Thief

# Thief with Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a broad range of frame rates across Thief’s four preset levels, spanning from 52 FPS at 4K Ultra to 232 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution, but the pattern of performance drops between settings reveals where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint versus where the CPU and memory subsystem still have headroom. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows, the CPU and GPU specifications that explain them, and how this specific pairing ranks among the 3,720 tested combos in the database.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K at each settings level shows a consistent pattern of GPU-bound scaling, with the steepest drops occurring at the highest preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 232 FPS at 1920x1080 to 160 FPS at 2560x1440, a 31% reduction, and then to 94 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 41% drop. This indicates that even at Low settings, where pixel count is the primary variable, the RTX 4080’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor; the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames at these rates.

Moving to Medium settings, the scaling becomes slightly less steep in percentage terms but still clearly GPU-dominated. The average goes from 177 FPS at 1080p to 122 FPS at 1440p (down 31%), then to 71 FPS at 4K (down 42%). The presence of measured minimum and maximum values for Medium — 151 to 204 FPS at 1080p, 103 to 140 FPS at 1440p, and 61 to 82 FPS at 4K — shows that frame time variance widens as resolution increases, which is typical when the GPU becomes more saturated and any transient load spikes have a larger relative impact.

At High settings, the same pattern holds: 135 FPS at 1080p, 93 FPS at 1440p (down 31%), and 54 FPS at 4K (down 42%). Ultra settings produce the lowest absolute numbers — 128 FPS at 1080p, 88 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K — with the 1080p-to-1440p drop at 31% and the 1440p-to-4K drop at 41%. The consistency of these percentage drops across all four presets is striking: regardless of whether the game is running at Low or Ultra, the transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 31% of the frame rate, and the transition from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 41-42%. This uniformity strongly suggests that the scaling is purely resolution-driven, with no sudden CPU bottleneck appearing at lower resolutions.

The fact that 1080p Ultra (128 FPS) is only slightly below 1440p High (93 FPS) in absolute terms, while 4K Ultra (52 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicates that the RTX 4080’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 256-bit bus are adequate for the data throughput, but the raw pixel shading workload at 4K overwhelms the GPU’s 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The data shows that the limiting component across all resolutions is the GPU, with the CPU’s high single-thread performance (2,204 in Cinebench R23 single-core) never becoming a constraint even at 232 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average is 232 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only measured row that exceeds 200 FPS, and it is substantially above the next highest — 177 FPS at 1080p Medium.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K across all settings?

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 52, which is below the 60 FPS mark. At 4K High, the average is 54, also below 60. Only at 4K Medium (71 FPS) and 4K Low (94 FPS) does the combo exceed 60 FPS at 3840x2160.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: The 1080p Low average of 232 FPS is 4.46 times higher than the 4K Ultra average of 52 FPS. This represents the maximum spread across all measured configurations — from the lowest resolution and settings to the highest.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested systems in Thief?

A: The combo ranks 854th out of 3,720 tested combinations. This places it in the top 23% of all combos in the database for this game, though it is not near the very top tier.

Q: Are there any settings where the minimum FPS falls below 60 at 1440p?

A: No. The only measured minimum values are for Medium settings, and at 1440p Medium the minimum is 103 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 61 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark percentile compare to its in-game ranking?

A: The RTX 4080 scores in the 86th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the combo ranks in the top 23% for Thief specifically. The CPU sits at the 94th percentile, suggesting the processor is relatively stronger than the GPU in absolute terms, but the game’s results are still GPU-limited.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core, 24-thread mobile processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, built on TSMC’s 3 nm process. Its base clock is 2.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries 36 MB of shared L3 cache. In Thief, a game released in 2014, the CPU’s role is primarily to maintain high minimum frame rates and avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions, where the frame rate ceiling is much higher.

The benchmark data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 232 FPS on average, which is a very high frame rate that would stress most CPUs. The fact that the measured average does not collapse or show inconsistent scaling at 1080p compared to 1440p indicates that the Core Ultra 9 275HX is delivering frames fast enough to keep the RTX 4080 fully utilized. The CPU’s single-thread performance — 2,204 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4,713 in Passmark single-thread — is what matters most for a game like Thief, which typically relies on a few primary threads for game logic and draw call submission.

In multi-threaded workloads, the CPU is exceptionally strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35,589 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 20,795. However, Thief’s engine, dating from 2014, does not scale perfectly across 24 threads; the game’s thread utilization is likely limited to a handful of cores. The CPU’s 24 threads and 36 MB L3 cache provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the measured FPS data does not show any scenario where the CPU becomes the limiting factor — the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent and purely resolution-driven, which is the signature of a GPU-bound workload.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s from dual-channel DDR5 support is sufficient for the game’s data streaming needs, and the fact that the combo maintains 128 FPS at 1080p Ultra without dipping below that average suggests the CPU can feed the GPU with draw calls and geometry without stalling. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 275HX sits within 0.7% of the Intel Xeon 6515P and within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX in average benchmark score, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. This is a strong processor, but in Thief, its role is secondary to the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide spread of frame rates depending on the preset. Low settings produce the highest average at 232 FPS, followed by Medium at 177 FPS (with a minimum of 151 and maximum of 204), High at 135 FPS, and Ultra at 128 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 104 FPS, which is the largest absolute spread across all resolutions. The 1080p Medium row is the only one at this resolution with reported minimum and maximum values, indicating that frame pacing was measured and stable within a 53 FPS range.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 160 FPS for Low, 122 FPS for Medium (minimum 103, maximum 140), 93 FPS for High, and 88 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 72 FPS, a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p but a similar proportional reduction. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a 37 FPS range between minimum and maximum, which is tighter than the 53 FPS range at 1080p, suggesting that at higher resolution the GPU’s consistent workload reduces frame time variance relative to the average.

At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 94 FPS for Low, 71 FPS for Medium (minimum 61, maximum 82), 54 FPS for High, and 52 FPS for Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra spread at 4K is 42 FPS. Notably, the drop from High to Ultra at 4K is only 2 FPS (54 to 52), which is the smallest difference between any two adjacent presets in the dataset. This suggests that at 4K, the Ultra preset’s additional effects are not significantly more demanding than High, or that the GPU is already so saturated that the extra load has minimal incremental impact on the average frame rate.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum data at all three resolutions: 151 to 204 FPS at 1080p, 103 to 140 FPS at 1440p, and 61 to 82 FPS at 4K. This allows for a clean comparison of frame time consistency. The ratio of maximum to minimum is 1.35 at 1080p, 1.36 at 1440p, and 1.34 at 4K, showing that the game maintains a similar level of frame time variance relative to the average across resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 854th out of 3,720 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 23% of all systems in the database for this game. This rank reflects the GPU’s 86th percentile standing among all GPUs and the CPU’s 94th percentile, but the game’s specific demands mean that the GPU’s relative position is more influential on the final rank.

The RTX 4080’s nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database are the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% higher average score), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (2.6% lower), and the AMD Radeon 8060S (2.7% lower). The fact that the RTX 4080 is only 0.1% behind the 4080 SUPER in raw benchmark score suggests that the combo’s rank is not limited by a weak GPU sample but rather by the game’s engine characteristics and the competition from other high-end systems.

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are the Intel Xeon w5-3525 (0.3% higher), AMD EPYC 4484PX (0.5% higher), AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX (0.6% higher), and Intel Xeon 6515P (0.7% lower). These deltas are all under 1%, meaning the Core Ultra 9 275HX is statistically tied with several workstation-class processors in overall benchmark performance. However, in Thief, the CPU’s specific architecture and clock speed matter more than raw multi-thread scores, and the 5.40 GHz boost clock is likely a key factor in maintaining high frame rates at 1080p.

The rank of 854 out of 3,720 means that 2,866 tested combos achieve lower performance in Thief, but 853 combos achieve higher performance. Given that the RTX 4080 is not the absolute fastest GPU in the database, and the Core Ultra 9 275HX is a mobile processor (albeit a high-end one), this rank is consistent with the expectation that desktop flagship GPUs paired with desktop flagship CPUs would outperform this combo. The data shows that the combo is solidly in the upper quartile but not at the extreme top end.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and frame rate preference. At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed 60 FPS, with even Ultra averaging 128 FPS. For a 144 Hz or 165 Hz display, Low settings (232 FPS) or Medium settings (177 FPS) would be the best choices to maximize smoothness, while High (135 FPS) and Ultra (128 FPS) still provide very high frame rates that are suitable for most high-refresh monitors. The 1080p Medium preset’s minimum of 151 FPS ensures that even the worst-case frame time stays above 144 FPS, making it the safest choice for a 144 Hz display.

At 2560x1440, the situation is similar but with lower headroom. Low (160 FPS) and Medium (122 FPS) both exceed 120 FPS, while High (93 FPS) and Ultra (88 FPS) are above 60 FPS but below 100. For a 144 Hz 1440p monitor, Medium is the best choice, as its 122 FPS average with a 103 FPS minimum stays close to the refresh rate. High at 93 FPS is acceptable for a 100 Hz display, but the jump from Medium to High costs 29 FPS, which is a significant trade-off for the visual quality increase.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations change dramatically. Only Low (94 FPS) and Medium (71 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, while High (54 FPS) and Ultra (52 FPS) fall below. For a 60 Hz 4K display, Medium is the clear best choice, as it provides 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS, ensuring that the frame rate never dips below the display’s refresh rate. Low at 94 FPS offers more headroom but sacrifices visual quality. High and Ultra are not recommended for 4K gaming on this combo, as the average frame rates below 60 FPS would result in noticeable stutter on a standard 60 Hz display, and the 2 FPS difference between High and Ultra does not justify the visual quality loss.

Across all resolutions, Medium settings appear to be the sweet spot for this combo. At 1080p, it offers 177 FPS with a high minimum; at 1440p, it offers 122 FPS with a 103 FPS minimum; at 4K, it is the only preset above 60 FPS with a minimum above 60. The data strongly supports Medium as the best balanced preset for consistent performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, manufactured on TSMC’s 5 nm process. It has 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, along with 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores. The GPU’s base clock is 2,205 MHz with a boost clock of 2,505 MHz, and it is paired with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Thief, the GPU’s role is dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling analysis. The game is not particularly demanding on ray tracing (a feature that did not exist in the 2014 engine), so the RTX 4080’s ray tracing cores are likely underutilized. Instead, the GPU’s raw rasterization performance — 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s — determines the frame rates. The pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s is what limits performance at 4K, where the GPU must fill over 8 million pixels per frame.

The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Thief at any resolution and settings, as the game’s textures and geometry are modest by modern standards. The memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is also ample, and the data shows no evidence of a memory bottleneck — the FPS scaling is smooth and predictable, with no sudden drops that would indicate VRAM or bandwidth exhaustion. The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database reflects its strong overall performance, and its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is only 0.1% higher in average benchmark score, indicating that this specific RTX 4080 sample is performing as expected.

The GPU’s TDP of 320 W and triple-slot design indicate that it is a high-power, high-performance part, and the measured FPS results confirm this. The gap between 1080p and 4K performance — from 232 FPS at Low to 52 FPS at Ultra — represents a 78% reduction in frame rate, which is consistent with the 4x increase in pixel count from 1080p to 4K being partially offset by the GPU’s scaling efficiency. The RTX 4080 is clearly the component that defines the combo’s performance envelope in Thief, and the CPU’s role is to stay out of the way.