Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, is often used as a benchmark for raw rasterization throughput. With the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, the data shows a combo that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions but reveals a significant CPU bottleneck at lower settings. The measured frame rates across the resolution and settings matrix indicate that this pairing is exceptionally strong for the game, placing it in the 97th percentile of all tested combos, but the scaling behavior tells a more nuanced story about where the performance ceiling lies.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, confirming that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary driver of performance in Thief at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 179.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 129.8 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 78.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 56% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K, a clear indication that pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are being taxed heavily. The GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are being fully utilized at 4K, where the game’s detailed environments and lighting effects demand more from the rendering pipeline.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The 4K result of 129.9 FPS is only 58% of the 1080p result of 222 FPS. This larger relative drop at lower settings suggests that the CPU is becoming less of a factor as resolution increases, but at 1080p Low, the Core i7-14700KF’s high clock speeds are working hard to feed the GPU. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is only 45.6 FPS (222 vs 176.4), while at 4K the difference is 58.3 FPS (129.9 vs 71.6). This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the sole limiting factor, while at 1080p, the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls is starting to cap performance, especially at lower settings where the GPU is not as stressed.

The Medium preset shows a more moderate scaling pattern, with a 49% drop from 1080p to 4K (196.2 to 98.8 FPS). This is the most balanced preset in terms of load distribution. The data suggests that for players targeting 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck, and for those targeting 1080p with Low settings, the CPU is the bottleneck. The sweet spot for this combo appears to be at 1440p, where the scaling is more linear and the hardware is more evenly matched.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 42nd out of 1642 tested combinations in Thief. This places it in the top 2.6% of all systems tested, a dominant position that reflects the strength of both components. The CPU alone is in the 96th percentile of all processors, and the GPU is in the 88th percentile of all graphics cards, so this ranking is expected given the high-end nature of both parts.

Compared to the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Core i7-14700KF scores an average benchmark of 70104, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K (70074, 0% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887, 0.3% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, -0.4% delta) by a negligible margin. This suggests that the CPU is not a weak link in this combo; it is performing at the expected level for its class.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610, which is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53414). It is 2.1% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (52505) and 2.9% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52086). These margins are small, indicating that the RTX 4080 SUPER is positioned at the top of its performance tier, but not by a wide margin over its closest competitors. The rank of 42nd overall is a strong result, but it is not the absolute best, which implies that other combos with slightly faster GPUs or CPUs could edge it out.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 provides the most balanced experience. At High settings, it delivers 129.8 FPS, which is nearly double the 4K result of 78.7 FPS, while still offering a significant visual upgrade over 1080p. The frame rates at 1440p are high enough to take full advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 222 FPS. This high frame rate, combined with the fact that the GPU is less stressed at low settings, indicates that the Intel Core i7-14700KF is the limiting factor here. The CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads are sufficient, but the single-threaded performance, which is strong with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, becomes the ceiling.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the 1080p average frame rate is 176.4 FPS, while the 4K average is 71.6 FPS. This means the 1080p result is 2.46 times faster, or 104.8 FPS higher, highlighting the massive load increase on the GPU at 4K.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER’s VRAM capacity matter in Thief?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, which is more than sufficient for Thief. The game was released in 2014, so its VRAM requirements are low. The memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s is more relevant to performance at 4K, where the data shows a significant frame rate drop compared to 1440p.

Q: How does this combo compare to one with a slightly faster CPU?

A: The Core i7-14700KF is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the Intel Core i7-14700K, with a delta of 0%. This means that swapping to the 14700K would not change the in-game performance in Thief. The combo rank of 42nd out of 1642 is determined by the overall system, and the CPU is not a limiting factor.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 196 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 121 FPS. This is a difference of 75 FPS, or a 38% reduction in performance when moving to the highest quality settings. This is a significant trade-off for visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo in Thief are as follows:

At 1920x1080, the results are consistently high. The Low preset averages 222 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. The Medium preset averages 196.2 FPS, the High preset averages 179.4 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 176.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 45.6 FPS, showing that the game is not overly demanding at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. The Low preset averages 196 FPS, which is only a 12% drop from the 1080p result. The Medium preset averages 165.4 FPS, the High preset averages 129.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 121 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is only 8.8 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset is not much more demanding than High.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The Low preset averages 129.9 FPS, which is still very playable. The Medium preset averages 98.8 FPS, the High preset averages 78.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 71.6 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is substantial, with the High preset losing 51.1 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 49.4 FPS. This confirms that 4K is the most demanding resolution for this hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this combo for Thief, especially at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s, which is critical for handling the large textures and complex lighting at 4K. The chip, codenamed AD103, features 10240 shading units and 112 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2550 MHz. This configuration delivers a pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s.

The data shows that the GPU’s performance scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized, as evidenced by the high frame rates of over 176 FPS across all settings. At 1440p, the GPU is more engaged, and the frame rates drop by roughly 20-30%. At 4K, the GPU is the absolute bottleneck, with frame rates falling to below 100 FPS at High settings and below 80 FPS at Ultra. This is consistent with the GPU’s 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs, which places it at the high end but not the absolute top.

The GPU’s 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are not specifically relevant to Thief, as the game does not support ray tracing or DLSS. The raw rasterization performance is what matters here, and the RTX 4080 SUPER delivers it. The benchmark results show a passmark G3D score of 34245, which is strong, and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6600, indicating solid DirectX 12 performance. However, Thief is a DirectX 11 title, and the passmark DirectX 11 score of 301 reflects the GPU’s capability in this legacy API.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. It delivers 129.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and high enough for most high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at this resolution only improves the visuals marginally, as the frame rate drops by 8.8 FPS to 121 FPS, which is a negligible difference for most players.

For 4K gaming, the High preset is the recommended choice, as it provides 78.7 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 71.6 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns for the performance cost. The Medium preset at 4K yields 98.8 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is noticeable in a game that emphasizes atmosphere and lighting.

At 1080p, any preset is viable. The Ultra preset at 176.4 FPS is the best choice for maximum visual fidelity, as the frame rate is still exceptionally high. The Low preset at 222 FPS is only useful for competitive play, where the extra frames might provide a slight advantage, but for a single-player stealth game, the visual quality of Ultra is preferable. Overall, the data suggests that players should prioritize the High preset for a consistent experience across all resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF plays a supporting role in Thief, but it is not without its impact on performance. The CPU has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This high boost clock is crucial for single-threaded performance, which is what Thief primarily relies on. The benchmark data shows a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6290 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2972, both of which are strong indicators of the CPU’s ability to handle the game’s physics and AI calculations.

At 1080p with Low settings, the CPU becomes the bottleneck, as the frame rate of 222 FPS is likely capped by the CPU’s ability to process the game’s logic. The CPU’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for game performance. The 96th percentile ranking of the CPU against all others means it is faster than 96% of CPUs, so this is not a weakness, but rather a sign that the GPU is so powerful that it outstrips the CPU at lower resolutions.

The CPU’s performance in multi-threaded tasks is also excellent, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a Passmark multithread score of 52425. However, Thief does not scale well with many cores, so these scores have minimal impact on the game’s frame rates. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU’s load is much higher. The 2.9% performance delta between the Core i7-14700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti in the GPU benchmarks is not relevant to the CPU’s role here, but it does show that the CPU is well-matched to the GPU’s tier.