Thief

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to its closest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus posts an average benchmark score of 84,003. That places it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83,807), 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83,090), and 1.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9135 (82,980). It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85,072) by 1.3%. The overall result puts this CPU in the 96th percentile against all tested CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score is 54,209. That is 0.1% below the RTX 4080 (54,247), 1.1% below the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828), 2.7% below the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698), and 2.8% below the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757). The GPU sits in the 86th percentile versus all GPUs.

Q: How does this CPU+GPU combination rank for Thief among all tested combos?

A: This pairing ranks 66th out of 2,851 tested combinations for Thief. That places it in the top 2.3% of all recorded system configurations for this title, indicating an exceptionally strong pairing for the game.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 130 FPS average, while the Ultra preset delivers 72 FPS average. The gap between these two presets is 58 FPS, with Ultra producing roughly 45% lower frame rates than Low at this resolution.

Q: Which resolution yields the highest average frame rate at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 178 FPS. For comparison, 2560x1440 Ultra averages 122 FPS, and 3840x2160 Ultra averages 72 FPS. The 1080p result is 106 FPS higher than the 4K result at the same Ultra preset.

Q: Does the Medium preset data include minimum and maximum frame rates?

A: Yes, the Medium preset is the only setting tier that includes complete min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range is 182 to 246 FPS with a 214 average. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 143 to 194 FPS with a 168 average. At 3840x2160 Medium, the range is 84 to 114 FPS with a 99 average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus brings 24 cores and 24 threads to Thief, running from a 3.70 GHz base clock up to a 5.80 GHz boost clock. This Arrow Lake Refresh part on the 3 nm TSMC process node represents the top of the Core Ultra Series 2 desktop lineup. The processor's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial data buffering, which supports the game's asset streaming and AI routines.

In synthetic single-threaded workloads, this CPU scores 7,303 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 3,067 in Cinebench R20 single-core. Those results place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, confirming that per-core performance is elite. Thief, a 2014 stealth title, relies heavily on single-threaded game logic for enemy AI and stealth calculations. The CPU's dominant single-core showing ensures that these simulation-heavy tasks do not bottleneck the frame pipeline.

Multi-threaded performance is equally formidable. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51,731 and Cinebench R20 multicore score of 21,727 demonstrate that the 24 cores scale effectively under parallel loads. PassMark multithread testing yields 60,860 points, with integer math at 166,194 and floating-point math at 214,760. For Thief, this headroom means background tasks and the game's less-optimized threading model will not interfere with frame delivery.

The data compression score of 698,346 and encryption score of 52,563 in PassMark tests indicate robust memory subsystem performance, further supported by dual-channel DDR5 support with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, combined with a 0.2% lead over the Core Ultra 9 285K, shows that this is effectively the fastest desktop processor in the tested database for Thief's CPU demands. The game's engine, while dating from 2014, still benefits from the massive single-thread uplift this 5.80 GHz boost clock provides, particularly in crowded stealth scenarios where multiple NPCs react simultaneously.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER pairs 16 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 256-bit bus, yielding 736.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The Ada Lovelace architecture chip, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process, contains 45,900 million transistors across a 379 mm² die. Base clock runs at 2295 MHz with a 2550 MHz boost, while memory operates at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective).

Compute resources include 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 52.22 TFLOPS and texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s provide ample raw horsepower for Thief's DirectX 11 rendering path. The card's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it firmly in the high-end segment, though its average benchmark score of 54,209 trails the RTX 4080 by just 0.1% — essentially a statistical tie.

For Thief specifically, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what a 2014 title requires, meaning there is no risk of texture thrashing or memory pressure even at 4K Ultra settings. The 736.3 GB/s bandwidth ensures that the game's environment textures and shadow maps stream without stutter. DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility mean the card handles the game's legacy rendering paths with ease while remaining future-proof.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU scaling predictably across resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset hits 237 FPS, indicating the GPU is not the primary constraint at lower resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 72 FPS average demonstrates that the RTX 4080 SUPER still delivers playable frame rates at the highest visual quality, though it falls below the 75 FPS achieved at 4K High. The GPU's 86th percentile standing, combined with its near-parity with the RTX 4080 and its 2.7-2.8% deficit to the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and Radeon 8060S in aggregate benchmarks, shows that this card is at the top tier but not the absolute apex of the tested GPU pool.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 66 out of 2,851 tested combos for Thief. This places the pairing in the top 2.3% of all recorded configurations, an elite standing that reflects balanced component strength rather than a single overpowered part.

The CPU's 96th percentile ranking and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking combine to produce a system where neither component dramatically outclasses the other. In Thief, a title that responds to both strong single-threaded CPU performance and high GPU throughput, this balance yields the observed frame rates. The CPU trails its nearest rival, the Core Ultra 9 285K, by a negligible 0.2%, while the GPU trails the RTX 4080 by 0.1% — both components are effectively at their respective performance ceilings for this class.

Compared to the bottom of the tested combo pool, this system sits 2,785 positions higher, reflecting the substantial gap between top-tier hardware and the long tail of older or budget configurations in the database. The rank of 66 means only 65 other system combinations deliver higher average frame rates in Thief, and those are likely to pair even faster GPUs with this same class of processor. For the vast majority of gamers, this combo rank indicates that the system will handle Thief at maximum settings across all tested resolutions without compromise.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rate ceiling is high across all presets. Low settings produce a 237 FPS average, Medium yields 214 FPS (with a minimum of 182 and maximum of 246), High delivers 187 FPS, and Ultra averages 178 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 59 FPS, representing a 25% performance penalty for the highest visual quality at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the resolution increase exacts a meaningful toll. Low settings average 209 FPS, Medium averages 168 FPS (minimum 143, maximum 194), High averages 128 FPS, and Ultra averages 122 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra is from 178 FPS to 122 FPS, a 56 FPS reduction that shows the GPU beginning to feel the resolution pressure.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers smooth performance. Low settings average 130 FPS, Medium averages 99 FPS (minimum 84, maximum 114), High averages 75 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 72 FPS is just below the 75 FPS achieved at 4K High, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects cost only 3 FPS at this resolution. The 4K Low to 4K Ultra gap of 58 FPS mirrors the 1080p spread closely, showing consistent scaling behavior.

The Medium preset's min/max data reveals frame pacing characteristics. At 1080p, the 182 FPS minimum versus 246 FPS maximum shows a 64 FPS variance. At 1440p, the 143 to 194 FPS range spans 51 FPS. At 4K, the 84 to 114 FPS range spans 30 FPS. The narrowing variance at higher resolutions suggests that GPU-bound scenes are more consistent than CPU-bound ones, which is expected given the CPU's massive single-thread headroom.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as the minimum acceptable threshold, every resolution and preset combination in the measured data exceeds this requirement. The lowest recorded average is 72 FPS at 4K Ultra, meaning the system never falls below playable territory in the tested configurations.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 178 FPS is the optimal choice. The 59 FPS penalty versus Low is negligible given the massive headroom, and the visual improvements from Ultra settings will be clearly visible. The 214 FPS Medium preset offers a smoother experience on high-refresh displays, but for most users, the Ultra preset's 178 FPS average remains far above any display refresh rate below 165 Hz.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset's 122 FPS average is still excellent. The drop from High's 128 FPS to Ultra's 122 FPS costs only 6 FPS, making Ultra the clear recommendation for this resolution. The Medium preset at 168 FPS is only worth considering if the display refresh rate exceeds 144 Hz and frame pacing consistency is paramount.

At 3840x2160, the choice between High and Ultra is the most nuanced. High averages 75 FPS while Ultra averages 72 FPS — a 3 FPS difference that makes Ultra the obvious pick for 60 Hz displays. For 120 Hz or higher refresh displays at 4K, neither preset will hit the ceiling, but the Medium preset at 99 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate headroom. The Low preset at 130 FPS is the only 4K option that approaches high-refresh territory, but the visual compromise is substantial.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides the most consistent frame pacing, as evidenced by its min/max data. For players sensitive to frame time spikes, Medium offers the tightest variance at every resolution. However, given the system's overall performance class, the data supports using Ultra at 1080p and 1440p, and either High or Ultra at 4K, with Medium reserved for those prioritizing frame rate consistency above all else.