Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, responds dramatically to resolution and settings changes when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9070. The measured data reveals a component pairing that is heavily influenced by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the processor shows its strength at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all tested configurations, examines the role of each component, and provides clear guidance on the best way to experience the game with this specific hardware combination.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation from the data is how quickly average frame rates collapse as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 225 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Low preset drops that to 164 FPS, a reduction of 27%. At 4K, the Low preset average falls further to 97 FPS, which is 43% of the 1080p performance. This steep decline clearly indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises; the CPU is not able to maintain the same output when the GPU is forced to work harder.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For High settings, the average FPS drops from 139 at 1080p to 95 at 1440p, then to 56 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is a near-halving of performance, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The data suggests that the 16 GB of VRAM and the GPU's compute capabilities are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the demands of 4K, even on a game from 2014, push the RX 9070 to its limits.

The scaling between Medium and other presets is also informative. At 1080p Medium, the average is 182 FPS, while at 1440p Medium it is 125 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 73 FPS. The relative performance drop from 1440p to 4K is about 42%, which is very similar to the drop seen in Low settings. This uniformity across presets reinforces the conclusion that resolution, not graphical complexity, is the dominant factor in performance degradation. The game's engine appears to scale its workload in a way that heavily taxes the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth at higher resolutions.

The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, provides further insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 155 FPS, which is 85% of the average. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 106 FPS, which is also 85% of the average. However, at 4K Medium, the minimum is 62 FPS, which is only 85% of the average as well. This consistent ratio suggests that while the average performance drops, the frame time consistency remains relatively stable, indicating that the system is not experiencing severe stutters or hitches at any resolution, just a general reduction in throughput.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648. This places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a high-performing processor. The fact that it has no hyper-threading (14 cores, 14 threads) is interesting for a game like Thief, which was released before the wide adoption of high-core-count CPUs. The data suggests that this CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions.

The 1080p results are where the CPU's role is most evident. The jump from 182 FPS at Medium to 225 FPS at Low suggests that the CPU can push frame rates very high when the GPU is not the bottleneck. The 225 FPS figure at 1080p Low is likely near the game engine's or CPU's practical limit for this title. This is supported by the fact that the CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, has a very similar average benchmark score (49228 vs 49228, a delta of -0.5%), and the Intel Core i5-14600K is also close (48618, a delta of 0.8%). These scores indicate that the Ultra 5 245 is in a performance tier that should not struggle with a game from 2014.

The CPU's 5.10 GHz boost clock is likely the key factor in achieving those high 1080p frame rates. Thief's gameplay, which involves stealth and AI, often relies on single-threaded performance. The strong single-core score in Cinebench R23 (4648) suggests that the processor can handle the game's primary simulation thread without issue. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache also helps with data locality, which can be beneficial for game logic.

However, as resolution increases, the CPU's influence wanes. The 4K results show a much smaller gap between settings presets relative to the 1080p results. For instance, at 4K, the difference between Low (97 FPS) and Medium (73 FPS) is 24 FPS, whereas at 1080p, the difference is 43 FPS. This compression of performance at 4K is because the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU is waiting for the GPU to finish rendering frames. The data implies that the Ultra 5 245 is not a bottleneck for this pairing until the GPU is pushed to its absolute limit.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the clear driver of performance in this pairing. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, it provides a memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of bandwidth, which should be more than sufficient for Thief's textures and geometry. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz and its RDNA 4.0 architecture also contribute to its compute power, as evidenced by its 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The GPU's role is most clearly defined by the 4K results. Even at Low settings, the average FPS drops to 97, which is a significant reduction from the 164 FPS at 1440p. This indicates that the GPU is being saturated at 4K, and its raw pixel pushing power is the limiting factor. The fact that the RX 9070's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (avg score 24170, delta of -1.2%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (avg score 24063, delta of -0.8%) suggests that while it is a capable card, it is not at the top of the performance hierarchy. Its 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs supports this.

The VRAM capacity is unlikely to be a bottleneck for Thief, even at 4K. A game from 2014 would not be expected to require more than 16 GB of VRAM, even with high-resolution textures. The data does not show any signs of texture pop-in or stuttering that would suggest VRAM limitations. The GPU's performance is more likely constrained by its shading units and ROPs (128) when dealing with the pixel fill rate demands of 4K.

The GPU's performance also explains the difference between the High and Ultra presets. At 4K, the drop from High (56 FPS) to Ultra (53 FPS) is minimal, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are not significantly more demanding than High. Conversely, the jump from Low to Medium at 4K (97 to 73 FPS) is substantial, indicating that the Medium preset enables features that heavily tax the GPU's computational resources. The data shows that the RX 9070 is a strong performer at 1080p and 1440p, but its capabilities are fully tested at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the best experience for a balance of visual quality and performance is the Medium preset. At 1440p, the Medium preset yields an average of 125 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS. This is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual upgrade over Low settings. At 1080p, the Medium preset achieves 182 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the minimum of 155 FPS ensures no noticeable dips.

For 4K, the Medium preset is the most playable option, with an average of 73 FPS and a minimum of 62 FPS. While 73 FPS is below the 1440p High setting's average, it is still a playable frame rate for a stealth game, which does not require the twitch reflexes of a competitive shooter. The High preset at 4K (56 FPS) is likely too inconsistent for a comfortable experience, and the Ultra preset (53 FPS) offers negligible visual gains for a significant performance cost.

The High preset is a good choice at 1440p, providing an average of 95 FPS. This is a solid frame rate that would look great on a standard 144Hz monitor. At 1080p, the High preset's 139 FPS average is also excellent. The Ultra preset is only recommended for users with very high refresh rate monitors at 1080p (132 FPS), as the jump in visual quality over High is often subtle but the performance cost is measurable.

The Low preset is only useful for maximizing frame rates at 1080p (225 FPS) or for benchmarking. The visual compromise is substantial, and the Medium preset offers a much better experience for a relatively small FPS hit at 1080p. The data strongly suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" for this hardware combination across all resolutions, offering the best balance of visual fidelity and smooth, consistent performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 553rd out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the top 19.4% of all tested combinations, which is a respectable position. The rank indicates that this pairing is significantly more capable than the majority of systems tested, but it is not among the absolute elite configurations.

The rank is influenced by the fact that the RX 9070 is a strong mid-to-high-end GPU, but it is not the fastest card available. The CPU, with its high core count and strong single-thread performance, complements the GPU well. The data suggests that this combo is well-balanced for a game like Thief, which is not overly demanding on modern hardware.

The high percentile ranking of the CPU (90th) and the GPU (69th) indicate that neither component is a weak link in the chain. The combo rank of 553 suggests that the system is in the upper echelon of performance, likely outperforming systems with older or lower-tier components. The FPS data supports this, showing that the system can handle the game at high settings and high resolutions without major issues. This is a strong result for a pairing of a new-generation CPU and a current-generation GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured frame rates for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 in Thief.

1080p (1920x1080)

• Low: The average FPS is 225. This is the highest score recorded for this pairing, indicating a CPU-bound scenario where the GPU has plenty of headroom.
• Medium: The average FPS is 182, with a minimum of 155 and a maximum of 209. This shows excellent frame pacing and a very playable experience.
• High: The average FPS is 139. This is a solid result that remains smooth on most displays.
• Ultra: The average FPS is 132. The drop from High to Ultra is minimal, suggesting that the Ultra preset's extra effects are not particularly taxing at this resolution.

1440p (2560x1440)

• Low: The average FPS is 164. The GPU is starting to work harder, but the frame rate is still very high.
• Medium: The average FPS is 125, with a minimum of 106 and a maximum of 144. This is a very good result, offering a smooth and consistent experience.
• High: The average FPS is 95. This is a good target for a 144Hz monitor, though it is not as high as the 1080p results.
• Ultra: The average FPS is 91. The performance is still very good, with only a small penalty compared to High settings.

4K (3840x2160)

• Low: The average FPS is 97. This is a significant drop from 1440p, indicating the GPU is becoming the limiting factor.
• Medium: The average FPS is 73, with a minimum of 62 and a maximum of 84. This is the most playable preset at 4K, providing a stable frame rate.
• High: The average FPS is 56. The frame rate is getting low, and the experience may not feel entirely smooth.
• Ultra: The average FPS is 53. This is the lowest score recorded, and the visual gains over High are likely not worth the performance cost.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Thief with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot. At Medium settings, the system averages 125 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. At 1080p, the system can push much higher frame rates (up to 225 FPS on Low), but 1440p offers a better balance of visual fidelity and performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system for Thief?

A: At 1080p, the CPU appears to be the limiting factor, as frame rates are very high and the GPU is not fully utilized. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as performance drops significantly with increasing resolution.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its closest rivals in terms of performance?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 23877. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800S, has a score of 24063, which is 0.8% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER has a score of 24170, which is 1.2% higher. This indicates the RX 9070 is in a similar performance tier to these cards.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset in Thief?

A: It is not recommended. At 1080p, the Ultra preset averages 132 FPS, which is only 7 FPS lower than High. At 4K, the Ultra preset averages 53 FPS, which is a very demanding setting with minimal visual improvement over High. The Medium or High presets offer a much better performance-to-quality ratio.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium settings at 4K?

A: At 4K, the Low preset averages 97 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 73 FPS. This is a 24 FPS difference, which is substantial. The Medium preset provides a significant visual upgrade but requires a noticeable performance hit.

Q: How does this system rank overall in the database for Thief?

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 553rd out of 2851 tested combinations. This places it in the top 19.4% of all tested systems, indicating it is a high-performing pairing for this game.