Thief

The benchmark data for Thief on the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile reveals a combination that scales predictably across resolutions, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher pixel counts. The measured frame rates show a system capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain playability at 4K. The dataset provides a clear picture of how this specific hardware pairing handles a title from 2014, with the CPU’s substantial core count providing ample headroom for the game’s logic.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and finally to 3840x2160 demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scaling curve. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 106 FPS at 1080p to 73 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 33 FPS, and then further down to 43 FPS at 4K. This pattern indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, which is expected for a game of this era. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 31% of the performance, while the jump to 4K from 1440p costs an additional 41%, showing that the RTX 4070 Mobile’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated by the higher resolution.

Looking at the Low settings row, the scaling is even more revealing. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 184 FPS, which drops to 126 FPS at 1440p and then to 74 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is still respectable, but the massive 110 FPS gap between 1080p Low and 4K Low suggests that the pixel throughput is the limiting factor. The GPU’s FP32 throughput of 15.62 TFLOPS and its 48 ROPs are working hard to fill those 4K frames, and the data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck here, as the frame rates at lower resolutions are high enough to indicate CPU headroom.

The Medium settings row provides the only min/max FPS data in the pack, and it confirms the trend. At 1080p Medium, the average is 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 161 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 96 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS. Finally, at 4K Medium, the average falls to 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. The minimum frame rates show that even the dips remain playable at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Medium, the 48 FPS minimum is approaching the edge of smoothness. This data suggests that the limiting component is the GPU, as the scaling from resolution to resolution is consistent and steep, with the CPU’s 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock providing more than enough processing power for the game’s AI and physics.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data offers clear guidance on the optimal settings for this hardware combination. For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the 1080p Ultra preset delivers an average of 101 FPS, which is excellent. Even at 1440p, the Ultra preset holds an average of 70 FPS, making it a viable choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 1440p yields 73 FPS, which is nearly identical to Ultra, suggesting that the visual fidelity difference between High and Ultra is minimal in terms of performance cost. For 4K gaming, the Ultra preset drops to 41 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold, while High at 4K manages 43 FPS, still not ideal.

The sweet spot for this combo is the High preset at 1440p, which provides a 73 FPS average without the need to compromise on visual quality. If a player insists on 4K, the Medium preset at 56 FPS is the most balanced option, as it stays above the 48 FPS minimum seen in the data. The Low preset at 4K offers 74 FPS, which is technically smooth, but the visual hit is likely significant. The data shows that Medium at 4K is the best compromise, as it maintains a playable frame rate while presumably keeping enough detail for a stealth game where spotting enemies is crucial. At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 101 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it offers the highest fidelity without sacrificing performance, and even the 1% lows (not measured here, but the 119 FPS minimum at Medium suggests headroom) should remain high.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile ranks 1876 out of 3720 tested combos for Thief. This places it in the 50th percentile of all tested systems, which is a middle-of-the-pack result. The rank is likely influenced by the fact that Thief is an older title that does not heavily utilize modern multi-core processors, so the CPU’s 20 cores and 20 threads provide diminishing returns. The GPU’s performance is solid, but the RTX 4070 Mobile’s 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests that there are faster mobile and desktop parts available that would push this combo higher.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Intel Core i7-13790F has an average benchmark score of 63080, which is 0.1% higher than the Ultra 7 265HX’s 63173. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G scores 63331, a 0.2% delta, and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 scores 62839, a 0.5% delta. These differences are negligible, indicating that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game’s performance. The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, has an average score of 27425, which is essentially identical to the RTX 4070 Mobile’s 27435. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565, just 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 27839, which is 1.5% higher. This suggests that the RTX 4070 Mobile is performing at a level comparable to desktop parts from a previous generation, which is why the combo rank is not higher.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset for this combo is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 184 FPS. The Medium preset averages 140 FPS, with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 161 FPS. The High preset averages 106 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 101 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 126 FPS. The Medium preset averages 96 FPS, with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS. The High preset averages 73 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 70 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 74 FPS. The Medium preset averages 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. The High preset averages 43 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 41 FPS.

These numbers reveal a consistent pattern where the difference between High and Ultra is minimal across all resolutions, with only a 5 FPS gap at 1080p, a 3 FPS gap at 1440p, and a 2 FPS gap at 4K. This suggests that the Ultra preset’s extra effects are not heavily taxing the GPU. Conversely, the jump from Low to Medium is more significant, with a 44 FPS difference at 1080p, a 30 FPS difference at 1440p, and an 18 FPS difference at 4K. The data shows that the game’s scaling is smooth and predictable, with no anomalies or frametime spikes indicated by the min/max data at Medium settings. The 4K Medium minimum of 48 FPS is the only concerning figure, as it indicates that the GPU can occasionally drop below the 60 FPS threshold in demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings is 73 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming smoothly?

A: The data shows that 4K Ultra averages 41 FPS and 4K High averages 43 FPS, which are below the 60 FPS threshold. However, 4K Medium averages 56 FPS, and 4K Low averages 74 FPS, indicating that playable frame rates are achievable with reduced settings.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX has an average benchmark score of 63173, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i7-13790F’s 63080 and 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G’s 63331.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 119 FPS, with a maximum of 161 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a steep drop in frame rates, indicating the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU’s 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, High averages 43 FPS while Ultra averages 41 FPS, a difference of just 2 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, built on a 3 nm process from TSMC. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and it has 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 40642 and single-core score of 5737. However, in Thief, a title from 2014, the game’s engine likely does not scale well beyond a few cores, so the CPU’s massive thread count is underutilized.

The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo. At 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 184 FPS, which is high enough to indicate that the CPU can feed the GPU without issue. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 19587 and its 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirm that the RTX 4070 Mobile is the more capable component in this pairing. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is a top-tier mobile processor, but its performance in this game is limited by the game’s own engine constraints. The 20 threads are likely idle most of the time, but the high single-thread performance from the 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures that the game’s main thread runs efficiently. The CPU’s 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR5 support also help to avoid any memory bottlenecks that could impact frame pacing. Overall, the CPU provides a stable foundation, but the RTX 4070 Mobile’s 8 GB of VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are the decisive factors in determining the final frame rates.