Thief

Thief, the 2014 stealth classic, remains a demanding title for modern hardware, and the combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces a compelling dataset for analysis. The measured frames per second across resolutions and settings reveal a system with substantial headroom, though the performance scaling characteristics expose distinct bottlenecks. This analysis breaks down the numbers, examines the roles of the CPU and GPU, and contextualizes this combo within the broader benchmark database.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Thief?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 219 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested system configurations in Thief?

A: This specific CPU and GPU combination holds the 26th position out of 2851 tested combos, placing it in the top percentile of all recorded systems.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Ultra and Low settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160 resolution, the average FPS drops from 158 on Low to 87 on Ultra, a difference of 71 frames per second.

Q: Are there any frame rate minimums recorded for the High and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: No, the dataset only includes minimum and maximum FPS values for the Medium preset at each resolution. For 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 149 FPS and the maximum is 201 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D have a higher average benchmark score than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT?

A: No, the RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, which is 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT's score of 78940.

Q: What is the boost clock speed of the Intel Core i7-14700KF?

A: The processor has a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a formidable graphics card, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. Its specifications are massive, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The card operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at an effective speed of 28 Gbps. These specifications translate directly to the raw pixel and texture throughput observed in Thief, with a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

In the context of Thief, a game from 2014, this GPU is immensely powerful. The data shows that even at the most demanding setting tested—3840x2160 with Ultra presets—the card maintains an average of 87 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 5090 D is never the limiting factor in a way that would cause the game to become unplayable. The card's performance percentile of 92 versus all GPUs confirms its position near the top of the performance hierarchy. While its average benchmark score of 77712 places it just 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, these are aggregate scores across various tests; in actual Thief gameplay, the measured FPS shows the card's prowess.

The GPU's memory configuration is also relevant. With 32 GB of VRAM, capacity is a non-issue for a game of Thief's era. The high memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and scene data transfer are handled effortlessly, contributing to the exceptionally high frame rates at lower resolutions where the CPU or game engine might otherwise become a bottleneck. The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with modern rendering paths, even if this older title doesn't utilize them fully.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience, depending on the user's display and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are so high that the choice of preset is purely about prioritizing visual fidelity or raw speed. The Ultra preset averages 177 FPS, which is already exceptionally smooth. However, for users with a 240 Hz display, the Medium preset at 198 FPS or the Low preset at 219 FPS would be preferable to fully utilize the display's capabilities, albeit with a reduction in graphical quality.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 148 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. The High preset at 156 FPS offers a nearly imperceptible performance gain while potentially lowering visual quality. The Medium preset provides a noticeable bump to 175 FPS with a recorded minimum of 149 FPS, ensuring smooth frame times even in complex scenes. For 1440p, the Ultra preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it maintains a frame rate well above the 144 Hz threshold without sacrificing the highest visual settings.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more nuanced. The Ultra preset averages 87 FPS, which is perfectly playable on a 60 Hz or even a 120 Hz display, but it is the only preset that dips below the 100 FPS mark. The High preset at 92 FPS is nearly identical. For a 4K display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, the Medium preset, averaging 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS, is the optimal choice. It provides a fluid experience that exceeds 100 FPS consistently. The Low preset at 158 FPS shows the headroom available, but the graphical compromise is substantial. For the best 4K experience, Medium settings provide the ideal balance of performance and visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset includes average FPS for all presets and resolutions, with minimum and maximum FPS only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution.

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high across the board. The Low preset yields an average of 219 FPS. Moving up to Medium, the average drops to 198 FPS, with a minimum of 169 and a maximum of 228 FPS. High settings produce an average of 180 FPS, while the Ultra preset results in an average of 177 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 42 FPS, indicating that even at the highest settings, the system is not significantly challenged.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show more variation between presets. Low settings average 193 FPS. Medium settings see a reduction to 175 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 201 FPS. The High preset averages 156 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 148 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 45 FPS. The minimum FPS of 149 for Medium suggests that while the average is high, there are moments of heavier load, likely involving CPU-bound scenes or complex alpha effects.

At 3840x2160, the scaling is more pronounced. The Low preset averages 158 FPS. Medium settings average 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 and a maximum of 138 FPS. The High preset averages 92 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 87 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is now 71 FPS, a significant margin that highlights the increased load on the GPU at higher resolutions. The minimum of 102 FPS on Medium is still a strong result, showing that the system can maintain high frame rates even demanding 4K scenes.

Resolution Scaling

Analyzing the performance drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the scaling behavior of this combo. At Ultra settings, the average FPS goes from 177 at 1920x1080, to 148 at 2560x1440, and finally to 87 at 3840x2160. This represents a performance retention of 83.6% from 1080p to 1440p, and only 49.2% from 1080p to 4K. The frame rate reduction of 90 FPS from 1080p to 4K indicates a massive increase in GPU workload at the higher resolution.

The pattern is similar at Low settings, with 219 FPS at 1080p dropping to 193 FPS at 1440p and then to 158 FPS at 4K. The retention from 1080p to 4K is 72.1%. This is a smaller absolute drop (61 FPS) but a larger relative drop compared to the Ultra preset. This suggests that at Low settings, the system is more likely to be bottlenecked by the CPU or game engine at 1080p, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. As the resolution increases, the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor, and the frame rate drops accordingly.

The data shows that the RTX 5090 D is the primary scaling component. The fact that the 1080p to 1440p drop is modest, but the 1440p to 4K drop is severe, points to the GPU hitting its limits when rendering four times the number of pixels as 1080p. The CPU, with its high core count and clock speeds, is able to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's raw throughput is what dictates the final frame rate at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 33 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are impressive, including a multi-core score of 44167 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 6235. These numbers place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70163.

In Thief, a game that is not heavily multi-threaded, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain a high minimum frame rate and avoid bottlenecking the GPU. The data suggests it performs this task admirably. The minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1080p is 169 FPS, which is very high. Even at 4K, the minimum FPS for Medium is 102 FPS, indicating that the CPU is capable of keeping up with the GPU's frame production without significant stutters or dips.

The processor's high single-core performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 score of 6235, is crucial for older game engines that rely heavily on a single thread for game logic and draw calls. The boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures that this single-threaded performance is maximized. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-14700KF is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, but 1% behind the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K in average benchmark score. However, its specific performance in Thief, as shown by the high frame rates, is more relevant than these aggregate scores.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 26th out of 2851 tested system configurations in Thief. This top-tier ranking is a direct result of the synergy between the high-performance CPU and the flagship GPU. The CPU's ability to deliver high single-threaded performance and the GPU's immense rasterization power combine to produce frame rates that place this combo in the top 0.9% of all tested systems.

This ranking is particularly notable given the game's age. Thief's engine is not designed to take advantage of modern multi-core processors or the latest graphics features, so performance is heavily dependent on raw single-thread speed and brute-force GPU power. The i7-14700KF's 5.60 GHz boost clock and the RTX 5090 D's massive 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance are exactly the kind of specifications that allow a modern system to dominate an older title.

The 4K Ultra performance of 87 FPS reflects the GPU's power, but the 1080p Low performance of 219 FPS shows the CPU's ability to push frame rates to extremely high levels. The rank of 26 indicates that while there are 25 other configurations that perform better, this combo is among the elite for this specific game. The data confirms that for users seeking maximum performance in Thief, this pairing of a high-boost, multi-core CPU with a top-tier GPU is a near-optimal solution, delivering a fluid experience at all tested resolutions and settings.