Thief

# Thief Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics produces a fundamentally GPU-limited experience in Thief. The CPU is a 20-core, 20-thread Arrow Lake-S desktop processor with a 5.30 GHz boost clock, while the GPU is an integrated Xe3-LPG solution with 1536 shading units and a 2500 MHz boost clock. Benchmark data confirms this pairing ranks 2534th out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. The measured frame rates show that this system can achieve playable performance only at 1080p with reduced settings, and the integrated GPU's capabilities constrain the experience far more than the processor's substantial compute resources.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where playable frame rates are consistently achieved. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 86, dropping to 50 at High and 48 at Ultra. At 2560x1440, even Low settings produce only 59 FPS average, while 4K High falls to 20 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), and 2.5-2.7% ahead of the GT 625 OEM and GT 710. Its 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it sits near the bottom of the performance spectrum.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 a capable processor for this game?

A: The CPU itself is powerful, ranking in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 64640. It sits within 0.7% of the AMD EPYC 7343 and within 0.3% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F. However, in Thief, the integrated GPU becomes the bottleneck, so the CPU's capabilities are largely underutilized.

Q: What settings preset provides the best balance of quality and performance at 1080p?

A: Medium settings at 1080p deliver 66 FPS average with a minimum of 56 FPS and maximum of 75 FPS. This represents a 32% improvement over High settings (50 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that stays above 55 FPS throughout the measured range.

Q: How severe is the performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 50 FPS to 20 FPS, a 60% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 86 FPS to 35 FPS, a 59% reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is from 66 FPS to 26 FPS, a 61% reduction.

Q: Does this system have enough VRAM for Thief at high resolutions?

A: The Arc B390 uses System Shared memory, meaning its VRAM allocation depends entirely on system RAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," so performance at higher resolutions is constrained by the shared memory architecture rather than dedicated VRAM capacity.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + Intel Arc B390 combination reveals a clear hierarchy of playable configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 86 FPS average, which is the highest measured performance across all settings and resolutions. This suggests that for maximum smoothness, Low at 1080p is the safest choice when aiming for high refresh rate displays.

However, the Medium preset at 1080p presents a compelling alternative. The average FPS of 66 is still well within playable territory, and the minimum of 56 FPS indicates that frame pacing remains consistent throughout the measured session. The jump from Low to Medium delivers substantial visual improvements in a 2014 stealth title, and the 20 FPS cost (from 86 to 66) is acceptable given the frame rate floor stays above 55 FPS.

At High settings, 1080p performance drops to 50 FPS average, which is borderline for smooth gameplay in a game that rewards precise timing and stealth mechanics. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS dips further and offers diminishing returns over High. Given that the Medium preset maintains a 56 FPS minimum, Medium at 1080p is the recommended configuration for the best experience, as it balances visual fidelity with consistent frame delivery.

At 2560x1440, even Low settings only achieve 59 FPS average, and Medium drops to 45 FPS with a 38 FPS minimum. These numbers suggest that 1440p is only marginally viable at Low settings, and the experience would be noticeably less fluid than 1080p Medium. At 3840x2160, all settings produce averages below 35 FPS, with Ultra at 19 FPS and High at 20 FPS, making 4K impractical for this configuration.

The data indicates that the best experience comes from prioritizing 1080p resolution and selecting Medium settings, which provides a measured average of 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS. Users who require absolute smoothness should consider 1080p Low at 86 FPS, while those who prioritize visuals over frame rate can experiment with High or Ultra, accepting 48-50 FPS averages.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-S architecture, built on a TSMC 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors. Its base clock of 2.40 GHz boosts to 5.30 GHz, and it features 30 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 3 MB of L2 cache per core. The processor's PassMark multithread score of 49682 and single-thread score of 4689 place it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs.

In Thief, a game released in 2014, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the integrated GPU with draw calls and game logic. The game's stealth mechanics involve complex AI routines and environmental interactions, but the Core Ultra 7 265's 20 cores and high boost clock are far more than sufficient for these tasks. The processor's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42216 and single-core score of 5960 indicate substantial headroom for CPU-bound workloads.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combination. The measured FPS values scale almost entirely with resolution and settings changes, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 86 FPS, but this drops to 50 FPS at High and 48 FPS at Ultra, indicating that the GPU's rendering workload dominates the performance equation.

The Core Ultra 7 265's nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database include the AMD EPYC 4464P (0.3% slower), the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (0.3% faster), and the AMD EPYC 7343 (0.7% faster). These small performance deltas suggest that the processor is well-positioned among its peers, but none of these comparisons matter in Thief because the integrated GPU cannot leverage the CPU's full potential.

For this game specifically, the CPU's 20 threads are largely idle during frame rendering, as the Arc B390's integrated nature means the GPU shares system memory and operates with a 80 W TDP. The processor's 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth is shared with the GPU, which can create contention in memory-intensive scenes, but the measured FPS data shows that the GPU's raw shading capability is the primary constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2534th out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the integrated GPU's limited performance rather than any CPU deficiency, as the processor itself sits in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs.

The combo's ranking of 2534 out of 2851 means that 317 tested combinations performed worse, while 2533 performed better. This places the configuration in the lower quartile of gaming performance, which is expected for an integrated GPU solution. The Arc B390's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482, directly explains this poor showing in a game that scales heavily with GPU throughput.

When interpreting this rank, it's important to note that Thief's measured FPS data shows the system can achieve 86 FPS at 1080p Low, which would be considered playable. However, the combo rank considers all tested configurations, many of which feature discrete GPUs that can handle higher resolutions and settings. The 2534th position out of 2851 reflects the overall capability of the system across the full spectrum of Thief's settings and resolutions.

The gap between this combo and higher-ranked configurations is primarily due to the GPU's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs, which limit pixel and texture throughput at higher resolutions. The system's performance at 4K (19-35 FPS depending on settings) shows that it cannot handle the pixel fill requirements of 3840x2160, while at 1080p it can maintain acceptable frame rates at lower settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz. The GPU's FP32 compute throughput is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS, with texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s.

The GPU's memory configuration is System Shared, meaning it uses system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. This architecture relies on the CPU's dual-channel DDR5 memory with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth, but the actual bandwidth available to the GPU is listed as "System Dependent." This shared memory approach can cause performance variability depending on system memory configuration and workload.

In Thief, the Arc B390's role is critical because the game's rendering requirements at higher resolutions and settings exceed what this integrated solution can provide. The measured FPS data shows clear scaling: at 1080p Low, the GPU delivers 86 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 48 FPS. This 44% reduction from Low to Ultra at the same resolution indicates that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are the bottleneck.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% slower) and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1.5% slower). These comparisons highlight how far the Arc B390 sits from even mid-range discrete GPUs, and Thief's measured performance reflects this positioning.

The GPU's 12 ray tracing cores are present but largely irrelevant for Thief, which was released before hardware ray tracing became common. Instead, the GPU's traditional rasterization performance determines the measured FPS values. The 24 ROPs limit pixel fill rate at high resolutions, explaining the steep drop from 1080p to 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values show a clear progression across settings. Low settings deliver 86 FPS average, which is the highest measured performance for this combo. Medium settings produce 66 FPS average with a minimum of 56 FPS and maximum of 75 FPS. High settings drop to 50 FPS average, while Ultra settings achieve 48 FPS average. The 38 FPS spread between Low and Ultra demonstrates the GPU's sensitivity to settings adjustments.

At 2560x1440, performance decreases substantially. Low settings average 59 FPS, Medium settings average 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS and maximum of 52 FPS, High settings average 34 FPS, and Ultra settings average 33 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (38) is below the 40 FPS threshold often considered minimum playable, indicating that 1440p Medium may experience noticeable stuttering in demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the measured FPS values fall below playable thresholds for most settings. Low settings average 35 FPS, Medium settings average 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS, High settings average 20 FPS, and Ultra settings average 19 FPS. The 16 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K shows that even the lowest settings cannot achieve smooth performance at this resolution.

The data reveals that the Medium preset at each resolution provides the most complete measurement set, with both minimum and maximum FPS available. At 1080p Medium, the 56-75 FPS range indicates consistent frame delivery. At 1440p Medium, the 38-52 FPS range shows more variability, with the minimum approaching the edge of playability. At 4K Medium, the 22-30 FPS range is consistently below smooth gameplay thresholds.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a consistent performance drop across all settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 86 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p and 35 at 4K. This represents a 31% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 41% reduction from 1440p to 4K.

At Medium settings, the scaling shows a similar pattern: 66 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 32%, and from 1440p to 4K is 42%. At High settings, the values are 50 FPS, 34 FPS, and 20 FPS, representing a 32% drop to 1440p and a 41% drop to 4K. Ultra settings show 48 FPS, 33 FPS, and 19 FPS, with a 31% drop to 1440p and 42% drop to 4K.

The consistent 31-32% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and 41-42% reduction from 1440p to 4K across all settings indicates a purely GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the percentage drops would be smaller at lower settings where the CPU has more work to do relative to the GPU. Instead, the uniform scaling suggests that the Arc B390's pixel throughput and shading capacity are saturated at each resolution.

The pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p and by 125% from 1440p to 4K. The measured FPS drops of approximately 32% and 41% respectively do not perfectly match these pixel count increases, which would predict FPS drops of 44% and 56% if the GPU were perfectly pixel-bound. The smaller measured drops indicate that other factors, such as memory bandwidth constraints from the System Shared memory configuration, partially mitigate the pixel count increases.

The resolution scaling confirms that the Intel Core Ultra 7 265's substantial compute resources are not being utilized to their full potential in Thief. The CPU's 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock are more than capable of handling the game's logic at any resolution, but the Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 1536 shading units cannot render frames fast enough to keep pace with the CPU's capabilities. Users seeking higher resolutions would need to consider a discrete GPU, as this integrated solution is firmly limited to 1080p gameplay.