Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a dominant performance profile in Thief, a 2014 stealth title. The measured data shows this combination producing triple-digit frame rates across nearly every resolution and settings preset, with only the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration dipping below the 100 FPS mark. This analysis breaks down the specific roles of the CPU and GPU, interprets the FPS measurements, and contextualizes the combo's ranking within the broader database.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS is 197 at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings. This is only slightly lower than the High preset at the same resolution, which achieves 200 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's memory bandwidth compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 has a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. Its nearest rivals, based on average benchmark score, include the Intel Arc Pro A60 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, but their memory bandwidth figures are not provided in the data.

Q: What is the processor's single-core performance score in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus scores 2439 in the Cinebench R23 single-core benchmark. Its multi-core score in the same test is 44253.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo achieve its highest measured average FPS?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 244, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset at the same resolution yields 221 FPS.

*Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested combinations for Thief?*

A: The combination ranks 8th out of 2851 tested combos in the game. This places it in the top percentile of all configurations in the database.

Q: Is the 4K Medium preset the only one with reported minimum and maximum FPS data?

A: No, the 3840x2160 Medium preset reports an average of 110 FPS, with a min of 94 and a max of 127. The 2560x1440 Medium preset also reports min/max values of 159 and 215, respectively, and the 1920x1080 Medium preset reports min/max of 188 and 254.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 serves as the primary rendering engine, and its specifications are well-suited to the demands of Thief. The GPU is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node and contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, providing substantial raw compute throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. The card's base clock is listed at 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz.

Memory configuration is a critical factor for high-resolution gaming. The RTX 4090 is equipped with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This immense memory bandwidth allows the GPU to feed its 16384 shading units efficiently, particularly at 4K resolutions where texture data and frame buffers are large. The pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s indicate the card's capability to handle complex scenes with high geometric detail and texture filtering.

In the benchmark data, the RTX 4090 demonstrates a clear scaling pattern that reflects its role. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The average FPS at 4K Ultra is 80, while at 4K Low it rises to 145. This 65 FPS spread shows how much headroom exists when the GPU's workload is reduced. The card's performance percentile of 88 versus all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 60347, positions it as a top-tier component. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, has a nearly identical average score (60326), but in the context of Thief, the RTX 4090's specific architectural strengths and drivers yield the high frame rates seen in the measurements.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus provides the processing foundation for this combination. This 24-core, 24-thread processor is based on the Arrow Lake Refresh codename and is manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache.

For a game like Thief, which was released in 2014, the CPU's single-thread performance is often more critical than its multi-core capabilities. The processor scores 2439 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 354 in Cinebench R15 single-core. These scores indicate strong per-core performance that can handle the game's game logic and physics calculations. The multi-core scores are also robust, with 44253 in Cinebench R23, but the game's engine may not fully utilize all 24 threads.

The CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU has less work to do, and the CPU's ability to feed the graphics card becomes more important. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 244 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this title. At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The processor's benchmark scores, such as 68574 in Passmark multithread and 5068 in Passmark single-thread, place it in the 96th percentile versus all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6520P and AMD EPYC 4564P, with score deltas of 0% and -1.5%, respectively, indicating the Ultra 7 is competitive with server-class parts in synthetic workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across the three primary resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo is exceptionally fast. The Low preset yields an average of 244 FPS, while Medium averages 221 FPS with a minimum of 188 FPS and maximum of 254 FPS. High settings produce 200 FPS average, and Ultra is nearly identical at 197 FPS. The small delta between High and Ultra (3 FPS) suggests that the Ultra preset adds visual features that have minimal impact on the GPU at this resolution, or that the CPU is beginning to limit frame rates.

At 2560x1440, performance remains high but shows more variation between presets. Low settings average 216 FPS, Medium averages 187 FPS with a 159-215 FPS range, High averages 143 FPS, and Ultra averages 136 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 80 FPS, which is a more significant spread than at 1080p. This indicates the GPU is becoming more engaged as pixel count increases. The Medium preset's minimum FPS of 159 is still well above the refresh rate of most monitors, suggesting a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes substantial. Low settings still deliver an average of 145 FPS, which is impressive for 4K. Medium averages 110 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS and maximum of 127 FPS. High settings drop to 84 FPS, and Ultra falls to 80 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: at 4K, the difference between Low and Medium is 35 FPS, and between Medium and High is 26 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset at 4K is primarily adding features that are not heavily taxing the GPU, or that the game's engine is hitting a frame rate ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K provides insight into which component is limiting performance at each stage. Going from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 197 to 136, a reduction of 31%. At High settings, the drop is from 200 to 143, a 28.5% decrease. This scaling is consistent with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck, as the pixel count increases by roughly 78% from 1080p to 1440p, and the FPS drops by around 30%, which is less than the pixel increase, indicating some headroom.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced. At Ultra settings, the FPS drops from 136 to 80, a 41.2% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 143 to 84, a 41.3% reduction. This steeper decline is characteristic of the GPU being fully saturated at 4K. The 4K resolution has 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p, and the observed FPS drop of roughly 41% is closer to the expected scaling when the GPU is the sole limiting factor.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting component, particularly at lower settings. The FPS at 1080p Low (244) and Medium (221) are close, and the high numbers suggest the CPU is maxing out. As resolution increases, the GPU takes over as the limiter. At 4K, the CPU's role is diminished, and the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth determine the frame rates. The fact that 4K Low (145 FPS) is still higher than 1440p Ultra (136 FPS) confirms that the GPU has significant headroom at lower settings, even at high resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 197 FPS is the recommended choice for most users. The performance cost from High to Ultra is a mere 3 FPS, so there is no reason to sacrifice visual quality. Even at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate is high enough to fully utilize a 144Hz or 165Hz monitor. The Medium preset at 221 FPS is an option for competitive play, but the visual fidelity loss is not justified given the High and Ultra presets are still above 190 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset at 136 FPS provides an excellent balance for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 143 FPS is nearly identical in performance, with only a 7 FPS difference. The data suggests that at 1440p, the Ultra preset is the best experience because it delivers 136 FPS, which is above the 120Hz threshold, while offering the highest visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 187 FPS is a viable option for those with 165Hz or 240Hz displays, but the drop from Ultra to Medium is 51 FPS, indicating a significant visual trade-off.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 110 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS, ensuring a consistently smooth experience above the 90 FPS mark. The High preset at 84 FPS is playable but may exhibit occasional dips below 60 FPS on some displays. The Ultra preset at 80 FPS is the most demanding, and while it is playable, the 4 FPS gain from High to Ultra is minimal. The Low preset at 145 FPS is unnecessary for most users, as the Medium preset offers a substantial visual upgrade for a 35 FPS cost. The Medium preset's min FPS of 94 is well above the 60 FPS standard, making it the sweet spot for 4K gaming on this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 8th out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the top 0.3% of all configurations in the database. The ranking reflects the synergy between a high-end CPU with strong single-thread performance and a flagship GPU with massive memory bandwidth.

The CPU's percentile of 96 versus all CPUs and the GPU's percentile of 88 versus all GPUs indicate that both components are near the top of their respective hierarchies. However, the combo rank of 8 is higher than either component's individual percentile would suggest, implying that this specific pairing is particularly effective for Thief. The game's engine likely benefits from the CPU's high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and the GPU's 24 GB of VRAM, which prevents any memory-related stutters at high resolutions.

The data shows that the combo's performance is not just about raw power but also about balance. At 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor, but the GPU still delivers 197 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiter, but the CPU's fast single-thread performance ensures that frame times remain consistent, as evidenced by the 4K Medium minimum FPS of 94. This balance is what allows the combo to achieve such a high rank. The nearest rivals in the CPU benchmarks, such as the Intel Xeon 6520P and AMD EPYC 4564P, have similar average scores, but the Core Ultra 7's gaming-specific performance, combined with the RTX 4090, creates a combination that outperforms the vast majority of the 2851 tested systems. The top 7 combos ahead of this one are not listed in the data, but the fact that this pairing achieves 80 FPS at 4K Ultra and 244 FPS at 1080p Low demonstrates why it sits at the apex of the database rankings.