Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a fascinating set of results in Thief, a 2014 stealth title. The data reveals a system that is remarkably capable at high refresh rates but begins to strain under the weight of modern resolutions and maximum settings. This combination lands at rank 1575 out of 2851 tested combos, placing it in the 55th percentile of all systems tested for this specific game. The analysis below digs into how the CPU and GPU share the workload, where the bottlenecks emerge, and what settings offer the most rewarding experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic and predictable decline as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, but the rate of that decline tells a compelling story about where the performance ceiling lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the system delivers an average of 171 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 118 FPS, a 31% decrease. Pushing further to 4K yields 69 FPS, which is a 42% drop from the 1440p figure and a 60% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep, compounding decline as resolution climbs indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

However, the scaling pattern changes when we look at the High preset. At 1080p High, the average is 99 FPS. At 1440p High, it falls to 68 FPS, a 31% reduction that mirrors the Low preset's scaling. But at 4K High, the average drops to 40 FPS — a 41% reduction from 1440p and a 60% reduction from 1080p. This suggests that even at High settings, the system's ability to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K is severely compromised, with the GPU workload becoming nearly overwhelming.

The Medium preset shows a slightly different curve. 1080p Medium runs at 130 FPS, 1440p Medium at 89 FPS, and 4K Medium at 52 FPS. The percentage drops here are 32% and 42%, respectively, which is consistent with the other presets. The Ultra preset tells the most damning story for 4K gaming: 94 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and just 38 FPS at 4K. The final drop from 1440p to 4K represents a 42% loss, showing that the RTX 2070 SUPER simply lacks the raw pixel-pushing power to handle Ultra settings at 4K, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

The data implies that at 1080p and 1440p, the system is likely not fully GPU-bound in the lower settings, as the CPU can keep pace. But at 4K, the GPU's limits are exposed. The fact that the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 77 FPS (171 vs 94) but at 4K is only 31 FPS (69 vs 38) suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is saturated and settings tweaks have diminishing returns in absolute frame rate terms.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process, is the clear workhorse in this setup for Thief. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which appears sufficient for this game's demands at 1080p and 1440p, given the high frame rates observed. The GPU's boost clock of 1770 MHz and base clock of 1605 MHz, combined with 2560 shading units, enable it to deliver 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The measured data shows that the GPU's role becomes more dominant as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 38, which is below the 40 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playable frame rates. The 4K Medium result of 52 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS shows that even at mid-range settings, the GPU is struggling to maintain a consistent frame pacing at 4K, with a noticeable spread between min and max frames.

Interestingly, the GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, -1% delta) and the Intel Arc B570 (20556, -1.3% delta). These rivals are statistically equivalent in raw compute, but the RTX 2070 SUPER's specific strengths in DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 (scores of 151 and 67, respectively in Passmark) likely influence its Thief performance more than the raw average score suggests.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not explicitly tested in the FPS data, but the game's release in 2014 means it was not designed for massive texture loads that would exceed this capacity at 1080p. The fact that the system can hit 171 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the GPU is not memory-bandwidth-starved at that resolution. The real constraint appears to be the GPU's compute throughput, as evidenced by the sharp FPS drops when moving to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and RTX 2070 SUPER combination achieves a rank of 1575 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the middle of the pack, slightly below the median performance level. Given that the CPU itself sits at the 85th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU at the 65th percentile, the combined rank of 55th percentile (1575/2851) suggests that the pairing does not fully leverage the CPU's potential in this game, or that the GPU's capabilities are the limiting factor.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks show it is closely matched with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945 avg score, 0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018, -0.2% delta), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112, -0.5% delta). This means the CPU is not a bottleneck unique to this pairing; swapping in a similar-tier rival CPU would likely produce nearly identical Thief results, assuming the GPU remains constant.

For the GPU, its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, -1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, -1.2% delta), and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, -1.5% delta). The RTX 2070 SUPER's score of 20282 is slightly below all of these, meaning that in raw compute, it is marginally slower than its closest competitors. In Thief, this places the combo in a position where it can handle 1080p and 1440p at high frame rates but falls short of the top-tier combos that might achieve 60+ FPS at 4K Ultra.

The rank of 1575 out of 2851 implies that there are 1276 combos that perform worse and 1574 that perform better. This is a solid mid-range result, but it is not exceptional. The data suggests that for Thief, this combo is best suited to 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high FPS at High and Ultra settings, rather than 4K, where it struggles to maintain playability at higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers excellent frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 171 FPS, Medium produces 130 FPS, High produces 99 FPS, and Ultra produces 94 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 111 FPS and a maximum of 150 FPS, indicating some frame pacing variance but overall smooth performance. The spread from Low to Ultra is 77 FPS, showing that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but steps down. Low settings still deliver an average of 118 FPS, which is excellent for competitive or high-refresh-rate gaming. Medium settings yield 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 103 FPS, providing a balanced experience. High settings average 68 FPS, and Ultra settings average 65 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 53 FPS, smaller than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become apparent. Low settings average 69 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Medium settings average 52 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS, meaning the frame rate can dip into the 40s during demanding scenes. High settings average 40 FPS, right at the edge of playability, and Ultra settings average 38 FPS, which is generally considered too low for a smooth experience. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is just 31 FPS, confirming that the GPU is heavily saturated at this resolution.

The minimum and maximum FPS data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p, the range is 111-150 FPS (a 39 FPS spread), at 1440p it is 76-103 FPS (a 27 FPS spread), and at 4K it is 45-60 FPS (a 15 FPS spread). This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is working closer to its maximum capacity, reducing the variability but also reducing the average performance.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Thief at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 1080p?*

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 94 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a consistent 60+ FPS experience?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 68 FPS and the Ultra preset averages 65 FPS, both above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (69 FPS) averages above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in raw performance?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, which is 1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480) and 1.2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534).

*Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 a bottleneck for this GPU in Thief?*

A: The data suggests not at 1080p and 1440p, given the high frame rates achieved. The CPU's average benchmark score of 36938 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, and the performance scaling with resolution indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for the Medium preset across resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum is 111 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 76 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 45 FPS.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Thief?*

A: It ranks 1575 out of 2851 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the performance distribution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 99 FPS average is the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it delivers nearly the same frame rate as Ultra (94 FPS) while likely reducing some of the more demanding graphical effects. The Medium preset at 130 FPS is the choice for players prioritizing high refresh rates, as it offers a 31% improvement over High while still maintaining a respectable visual experience.

At 1440p, the High preset at 68 FPS is the recommended choice for a smooth experience, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS is also viable, but the margin above 60 FPS is slim, and any demanding scenes could push it below that mark. The Medium preset at 89 FPS is the best option for players who want to ensure a consistent frame rate without worrying about dips, as it provides a comfortable buffer above 60 FPS.

At 4K, the options are limited. The Low preset at 69 FPS is the only setting that delivers an average above 60 FPS, making it the only truly playable option for competitive or action-oriented play. The Medium preset at 52 FPS is playable but may experience noticeable stuttering, especially during scenes with heavy particle effects or complex geometry. The High and Ultra presets at 40 FPS and 38 FPS, respectively, are not recommended for a smooth experience, as they fall below the 60 FPS target and are close to the 30 FPS minimum for playability.

For the best overall experience, 1440p with High settings offers the strongest combination of visual fidelity and performance, delivering an average of 68 FPS. Players with 1080p monitors should consider the High preset for maximum quality or the Medium preset for a high-refresh-rate experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225, with its 10 cores and 10 threads, plays a supporting role in this system's Thief performance. The CPU's base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz, combined with 20 MB of shared L3 cache, provide ample processing power for a game released in 2014. The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655, placing it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 171 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would stress many CPUs, yet the performance scaling from Low to Ultra at the same resolution is only 45% (171 to 94 FPS), suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor even at lower settings. The CPU's role becomes even less critical at 4K, where the GPU is clearly saturated, as evidenced by the minimal FPS differences between settings.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, and Intel Core i9-12900T — all have average scores within 0.5% of the Ultra 5 225. This means that in Thief, swapping the CPU for any of these rivals would likely produce nearly identical frame rates, as the game's performance is more dependent on the GPU. The CPU's 10 cores and 10 threads are more than sufficient for this game's threading model, which was designed for the 4-core/8-thread CPUs common at the time of its release.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 and dual-channel configuration, providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth, ensures that the GPU has a steady stream of data to process. This is particularly important at high frame rates, where the CPU must feed the GPU quickly. The fact that the system can achieve 171 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU's memory subsystem is not a hindrance, and the overall performance is well-balanced for this title, with the GPU acting as the definitive performance ceiling.