Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the AMD Radeon 760M produces a severely constrained gaming experience in Thief. The data shows a combination that ranks near the very bottom of all tested configurations, with the integrated GPU acting as the primary bottleneck across every resolution and preset. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, component roles, and practical settings based solely on the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU that is overwhelmed at every step. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 53 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops the average to 36 FPS, a reduction of 17 frames. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 21 FPS. This scaling pattern—roughly a 32% loss from 1080p to 1440p and a 42% loss from 1440p to 4K—indicates that the rendering pipeline is entirely fill-rate and shading limited, with no headroom in the graphics subsystem to absorb the increased pixel count.

The High preset tells a similar story with lower absolute numbers. At 1080p High, the average is 31 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 21 FPS, and at 4K High, it bottoms out at 12 FPS. The gap between Low and High at the same resolution is consistent: at 1080p, Low delivers 53 FPS versus 31 FPS for High; at 1440p, the difference is 36 versus 21; at 4K, it is 21 versus 12. This uniformity suggests that the game's settings are scaling the workload linearly, and the AMD Radeon 760M simply does not have the computational throughput to maintain playable rates beyond the lowest preset at 1080p.

The Medium preset, which has complete min/max data, offers additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 28 FPS with a range of 23 to 32. At 4K Medium, the average is 16 FPS with a range of 14 to 19. The min-to-max spread narrows as resolution increases, which is typical of a system where the GPU is saturated; there is less variance because every frame is hitting the same hard limit. The jump from 1080p to 1440p Medium costs 12 FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K Medium costs another 12 FPS, confirming that the scaling is nearly linear and driven entirely by pixel count.

Across all settings, 4K is effectively unplayable, with averages ranging from 12 to 21 FPS. Even the best 4K result—Low at 21 FPS—falls below the threshold for smooth motion. The data indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, as the CPU shows no signs of constraining performance at lower resolutions; the frame rate continues to climb as resolution drops, which would not happen if the processor were the bottleneck.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It belongs to the Core Ultra Series 1, built on the Meteor Lake architecture with a 7 nm process. The L3 cache is 24 MB shared, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5. Its Geekbench scores are 11657 multi-core and 1794 single-core. The Passmark single-thread score is 3697, and the multithread score is 29376.

The CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 85, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors in the database. Its average benchmark score is 35670. Compared to its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 scores 35719 with a delta of -0.1%, the Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728 with a delta of -0.2%, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35802 with a delta of -0.4%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X scores 35909 with a delta of -0.7%. In every case, the Core Ultra 9 185H is within 1% of these competitors, indicating that it is a high-performing processor that is not the source of the low frame rates in Thief.

Given that the CPU is capable of producing over 29000 in Passmark multithread and nearly 3700 in single-thread, it has ample headroom for a 2014 stealth title. The game's logic, AI, and physics are unlikely to stress a 16-core Meteor Lake part. The measured FPS data supports this: as resolution increases and the GPU becomes more loaded, frame rates drop proportionally. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect to see a plateau or even a slight increase in FPS at higher resolutions due to reduced CPU overhead per frame, but the opposite occurs. The CPU's 45 W TDP and mobile BGA 2049 socket indicate it is designed for laptops, and its integrated graphics are the intended display output, but for this game, the CPU is clearly waiting on the GPU at every turn.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon 760M ranks 2840 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places it in the bottom 0.4% of all configurations, which is a decisive indication of poor performance. The rank is not a reflection of the CPU, which sits in the 85th percentile, but rather the GPU, which sits in the 35th percentile among all GPUs. The Radeon 760M's average benchmark score is 6019, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6400 at 6001 (delta 0.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M at 6000 (delta 0.3%), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server at 5996 (delta 0.4%), and the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 at 6049 (delta -0.5%). The 760M is statistically tied with these GPUs, meaning it is roughly on par with a GTX 770M from a decade ago.

With 2851 combos tested, being ranked 2840 means only 11 configurations are worse. This is a stark result that highlights how poorly an integrated GPU performs in a demanding title like Thief, even when paired with a top-tier mobile processor. The data suggests that any discrete GPU, even one from several generations back, would likely outperform this combo. The ranking is a warning for users considering this hardware for gaming: the CPU is excellent, but the GPU anchors the entire system to the bottom of the leaderboard.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 53 FPS, Medium averages 40 FPS (min 34, max 46), High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 13 FPS, from Medium to High is 9 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 2 FPS. The diminishing returns at higher settings indicate that the GPU is already near its limit, and the extra visual fidelity from High to Ultra costs very little performance because the scenes are already bottlenecked.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 36 FPS, Medium averages 28 FPS (min 23, max 32), High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS. The pattern repeats: Low to Medium is an 8 FPS drop, Medium to High is a 7 FPS drop, and High to Ultra is a 1 FPS drop. The Ultra preset at 1440p is only 1 FPS slower than High, reinforcing the idea that the GPU is completely saturated and settings beyond Medium have minimal impact on the frame rate.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 21 FPS, Medium averages 16 FPS (min 14, max 19), High averages 12 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. The Low to Medium drop is 5 FPS, Medium to High is 4 FPS, and High to Ultra is 0 FPS. At 4K, the Ultra and High presets produce identical averages, which is a clear sign that the GPU has no spare capacity to render additional effects; the frame rate is determined almost entirely by the pixel fill rate.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, allowing for a closer look at frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the range is 34 to 46 FPS, a 12 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 23 to 32 FPS, a 9 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 14 to 19 FPS, a 5 FPS spread. The shrinking variance at higher resolutions is consistent with a GPU that is hitting a hard performance ceiling; there is less fluctuation because every frame is equally constrained. In terms of absolute playability, only 1080p Low exceeds 60 FPS, and 1080p Medium is the highest setting that stays above 30 FPS on average.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 760M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, with 8 ray tracing cores. The base clock is 800 MHz and the boost clock is 2599 MHz, producing a pixel rate of 41.58 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 83.17 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 5.323 TFLOPS, and the memory is system shared, with bandwidth dependent on the system memory configuration. The GPU has a TDP of 15 W and is an IGP with no power connectors, using a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 760M scores 400 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 20255 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 30336 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its Passmark scores are 19 for DirectX 10, 52 for DirectX 11, 25 for DirectX 12, 65 for DirectX 9, 5310 for G3D, and 2840 for GPU compute. The percentile versus all GPUs is 35, indicating that it is in the bottom third of all graphics cards. The average benchmark score is 6019, and the nearest rival data shows it is essentially tied with the RX 6400 and GTX 770M.

The GPU's role in Thief is the dominant factor. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, the system cannot reach 60 FPS, and at higher settings, it falls below 40 FPS. The 512 shading units and 16 ROPs are simply insufficient for the game's rendering demands, which include complex lighting and shadow effects typical of a stealth title. The boost clock of 2599 MHz is high for an iGPU, but the low shader count and shared memory bandwidth limit its effective throughput. The DirectX 11 Passmark score of 52 is particularly telling, as Thief likely leverages that API, and the GPU's performance there is weak. The system shared memory means that the GPU competes with the CPU for bandwidth, further constraining performance in a game that loads many assets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the user's tolerance for frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 53 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 40 FPS on average with a minimum of 34, which is playable if the user can accept occasional dips. The High preset at 31 FPS and Ultra at 29 FPS are marginal, with average frame rates that will feel stuttery in action sequences. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1080p Medium is the recommended choice, as it provides a 40 FPS average while maintaining some graphical fidelity over Low.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 36 FPS is the only option that remains above 30 FPS. Medium at 28 FPS is borderline, and High at 21 FPS and Ultra at 20 FPS are too slow for a responsive experience. Users with a 1440p display should set the game to Low and accept the frame rate, or lower the resolution to 1080p for better results. At 3840x2160, all presets fall below 22 FPS, with Low at 21 FPS being the best case. This resolution is not viable for this combo, and users should avoid it entirely.

The data indicates that the Medium preset provides the most consistent frame pacing, as evidenced by the min/max data at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the min of 34 FPS ensures that the game rarely drops into the low 30s, which is the threshold for playability. At 1440p Medium, the min of 23 FPS is too low for smooth play, but it is better than High or Ultra. The recommendation is to use 1080p Medium for the best experience, as it offers a 40 FPS average with a 34 FPS minimum. If the user prioritizes frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low at 53 FPS is the best option. For any resolution above 1080p, the Low preset is the only one that keeps the average above 30 FPS, and even then, only at 1440p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this combo in Thief?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides a 40 FPS average with a 34 FPS minimum. This is the highest quality preset that remains playable. At 1080p Low, the average rises to 53 FPS, but the visual quality is lower. For resolutions above 1080p, the Low preset is the only one that stays above 30 FPS, and only at 1440p (36 FPS).

Q: Why is the frame rate so low despite using a Core Ultra 9 processor?

A: The data shows that the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has a high benchmark score (Cinebench R23 multi-core of 17984.5) and sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. However, the AMD Radeon 760M is an integrated GPU with a 35th percentile ranking. The CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU's 512 shading units and system shared memory are insufficient for the game's demands, as evidenced by the severe FPS drops at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 2840 out of 2851 tested configurations in Thief. Only 11 combos perform worse. This places it in the bottom 0.4% of all systems, which is consistent with the GPU's low benchmark scores (Passmark G3D of 5310) and its parity with older discrete GPUs like the GTX 770M.

Q: Is 4K resolution usable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 12 FPS (High and Ultra) to 21 FPS (Low). The Medium preset at 4K averages 16 FPS with a minimum of 14 FPS. These results are far below the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that 4K is not a viable option for this combination.

Q: What does the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K tell us about the bottleneck?

A: The frame rates drop consistently as resolution increases: at Low settings, 53 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. This linear scaling indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU has ample headroom (Passmark multithread score of 29376) and is not limiting performance.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon 760M has an average benchmark score of 6019. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6400 at 6001 (0.3% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M at 6000 (0.3% faster), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server at 5996 (0.4% faster), and the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 at 6049 (0.5% slower). These scores show that the 760M is statistically tied with these GPUs, all of which are older or lower-end parts.