Thief

Thief, a 2014 stealth title, runs on a wide range of hardware, but the data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT pairing reveals a complex picture of performance that varies significantly with resolution and settings. The benchmark results show that this combination is capable of high frame rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K on higher presets. The measured FPS data indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this configuration, especially as the resolution increases, while the powerful 24-core CPU ensures that frame rates are not limited by processing power. This analysis will break down the specific numbers, compare the components to their nearest rivals, and provide clear recommendations based on the measured performance.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the most effective resolution, as it yields an average of 103 FPS on Ultra settings and 186 FPS on Low. At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 74 on High and 70 on Ultra, while 3840x2160 on Ultra averages only 41 FPS, which is less ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to its nearest rivals in terms of overall GPU benchmark score?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 27425, which puts it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, has a score of 27435, representing a 0% deltaPct, meaning they are statistically tied. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565, which is -0.5% lower than the RX 6700 XT.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile, and how does it compare to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, has an average score of 83807, which is a deltaPct of 0.2%, indicating the 290K Plus is only marginally faster by about 0.2%.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded for the Medium settings preset?

A: The measured data for Medium settings includes min and max FPS values. At 1920x1080, the average is 141 FPS with a minimum of 120 and a maximum of 163. At 2560x1440, the average is 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 and a maximum of 112. At 3840x2160, the average is 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 66.

Q: How much VRAM does the GPU have, and what is its memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT comes equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. This is a significant resource for a game like Thief, which can be demanding on texture memory at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the rank of this specific CPU and GPU combination among all tested combos in Thief?

A: The combo rank for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT in Thief is 1352 out of 2851 tested combinations. This places it in the middle of the pack, indicating that while it performs well, there are many other pairings that achieve higher frame rates in this specific title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the central component influencing frame rates in Thief, and its specifications explain the performance scaling observed in the data. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz. These clock speeds are substantial, allowing the card to process the game's DirectX 11 workload efficiently. The card's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, running at an effective speed of 16 Gbps, provides a 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. In a game from 2014, this amount of VRAM is more than sufficient for even the highest resolution textures, meaning that the limiting factor is not memory capacity but the raw compute power of the GPU itself.

The RX 6700 XT's architecture, RDNA 2.0 on a 7 nm process, is built for modern gaming, and its performance in Thief is indicative of its general capability. With 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, the card is well-equipped to handle the game's lighting and shadow effects. However, the data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the average FPS on High settings drops from 108 to 74, and then to 43. This is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance, where the rendering load at higher resolutions exceeds the card's fill rate and pixel processing power. The 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the theoretical ceiling, but the actual game performance shows that it is the primary bottleneck in this system.

The GPU's benchmark scores corroborate its mid-to-high-range positioning. It scores 19786 in Passmark G3D and 2435 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its percentile rank of 72 versus all GPUs places it above the median, but its performance is closely matched by rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (27435, 0% deltaPct) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27565, -0.5% deltaPct). This suggests that in Thief, a game that is not overly demanding by modern standards, the RX 6700 XT should provide a solid experience, but the 4K results show it is not a 4K-capable card for this title on high settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. The goal is to balance visual quality with smoothness, and the data provides clear guidance for each tier of resolution.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice for a visual experience without sacrificing performance. The average FPS of 103 is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and while the Low preset achieves 186 FPS, the visual fidelity loss is not necessary when Ultra is already playable. The Medium preset, at 141 FPS, offers a compromise, but the high average on Ultra makes it the recommended preset for this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice, delivering an average of 74 FPS. This is a playable frame rate for most users, and it provides a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset, which hits 128 FPS but looks noticeably worse. The Ultra preset drops to 70 FPS, which is a marginal difference from High, but the data suggests that the extra graphical features may not be worth the slight FPS dip. Medium sits at 97 FPS, which is also a good option, but High offers a better balance of quality and speed.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset is the only one that provides a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 75 FPS. The Medium preset averages 57 FPS, which is on the edge of playability, with a minimum of 48 FPS that could be noticeable in fast-paced scenes. The High preset averages 43 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS, both of which are below the ideal range for a smooth experience. Therefore, for 4K, the Low preset is recommended to maintain frame rates, or users should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to use higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the performance is excellent across the board. The Low preset achieves an average of 186 FPS, Medium averages 141 FPS (with a min of 120 and max of 163), High averages 108 FPS, and Ultra averages 103 FPS. This shows that the GPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution, and even the most demanding preset yields over 100 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain respectable. Low averages 128 FPS, Medium averages 97 FPS (with a min of 82 and max of 112), High averages 74 FPS, and Ultra averages 70 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with High losing 34 FPS, but the system is still capable of providing a good experience on most presets. The gap between High and Ultra at this resolution is small, only 4 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not heavily taxing.

At 3840x2160, the performance degrades considerably. Low averages 75 FPS, Medium averages 57 FPS (with a min of 48 and max of 66), High averages 43 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The step from 1440p to 4K is the most punishing, with High losing 31 FPS. This data clearly indicates that the RX 6700 XT is not designed for 4K gaming in this title, as even the Medium preset struggles to maintain 60 FPS. The minimum FPS of 48 on Medium at 4K could lead to noticeable stuttering in demanding scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the system's bottleneck. At 1080p High, the system achieves 108 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 74 FPS, a 31.5% decrease. At 4K High, it further drops to 43 FPS, a 41.9% decrease from 1440p and a 60.2% decrease from 1080p. This scaling pattern is a strong indicator of a GPU-bound system. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 36 MB of L3 cache, has ample headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions, so the frame rate is almost entirely dependent on the GPU's rendering speed.

The fact that the performance drop is not linear with the pixel count increase underscores the GPU's limitations. Going from 1080p (2.07 million pixels) to 4K (8.29 million pixels) is a 4x increase in pixel count, but the FPS on High drops by only 60%. This suggests that the game is not purely pixel-bound, and that other factors like fill rate and memory bandwidth also play a role. The RX 6700 XT's 384.0 GB/s bandwidth is likely a limiting factor at 4K, as the higher resolution demands more data to be streamed from memory. The data implies that to get better 4K performance, a GPU with higher memory bandwidth and more raw compute power would be necessary, as the CPU is clearly not the limiting component.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a powerhouse processor that plays a supporting role in Thief's performance. With 24 cores and 24 threads, running at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, it is more than capable of handling the game's CPU-side tasks. The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4823 and multi-thread score of 60860 place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, showing that it is one of the fastest processors available.

In a game like Thief, which is not known for being heavily multi-threaded, the CPU's single-core performance is more important than its core count. The high boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensures that the game's main thread has access to a very fast core, preventing any CPU-related bottlenecks. The data supports this, as the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is clearly due to GPU load, not CPU limitations. Even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate is 186 FPS, the CPU is still able to keep up. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% deltaPct) and the AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% deltaPct), show that it is at the top of its class, but this performance advantage does not translate to higher frame rates in Thief because the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU's 125W TDP and 36 MB of L3 cache are more than sufficient for any game, and its role here is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1352 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the 47th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking is a direct result of the GPU's performance ceiling, as the CPU is a top-tier component. The high-ranking CPU is effectively neutralized by the mid-range GPU in this game, which is heavily GPU-dependent at higher resolutions.

The ranking indicates that while this combo is not a top performer, it is also far from the bottom. The 1352nd position out of 2851 means there are 1499 combos that perform worse, but also 1351 that perform better. This is a mid-pack result, which is expected for a GPU that is in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. The data suggests that to improve this ranking, a user would need to upgrade the GPU to a more powerful model, as the CPU is already at the 96th percentile and is not the limiting factor. For a 1080p gamer, this combo is overkill, but for a 4K enthusiast, it falls short. The ranking is a holistic measure of the system's capability, and in Thief, it shows that the RX 6700 XT holds this combo back from reaching the top tiers.