Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, is an older game, but the data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination reveals how modern hardware handles its engine. The benchmark results provide a clear picture of performance scaling across resolutions and settings, indicating a system that is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gameplay at 1080p and remains very capable at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data offers a straightforward path to the best visual experience for this hardware pairing. At 1920x1080, the combination is so powerful that even the most demanding preset, Ultra, achieves an average of 108 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and enters the territory of high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the Medium preset at 1080p delivers a significantly higher average of 148 FPS, with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 171 FPS. This makes Medium the superior choice for competitive or fast-paced play where frame consistency is paramount, as it provides a substantial margin over the Ultra preset while still looking excellent in a game of this era. The Low preset at 1080p reaches an average of 196 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely too steep for most users when Medium offers such a strong balance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the story changes slightly. The Ultra preset here drops to an average of 74 FPS, which is still playable but does not provide the same headroom as at 1080p. The High preset at this resolution averages 78 FPS, nearly identical to Ultra, suggesting a diminishing return in visual fidelity for the performance cost. The Medium preset at 1440p, with an average of 102 FPS and a minimum of 87 FPS, emerges as the optimal choice for this resolution. It provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience with a comfortable buffer above the minimum frame rate, ensuring consistent performance during demanding scenes. For users prioritizing visual quality over raw frame rate, High is a good option, but Medium offers the best experience per the measured data.

At the demanding resolution of 3840x2160, the hardware begins to show its limits. The Ultra preset averages only 43 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. The High preset improves this to an average of 46 FPS, still not ideal. The Medium preset at 4K, however, achieves a respectable average of 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. This is the recommended setting for 4K gameplay, as it provides a playable and consistent frame rate that aligns with standard display refresh rates. The Low preset at 4K reaches 79 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is substantial. Therefore, the data suggests that for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, users should select the Medium preset at 4K, High or Medium at 1440p, and Medium at 1080p for maximum fluidity.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the central component driving the frame rates in Thief. The data shows a clear correlation between the GPU's workload and the resulting FPS, particularly at higher resolutions where the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck. The card features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. For a game released in 2014, this memory configuration is more than sufficient to handle the textures and assets at any of the tested settings, preventing VRAM capacity or bandwidth from being a limiting factor. The 12 GB allocation ensures that even the Ultra settings at 4K, which would typically demand more memory, do not cause performance degradation due to capacity issues.

The GPU's clock speeds are substantial, with a base clock of 2150 MHz and a boost clock of 2600 MHz. These high frequencies are crucial for the card's raw compute throughput, measured at 13.31 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. This processing power directly translates to the high frame rates observed at 1080p and 1440p. For instance, the jump from 46 FPS at 4K High to 78 FPS at 1440p High demonstrates the GPU's scaling as the pixel count decreases. The card's performance in the benchmark data places it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26011. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon R9 M395X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile, are within a 1.1% performance delta, indicating that the RX 6750 XT is positioned in a competitive mid-to-high-end tier.

The RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, provides the efficiency and features necessary to handle the DirectX 12 API, which Thief supports. The card’s 2560 shading units and 160 texture mapping units are fully utilized in this title, as evidenced by the significant frame rate differences between Low and Ultra settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low (196 FPS) and Ultra (108 FPS) is 88 FPS, highlighting the GPU's workload scaling. This pattern is consistent across all resolutions, confirming that the RX 6750 XT is the primary driver of performance changes when settings are adjusted. The data indicates that the GPU is not being held back by other system components in most scenarios, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Thief?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with the Medium preset provides an excellent balance, averaging 102 FPS. For maximum fluidity, 1920x1080 with Medium achieves 148 FPS, while 3840x2160 is playable with Medium at 60 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance drop is there from 1080p to 4K?

A: At the Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 148 at 1080p to 102 at 1440p and finally to 60 at 4K. This represents a significant 88 FPS difference between the lowest and highest resolutions, indicating the GPU is the main scaling factor.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 1440p?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 74 FPS. While not as high as the Medium preset, it is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, making it a viable option for those prioritizing maximum visual quality.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM limit performance in this game?

A: No. The Radeon RX 6750 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is ample for Thief. The performance differences across settings are more likely due to the GPU's compute power (13.31 TFLOPS) and clock speeds rather than memory capacity, as even the 4K Ultra preset does not show signs of a memory-related bottleneck.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested combinations?

A: The combination ranks 1138th out of 2851 tested combos for this game. This places it in the top 40% of all systems tested, indicating a solidly above-average performance for Thief.

Q: Is the Low preset ever a better choice than Medium?

A: The Low preset offers the highest frame rates, reaching 196 FPS at 1080p. However, the Medium preset provides a much better balance, offering 148 FPS at 1080p, which is still exceptionally high and likely preferable for the visual upgrade.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested hardware combinations for Thief, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT pairing achieves a rank of 1138 out of 2851 combos. This places the system in the upper half of all tested configurations, specifically in the 60th percentile of performance. This is a strong showing, indicating that the combination is well-matched for this title and delivers performance that surpasses the majority of other hardware pairings in the database. The rank reflects the system's ability to maintain high frame rates across various settings and resolutions, as detailed in the measured FPS breakdown. While not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it is a very capable configuration that will provide an excellent gaming experience in Thief.

The ranking is a holistic measure, taking into account performance across all tested scenarios. For this combo, the high scores at 1080p and 1440p, combined with playable 4K performance, contribute to its solid position. The data suggests that the bottleneck is rarely the CPU, allowing the RX 6750 XT to perform to its full potential. This is corroborated by the GPU's own percentile rank of 71% among all GPUs, which is higher than the combo's overall rank. This slight discrepancy may be due to other combos with more powerful CPUs or GPUs pushing the average up, but the result still confirms that this pairing is well-balanced and effective for a game like Thief. The rank of 1138 indicates that users with this setup can expect a smooth, high-quality experience without needing to make major compromises.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, plays a supporting but essential role in the performance of this combo in Thief. The game, released in 2014, is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU must be capable of feeding the graphics card with enough data to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The processor's architecture, Arrow Lake, built on a 3 nm process, provides a high level of single-thread performance, which is critical for older game engines that may not utilize many cores. The benchmark data shows a single-core score of 2085 in Cinebench R23, which is a strong result and ensures that the game's main simulation thread is handled with ease.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.00 GHz is a key factor in this performance. This high frequency allows for rapid processing of game logic and draw calls, preventing the CPU from limiting the frame rate. At 1080p with the Low preset, the average FPS reaches 196, a scenario where the CPU's role is more pronounced. The fact that the system can achieve such high frame rates indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor here. In contrast, at 4K with the Ultra preset, the frame rate drops to 43 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU is now the bottleneck, while the CPU has ample headroom to process the lower number of frames.

The Core Ultra 5 235's overall performance is strong, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 46062 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, with performance deltas of only 0.1% to 0.2%. This indicates that the CPU is a modern, high-performance part. For Thief, the combination of high clock speeds and efficient architecture ensures that it can keep up with the RX 6750 XT across all tested settings. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support further contribute to smooth data flow, ensuring that the CPU does not introduce stutters or frame pacing issues.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo provides a complete picture of its capabilities in Thief. At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high. The Ultra preset achieves an average of 108 FPS, while the High preset reaches 113 FPS. The Medium preset, with an average of 148 FPS and a narrow range of 126 to 171 FPS, offers the most consistent high-refresh-rate experience. The Low preset peaks at an average of 196 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, the system has more than enough power to drive high refresh rate monitors, even with the most demanding settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 74 FPS, and High is slightly better at 78 FPS. The Medium preset is again the standout, averaging 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS, making it ideal for 1440p gaming. The Low preset at this resolution reaches 134 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a performance cost of about 30% across all settings, which is expected given the increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the system's limits become apparent. The Ultra preset averages 43 FPS, and High is only marginally better at 46 FPS, both below the ideal 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset is the only playable option, achieving an average of 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. The Low preset at 4K reaches 79 FPS. This data confirms that for 4K gaming, users must compromise on settings to maintain smooth performance. The consistency of the Medium preset's frame times, as indicated by the min/max values, makes it the recommended choice for 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling of frame rates across resolutions is a clear indicator of where the bottleneck lies in this system. The data shows a predictable pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS decreases, confirming that the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the primary performance-limiting component. At the Medium settings, the average FPS is 148 at 1080p, 102 at 1440p, and 60 at 4K. This represents a drop of 46 FPS from 1080p to 1440p and another 42 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the 4K drop being slightly less severe in absolute terms but representing a larger percentage loss from the 1440p baseline.

This pattern strongly suggests a GPU-bound scenario. When the CPU is the bottleneck, frame rates would not scale as dramatically with resolution, as the CPU's workload remains relatively constant. Here, the significant performance cost of increasing pixel count points directly to the GPU's fill rate and compute capabilities being the limiting factor. The RX 6750 XT, with its 13.31 TFLOPS of compute power and 432.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, is being fully utilized. At 1080p, the CPU is likely able to feed the GPU faster than it can render, but the frame rate is still capped by the GPU's maximum output. As the resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and its performance drops accordingly.

The data also reveals that the performance scaling is consistent across all settings. For example, the Ultra preset averages 108 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. This consistent pattern across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the dominant factor. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235, with its high single-thread performance and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provides a solid foundation that does not impede the GPU's performance at any resolution. The system is well-balanced, but in Thief, the graphics card is clearly the component that dictates the final frame rate, particularly when moving beyond 1080p.