Thief

# Thief with Intel Core Ultra 5 135H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a thoroughly playable Thief experience across most resolution and settings combinations, though the data reveals a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions and increasingly CPU-limited at 1080p. The combo ranks 1694th out of 2851 tested configurations in this title, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is consistent with a mobile-class processor matched with a mid-range desktop GPU. The measured frames per second range from a floor of 36 FPS at 4K Ultra to a ceiling of 164 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that users have substantial headroom to tailor the experience to their display and performance priorities.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression across resolutions tells a clear story about where the bottleneck shifts. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 164 FPS, while the same settings at 2560x1440 yield 113 FPS, and 3840x2160 drops to 66 FPS. This represents a 31% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 42% further reduction from 1440p to 4K, which is remarkably close to the pixel-count scaling one would expect from a purely GPU-limited scenario — 1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 2.25x the pixels of 1440p.

However, the High settings row reveals a different pattern. At 1080p High, the system delivers 95 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 65 FPS (a 32% decline); and at 4K High, it falls to 38 FPS (a 42% decline from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and High settings suggests the GPU is the dominant constraint throughout, with the CPU providing sufficient throughput even at 1080p where frame rates are highest.

The Medium settings data includes minimum and maximum frame measurements, which offer additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 143. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 86 FPS with a range of 73 to 98. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 50 FPS with a range of 43 to 58. The minimum-to-maximum spread narrows as resolution increases — roughly 37 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K — which indicates that frame pacing becomes more consistent when the GPU is more heavily loaded, reducing the influence of CPU-side frame time spikes.

The Ultra settings tell the most demanding story: 90 FPS at 1080p, 62 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the commonly cited 40 FPS playability threshold, while the 1080p Ultra result remains comfortably playable. The data suggests that at 4K, even Medium settings (50 FPS) require a meaningful compromise, whereas at 1440p, Ultra settings remain viable at 62 FPS. The scaling pattern is consistent with the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus, which become more stressed as pixel count and texture detail increase simultaneously.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot, where all settings levels produce playable results: 113 FPS at Low, 86 FPS at Medium, 65 FPS at High, and 62 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, only Low (66 FPS) and Medium (50 FPS) exceed 45 FPS, while Ultra drops to 36 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus providing 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, the GPU shows a steep performance cliff at 4K Ultra (36 FPS) compared to 4K High (38 FPS) and 4K Medium (50 FPS). The minimal difference between Ultra and High at 4K suggests memory bandwidth constraints, not just compute limits.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H holding back the GPU?

A: The CPU, with 14 cores and 18 threads boosting to 4.60 GHz, appears sufficient for this title. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 164 FPS, which approaches the practical ceiling for many displays. The core Ultra 5 135H scores 11875.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1700 in single-core, placing it within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X in average benchmark score.

Q: What settings should I use for competitive multiplayer or high-refresh displays?

A: For maximum frame rates, 1080p Low delivers 164 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the dataset. If you need to stay above 100 FPS, 1080p High (95 FPS) is borderline, while 1080p Medium (125 FPS) and 1440p Low (113 FPS) both comfortably exceed that threshold.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 1694th out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 40th percentile of all configurations. This is consistent with a mid-range GPU paired with a mobile-class CPU, both of which sit in the 61st percentile (GPU) and 81st percentile (CPU) of their respective categories.

Q: Does the game prefer CPU or GPU performance based on this data?

A: The benchmark results indicate a GPU-bound title at higher resolutions, but the CPU's performance at 1080p is notable. The Ultra 5 135H's Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1105 and multi-core score of 7834 suggest it has ample headroom; the 164 FPS at 1080p Low is likely near the game engine's practical limit for this configuration.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 serves as the primary performance arbiter in this configuration, and its specifications align closely with the measured results. Built on the AD107 chip at TSMC's 5 nm process with 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, the GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and boosts to 2460 MHz. The 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units provide the raw throughput, while 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores offer architectural headroom for modern rendering features.

Memory configuration plays a critical role in Thief's performance scaling. The 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer on a 128-bit bus delivers 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by contemporary standards. The data shows this becoming a limiting factor at 4K: the difference between High (38 FPS) and Ultra (36 FPS) is negligible, and even Medium (50 FPS) requires a significant compromise. At 1440p, the bandwidth is sufficient to support all settings levels, with Ultra (62 FPS) trailing High (65 FPS) by only 5%. At 1080p, the GPU's compute capabilities dominate, with the memory subsystem keeping pace as evidenced by the 164 FPS Low result.

The GPU's benchmark profile corroborates its mid-range positioning. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 and Passmark G3D score of 19545 place it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666, 0.2% ahead) and AMD Radeon 780M (17588, 0.3% behind), which underscores that the RTX 4060 is positioned at the upper edge of mainstream performance. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 15.11 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s are well-suited for a 2014 title like Thief, which does not leverage the ray tracing or DLSS capabilities that this GPU generation introduced.

The RTX 4060's end-of-life production status and launch MSRP of 299 USD indicate it was designed as a mainstream offering, and its performance in Thief reflects that positioning. The GPU's texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s and 15.11 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1) throughput provide ample compute for the game's DirectX 11-era rendering pipeline. The 2125 MHz memory clock, translating to 17 Gbps effective, is sufficient for the bandwidth demands of 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes the bottleneck at 4K Ultra where texture streaming and frame buffer pressure peak.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of settings-to-performance tradeoffs for each resolution. At 1920x1080, all four settings levels are playable, with average FPS ranging from 90 (Ultra) to 164 (Low). The optimal choice depends on display refresh rate: for 60 Hz displays, Ultra (90 FPS) is the obvious pick; for 144 Hz displays, Medium (125 FPS) provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate headroom; for 165 Hz or higher, Low (164 FPS) is the only option that maximizes the display's potential.

At 2560x1440, the data supports Ultra (62 FPS) for 60 Hz displays, as the visual uplift from High (65 FPS) to Ultra is minimal in terms of frame rate cost (only 5%) while delivering the highest quality preset. For users prioritizing frame rate, Medium (86 FPS) offers a 39% improvement over Ultra while still providing acceptable visual fidelity. Low (113 FPS) is available for competitive play, though the visual compromise is substantial for a stealth game where environmental detail aids gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations become more constrained. Medium (50 FPS) is the highest preset that maintains playability above 45 FPS, and it delivers a 32% improvement over High (38 FPS). Low (66 FPS) is the only preset that approaches 60 FPS territory, making it the choice for users who prioritize smoothness over visual fidelity at 4K. Ultra (36 FPS) and High (38 FPS) are both below 40 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for acceptable gameplay in a stealth title where precise timing matters.

The Medium preset deserves special attention across all resolutions: it consistently provides the best frame rate stability, as evidenced by the minimum frame data. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 106 FPS is 85% of the average (125 FPS); at 1440p Medium, the minimum of 73 FPS is 85% of the average (86 FPS); at 4K Medium, the minimum of 43 FPS is 86% of the average (50 FPS). This consistency suggests that Medium avoids the CPU-side or GPU-side spikes that affect other presets, making it the recommended baseline for users who value smooth frame delivery over peak averages.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 1694th out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 59.4th percentile of all configurations — meaning roughly 60% of tested combos perform better. This ranking is consistent with the individual components' positions: the CPU sits in the 81st percentile of all processors, while the GPU sits in the 61st percentile of all graphics cards. The combo's relatively modest rank despite the CPU's strong percentile suggests that Thief's performance is heavily dependent on GPU capability.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its role in this ranking. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29093, placing it within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123) and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270). This indicates that the processor is not the limiting factor; swapping in a comparable CPU would yield negligible performance changes in Thief. Similarly, the RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 17639 sits within 0.3% of the AMD Radeon 780M (17588) and 0.5% of the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551), suggesting that GPU-tier upgrades would be required to meaningfully improve the combo's standing.

The data indicates that this combo's 1694th rank is primarily a function of the GPU's mainstream positioning rather than any pairing inefficiency. The measured FPS at 1440p Medium (86 FPS) and 1080p High (95 FPS) are strong results for a 2014 title, and the combination demonstrates that the mobile CPU can fully feed the desktop GPU even at high frame rates. Users seeking higher rankings would need to move to a higher-tier GPU, as the CPU has headroom to support more powerful graphics hardware based on its 81st percentile standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset of measured frame rates provides a comprehensive picture of this combo's performance envelope. At 3840x2160, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 66 FPS; Medium settings produce an average of 50 FPS with a minimum of 43 and maximum of 58; High settings produce an average of 38 FPS; Ultra settings produce an average of 36 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 45% performance reduction, with the most significant drop occurring between Medium (50 FPS) and High (38 FPS) — a 24% decline.

At 2560x1440, the data shows: Low settings average 113 FPS; Medium settings average 86 FPS with a range of 73 to 98; High settings average 65 FPS; Ultra settings average 62 FPS. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p costs only 5% performance, making Ultra the more attractive option for quality-focused users. The step from Medium to High costs 24%, which is substantial enough that users on 144 Hz displays should prefer Medium (86 FPS) over High (65 FPS) to maintain frame rates above the refresh rate threshold.

At 1920x1080, the results are: Low settings average 164 FPS; Medium settings average 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 143; High settings average 95 FPS; Ultra settings average 90 FPS. The 1080p data reveals diminishing returns from High to Ultra (only 5% difference), while the jump from Medium to High costs 24%. The Low setting's 164 FPS suggests the game engine or CPU may be capping performance, as the GPU's compute capabilities could theoretically deliver higher frame rates at this resolution.

The Medium settings row across all three resolutions provides the most complete picture, as it is the only preset with minimum and maximum frame data. At 1080p Medium, the 37 FPS spread between minimum (106) and maximum (143) indicates some frame time variance. At 1440p Medium, the spread narrows to 25 FPS (73 to 98). At 4K Medium, the spread narrows further to 15 FPS (43 to 58). This pattern suggests that as GPU load increases, frame delivery becomes more consistent, likely because CPU-side bottlenecks and engine overhead are hidden behind longer GPU frame times. For users sensitive to stutter, this favors higher resolutions or more demanding settings, even if average FPS decreases.