinant of frame rate at 1440p and 4K. The 12 GB of VRAM is ample for this game, which was released in 2014 and is not particularly VRAM-hungry. The GPU's large shading unit count and high boost clock enable it to push very high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the load becomes more demanding. The 4K Ultra setting yields 66 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target, indicating the GPU is nearly maxed out at that resolution.

The GPU's memory of 12 GB is sufficient, and the memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is high, which helps at high resolutions. The texture fillrate of 626.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s are more than adequate for this title. The GPU's performance in this game is strong, but the 4K Ultra preset shows that it is not overkill, as it is just above 60 FPS. The GPU's role is clear: it is the limiting component at 4K, but at 1080p and 1440p, it has enough headroom to allow the CPU and game engine to shine.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080

• Low: 219 FPS average.
• Medium: 198 FPS average, with a minimum of 169 FPS and maximum of 228 FPS.
• High: 172 FPS average.
• Ultra: 164 FPS average.

At 1080p, the Low preset is the fastest, and the difference between Low and Ultra is 55 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 169 FPS is still above the 144 Hz refresh rate, making it a good option for high refresh displays. The High preset is 172 FPS, which is also excellent. The Ultra preset at 164 FPS is still very smooth, but the drop from Medium to Ultra is 34 FPS, so it is a significant cost for the visual upgrade.

2560x1440

• Low: 193 FPS.
• Medium: 155 FPS (min 132, max 179).
• High: 118 FPS.
• Ultra: 113 FPS.

The 1440p resolution shows a wider spread between settings. The Low preset is 193 FPS, which is high, but the Medium preset at 155 FPS is a more balanced choice. The High preset is 118 FPS, and Ultra is 113 FPS, with a difference of only 5 FPS between them. This indicates that the Ultra preset is not much more demanding than High at 1440p, making it a viable option for those who want higher quality.

3840x2160

• Low: 120 FPS.
• Medium: 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and maximum of 105 FPS.
• High: 70 FPS.
• Ultra: 66 FPS.

At 4K, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset is 120 FPS, which is still very playable, but the Medium preset is 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS. The High preset is 70 FPS, and Ultra is 66 FPS, both of which are just above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K offers a good balance, with 91 FPS and a minimum of 78 FPS, which is comfortable for most displays. The Low preset is the highest but may not look as good on a 4K screen.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use with this combo at 4K resolution?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 delivers 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, which is the best balance of quality and performance. The High and Ultra presets are 70 FPS and 66 FPS, respectively, which are still playable but at a lower frame rate.

Q: How does the frame rate change from 1080p to 4K?

A: The frame rate drops significantly. For the Low preset, it goes from 219 FPS at 1080p to 120 FPS at 4K, a drop of 99 FPS. For Medium, it goes from 198 FPS to 91 FPS, and for High from 172 FPS to 70 FPS. The Ultra preset goes from 164 FPS to 66 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the main bottleneck in Thief?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is more often the limiting factor due to the high frame rates, but this CPU is powerful enough. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, as shown by the frame rate differences between settings.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations?

A: This configuration ranks 244 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 6.6% of all tested systems.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM of 12 GB cause issues in Thief?

A: No, the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2019. The game does not require a large amount of VRAM, so the 12 GB is not a limiting factor.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 Medium is 132 FPS, with an average of 155 FPS and a maximum of 179 FPS.