Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. In Thief, the CPU’s role is largely secondary to the GPU, as the game’s engine leans heavily on graphics throughput rather than complex physics or AI simulation. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 164 FPS, which is the highest recorded average across all tested configurations. This suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower graphical loads, as the frame rate scales dramatically when the GPU is given less work. The processor’s benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11875.5 and a single-core score of 1700, place it in the 81st percentile among all CPUs, indicating solid headroom for maintaining high frame rates in a 2014 title like Thief.

However, the relationship between CPU and GPU becomes more apparent when examining the resolution scaling. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 36, which is a 78% reduction from the 1080p Low result. This steep decline is primarily driven by the GPU’s workload, but the CPU must still feed the graphics pipeline with draw calls and game logic. The Core Ultra 5 135H’s 18 threads and 18 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient for a stealth game of Thief’s era, and the data shows no signs of CPU-induced stuttering or frame pacing issues, as the min FPS values at Medium settings (e.g., 106 FPS at 1080p) remain relatively close to the averages. The processor’s PassMark single-thread score of 3521 and multi-thread score of 22422 further confirm that it can handle the game’s single-threaded and multi-threaded tasks without becoming a limiting factor, even at lower resolutions where the GPU has spare capacity.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Core Ultra 5 135H’s core configuration is a hybrid of performance and efficiency cores, but for Thief, what matters most is the sustained boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The game’s engine, released in 2014, was designed for quad-core processors with modest clock speeds, so the 135H’s 14 cores and 18 threads are overkill for the title’s actual requirements. The benchmark results reflect this: at 1080p Low, the average FPS of 164 is nearly triple the 4K Ultra result of 36 FPS, which indicates that the CPU is delivering frames as fast as the GPU can render them at lower settings. The processor’s Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1105 and multi-core score of 7834 show a balanced profile, but Thief does not stress multi-core scaling heavily, so the single-core performance is more relevant.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29093, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123, deltaPct -0.1%) and the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, deltaPct -0.6%). This means the CPU is within 1% of those desktop and high-end mobile parts in synthetic tests, yet in Thief, the frame rates are governed by the GPU. At 1440p High, the average FPS is 65, and at 4K High it drops to 38, showing a consistent pattern where the CPU’s clock speed and core count are not the limiting factor. The 135H’s 28W TDP is low for a mobile part, but the boost clock of 4.60 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks, such as the main game loop in Thief, are handled with minimal latency. The data shows that even at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS of 90 is well above playable thresholds, meaning the CPU has ample headroom to support the GPU’s output without bottlenecking.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 125, with a minimum of 106 and a maximum of 143, providing smooth gameplay with a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 86 FPS, with min and max values of 73 and 98, respectively, which is still highly playable on a 1440p display. Even at 4K Medium, the average FPS of 50, with a minimum of 43, is acceptable for a stealth game where precise timing is less critical than in fast-paced shooters. The High preset is also viable, but the data shows a significant drop from Medium: at 1080p High, the average is 95 FPS, and at 1440p High it falls to 65 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 1080p Ultra at 90 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 62 FPS, and 4K Ultra at 36 FPS, which is borderline unplayable for a smooth experience.

The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (164 FPS at 1080p, 113 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K), sacrifices visual fidelity to the point where the game’s stealth mechanics, which rely on lighting and shadow details, may be compromised. Therefore, the data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo. It provides a 31.6% improvement over High at 1080p (125 vs. 95 FPS) and a 32.3% improvement at 1440p (86 vs. 65 FPS), while maintaining a minimum frame rate above 70 FPS at those resolutions. For 4K users, Medium is the only preset that keeps the average above 50 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a playable experience without resorting to Low settings. The min FPS values at Medium (106 at 1080p, 73 at 1440p, 43 at 4K) indicate that the frame pacing is stable, with no severe dips that would cause stutter during gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Thief?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 164, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next highest is 125 FPS at 1080p Medium, and 113 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The average FPS at 4K Ultra is 36, while at 4K Low it is 66. The CPU’s performance, as indicated by its benchmark scores, is sufficient to support these frame rates, and the scaling from Low to Ultra (a 54.5% drop) is consistent with GPU-bound behavior.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 135H compare to its nearest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29093, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123), 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940), and 0.6% lower than the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270). These deltas are negligible, indicating similar CPU-level performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at Medium settings across all resolutions?

A: At Medium settings, the minimum FPS values are 106 at 1080p, 73 at 1440p, and 43 at 4K. The 4K minimum of 43 FPS is the lowest recorded value across all Medium settings.

Q: Does the RTX 4060 Mobile outperform its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22729, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (22549), 1.3% lower than the Intel Arc B580 (23021), and 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (22435). These differences are within 1.3%, showing comparable performance.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 90 at 1080p to 62 at 1440p, and then to 36 at 4K. This represents a 60% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU’s rendering load scales steeply with resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile ranks 2242 out of 3720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 60th percentile of all systems measured. This rank is somewhat modest for a combo with a CPU that sits in the 81st percentile and a GPU in the 67th percentile, which suggests that Thief’s engine does not fully utilize the hardware’s potential. The RTX 4060 Mobile’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, has a nearly identical average score (deltaPct -0.7%), yet the combo rank implies that other factors, such as driver optimization or memory bandwidth, may play a role in the game’s performance. The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, also shows a delta of only -0.1%, meaning that the 135H is not the differentiator in this ranking.

The rank of 2242 out of 3720 indicates that there are 1478 combos that perform better, which is likely due to higher-end GPUs or desktop-class processors with higher sustained clocks. However, within the context of mobile hardware, this combo is competitive. The measured FPS data shows that the system can exceed 60 FPS at 1440p Medium (86 FPS) and 1080p High (95 FPS), which are typical gaming targets. The 4K Ultra result of 36 FPS is below the playable threshold, but the combo’s rank reflects its overall capability across all settings and resolutions, not just the highest demands. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers frame rates that are 30-40% higher than at 4K, and the rank in the middle of the pack is consistent with its position as a mid-range mobile solution.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1890 MHz, with 3072 shading units and 96 texture mapping units. In Thief, the GPU’s memory bandwidth is a critical factor, as the game’s textures and lighting effects can consume significant VRAM at higher resolutions. The 8 GB capacity is sufficient for 4K Ultra, but the measured FPS of 36 at that setting suggests that the GPU’s raw compute power is the limiting factor, not the memory size. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 17469 and its percentile rank of 67% indicate that it is a capable mid-range part, but Thief’s engine is old enough that it does not leverage newer features like ray tracing or DLSS, which the RTX 4060 Mobile supports.

The GPU’s nearest rivals include the RTX 2080 (avgScore 22895, deltaPct -0.7%) and the Intel Arc B580 (avgScore 23021, deltaPct -1.3%), showing that the RTX 4060 Mobile is within 1.3% of these parts in synthetic benchmarks. In Thief, the GPU’s performance scales predictably with resolution: at 1080p Low, it produces 164 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 36 FPS. This 78% reduction is typical for a GPU with 3072 shading units, as the pixel fill rate and texture rate become saturated at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 48 ROPs and 181.4 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the rendering workload exceeds what the GPU can handle, resulting in sub-60 FPS averages at High and Ultra settings. The 8 GB VRAM is not a bottleneck in Thief, as the game’s maximum memory usage at 4K Ultra would likely fit within that capacity, but the GPU’s compute throughput is the primary constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are 164 for Low, 125 for Medium, 95 for High, and 90 for Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 106 and a maximum of 143, while the other presets do not have recorded min/max values. At 2560x1440, the averages are 113 for Low, 86 for Medium, 65 for High, and 62 for Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 73 and a maximum of 98. At 3840x2160, the averages are 66 for Low, 50 for Medium, 38 for High, and 36 for Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 43 and a maximum of 58.

These numbers reveal a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (164 FPS) and Ultra (90 FPS) is 74 FPS, a 45% drop. At 1440p, the difference is 51 FPS (113 to 62), a 45% drop. At 4K, the difference is 30 FPS (66 to 36), also a 45% drop. This proportional scaling indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor across all resolutions, as the relative cost of higher settings remains constant. The Medium preset offers the most consistent frame pacing, with min FPS values that are 85% or higher of the average at each resolution (106/125 at 1080p, 73/86 at 1440p, 43/50 at 4K). The High and Ultra presets do not have min/max data, but the averages suggest that they are more prone to variability, as the GPU is pushed closer to its limits.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, with the average FPS dropping by approximately 45-50% at each step up. For example, at Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 125 at 1080p to 86 at 1440p (a 31.2% drop), and then to 50 at 4K (a 41.9% drop from 1440p). At High settings, the averages are 95 at 1080p, 65 at 1440p (a 31.6% drop), and 38 at 4K (a 41.5% drop from 1440p). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload, where the number of pixels rendered quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity become the limiting factor. The CPU’s performance, as measured by its benchmark scores, is more than sufficient to handle the game logic at any resolution, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS does not plateau at lower resolutions.

The data strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component in this combo for Thief. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 164 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame delivery rate, but the GPU still has headroom to render more frames if the CPU could keep up. However, as resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows faster than the CPU’s, and the FPS drops accordingly. The 4K Ultra result of 36 FPS is a clear indication that the RTX 4060 Mobile is not capable of maintaining playable frame rates at the highest settings, while the CPU remains idle. The 1440p Medium result of 86 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it provides a frame rate that is 72% higher than 4K Medium (50 FPS) and only 31% lower than 1080p Medium (125 FPS). This suggests that users with 1440p displays will get the most out of this combo, while 4K users should stick to Medium or Low settings to stay above 50 FPS.