Thief

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a striking contrast in capabilities when tested in Thief. The CPU is a high-end desktop part with a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU is an integrated solution sitting at just the 9th percentile among all GPUs. This pairing produces a heavily GPU-bound experience, and the benchmark data for Thief confirms that the integrated Arc B390 is the primary constraint on frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. The measured results provide a clear picture of how this unusual combination handles a 2014 stealth title, with average frame rates ranging from a playable 86 FPS at 1080p Low to a barely interactive 19 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Thief with this combo shows a clear pattern: the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor, and the choice of settings has a profound impact on playability. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 86 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combination. This is the only settings level at 1080p that approaches a high-refresh experience. Moving to Medium drops the average to 66 FPS, while High and Ultra produce 50 FPS and 48 FPS respectively. For a game like Thief, which relies on stealth and responsive movement, the difference between 86 FPS and 66 FPS is substantial. The data suggests that for the smoothest experience at 1080p, the Low preset is the recommended choice.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset is the only one that maintains an average above 60 FPS, achieving 59 FPS. This is technically playable but right on the edge of the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset drops to 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS, which can be felt in busy scenes. High and Ultra are progressively worse, at 34 FPS and 33 FPS respectively. For a more visually detailed experience at 1440p, Medium is the highest setting that stays in a playable range, though it will not maintain a consistent 60 FPS. The Low preset is the only setting that offers a near-60 FPS average, making it the recommended choice for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the integrated GPU is overwhelmed. The Low preset produces just 35 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play in a stealth title. Medium drops to 26 FPS, and High and Ultra are at 20 FPS and 19 FPS respectively. The minimums are also low; the Medium preset shows a minimum of 22 FPS. None of the 4K presets deliver a playable experience. The data indicates that 4K should be avoided entirely with this combo, as even the lowest settings cannot provide a smooth frame rate. The best experience per the measured rows is clearly at 1080p with the Low preset, which offers the highest average FPS and the least compromise on responsiveness.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the dominant factor in this combo's Thief performance. It is an integrated GPU (IGP) with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its memory is designated as "System Shared," with bandwidth that is "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the system's main memory, rather than dedicated VRAM, which is a critical limitation. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units. It also has 12 ray tracing cores, though Thief from 2014 does not utilize such features. The FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS.

The GPU's benchmark results are telling. It scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which places it at the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, according to the data, are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1463 (1.3% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M with 1460 (1.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM with 1446 (2.5% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 with 1443 (2.7% higher). This places the Arc B390 in the same performance tier as very old, low-end discrete GPUs. The 3DMark score is a strong indicator of its general capability, and the Thief results align with this, showing that it is not suited for demanding graphical loads.

The shared memory architecture is likely the reason for the steep performance drop as resolution increases. At 4K, the GPU must manage a much larger frame buffer, and the system-dependent bandwidth becomes a bottleneck. The data shows a clear progression: average FPS at Low settings drops from 86 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p, and then to 35 at 4K. This indicates that the GPU is not only limited by its compute power but also by memory throughput. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is respectable for an integrated solution, but the sheer lack of dedicated memory bandwidth caps its performance, making it the clear limiting component in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

In the game Thief, this specific combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and the Intel Arc B390 is ranked 2534 out of 2851 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations. The rank is poor, which is expected given the GPU's low performance percentile. The CPU's high percentile (95th) does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in this game. The combo's rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to handle higher resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the measured FPS data.

The rank of 2534 out of 2851 indicates that the vast majority of other tested combos perform better in Thief. This is not a reflection of the CPU, which is a top-tier part, but rather of the integrated GPU. The data suggests that any combo with a dedicated GPU, even a modest one, would likely outperform this setup. The CPU is so far ahead of the GPU in relative performance that it is effectively idle in many scenarios, waiting for the GPU to render each frame. The combo rank serves as a warning that the Arc B390 is not intended for gaming at playable frame rates in most titles, and Thief is no exception. The performance is only acceptable at the lowest settings and resolution, where the CPU's power is irrelevant to the outcome.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Thief?*

A: The highest average frame rate is 86 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Thief at 4K resolution?*

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 35 FPS (Low), 26 FPS (Medium), 20 FPS (High), and 19 FPS (Ultra). None of these are smooth enough for comfortable play, indicating that 4K is not a viable option for this combo.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% higher), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% higher). This shows it is in the same performance class as these older, low-end GPUs.

*Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Thief?*

A: The combo is ranked 2534 out of 2851 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested combinations for this game.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 59 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 33 FPS. This represents a 26 FPS difference, or a 44% reduction in performance when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the Intel Core i9-14900K have a high performance percentile?

A: Yes, the CPU has a percentile of 95 when compared to all CPUs, indicating it is a very high-performing processor. However, this does not translate to high frame rates in Thief because the GPU is the limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Thief shows a dramatic and consistent drop in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low settings preset, the average frame rate is 86 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. This represents a 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. The pattern is similar for other settings. At Medium, the average is 66 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. At High, it is 50 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. At Ultra, it is 48 FPS at 1080p, 33 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K.

This steep decline in performance with increasing resolution is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario. The Intel Arc B390 with its shared memory architecture must render a significantly larger number of pixels at higher resolutions, and its compute and memory bandwidth are insufficient to maintain frame rates. The scaling is not linear; the drop from 1440p to 4K is more severe than the drop from 1080p to 1440p. For instance, at Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 27 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 24 FPS. While the absolute drops are similar, the percentage drop is larger at higher resolutions because the base frame rate is lower.

The data strongly implies that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload is largely independent of resolution. Instead, the frame rate scales inversely with the number of pixels, which is a direct indication of GPU saturation. The Intel Core i9-14900K, with its 24 cores and 32 threads, has more than enough processing power to handle the game's logic and draw calls, even at 1080p. The GPU, however, cannot keep up, and the result is that the frame rate is almost entirely determined by the GPU's rendering speed at each resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. Its L3 cache is 36 MB shared. The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5. In Geekbench, it scores 21697 multicore and 2655 single-core. Its percentile versus all CPUs is 95, and its average benchmark score is 79097. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF (avg score 79371, 0.3% lower), Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (79574, 0.6% lower), AMD EPYC 7413 (80041, 1.2% lower), and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (77740, 1.7% higher). This places it among the most powerful consumer CPUs available.

In the context of Thief, this CPU's role is to feed the GPU with frames. The game is from 2014, and its CPU demands are modest by modern standards. The i9-14900K is vastly overqualified for this task. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution or settings level. For example, at 1080p Low, the game achieves 86 FPS, which is a high frame rate, but the CPU is capable of far more. The GPU is the one that limits the frame rate. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would see similar frame rates at 1080p and 4K, but the data shows a massive drop from 86 FPS to 35 FPS at Low settings, which is purely a GPU limitation.

The CPU's high core count and clock speeds do not help in this scenario because the game's rendering pipeline is dependent on the GPU. The i9-14900K's role is to prepare draw calls and manage game state, and it does this with ease. The data implies that the CPU is effectively idle or underutilized. The 24 cores and 32 threads are irrelevant for a game like Thief that likely only uses a few threads. The CPU's performance percentile of 95 confirms its general capability, but in this specific combo, it is held back by the GPU. The CPU's nearest rival, the i9-14900KF, shows a negligible 0.3% difference in average score, which would not change the outcome in Thief.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Thief with the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 combination is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low settings preset yields an average of 86 FPS. The Medium preset yields an average of 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. The High preset yields an average of 50 FPS. The Ultra preset yields an average of 48 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each increase in settings level reduces the average frame rate, with the difference between Low and Ultra being 38 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 59 FPS. The Medium preset averages 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. The High preset averages 34 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 33 FPS. The pattern is the same as at 1080p, but the frame rates are lower across the board. The difference between Low and Ultra is 26 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 38 FPS indicates that there are moments where the frame rate can dip noticeably below the average, which can impact the smoothness of gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 35 FPS. The Medium preset averages 26 FPS, with a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS. The High preset averages 20 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 19 FPS. The frame rates at 4K are below 60 FPS for all settings, and even the lowest preset cannot maintain a playable frame rate. The Medium preset's minimum of 22 FPS is particularly low, indicating significant frame pacing issues. The data shows that the GPU is completely overwhelmed at this resolution.

The data also provides a comparison across resolutions for each settings preset. For Low, the average FPS drops from 86 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p, and then to 35 at 4K. For Medium, it drops from 66 to 45 to 26. For High, it drops from 50 to 34 to 20. For Ultra, it drops from 48 to 33 to 19. This consistent scaling pattern reinforces that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate is directly proportional to the rendering resolution. The only settings that come close to a 60 FPS average are 1080p Low (86 FPS) and 1440p Low (59 FPS). All other configurations fall below 60 FPS, and many fall below 30 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for playability. The data makes it clear that this combo is only suitable for low-resolution, low-settings gaming in Thief.