Thief

# Thief — Intel Core Ultra 5 125H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile

The benchmark data for Thief (released 2014-02-24) with this Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile combo reveals a system that handles the stealth classic with considerable headroom at lower resolutions, but begins to show its limits as pixel counts climb. This 14-core, 18-thread Meteor Lake processor paired with an 8 GB GDDR7 GPU produces a measured performance profile that shifts from GPU-bound at 4K to increasingly CPU-influenced at 1080p, offering a clear picture of where each component's influence dominates.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K tells a story of escalating GPU pressure. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 159 FPS at 1920x1080 to 64 FPS at 3840x2160 — a 59.7% reduction. This steep decline strongly indicates the RTX 5060 Mobile becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution rises, with its 8 GB GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus width (384.0 GB/s bandwidth) struggling to maintain throughput at higher pixel counts.

Medium settings show a similar pattern: 121 FPS at 1080p drops to 83 FPS at 1440p (a 31.4% decrease) and further to 49 FPS at 4K (a 59.5% drop from 1080p). The min FPS at 4K Medium is 41, while the max reaches 56, indicating some frame-time variance but no catastrophic stuttering. At High settings, the decline from 92 FPS at 1080p to 63 FPS at 1440p (31.5% reduction) and then 37 FPS at 4K (59.8% drop from 1080p) reinforces the GPU-bound nature at higher resolutions.

Ultra settings exhibit the most dramatic scaling: 88 FPS at 1080p collapses to 60 FPS at 1440p (31.8% drop) and bottoms out at 35 FPS at 4K. The consistent ~60% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets suggests the GPU's raw throughput — not the CPU — is dictating performance at higher resolutions. The Core Ultra 5 125H's 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.50 GHz boost clock appear sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, but the 4K results show the RTX 5060 Mobile's 9.684 TFLOPS FP32 compute hitting its practical ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile brings 8 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 128-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 3328 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 48 ROPs operate at a base clock of 952 MHz and boost up to 1455 MHz. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 69.84 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 151.3 GTexel/s, which the Thief data suggests are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gameplay but insufficient for smooth 4K at higher presets.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3013.5 and Passmark G3D score of 18852 place it in the 67th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 22435 sits nearly level with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (22549, deltaPct -0.5%) and slightly ahead of the Radeon RX 5700 (22170, deltaPct 1.2%). This competitive positioning explains why the card handles 1440p High at 63 FPS — it's trading blows with desktop-class GPUs from previous generations.

The 45 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate this is a mobile-first design, yet the measured frame rates in Thief demonstrate it punches above its power envelope at lower resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM capacity, while modest by modern standards, appears sufficient for this 2014 title at all tested settings, as no texture streaming or memory-related hitches appear in the min FPS data at 4K Medium (41 FPS minimum).

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2438 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 34.5th percentile of all possible pairings. This mid-pack ranking reflects the RTX 5060 Mobile's 67th percentile GPU standing and the Core Ultra 5 125H's 79th percentile CPU position — both above average individually, yet the combo doesn't crack the top third due to the GPU's mobile-tier limitations at higher resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context: the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (avg score 27535, deltaPct -0.1%), Intel Core i5-12600K (27578, -0.3%), AMD Ryzen 7 5700X (27578, -0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G (27382, 0.5%). The Core Ultra 5 125H's average benchmark score of 27507 sits within 0.5% of all these desktop-class processors, suggesting the CPU is not the bottleneck in most scenarios.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (22549, -0.5%), Radeon RX 5700 (22170, 1.2%), Radeon RX 6700S (22154, 1.3%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729, -1.3%). The RTX 5060 Mobile's average score of 22435 places it squarely between these competitors, with the desktop RX 5700 and RX 6700S slightly behind and the newer mobile RTX 4060 Mobile slightly ahead.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 159 FPS, Medium hits 121 FPS (min 103, max 139), High reaches 92 FPS, and Ultra manages 88 FPS. The tight gap between High and Ultra (only 4 FPS) suggests diminishing returns at the top preset, while the jump from Medium to High (29 FPS difference) indicates a significant visual quality step.

Moving to 2560x1440, the data shows a clear performance tiering. Low averages 109 FPS, Medium drops to 83 FPS (min 71, max 95), High falls to 63 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 60 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result of exactly 60 FPS aligns with typical display refresh rates, making it a viable target for smooth gameplay despite being the lowest preset result at that resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low averages 64 FPS, Medium hits 49 FPS (min 41, max 56), High drops to 37 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS. Only the Low preset maintains a consistently playable experience at 4K, while Medium dips below 60 FPS and the higher presets fall below 40 FPS. The 14 FPS difference between 4K High and 4K Ultra is modest, suggesting the GPU is nearing its architectural limits rather than being constrained by a single setting.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to 1080p Medium or High as the sweet spot for this combo. Medium at 1080p delivers 121 FPS with a minimum of 103, providing excellent headroom for 60 Hz or 120 Hz displays. High at 1080p still achieves 92 FPS, which comfortably exceeds 60 FPS targets while offering improved visual fidelity over Medium. Ultra at 1080p (88 FPS) provides only marginal gains over High (92 FPS) — the 4 FPS difference suggests the Ultra preset's additional effects cost more than they deliver.

For 1440p users, Medium at 83 FPS (min 71) is the most balanced choice, offering smooth gameplay with room to spare. High at 63 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz displays, while Ultra at 60 FPS sits right at the edge — playable but with no headroom for frame drops. The 1440p Low preset (109 FPS) is unnecessary unless chasing very high refresh rates, as Medium provides a 24 FPS improvement over High with only a 26 FPS penalty versus Low.

At 4K, the options are limited. Low at 64 FPS is the only preset that reliably exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium at 49 FPS (min 41) is borderline playable with some frametime variance. High and Ultra at 37 and 35 FPS respectively are not recommended for action-oriented stealth gameplay, as the sub-40 FPS averages would likely impact responsiveness in tense moments.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Thief at 4K smoothly?*

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 64 FPS. Medium drops to 49 FPS (min 41), and High/Ultra fall to 37/35 FPS respectively, which are below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best 1440p preset for this system?

A: Medium at 83 FPS (min 71, max 95) provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. High at 63 FPS is also viable for 60 Hz displays, while Ultra at 60 FPS leaves no margin for frame drops.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 Mobile compare to the RTX 4060 Mobile?

A: The RTX 5060 Mobile's average benchmark score is 22435, which is 1.3% lower than the RTX 4060 Mobile's 22729. This places them essentially neck-and-neck in synthetic tests, with the 5060 Mobile's deltaPct of -1.3 indicating it trails slightly.

*Q: Is the CPU holding back performance in Thief?*

A: The data does not indicate CPU bottlenecking at 1080p, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor as resolution scales. The Core Ultra 5 125H's 14 cores and 18 threads provide ample processing power, with its average benchmark score (27507) within 0.5% of desktop rivals like the Ryzen 7 5800.

Q: What frame rates can players expect at 1080p Ultra?

A: The measured average is 88 FPS at 1920x1080 Ultra. This is only 4 FPS lower than High (92 FPS), suggesting the Ultra preset's additional visual effects have minimal performance impact at this resolution.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues at higher resolutions?

A: The data shows no VRAM-related stuttering or crashes. At 4K Medium, the minimum FPS is 41 with a maximum of 56, indicating stable frame delivery. The 8 GB GDDR7 capacity appears sufficient for this 2014 title, though the 128-bit bus width limits memory bandwidth to 384.0 GB/s.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H's 14 cores and 18 threads, based on the Meteor Lake architecture at 7 nm, provide substantial multi-threaded capability that Thief can leverage. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core help maintain data throughput, while the 3.60 GHz base and 4.50 GHz boost clocks ensure responsive single-threaded performance. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 3399 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1647.5 indicate strong per-core performance for game logic and physics.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 27507 places it at the 79th percentile among all CPUs, matching desktop processors like the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27535, deltaPct -0.1%) and Intel Core i5-12600K (27578, -0.3%). This parity with desktop-class silicon means the mobile CPU is not a weak link in this combo — the measured FPS data confirms this, as the scaling from 1080p to 4K follows GPU-bound patterns rather than CPU limitations.

The processor's 28 W TDP, while modest for a mobile chip, doesn't appear to throttle performance in Thief's less demanding scenes. The Passmark multi-thread score of 21100 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 suggest ample headroom for the game's background tasks. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR5 support (dependent on motherboard) provide sufficient data transfer rates for the game's assets, though the GPU's 384.0 GB/s bandwidth is the more critical factor at higher resolutions.

At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more prominent — the 159 FPS Low result indicates the processor can feed the GPU quickly enough to reach high frame rates, while the 88 FPS Ultra result shows the GPU still has headroom at this resolution. The 1440p results (109 FPS Low, 60 FPS Ultra) suggest a balanced partnership where neither component consistently bottlenecks the other, though the GPU's influence grows as resolution increases. The combo's 2438th rank out of 3720 tested pairings reflects this balance — not a top-tier performer by any means, but a capable mid-range combination that delivers playable performance across most settings except 4K high presets.