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 based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, within a 65 W TDP envelope. The CPU's cache hierarchy consists of 192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 over a dual-channel bus, providing a theoretical memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. The processor connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes and includes an integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 16EU solution, though the discrete GPU handles the rendering workload in this analysis.

In Thief, the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings suggest the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher graphical loads. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 195 FPS average, which indicates substantial headroom in the CPU's single-thread performance. The processor's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and multi-core score of 25891 position it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (delta 0%), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (delta -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (delta -0.4%), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (delta -0.5%). These deltas are all within 0.5%, indicating the Ultra 5 225 sits in a tightly competitive performance band.

For a 2014 stealth title like Thief, the data shows that even the most demanding frame rate scenario — 4K Ultra at 43 FPS — is far below what the CPU can theoretically feed. The PassMark single-thread score of 4412 and multithread score of 30459 further corroborate that the processor has ample compute for the game's AI, physics, and scene management. The 10-core configuration without hyper-threading is notable, but Thief's engine does not appear to scale heavily with thread count; the frame rate deltas between resolutions align more closely with GPU load. At 1080p Low, where GPU load is minimal, the 195 FPS ceiling likely reflects the engine's frame rate cap or a CPU bottleneck in specific single-threaded sections, but the consistency across settings suggests this is not a systemic limitation. The passmark physics score of 2342, while lower than modern multi-threaded workloads, remains sufficient for a game of this era.

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among all tested CPU-GPU pairs in Thief?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1150 out of 2851 tested combos, placing it in the 60th percentile of all configurations tested in this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in raw benchmark performance?

A: The Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36938, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F at 36945 (delta 0%). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D by 0.2% (score 37018) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 by 0.4% (score 37093), while leading the Intel Core i9-12900T by 0.5% (score 37112).

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved by this combo in Thief?

A: The highest measured average is 195 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium achieves 148 FPS, High achieves 113 FPS, and Ultra achieves 108 FPS.

Q: Is there a significant performance drop when moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average is 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and maximum of 117 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average drops to 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS — a 41% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Does the GPU's memory capacity play a role in Thief's performance?

A: The RX 7700 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth. Given Thief's 2014 release, the game's VRAM demands are modest, so the 16 GB capacity is not a limiting factor in any measured scenario; the card's compute throughput and pixel rate are more relevant.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852, which is 0.1% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862, delta -0.1%), 1% below the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16014, delta -1%), 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679, delta 1.1%), and 1.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129, delta -1.7%).

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 achieves a rank of 1150 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the upper-middle tier of configurations. This rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 85th percentile standing among all processors and the GPU's 58th percentile among all graphics cards. The CPU's substantial headroom — evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 — suggests that the GPU is the more likely bottleneck in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

The rank of 1150 out of 2851 means this combo outperforms approximately 60% of tested configurations, which is a respectable position for a mid-range pairing. The data indicates that the CPU is not holding back the GPU at 1080p, where frame rates reach up to 195 FPS on Low settings. At 4K Ultra, the 43 FPS average is clearly GPU-limited, as the CPU's single-thread performance remains ample for the game's logic. The delta between the CPU's nearest rivals — all within 0.5% — reinforces that the processor choice has minimal impact on the combo's overall ranking; the GPU's position relative to its rivals, with deltas up to 1.7%, carries more weight in determining where this combo lands.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages span a wide range depending on the preset. Low settings deliver 195 FPS, Medium delivers 148 FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS and maximum of 171 FPS, High delivers 113 FPS, and Ultra delivers 108 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 87 FPS, representing a 45% reduction in average frame rate when moving to the highest preset. The Medium preset's frame time variance — 45 FPS between minimum and maximum — suggests some scenes are more demanding, but the 126 FPS floor remains well above typical 60 Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, the averages compress significantly. Low settings produce 134 FPS, Medium produces 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and maximum of 117 FPS, High produces 77 FPS, and Ultra produces 74 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 60 FPS, a 45% drop consistent with the 1080p scaling. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a tighter frame time spread of 31 FPS, indicating more consistent performance as the GPU becomes more loaded.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop further. Low settings achieve 79 FPS, Medium achieves 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS, High achieves 46 FPS, and Ultra achieves 43 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra delta is 36 FPS, a 46% reduction. Notably, the Medium preset at 4K has a frame time spread of 18 FPS, the tightest of any resolution at that preset, which suggests the GPU is operating in a more stable range when fully utilized. The 4K Ultra average of 43 FPS approaches the edge of playability, while 4K High at 46 FPS offers marginally better performance.

# Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reveals a consistent GPU-bound pattern. At High settings, the averages are 113 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p, and 46 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36 FPS (32% reduction), and from 1440p to 4K is 31 FPS (40% reduction). This scaling aligns with the pixel count increase: 1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 2.25x the pixels of 1440p, but the frame rate drops are less than proportional, indicating some CPU involvement at lower resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling is steeper: 195 FPS at 1080p, 134 FPS at 1440p, and 79 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 61 FPS (31%), and the 1440p-to-4K drop is 55 FPS (41%). The 195 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is nearing its limit for this game's draw call processing, but the fact that 4K Low still achieves 79 FPS indicates the GPU is not overwhelmed at lower settings. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 148 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K, with resolution drops of 46 FPS (31%) and 42 FPS (41%) respectively.

The consistency of these percentage drops — roughly 31% from 1080p to 1440p and 41% from 1440p to 4K across all settings — points to the GPU as the primary scaling factor. The RX 7700's pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s determine how quickly it can fill pixels, and Thief's rendering demands scale with resolution. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases, which is typical for a game of this era. The 4K Medium frame time spread of 18 FPS versus the 1080p Medium spread of 45 FPS further confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame pacing becomes more consistent when the GPU is fully saturated.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 148 FPS average with a 126 FPS minimum, providing a high-refresh-rate experience with headroom for dips. At 2560x1440, Medium produces 102 FPS average with an 86 FPS minimum, which remains smooth for most displays. At 3840x2160, Medium achieves 60 FPS average with a 51 FPS minimum, making it the only preset at 4K that consistently stays above 50 FPS.

The High preset at 1440p (77 FPS) and 4K (46 FPS) offers diminishing returns, as the frame rate drops below 60 FPS at 4K and approaches the edge of playability at 1440p for high refresh rate monitors. The Ultra preset yields only marginal gains over High — 108 FPS versus 113 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS versus 77 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS versus 46 FPS at 4K — with no scenario where Ultra provides a meaningful advantage over High. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (195 FPS at 1080p, 134 FPS at 1440p, 79 FPS at 4K), sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that emphasizes atmosphere and stealth.

The data suggests that Medium is the optimal choice for this combo. At 1080p, the 148 FPS average with a 126 FPS floor exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end displays. At 1440p, the 102 FPS average with an 86 FPS floor comfortably supports 60-100 Hz monitors. At 4K, the 60 FPS average with a 51 FPS floor is right at the threshold for standard 60 Hz displays, making it a viable option for users prioritizing resolution over frame rate. The Medium preset also shows the most consistent frame pacing at 4K, with an 18 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, compared to the wider spreads at lower resolutions.

# GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the Navi 32 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, along with 40 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz, with memory running at 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective). The card's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, and its compute capabilities include 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 performance. The pixel rate is 236.1 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 393.4 GTexel/s, with a TDP of 200 W.

In Thief, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings increase. The 4K Ultra average of 43 FPS and 4K High average of 46 FPS are clearly GPU-limited, as the CPU's performance headroom is substantial at these settings. The GPU's 58th percentile standing among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852, places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 370X (delta -0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (delta -1%), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (delta 1.1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (delta -1.7%). These tight deltas indicate the RX 7700 is competitively positioned.

The GPU's memory subsystem — 16 GB at 624.1 GB/s — is more than sufficient for Thief's 2014-era texture requirements, so the card's compute throughput and fill rates are the limiting factors. The PassMark G3D score of 20974 and DirectX 11 score of 186 are the most relevant benchmarks for this game, as Thief runs on DirectX 11. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865, while lower due to the more demanding workload, confirms the GPU's mid-range positioning. The card's RDNA 3.0 architecture, with its 40 ray tracing cores, is largely irrelevant for Thief, which does not utilize ray tracing, but the 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 throughput drives the rasterization performance that the game requires.