Thief

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

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on the Arrow Lake architecture and manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP and support for DDR5 memory over a dual-channel interface. The chip carries 20 MB of shared L3 cache, with 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 per core, and its passmark single-thread score of 4412 places it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs. In Cinebench R23, it scores 25891 multi-core and 3655 single-core, indicating a strong balance between single-thread responsiveness and multi-thread throughput for a 10-core part.

For a game like Thief, released in 2014, the CPU's single-core performance is particularly relevant. The game's engine was designed around the era's typical quad-core processors, meaning that the Ultra 5 225's high boost clock of 4.90 GHz and strong single-thread score of 3655 in Cinebench R23 should prevent the processor from bottlenecking the GPU in most scenes. The data supports this interpretation: at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 163 FPS average, which is a very high frame rate that indicates the CPU is feeding the GPU adequately. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 90, a level that suggests the CPU maintains enough headroom to keep the GPU busy regardless of the graphical load.

The processor's 10 threads, rather than 20, reflect a design choice that favors efficiency and clock speed over raw thread count. In Thief, which rarely uses more than four to six threads, this configuration is more than sufficient. The nearest rivals to this CPU in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct 0), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (deltaPct -0.2), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (deltaPct -0.4), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (deltaPct -0.5). These rivals all sit within a half percent of the Ultra 5 225's average score of 36938, meaning the CPU's performance class is well established for gaming workloads. In practice, the data shows that the CPU's contribution to Thief's frame rates is consistently positive, with no resolution or settings combination showing signs of CPU-induced stutter or frame pacing issues.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, manufactured on a 6 nm process by TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a substantial memory pool for a mid-range card. The GPU has a base clock of 1980 MHz, a boost clock of 2755 MHz, and a game clock of 2470 MHz, with 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its FP32 compute is rated at 22.57 TFLOPS, and the card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The GPU's passmark G3D score is 17132, placing it in the 60th percentile among all GPUs.

For Thief, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM is far beyond what the 2014 title requires, even at 4K Ultra settings. The game's textures and geometry are modest by modern standards, meaning the RX 7600 XT's memory bandwidth and capacity are not limiting factors in the measured results. Instead, the card's raw compute throughput and clock speeds drive the frame rates. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 163 FPS, which is a very high number and indicates the GPU is working efficiently at lower settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 90 FPS, a 45% reduction from Low, which reflects the increased shading and texture work demanded by the Ultra preset.

The GPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (deltaPct 0.3), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (deltaPct 0.4), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (deltaPct -0.7), and the NVIDIA Tesla M4 (deltaPct 0.9). The RTX 3070, at -0.7% delta, is effectively a peer in synthetic benchmarks, but the RX 7600 XT's 16 GB VRAM gives it a capacity advantage in modern titles. In Thief, however, the data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions and settings, with the CPU providing adequate support. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 36, which is playable but not smooth, and at 4K High it is 38 FPS, only a marginal improvement. This pattern indicates that the GPU's compute throughput is the bottleneck at 4K, as the CPU's single-thread performance is more than enough for the game's logic.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings for this CPU-GPU combo in Thief?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 90 FPS, with no min or max values reported in the data.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36938, while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F scores 36945, representing a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are statistically equivalent in overall performance.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs, and what does it indicate?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT sits in the 60th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17083, indicating it performs better than the majority of graphics cards but is not in the top tier.

Q: How much VRAM does the RX 7600 XT have, and is it sufficient for Thief?

A: The RX 7600 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, which is more than sufficient for Thief, as the game's memory requirements are far below this capacity even at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p Medium settings, and what are the min and max FPS?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 85, with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS, indicating a stable frame rate range.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested CPU-GPU combinations for Thief?

A: The combo ranks 1756 out of 2851 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all tested configurations for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks 1756 out of 2851 tested combinations in Thief. This position places the combo in the 61.6th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 38% of tested combos perform worse and about 62% perform better. The rank reflects a balanced mid-range pairing that delivers playable frame rates at most settings, but falls short of high-end configurations that achieve 4K Ultra smoothness. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs is notably higher than the GPU's 60th percentile ranking, suggesting that the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing for Thief. This is consistent with the measured FPS data: at 4K Ultra, the combo averages 36 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while at 1080p Ultra it achieves 90 FPS, a much more comfortable margin.

The rank of 1756 out of 2851 indicates that many combos with higher-end GPUs or CPUs achieve better frame rates, particularly at 4K resolutions. However, the data shows that this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers average FPS above 60 in all settings except 4K High and Ultra. The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.5% of the Ultra 5 225, meaning that swapping the CPU for a Ryzen 5 5600F or a Core i9-12900T would not materially change the combo's rank or performance in Thief. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are within 1% of the RX 7600 XT's average score, so the performance class is well-defined.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Thief covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, and Ultra), for a total of 12 measured configurations. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 90 FPS at Ultra to 163 FPS at Low, with Medium at 124 FPS (min 105, max 142) and High at 94 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 73 FPS, which represents a 45% reduction in frame rate when moving to the highest preset. At 1440p, the averages are 62 FPS at Ultra, 65 FPS at High, 85 FPS at Medium (min 72, max 98), and 112 FPS at Low. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is consistent: Ultra falls from 90 to 62 FPS (-31%), High from 94 to 65 FPS (-31%), Medium from 124 to 85 FPS (-31%), and Low from 163 to 112 FPS (-31%). At 4K, the averages are 36 FPS at Ultra, 38 FPS at High, 50 FPS at Medium (min 42, max 57), and 66 FPS at Low. The 4K numbers show a more pronounced drop from 1440p: Ultra falls from 62 to 36 FPS (-42%), High from 65 to 38 FPS (-42%), Medium from 85 to 50 FPS (-41%), and Low from 112 to 66 FPS (-41%).

The data reveals that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is nearly uniform across all settings, with a consistent 31% FPS reduction. This uniformity suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this resolution range, as the percentage drop is independent of the settings preset. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is steeper at 41-42%, which indicates that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being taxed more heavily at 4K, particularly at higher settings. The Medium preset at 4K shows a min FPS of 42 and a max of 57, which is a narrow range of 15 FPS, indicating relatively stable frame pacing despite the low average. The Low preset at 4K achieves 66 FPS average, which is the only 4K configuration above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only playable option at that resolution for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and the desired frame rate. At 1080p, all four presets deliver average FPS above 90, with Low at 163, Medium at 124, High at 94, and Ultra at 90. For a 60 FPS target, any preset works, but the High preset at 94 FPS offers a good balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 90 FPS is also viable, and the difference between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS, suggesting that the visual fidelity upgrade is nearly free in terms of performance cost. At 1440p, the Low preset delivers 112 FPS, Medium delivers 85 FPS, High delivers 65 FPS, and Ultra delivers 62 FPS. For a 60 FPS target, the High preset at 65 FPS is the highest quality option that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 62 FPS is technically above 60, but the margin is thin and may drop below in demanding scenes; the Medium preset at 85 FPS is a safer choice for consistent frame rates.

At 4K, the options are more limited. The Low preset achieves 66 FPS, which is the only configuration that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset averages 50 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual quality over smoothness. The High and Ultra presets at 38 and 36 FPS respectively are likely too slow for most players, as they fall below the 40 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for playability. For the best experience at 4K, the data suggests using the Low preset for a smooth 66 FPS, or the Medium preset for better visuals at 50 FPS average, acknowledging that frame pacing may vary between 42 and 57 FPS. At 1080p and 1440p, the High preset is recommended for the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it maintains average FPS above 60 at both resolutions while providing a significant upgrade over Medium in terms of visual effects.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a clear pattern that reveals the limiting component in this combo. Moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by 31% across all settings presets, which is consistent with the increase in pixel count from 2.07 million to 3.69 million, a 78% increase in pixels. The fact that the FPS drop is only 31% rather than 78% indicates that the GPU is not purely pixel-bound at 1080p, and there is some headroom that allows the GPU to absorb the additional pixel workload with a relatively modest frame rate reduction. From 1440p to 4K, the pixel count increases from 3.69 million to 8.29 million, a 125% increase, and the FPS drops by 41-42% across all settings. This steeper drop per pixel suggests that the GPU is becoming more pixel-bound at 4K, and the rendering workload is scaling more directly with resolution.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 163 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that would stress most CPU-GPU pairings, but the average remains stable. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain constant across resolutions at the same settings, but the data shows a consistent drop from 1080p to 1440p and from 1440p to 4K. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions and settings. The 41-42% drop from 1440p to 4K is consistent with the GPU's 16 GB VRAM and 288 GB/s bandwidth, which are sufficient for the game's data but cannot overcome the raw compute demands of 4K rendering at high settings. The 4K Low preset at 66 FPS is the exception, suggesting that at Low settings, the GPU's compute load is reduced enough to keep up with the pixel count, but at higher settings, the shading and texture work overwhelm the GPU. The scaling pattern confirms that for this combo in Thief, the GPU is the primary performance limiter, and players targeting 4K should either use the Low preset or consider a higher-tier GPU.