Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a distinctive performance profile in Thief, one that is heavily dictated by resolution and settings. The data shows a system capable of high frame rates but with scaling characteristics that reveal the interaction between a capable mobile processor and a flagship desktop GPU. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions to identify where the bottleneck lies and how the combination ranks against other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across the three resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling, particularly at the higher quality presets. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo achieves 138 FPS, while dropping to Low settings pushes this to 171 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the Ultra preset yields 97 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 151 FPS. At 4K, the Ultra preset falls to 57 FPS, while Low produces 103 FPS.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average FPS drop of roughly 27-30% across settings, which is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario where the additional pixel count directly impacts render time. However, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe: the High preset drops from 101 FPS to 60 FPS (a 40% reduction), and the Medium preset falls from 133 FPS to 78 FPS (a 41% reduction). This steep decline at 4K indicates that the RTX 4090's immense compute resources are being saturated by the 3840x2160 resolution, especially with higher fidelity settings.

At 1080p, the gap between Low (171 FPS) and Ultra (138 FPS) is 33 FPS, or about 19%. At 4K, this gap widens to 46 FPS (103 FPS vs 57 FPS), a 45% difference. This widening delta suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU's role becomes more prominent, capping the maximum achievable frame rate, while at higher resolutions, the GPU's raw throughput dominates the performance equation. The 1080p Low result of 171 FPS appears to be near the upper limit for this CPU-GPU pairing in Thief, indicating that the Core Ultra 5 135H's single-thread performance is sufficient to feed the RTX 4090 up to that point, but not beyond.

The data indicates that for this combination, 4K gaming is only viable with the Low preset (103 FPS) or Medium preset (78 FPS), while High (60 FPS) and Ultra (57 FPS) approaches the edge of playability. The 1440p results are far more comfortable, with all presets exceeding 97 FPS, making it the sweet spot for this pairing. The scaling analysis strongly suggests that the RTX 4090 is the limiting factor at 4K, while the Core Ultra 5 135H begins to constrain performance at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo in Thief?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 171, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next best is 155 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra preset delivers 57 FPS, while 1080p Low produces 171 FPS. This represents a 114 FPS difference, or roughly a 200% advantage for the lower resolution and settings combination.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM a limiting factor in Thief?

A: The data does not indicate any VRAM-related bottlenecks. The 24 GB VRAM capacity is far more than sufficient for a 2014 title, and the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (57 FPS) suggests the GPU's compute limits are reached before any memory capacity concerns arise.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain high frame rates?

A: Based on the measured results, 2560x1440 provides the best balance. At this resolution, even the Ultra preset achieves 97 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 151 FPS. This keeps all presets above 97 FPS, which is well within smooth gameplay territory.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect Thief's results?

A: The Core Ultra 5 135H has a passmark_single_thread score of 3521 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1700. The 1080p Low result of 171 FPS appears to be near the ceiling for this CPU in Thief, suggesting that single-thread performance becomes a limiting factor at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured min FPS is 113 and max FPS is 153, with an average of 133 FPS. This 40 FPS spread between min and max indicates some variance but remains within acceptable bounds for consistent gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a TDP of 28 W. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores show a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 11875.5 and a single-core result of 1700, while PassMark tests show a single-thread score of 3521 and a multithread score of 22422.

In the context of Thief, a stealth game released in 2014, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain a stable frame rate floor. The data shows that at 1080p, the difference between Low (171 FPS) and Ultra (138 FPS) is 33 FPS, which is smaller than the 46 FPS difference at 4K. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is more likely to become a bottleneck, as the GPU has more headroom to render frames quickly. The 1080p Low result of 171 FPS likely represents a CPU-imposed limit for this pairing, as the RTX 4090 is capable of far higher frame rates in less demanding scenarios.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 81 among all processors indicates it sits in the upper tier of available CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, has an average benchmark score of 29123, which is only 0.1% higher than the Core Ultra 5 135H's average of 29093. This close proximity suggests that the Core Ultra 5 135H's performance is comparable to a desktop-class CPU from a previous generation, which bodes well for its ability to keep pace with the RTX 4090 in Thief.

The 18 threads and 14 cores provide ample parallel processing capability, but Thief's engine likely does not scale perfectly across all cores. The single-core performance of 1700 in Cinebench R23 is more relevant for this title, as older games often rely on fewer threads. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz is competitive for single-threaded tasks, and the data shows that at 1440p, the CPU can sustain frame rates above 97 FPS across all settings, indicating it is not a significant limiting factor at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 908th out of 3720 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the top 24.4% of all configurations tested, which is a strong showing given the CPU is a mobile part paired with a flagship desktop GPU. The rank of 908 out of 3720 indicates that while the RTX 4090 is one of the most powerful GPUs available, the Core Ultra 5 135H's mobile nature prevents this combo from reaching the absolute top tier.

The RTX 4090's nearest rival in the GPU benchmarks is the Intel Arc Pro A60, with a delta of 0%, meaning they have essentially identical average benchmark scores. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% higher. However, these are professional-grade GPUs, and in gaming scenarios like Thief, the RTX 4090's 24 GB GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth provide a significant advantage that is not fully captured by synthetic benchmarks.

The combo's rank of 908 suggests that there are 907 other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in Thief. These are likely to be desktop-class CPUs paired with the RTX 4090, as the mobile Core Ultra 5 135H may introduce a slight bottleneck at lower resolutions. However, the fact that this combo still ranks in the top quarter of all tested configurations reflects the RTX 4090's raw power and the CPU's capable single-thread performance.

The percentile rankings support this analysis: the CPU sits at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU at the 88th percentile among all GPUs. The combo rank of 908 out of 3720 corresponds to roughly the 75th percentile for this specific game, which is slightly below what the individual component percentiles might suggest. This gap can be attributed to the CPU-GPU pairing dynamics, where the mobile CPU's power and thermal constraints may limit the GPU's full potential in certain scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, the High preset is the borderline choice, delivering exactly 60 FPS average. However, the Medium preset at 4K provides 78 FPS, which offers a more comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and likely not recommended for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, all presets exceed 97 FPS, making this resolution highly flexible. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 97 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS and provides the highest visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 133 FPS, which is an excellent balance for high-refresh-rate displays. For players prioritizing frame rate over visual quality, the Low preset at 1440p achieves 151 FPS, which is near the top of what most displays can show.

At 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves 138 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 171 FPS. This resolution is not the best choice for the RTX 4090's capabilities, as the GPU is likely underutilized. However, for competitive play or very high refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at 1080p with 155 FPS and a min FPS of 131 provides a smooth experience.

The data suggests that the best overall experience is achieved at 1440p with the High preset, which delivers 101 FPS. This provides a 41 FPS buffer above the 60 FPS standard while maintaining high visual quality. For users with 120 Hz or higher displays, the Medium preset at 1440p (133 FPS) is the recommended choice, as it stays well above the refresh rate threshold while maintaining good image quality. The 4K Medium preset (78 FPS) is acceptable for 60 Hz displays, but the 1440p options provide more headroom for frame rate fluctuations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in Thief is as follows:

At 3840x2160 (4K), the average FPS by settings is:

• Low: 103 FPS
• Medium: 78 FPS (min 67, max 90)
• High: 60 FPS
• Ultra: 57 FPS

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the average FPS by settings is:

• Low: 151 FPS
• Medium: 133 FPS (min 113, max 153)
• High: 101 FPS
• Ultra: 97 FPS

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the average FPS by settings is:

• Low: 171 FPS
• Medium: 155 FPS (min 131, max 178)
• High: 140 FPS
• Ultra: 138 FPS

The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data recorded across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the spread from min to max is 47 FPS (131 to 178), while at 1440p Medium, the spread is 40 FPS (113 to 153), and at 4K Medium, the spread is 23 FPS (67 to 90). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates more consistent frame pacing, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

The frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings increases with resolution: at 1080p, the gap is 33 FPS (171 vs 138); at 1440p, it is 54 FPS (151 vs 97); at 4K, it is 46 FPS (103 vs 57). This non-linear scaling suggests that the GPU's compute resources are more heavily taxed at higher resolutions, making the settings choice more impactful for achieving playable frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is based on the AD102 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units, with 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Thief, the RTX 4090's role is dominant, especially at higher resolutions. The 4K results show that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance: at Ultra settings, it delivers 57 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS threshold. The GPU's massive compute throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are likely the key factors in maintaining playable frame rates at 4K, even with the game's aging engine.

The GPU's 24 GB VRAM is far more than Thief requires, and the data shows no evidence of memory capacity limiting performance. The memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s is sufficient for the game's textures and geometry at 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the 57 FPS result being only slightly below the 60 FPS target.

The RTX 4090's percentile ranking of 88 among all GPUs places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 60347 is nearly identical to the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0% delta), but in gaming scenarios like Thief, the RTX 4090's dedicated gaming optimizations and driver support likely provide a tangible advantage. The GPU's passmark_g3d score of 38194 further confirms its strong performance in 3D rendering tasks.

The GPU's clock behavior, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, suggests that it can sustain high frequencies under load, which is critical for maintaining frame rates in GPU-bound scenarios. The 4K results, where the GPU is fully saturated, show that the RTX 4090 can deliver 103 FPS at Low settings, indicating that even with the most demanding resolution, the GPU has substantial headroom when settings are reduced.