Thief

# FAQ

Q: What is the Combo Rank for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 in Thief?

A: This combination ranks 544th out of 2,851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 19% of all configurations tested for this game.

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

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 scores 64,640 on average, which is 0.3% below the AMD EPYC 4464P (64,823) and 0.7% below the AMD EPYC 9124 (65,104). It performs 0.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (64,438) and 0.7% above the AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 sits in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23,877. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, scores 23,736 (0.6% lower), while the AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24,063 (0.8% higher).

Q: What are the measured FPS results at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the combo delivers an average of 182 FPS, with a minimum of 155 FPS and a maximum of 209 FPS, based on the measured data.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS drops to 73, showing a 60% reduction from the 1080p Medium result of 182 FPS. This substantial drop indicates the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU's 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 164 FPS while Ultra averages 91 FPS — a difference of 73 FPS (44.5% lower). The Medium preset lands at 125 FPS, and High at 95 FPS, showing a clear performance gradient across settings.

# GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip, manufactured on a 4nm process by TSMC. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective).

In Thief, the GPU's role is decisive at higher resolutions. The measured data shows that at 1080p, the combo achieves 230 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 132 FPS on Ultra — a reduction of 42.6%. At 4K, the Low preset yields 97 FPS, while Ultra falls to 53 FPS, a 45.4% reduction. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher loads, where the RX 9070's 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 128 ROPs determine the frame rate ceiling.

The GPU's pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s are relevant for Thief's rendering demands. With 3,584 shading units and 224 TMUs, the card has substantial resources for handling the game's geometry and effects at 1440p and 4K. The 16 GB VRAM capacity ensures that texture-heavy scenes at Ultra settings do not exceed memory limits, as evidenced by playable 53 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Benchmark results place the RX 9070 in the 69th percentile of all GPUs. Its PassMark G3D score of 25,381 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,290 indicate solid raw performance. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24,170, 1.2% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (24,063, 0.8% higher), showing the RX 9070 is competitively positioned in the mid-to-high range.

The measured frame rates in Thief suggest that the GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz is actively utilized in GPU-intensive scenes. At 1080p Medium, the 182 FPS average with a 155 FPS minimum indicates the GPU maintains stable performance even during complex sequences. The 4K Medium result of 73 FPS average (with 62 FPS minimum) shows the card can handle 4K gaming at moderate settings, though Ultra pushes it to 53 FPS, which may be below the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate displays.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 features 20 cores and 20 threads, based on the Arrow Lake architecture with a 3nm process node from TSMC. It operates at a base clock of 2.40 GHz and boosts to 5.30 GHz, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU's 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (102.4 GB/s bandwidth) provide ample processing headroom for gaming workloads.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,216 and a single-core score of 5,960. Its PassMark single-thread score of 4,689 and multi-thread score of 49,682 demonstrate strong all-around performance. The CPU's percentile ranking of 93rd among all CPUs indicates it outperforms the vast majority of processors on the market.

For Thief, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 230 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame rate ceiling for this game. The 20 cores and 20 threads provide sufficient parallelism for the game's AI, physics, and scene management tasks, while the 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-threaded performance for game logic.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 4464P (64,823 average, 0.3% higher) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (64,438, 0.3% lower). These deltas are minimal, indicating the Core Ultra 7 265 is well-matched against its direct competitors. The 30 MB L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for gaming workloads that frequently access shared data structures.

As resolution increases, the CPU's influence on frame rates diminishes. The data shows a 60% FPS drop from 1080p Medium (182 FPS) to 4K Medium (73 FPS), indicating the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher pixel counts. However, the CPU must still maintain minimum frame times, and the 20-thread configuration ensures that background tasks do not starve the game of processing resources.

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 544th out of 2,851 tested combos in Thief. This places the configuration in the top 19% of all tested systems, indicating strong overall performance for this game. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's high synthetic scores (93rd percentile) and the GPU's solid but not top-tier position (69th percentile).

The combo's ranking is influenced by both components' strengths. The CPU's 42,216 Cinebench R23 multi-core score and 5,960 single-core score provide a robust foundation, while the GPU's 25,381 PassMark G3D score handles the graphics workload. The 544th rank suggests that there are 543 configurations that perform better in Thief, many of which likely pair higher-end GPUs with similar or better CPUs.

Comparatively, the CPU's nearest rivals show minimal performance differences. The AMD EPYC 4464P and EPYC 9124 are marginally faster in synthetic tests, but these differences are unlikely to meaningfully alter Thief's frame rates given the game's GPU-bound nature at higher settings. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the RTX 2080 SUPER and RX 6800S, are within 1.2% of the RX 9070's average score, suggesting that similar GPUs would produce comparable results in this game.

The measured data supports the ranking. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 132 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, it maintains 91 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 53 FPS. These results indicate that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming at high settings, with 4K requiring reduced settings for consistent performance.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 230 at 1080p to 164 at 1440p (28.7% lower) and 97 at 4K (57.8% lower from 1080p). At Ultra settings, the progression is from 132 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 1440p (31.1% lower) and 53 FPS at 4K (59.8% lower from 1080p).

This scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The FPS drops are proportionally larger when moving from 1440p to 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. For example, at Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (182 FPS) to 1440p (125 FPS) is 31.3%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K (73 FPS) is 41.6%. This accelerating decline suggests the GPU's rendering resources are being exhausted as pixel count increases.

The CPU's role in resolution scaling is minimal. At 1080p Low, the 230 FPS result is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability, but even at this point, the GPU is not fully saturated. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the CPU's 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock remain sufficient to keep up with the game's logic at all tested resolutions.

The data also shows that settings have a consistent impact across resolutions. The ratio of FPS between Low and Ultra settings remains similar at each resolution: at 1080p, Low is 74.3% faster than Ultra; at 1440p, Low is 80.2% faster; and at 4K, Low is 83.0% faster. This consistency suggests that the GPU's performance scaling with settings is predictable, and users can estimate frame rates at intermediate settings based on the measured data points.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS across settings:

• Low: 230 FPS
• Medium: 182 FPS (minimum 155, maximum 209)
• High: 139 FPS
• Ultra: 132 FPS

The gap between High (139 FPS) and Ultra (132 FPS) is relatively small at 5.0%, while the jump from Medium to High is 23.6%. This suggests that Ultra settings add minimal visual benefit over High in Thief, while costing some performance.

At 2560x1440, the measured results are:

• Low: 164 FPS
• Medium: 125 FPS (minimum 106, maximum 144)
• High: 95 FPS
• Ultra: 91 FPS

The performance drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is only 4.2%, similar to the 1080p pattern. Medium settings provide a 31.6% improvement over High, making it a viable option for users seeking higher frame rates without sacrificing too much visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are:

• Low: 97 FPS
• Medium: 73 FPS (minimum 62, maximum 84)
• High: 56 FPS
• Ultra: 53 FPS

At 4K, the difference between High and Ultra is minimal at 5.4%, while Medium offers a 30.4% improvement over High. The Low preset at 97 FPS is the only 4K option that approaches 100 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K displays, while Medium at 73 FPS is playable for standard 60 Hz monitors.

The minimum FPS data for Medium settings shows consistent frame delivery: 155 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. These minimums indicate that the combo maintains stable performance without significant frame drops, even at higher resolutions.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

At 1920x1080, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates. For users with 60 Hz monitors, even Ultra at 132 FPS provides substantial headroom. For 144 Hz or higher refresh rate displays, Medium at 182 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a significant performance boost over High (139 FPS) while maintaining good visual quality. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal (5.0%), so users should choose High if they prefer Ultra-like visuals without the small performance penalty.

At 2560x1440, Medium at 125 FPS is the best balance for high-refresh-rate gaming, providing smooth gameplay with good visual fidelity. High at 95 FPS is suitable for 60-100 Hz displays, while Ultra at 91 FPS is nearly identical in performance and can be selected if the user prioritizes maximum visual quality. Low at 164 FPS is recommended for competitive play where frame rate is paramount.

At 3840x2160, the choice is more constrained. Medium at 73 FPS is the recommended preset for 60 Hz displays, as it provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold with a minimum of 62 FPS. High at 56 FPS and Ultra at 53 FPS are below 60 FPS and may result in noticeable stuttering on standard refresh rate monitors. Low at 97 FPS is the best option for 4K high-refresh-rate displays (100 Hz or higher), though it requires accepting lower visual quality.

The data shows that Medium settings consistently provide the best performance-per-visual-quality trade-off across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium is 31.0% faster than High; at 1440p, it is 31.6% faster; and at 4K, it is 30.4% faster. This consistency suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination in Thief, offering playable frame rates at every resolution while maintaining decent visual fidelity.