Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination ranks 1575th out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places the pairing in the 45th percentile of all configurations, indicating a mid-pack standing where it outperforms a slight majority of tested systems but trails the upper echelon. The rank reflects a balanced pairing of a modern 14-core CPU with a previous-generation GPU, a combination that produces playable but not exceptional results in this 2014 stealth title.

The data shows that this combo's position is largely dictated by the GPU's performance ceiling rather than the CPU's capabilities. With an average benchmark score of 20282, the RTX 2070 SUPER sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 5 245 achieves a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs with an average score of 48995. This disparity in relative standing suggests the graphics card is the limiting factor in most scenarios, a conclusion supported by the measured frame rates across different resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1575 out of 2851 tested combinations places it squarely in the middle of the distribution. This position is consistent with the GPU's 65th percentile standing, which is the weaker component in this pairing. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking indicates significant headroom that the GPU cannot fully utilize in Thief, particularly at higher resolutions where graphics load dominates.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance tier. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, a mere 0.4% difference from the Core Ultra 5 245's 48995 average. Similarly, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 sits at 49228, just 0.5% higher. These negligible deltas suggest the CPU is well-matched against comparable offerings from the same period. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and Intel Core i5-14600K trail by 0.6% and 0.8% respectively, meaning the Core Ultra 5 245 is statistically equivalent to its nearest competition.

For the GPU, the RTX 2070 SUPER's average score of 20282 places it within 1.5% of its nearest rivals. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480 (1% higher), the RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (1.2% higher), and the Intel Arc B570 scores 20556 (1.3% higher). The Intel Arc A750 leads the group at 20582, just 1.5% above the RTX 2070 SUPER. These tight margins indicate that the GPU performance is competitive with several alternatives, though none represent a substantial upgrade or downgrade.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for Thief's demands, as the game's 2014 release date predates the high-VRAM requirements of modern titles. The base clock runs at 1605 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, providing the computational foundation for the measured frame rates.

The GPU's TU104 chip, built on TSMC's 12 nm process, contains 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present but largely irrelevant for Thief, which does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS features. The raw compute capacity of 9.062 TFLOPS FP32 performance drives the rasterization workload that Thief requires.

The measured frame rates reveal the GPU's behavior across settings. At 1080p, the card produces 171 FPS at Low settings, dropping to 130 FPS at Medium, 99 FPS at High, and 94 FPS at Ultra. This scaling pattern shows a 45% reduction from Low to Ultra, indicating the GPU is well-utilized at this resolution. At 1440p, the same settings produce 118, 89, 68, and 65 FPS respectively, while at 4K the numbers fall to 69, 52, 40, and 38 FPS.

The 4K results are particularly telling. The drop from 69 FPS at Low to 38 FPS at Ultra represents a 45% performance loss, mirroring the 1080p scaling. This consistency suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck across all resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom does not compensate for the increased pixel count. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient at all tested settings, as no memory-related stuttering or crashes were reported in the data.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 provides 14 cores and 14 threads, running at a base clock of 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This Arrow Lake-S architecture chip, built on TSMC's 3 nm process, includes 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. The 65 W TDP reflects an efficient design that does not require exotic cooling solutions.

The CPU's 14 threads are unusual in that they equal the core count, indicating no hyperthreading support. For Thief, which was designed for the multi-core CPUs of its era, this configuration provides ample parallelism. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32924 demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance, while the single-core score of 4648 shows capable single-thread execution.

The PassMark multithread score of 38706 and single-thread score of 4394 reinforce the CPU's balanced capabilities. The data compression score of 400942 and floating-point math score of 120548 indicate robust general-purpose performance, though these metrics are not directly relevant to gaming. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all processors confirms it is not the bottleneck in this combo.

At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 171 FPS, which likely approaches the engine's frame rate ceiling for this configuration. The CPU's 3 nm process and 5.10 GHz boost clock ensure that draw call processing and physics calculations do not limit performance. However, as resolution increases, the CPU's advantage becomes less relevant, with 4K results dropping to 69 FPS at Low settings, clearly showing the GPU's influence.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Thief?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and RTX 2070 SUPER combination ranks 1575th out of 2851 tested combos, placing it in the 45th percentile of all configurations.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 averages 48995 in benchmarks, which is 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196) and 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228), while beating the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%.

Q: What is the GPU's relative performance standing?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282 and sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750, scoring 1.5% higher at 20582.

Q: What frame rate does the combo achieve at 1080p Ultra?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 94 FPS, which is the lowest 1080p result but still well above playable thresholds.

Q: Does the combo perform better at 1440p or 4K?

A: At 1440p, the combo delivers 65 FPS at Ultra settings, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 38 FPS. The 1440p result is playable, but the 4K Ultra result falls below 40 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Thief?

A: Benchmark data shows the CPU at the 90th percentile and GPU at the 65th percentile, indicating the GPU is the bottleneck. Frame rate scaling across resolutions confirms this, as performance drops consistently with increased pixel count.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows clear resolution scaling patterns. At Low settings, the combo produces 171 FPS at 1080p, 118 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. This represents a 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 60% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with GPU-bound performance, where pixel count directly impacts frame rate.

At Medium settings, the numbers are 130, 89, and 52 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. The 1440p result is 32% lower than 1080p, while 4K is 60% lower. This pattern repeats at High settings with 99, 68, and 40 FPS, showing a 31% drop to 1440p and a 60% drop to 4K. Ultra settings produce 94, 65, and 38 FPS, with similar percentage reductions.

The consistency of these scaling ratios across all settings strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the frame rate differences between resolutions to shrink, particularly at lower settings where CPU overhead could dominate. Instead, the steady 31% and 60% drops suggest the RTX 2070 SUPER's pixel processing capabilities define the performance envelope.

The 4K results are marginal for playability. At Low settings, 69 FPS is acceptable, but Medium drops to 52 FPS, High to 40 FPS, and Ultra to 38 FPS. The 1440p results are more balanced, with even Ultra settings maintaining 65 FPS. At 1080p, all settings produce well above 90 FPS, making this resolution the clear choice for maximum visual fidelity.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1080p, all settings produce playable results, with Ultra achieving 94 FPS and High reaching 99 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 5 FPS, making Ultra the recommended choice for 1080p users who want maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1440p, the choice becomes more nuanced. Ultra produces 65 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. High settings deliver 68 FPS, a marginal improvement that does not justify the visual downgrade. Medium settings jump to 89 FPS, providing a substantial performance boost with only moderate visual reduction. For 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset, as it maintains high frame rates while retaining acceptable visual fidelity.

At 4K, the situation is challenging. Ultra produces 38 FPS, which is below typical playability thresholds. High settings at 40 FPS offer little improvement. Medium settings reach 52 FPS, which is borderline acceptable for a stealth game where precise timing is less critical. Low settings achieve 69 FPS, providing smooth gameplay but with significant visual compromises. For 4K, Low settings are the only recommendation that ensures consistently smooth performance, though Medium may suffice for players willing to tolerate occasional frame rate dips.

The data shows no min FPS values for Low, High, or Ultra settings, but the Medium settings include min/max ranges. At 1440p Medium, the frame rate varies between 76 and 103 FPS, while at 4K Medium it ranges from 45 to 60 FPS. This variability suggests Medium settings can produce frame pacing issues at higher resolutions, further supporting the recommendation for Low at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 171 FPS, the highest result across all tested configurations. Medium settings average 130 FPS with a range of 111 to 150 FPS. High settings achieve 99 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 94 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal, indicating diminishing returns at the highest quality preset.

At 2560x1440, performance remains solid. Low settings average 118 FPS, maintaining high frame rates. Medium settings drop to 89 FPS with a range of 76 to 103 FPS. High settings average 68 FPS, which is still playable for most users. Ultra settings produce 65 FPS, approaching the lower boundary of comfortable gameplay for many players.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes constrained. Low settings average 69 FPS, providing the only consistently smooth 4K experience. Medium settings average 52 FPS with a range of 45 to 60 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering in demanding scenes. High settings average 40 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 38 FPS, both falling below the 60 FPS threshold preferred for fluid gameplay.

The overall pattern shows that the combo excels at 1080p across all settings, performs adequately at 1440p with Medium or lower settings, and struggles at 4K except at Low settings. The CPU's high single-thread performance ensures no CPU-related frame drops, as evidenced by the consistent scaling and the absence of anomalous results. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth prove sufficient for Thief's requirements, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings changes.