Thief

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 lands at rank 1117 out of 2851 tested combinations for Thief. This places the combo in the 61st percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 39% of tested combos deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The ranking reflects a mid-to-upper tier position, consistent with a modern CPU paired with a current-generation mainstream GPU.

The combo's position suggests it sits comfortably ahead of older or lower-end pairings but trails high-end configurations that dominate the top quartile. Given Thief's 2014 release, the game is not particularly demanding by modern standards, yet the combo still fails to crack the top 1000, indicating that either the CPU or GPU—or both—constrains performance relative to the best available hardware. The data shows a clear gap between this pairing and the leaders, but the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings remain playable in most scenarios.

# GPU Role

The RTX 5060 brings 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock runs at 2280 MHz with a boost clock of 2497 MHz, while memory operates at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These specifications place the GPU in a capable position for Thief, a title that launched well before the card's 2025 release and does not leverage the latest graphics features heavily.

Benchmark results show the RTX 5060 achieving a PassMark G3D score of 20891 and a PassMark GPU Compute score of 10899. Its percentile ranking against all GPUs sits at 72, with an average benchmark score of 26331. In the context of Thief, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the game's textures and geometry, even at 4K Ultra settings. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 44 avg, which indicates the GPU handles the load but begins to show its limits at the highest resolution and settings combination.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M (deltaPct -0.3), NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (deltaPct -0.3), AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (deltaPct -0.8), and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (deltaPct 1.2). These comparisons show the RTX 5060 performing nearly identically to integrated graphics in the Radeon 860M and the low-end MX550, while trailing the RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary by 0.8% and the RX 6750 XT by 1.2%. This clustering suggests that for Thief specifically, the GPU's raw compute advantage over these rivals is minimal, and the game's performance is not primarily GPU-bound at lower settings.

# Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset delivers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium produces 149 avg FPS with a minimum of 127 and maximum of 172, offering smooth gameplay well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1080p yields 114 avg FPS, while Ultra drops to 108 avg FPS—both playable but with diminishing returns for the extra settings.

At 2560x1440, Medium maintains 102 avg FPS (min 87, max 118), which remains fluid for most display refresh rates. High at 1440p delivers 78 avg FPS, and Ultra drops to 74 avg FPS. For 4K, Medium produces 60 avg FPS (min 51, max 69), which is exactly at the 60 FPS target but with dips below it. The Low preset at 4K reaches 79 avg FPS, but this sacrifices significant visual fidelity.

The data indicates that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo. It provides a substantial FPS boost over High and Ultra while maintaining acceptable visual quality. At 1080p and 1440p, Medium offers headroom above 100 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. At 4K, Medium's 60 avg FPS is borderline, so players prioritizing frame rate stability might consider Low (79 avg) or accept occasional dips below 60.

# FAQ

Q: Does this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings in Thief?

A: No. The measured 4K Ultra average is 44 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS target. Even 4K High averages only 46 FPS, while 4K Medium reaches exactly 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5060's PassMark G3D score is 20891. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 860M, scores 26401 (deltaPct -0.3), meaning the RTX 5060 is effectively tied with it. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 scores 26421 (deltaPct -0.3), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 26553 (deltaPct -0.8). The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT scores 26011 (deltaPct 1.2), which is 1.2% ahead of the RTX 5060.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded for this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS at 1080p is 197, achieved with the Low preset. The Medium preset has a maximum FPS of 172, while High and Ultra averages are 114 and 108 respectively.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at lower resolutions?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes more relevant at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 197 avg FPS, which is a significant jump from 1440p Low's 135 avg FPS. This scaling indicates the GPU is not fully utilized at 1080p Low, and the CPU's performance—10 cores, 10 threads with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz—allows higher frame rates.

Q: How much FPS improvement is there from Ultra to Low at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low produces 135 avg FPS versus Ultra's 74 avg FPS, representing an 82.4% increase. This is a substantial gain, suggesting the Ultra preset imposes a heavy load that the combo cannot fully handle at this resolution.

Q: What does the comboRankInGame of 1117 out of 2851 indicate about performance?

A: It places the combo in the 61st percentile of all tested combinations for Thief. This means about 61% of tested combos perform worse, while 39% perform better. The ranking reflects a solid mid-tier position, not a top-tier one.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how the limiting component shifts across resolutions. At Low settings, 1080p yields 197 avg FPS, 1440p drops to 135 avg FPS (a 31.5% decrease), and 4K falls to 79 avg FPS (a 41.5% decrease from 1440p). This scaling pattern shows the GPU becoming increasingly dominant as resolution rises, since the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

At Medium settings, the progression is 149 avg FPS at 1080p, 102 at 1440p (a 31.5% drop), and 60 at 4K (a 41.2% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium suggests the GPU is the primary limiter even at lower settings, though the high 1080p numbers (197 and 149) indicate the CPU still has headroom. At High settings, 1080p averages 114 FPS, 1440p drops to 78 (a 31.6% decrease), and 4K falls to 46 (a 41.0% decrease). Ultra follows a similar pattern: 108 at 1080p, 74 at 1440p (31.5% drop), and 44 at 4K (40.5% drop).

The nearly uniform percentage drops across all settings—around 31-32% from 1080p to 1440p and 40-41% from 1440p to 4K—indicate that the GPU's rendering load scales predictably with pixel count. The CPU does not appear to be a significant constraint at any resolution, as the FPS reductions align with the expected increase in GPU workload. However, the absolute FPS values at 1080p Low (197) suggest the CPU could support even higher frame rates if the GPU were faster.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 features 10 cores and 10 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data for game logic and physics. The CPU's PassMark multithread score is 30459, with a single-thread score of 4412, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 36938.

In Thief, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the combo reaches 197 avg FPS. This high frame rate indicates the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution or settings increase. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (avgScore 36945, deltaPct 0), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (avgScore 37018, deltaPct -0.2), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (avgScore 37093, deltaPct -0.4), and Intel Core i9-12900T (avgScore 37112, deltaPct -0.5). These deltas are all within 0.5% of the Ultra 5 225, indicating near-identical synthetic performance.

The CPU's Cinebench scores reinforce its capability: R23 multicore reaches 25891, while R23 singlecore hits 3655. These numbers suggest strong multi-threaded performance for a 10-core part, though Thief's engine is likely more sensitive to single-thread performance given its 2014 origins. The PassMark physics score of 2342 and find prime numbers score of 358 further characterize the CPU's compute strengths, but in-game data shows the CPU does not bottleneck the combo at any resolution tested.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 197 avg FPS, Medium yields 149 avg FPS with a minimum of 127 and maximum of 172, High reaches 114 avg FPS, and Ultra hits 108 avg FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 48 FPS (32.2% decrease), while the gap between Medium and High is 35 FPS (23.5% decrease), and High to Ultra is only 6 FPS (5.3% decrease). This diminishing return from High to Ultra suggests the Ultra preset adds minimal visual benefit for the FPS cost at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 135 FPS, Medium delivers 102 FPS (min 87, max 118), High produces 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings: Low falls 31.5%, Medium falls 31.5%, High falls 31.6%, and Ultra falls 31.5%. The Medium preset's minimum of 87 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the safest choice for consistent gameplay at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 79 FPS, Medium delivers 60 FPS (min 51, max 69), High produces 46 FPS, and Ultra averages 44 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 51 FPS indicates occasional dips below 60, which may cause noticeable stutter on 60 Hz displays. High and Ultra both fall below 50 FPS, making them less desirable for smooth play. The data shows that 4K is playable only at Low or Medium settings, with Medium offering the best balance of visual quality and performance at exactly 60 avg FPS.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides the most consistent experience, with minimum FPS values that remain within 15-20% of the average. The Ultra preset offers the smallest FPS improvement over High at 1080p (6 FPS) and 1440p (4 FPS), but the gap narrows at 4K to just 2 FPS. This pattern suggests the Ultra preset's additional settings have diminishing returns as resolution increases, likely due to the GPU becoming the primary constraint.