Thief

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 produces a workable but not high-end Thief experience, with the measured frame rates showing a clear pattern across resolutions and presets. At 1080p the system reaches triple-digit averages on Low and Medium, but the same GPU only hits 38 FPS at 4K High. The CPU delivers robust single-thread performance—its boost clock is 4.90 GHz—while the GPU offers 2560 shading units and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, which shapes how this pairing behaves under the game’s load. The data also places this combo 2258th out of 3720 tested combinations, indicating a mid-pack result that is better evaluated through the specific resolution and setting choices discussed below.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS does not scale linearly with resolution. Starting at 1920x1080 with High settings, the average is 95 FPS. At 2560x1440 that drops to 65 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 38 FPS. This pattern repeats across all four presets:

• Low: 164 FPS (1080p) → 112 FPS (1440p) → 66 FPS (4K)
• Medium: 124 FPS (1080p) → 85 FPS (1440p) → 50 FPS (4K)
• High: 95 FPS (1080p) → 65 FPS (1440p) → 38 FPS (4K)
• Ultra: 90 FPS (1080p) → 62 FPS (1440p) → 36 FPS (4K)

The drop from 1080p to 1440p is steep, being roughly 60% of the 1080p value at High, and from 1440p to 4K a further 60% reduction. This is classic GPU-bound behaviour; the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 runs a 10-core, 10-thread configuration with a 4.90 GHz boost clock, and even at 1080p Low the game is far from a CPU bottleneck—the GPU still manages 164 FPS, which is well below the CPU’s capability. Thus the game is entirely GPU-limited, and the scaling pattern clearly indicates that the RTX 5050’s rendering throughput dictates the frame rate rather than any CPU weakness.

GPU Role

The RTX 5050 is a mid-range part with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth. Its boost clock reaches 2572 MHz, and it contains 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. These numbers directly explain the observed FPS behavior. At 4K, the pixel fill and shading pressure force the GPU to compromise: the lowest preset (Low) delivers a playable 66 FPS, but Medium 50, High 38, and Ultra 36 – all below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider smooth. The 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit interface are likely contributors, since Thief’s Ultra texture sets and effect loads push memory bandwidth and capacity limits at 4K.

Conversely, the GPU has plenty of modern features – it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 – but the game’s own engine (a 2014 title) is not that demanding. The results show that the RTX 5050 is a comfortable 1080p card and a stable 1440p performer, but that the jump to 4K requires dropping several visual quality presets. The measured data also shows that the CPU has no impact: even at 1080p Low (164 FPS) and 4K Low (66 FPS), the CPU’s boost clock of 4.90 GHz and 20 MB L3 cache remain secondary. The game clearly saturates the GPU first.

Among comparable GPUs, the RTX 5050’s nearest rivals by benchmark average score are the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (deltaPct 1.6, meaning it scores 1.6% higher), the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (deltaPct -0.6), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (deltaPct -1.0), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (deltaPct -1.6). These are older or laptop parts in many cases, and the RTX 5050 sits near them in synthetic performance, which correlates with the memory footprint of Thief’s asset load. The 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p Ultra but marginal for 4K Ultra, as reflected by the 36 FPS result.

FAQ

Q: Does the combo maintain a consistent 60+ FPS at 1440p across all settings?

A: No. The measured data shows that at 2560x1440 the Low preset averages 112 FPS, Medium 85 FPS, High 65 FPS, but Ultra drops to 62 FPS. So only the three lower presets reach or exceed 62 FPS; Ultra is borderline 60.

Q: Is 4K gaming with this setup viable?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset reaches an average of 66 FPS. Medium gets 50 FPS, High 38 FPS, and Ultra 36 FPS. So 4K is playable to use Low, but quality gains come at a large frame count.

Q: What preset gives the smootrasièsta experience at 1440p?

A: Based on the measured numbers, Low gives 112 FPS, Medium 85 FPS, High 65 FPS, Ultra 62 FPS. All are above 60 FPS, but if you want the best visual balance without dipping below 60, High’s 65 average is a safe choice.

Q: Which setting’s FPS penalty is largest at 4K?

A: Between Medium (50 FPS) and High (38 FPS), there is a 12 FPS drop. From High to Ultra only a 2 FPS reduction (38 to 36). The biggest single gap is from Medium to High: 50 to 38, a 12 FPS penalty.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause texture loading issues?

A: The dataset does not include frame-time or VRAM usage, but the observed average FPS patterns suggest the GPU is the limiter. At Ultra settings, the 8 GB frame buffer is enough for 1080p (90 FPS) and 1440p (62 FPS), but at 4K (36 FPS) the GPU core is likely saturated. No stutter or min‑FPS data is provided for most rows, so only average FPS indicates the load.

Q: How does this pairing compare to other CPU/GPU combos in Thief?

A: It ranks 2258th out of 3720 combos. That means 2257 combos score (average FPS) higher, and 1462 combos score lower. The CPU itself is a strong 85th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 66th percentile among GPUs. Combined they sit in the lower-mid range of the tested setups.

How This Combo Ranks

In Thief, this combo is ranked 2258 out of 3720 tested. That is the 60.7% percentile, meaning 2258 combos are faster and 1462 are slower. The ranking reflects a pairing that excels at 1080p but is not among the top-tier 4K performers. The CPU percentile is 85, indicating good compute strength (Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 25891, single-core 3655), while the GPU percentile is 66, meaning it is a mid-pack GPU. The delta from the CPU’s nearest rival (AMD Ryzen 5 5600F) is 0%, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D is -0.2%, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 is -0.4%, and Core i9-12900T is -0.5%. These are all virtually identical in CPU performance, indicating that the CPU is not the source of variation in this ranking. The GPU is the more decisive factor: its nearest rival by benchmark score is the RX 5600 XT (1.6% higher score) and the RX Vega M GL (-0.6% lower), for the RTX 5050. The game’s rendering costs scale with resolution, so the GPU’s 8 GB and low to medium fill rate shape this rank more than the CPU’s core count.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured average FPS, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, Ultra is a clear winner: 90 FPS average, still above the 60 FPS cushion, and the quality is highest. However, Medium and High are also above 90 FPS; if you want to allocate headroom for smooth 1% lows (though min/max data is only available for Medium), Medium has a min of 106 FPS and max of 143 FPS, which is the only preset with such data. High has no min/max recorded, but from the average it is 95 FPS. For a competitive smooth experience at 1080p, Medium delivers a 124 average, which is excellent.

At 2560x1440, the recommended preset is Medium (average 85 FPS) when aiming for a 60+ FPS experience with higher quality. High gives 65 FPS, only 5 above 60; Ultra is 62 FPS, a tight margin. Low gives 112 FPS, but visual fidelity drops. If you prioritise frame rate above all else, Low works, but Medium offers a good upgrade in visual quality for a loss of – only 72 to 98 extremes suggests Medium is stable.

At 3840x2160, Low is the only preset above 60 FPS (66). Medium 50, High 38, Ultra 36 are all below the typical 60 FPS target. Thus, for 4K, set to Low to maintain playability; raising to Medium yields a substantial quality leap but hits 50 FPS, and High/Ultra are not recommended without further GPU power.

Thus, the direct pragmatic recommendation is: 1080p Ultra, 1440p Medium, 4K Low if you expect a 60+ average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following are the exact measured frame rates from the test, as reported for each resolution and setting combination. All values are averages of frame time converted to FPS.

__Resolution: 3840x2160 (4K)__

• Low: 66 FPS
• Medium: 50 FPS (min 43, max 58)
• High: 38 FPS
• Ultra: 36 FPS

__Resolution: 2560x1440 (1440p)__

• Low: 112 FPS
• Medium: 85 FPS (min 72, max 98)
• High: 65 FPS
• Ultra: 62 FPS

__Resolution: 1920x1080 (1080p)__

• Low: 164 FPS
• Medium: 124 FPS (min 106, max 143)
• High: 95 FPS
• Ultra: 90 FPS

The min/max values for Medium are the only ones available. The lack of them for other presets does not however change the average picture: the GPU is the limiting factor above 1080p. The data supports the observation that the RTX 5050 delivers its steepest frame count at 1080p, gradually falling off by roughly 60% at each resolution increment, consistent with a GPU that has an 8 GB memory bus and 320 GB/s bandwidth which is enough for 1080p Ultra but not for the 4K texture load. The CPU never becomes a produce—the Core Ultra 5 225’s base and boost clocks make sure of that.