Thief

The AMD Radeon 890M integrated GPU, paired with the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, delivers playable frame rates in Thief only at 1080p with Low settings, where it hits an average of 77 FPS. The data shows a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, with the combo falling to 18 FPS at 4K High, indicating that the iGPU is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. This pairing ranks 2692nd out of 2851 tested combos in this game, placing it in the bottom 6% of all systems, which is a poor result for a modern mobile chipset.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable decline in performance as resolution scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves a very playable 77 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops by 31% to 53 FPS, which remains smooth for a stealth title. However, at 4K Low, the average plummets to 31 FPS, a 41.5% reduction from 1440p, making the experience borderline unplayable due to stutter and low frame pacing.

The scaling pattern across all settings shows that the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel count at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 58 at 1080p to 40 at 1440p (a 31% drop) and then to 23 at 4K (a 42.5% drop from 1440p). This consistent ~30-40% loss per resolution step indicates that the Radeon 890M's shading units, 1024 total, and its 32 ROPs are simply insufficient to handle the fill-rate demands of 4K in this 2014 title.

The High preset tells a similar story, starting at 44 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 30 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 18 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with the combo managing only 42 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. The data strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU, as the CPU's performance headroom, evidenced by its 16 cores and 22 threads, is not the constraining factor even at the lowest resolution.

The frame time consistency also degrades with resolution. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 49, with a maximum of 67, showing a relatively tight 18 FPS variance. At 1440p Medium, the variance widens to 12 FPS (34 to 46). At 4K Medium, the variance grows to 7 FPS (20 to 27), which represents a larger percentage of the average frame rate, leading to more noticeable hitches. This data confirms that the Radeon 890M is operating at its absolute limit when pushed beyond 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 890M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process. It features 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output pipelines. The GPU's clock speeds are listed with a base of 400 MHz and a boost of 2900 MHz. This combination provides a pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 185.6 GTexel/s, which are modest figures for modern gaming but should be adequate for a game from 2014 at lower resolutions.

Crucially, the GPU uses "System Shared" memory, meaning its performance is heavily dependent on the system's RAM bandwidth and configuration. The CPU supports dual-channel memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which is the theoretical ceiling for the iGPU to access textures and frame buffers. In practice, this shared memory setup is a major bottleneck, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for the same memory resources, which explains the significant performance drop at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth demands increase exponentially.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 45th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9210. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Vega 8, with a deltaPct of -0.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, with a deltaPct of -0.7%. This indicates that the 890M is statistically equivalent to these older discrete and integrated solutions in raw compute power. However, in Thief, the measured performance suggests that the shared memory architecture and driver optimization play a more significant role than raw compute, as the iGPU struggles to maintain 60 FPS even at 1080p on Medium settings.

The GPU's FP32 performance is rated at 5.939 TFLOPS, which is a decent figure for an integrated solution. However, the data shows that this theoretical compute capability does not translate into playable 4K performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 590 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 40808 further confirm that while the GPU is capable of modern API features, its raw throughput is not sufficient for high-resolution gaming in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the only viable preset for a consistent 60 FPS experience is 1080p Low, which averages 77 FPS. This setting provides a significant performance headroom, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding stealth sequences. For players who prefer higher visual fidelity, 1080p Medium is an option, averaging 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS. This is acceptable for a slower-paced game like Thief, though there may be occasional dips below 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more challenging. The Low preset averages 53 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for players sensitive to frame drops. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 40 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but might be acceptable given the game's genre. However, the High and Ultra presets at 1440p, averaging 30 and 29 FPS respectively, are not recommended for a smooth experience, as they fall into the territory where input lag and visual stutter become noticeable.

The data clearly indicates that 4K resolution is not viable with this combo. Even the Low preset at 4K averages 31 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. The Ultra preset at 4K produces an 17 FPS average, which is a slideshow. Therefore, the recommendation is to avoid 4K entirely. The best balance of visual quality and performance is achieved at 1080p Medium, which offers a 58 FPS average. For a locked 60 FPS experience, 1080p Low is the only choice, and for those willing to sacrifice smoothness for visuals, 1440p Low is the maximum resolution that remains marginally playable.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and AMD Radeon 890M combination ranks 2692nd out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places the system in the bottom 5.6% of all configurations tested, which is a poor result. The rank indicates that the vast majority of other CPU-GPU pairings, including those with older discrete graphics cards, outperform this integrated solution in this specific game.

The low rank is not surprising given the GPU's performance class. While the Radeon 890M is a modern integrated GPU, its performance is comparable to older entry-level discrete cards like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, which has a deltaPct of -0.7% in the GPU benchmark averages. In a game like Thief, which relies heavily on GPU fill rate and memory bandwidth, the shared memory architecture of the 890M puts it at a significant disadvantage compared to discrete GPUs with dedicated VRAM.

The rank also reflects the CPU's role in this pairing. While the Core Ultra 7 155H is a powerful processor, ranking in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, its performance is irrelevant when the GPU is the bottleneck. The combo rank is a measure of the total system performance, and in this case, the GPU drags the entire system down. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14600T and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, but the GPU's performance is what determines the gaming outcome.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. The CPU features a substantial cache hierarchy, including 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides strong multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028 and Passmark multi-thread score of 24873.

In Thief, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 77, which is well below the CPU's potential. The CPU's single-thread performance, indicated by a Passmark single-thread score of 3468, is more than sufficient for a 2014 game. The bottleneck is clearly the GPU, as the FPS scales almost linearly with resolution and settings, which is a characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is shared with the GPU, and this is a potential source of performance degradation. The CPU's Passmark data compression score of 277353 and encryption score of 16358 show high computational throughput, but these tasks do not directly translate to gaming performance when the GPU is starved for memory bandwidth. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1743 indicates that the CPU's individual cores are fast, which helps with the game's main thread, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's lack of pixel processing power.

The CPU's TDP is listed as 28 W, and the GPU's TDP is 15 W, indicating a power-efficient platform. However, this efficiency does not overcome the fundamental performance limitations of the integrated graphics. The CPU's strong benchmark scores, such as the 83rd percentile ranking and the Passmark single-thread score of 3468, confirm that it is a capable processor, but its potential is wasted in this gaming scenario due to the GPU bottleneck.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Thief at 4K?*

A: The data indicates no. At 4K with the Low preset, the average FPS is 31, and at the Ultra preset, it drops to 17 FPS. These results are below the playable threshold for a smooth experience.

Q: What is the best setting for a 60 FPS experience?

A: The only measured setting that achieves an average of 60 FPS or higher is 1080p with the Low preset, which averages 77 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset is close, averaging 58 FPS, but it does not guarantee a locked 60.

Q: How does the Radeon 890M compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Radeon 890M has an average benchmark score of 9210. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Vega 8, has a deltaPct of -0.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 has a deltaPct of -0.7%, meaning they perform within 1% of each other in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The FPS drops significantly with increased resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU has ample performance headroom, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 44. At 1440p High, the average FPS drops to 30. This represents a 31.8% decrease in performance when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in this game?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and AMD Radeon 890M combination ranks 2692nd out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 5.6% of all tested systems.