Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Thief, with the data indicating a system that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The measured frames per second show that while the GPU is the primary driver at higher resolutions, the platform's strength ensures that even the most demanding presets remain playable. The overall combo rank of 259 out of 2851 tested configurations places this pairing in the top percentile of systems for this title, reinforcing its capability.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear and expected pattern: performance degrades as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop tells a story about which component is the bottleneck. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces 149 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same preset, the average drops to 103 FPS, a reduction of roughly 31% from the 1080p figure. From 1440p to 4K Ultra, the average further declines to 60 FPS, another substantial drop of about 42%. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 5070 is being tasked heavily as pixel count rises, which is typical for a modern GPU in a title from this era.

The trend is consistent across all settings. With High settings, the system achieves 157 FPS at 1080p, which falls to 108 FPS at 1440p, and then to 63 FPS at 4K. The Low preset shows the widest absolute spread, starting at 237 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 186 FPS at 1440p, and finally settling at 110 FPS at 4K. The fact that 4K Low still yields over 100 FPS suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor even at lower graphical loads; the frame rate is still high enough to be constrained by the GPU's rendering capabilities.

Analyzing the relative drops, the step from 1440p to 4K is consistently steeper than the step from 1080p to 1440p across all presets. For example, on Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (206 FPS) to 1440p (141 FPS) is a 32% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K (83 FPS) is a 41% reduction. This pattern strongly implies that the RTX 5070, with its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, is the primary component governing performance at 4K. The data shows that the system is well-balanced at 1080p and 1440p, but 4K is where the GPU's workload becomes the defining factor, with the CPU providing ample headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the central piece of this combo's gaming performance, and its specifications align with the measured results. The GPU features a boost clock of 2512 MHz and a base clock of 2325 MHz, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 6144 shading units. The 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is a substantial resource for handling high-resolution textures and effects.

In Thief, the GPU's role is clearly evident when comparing the 4K results. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 60, which is a demanding load for any GPU. The fact that the combo achieves this with a minimum FPS not reported means the average is the key metric. Dropping to 4K High yields 63 FPS, a marginal improvement, while 4K Medium reaches 83 FPS with a reported minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. This data suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing power are being fully utilized at this resolution.

The RTX 5070's percentile ranking of 82 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40377, places it as a high-performing part. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, with deltaPct values of 0.1 and 0.8 respectively, meaning the RTX 5070 is effectively tied with them in those specific tests. However, in a real-world gaming scenario like Thief, the architectural advantages of the Blackwell 2.0 design are what allow it to maintain playable frame rates at 4K. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, but it is a capable one, still delivering an average of 60 FPS on the highest preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience in Thief with this hardware. The data indicates that the most balanced settings for a high-refresh-rate display are at 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High presets. At 1080p, High settings deliver 157 FPS, which is an excellent result for smooth gameplay. Moving to Medium at the same resolution increases the average to 206 FPS, but the visual fidelity trade-off may not be worth it for most users, as High already provides a strong frame rate.

For 1440p, the High preset at 108 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a significant resolution upgrade over 1080p while maintaining a triple-digit frame rate. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 103 FPS, which is still very playable, but the performance gain from High to Ultra is minimal compared to the potential cost. The Medium preset at 1440p provides 141 FPS, which is ideal for users with 144Hz monitors who prioritize frame rate over maximum graphical detail.

At 4K, the situation changes. The Ultra preset yields 60 FPS, which is the baseline for console-quality smoothness, but the High preset is nearly identical at 63 FPS. The data suggests that for 4K, the best experience is found at High settings, as it provides a marginal FPS increase over Ultra with presumably similar visual quality. The 4K Medium preset offers 83 FPS, which would be a better choice for those seeking higher refresh rates on a 4K panel, but the step down from High to Medium is more significant. The Low preset at any resolution is not recommended, as it leaves significant performance on the table without a clear benefit; for example, 4K Low (110 FPS) is far below the 1080p High (157 FPS) in visual quality but does not provide a proportional FPS advantage for most use cases.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS for this combo at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings is 103 FPS.

Q: Does the system maintain a playable frame rate at 4K?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 60 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, and 63 FPS at 4K High, indicating a playable experience.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Medium preset compared to 1440p Medium?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 206, while at 1440p Medium, it is 141 FPS. This represents a difference of 65 FPS in favor of the lower resolution.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the 4K Medium preset?

A: The minimum FPS recorded for the 3840x2160 Medium preset is 71 FPS, with a maximum of 96 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p, as frame rates are very high (e.g., 237 FPS at Low). The GPU is still the primary renderer, but the high FPS indicates the system has ample headroom.

Q: What are the measured average FPS numbers for the High preset across all three resolutions?

A: For the High preset, the average FPS is 157 at 1080p, 108 at 1440p, and 63 at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination is ranked 259 out of 2851 tested combos in Thief. This places the pairing in the top 9% of all configurations tested for this game. This high rank is a direct result of the synergy between the CPU and GPU. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, provides a solid foundation, while the GPU delivers the graphical horsepower.

The CPU itself has an average benchmark score of 84003, and its nearest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which has a deltaPct of 0.2, indicating they perform nearly identically in synthetic tests. This negligible difference in CPU performance means that the ranking is largely determined by the GPU's capabilities. Given that the RTX 5070 is ranked in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, the combo's overall rank of 259 is a strong showing.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1) and the AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2), show that the 290K Plus is slightly behind these server-class parts in raw compute, but this has little bearing on gaming performance. The data confirms that this combo is a high-tier choice, placing it well ahead of the vast majority of the 2851 tested configurations, and the rank reflects a system that is well-suited for high-resolution gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a formidable processor that provides a strong foundation for the RTX 5070. With 24 cores and 24 threads, it offers substantial multi-threading capability, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731. The CPU's boost clock of 5.80 GHz and base clock of 3.70 GHz ensure high single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303.

In Thief, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data and handle game logic. The measured FPS data shows that at lower resolutions, the CPU is more than capable of keeping up. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 237 FPS, which is a clear indication that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution. The CPU's high single-thread performance is particularly important for this game, as older titles often rely heavily on a few cores.

The CPU's Passmark multithread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 further illustrate its strength. The data shows that the CPU's performance is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, placing it among the top processors available. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and AMD EPYC 7F72, with the latter having a deltaPct of -1.3, meaning the 290K Plus is actually ahead of it by 1.3%. This robust CPU performance ensures that the system is future-proof and can handle demanding tasks beyond gaming, but in this specific game, its role is to ensure the GPU is never starved for data, which the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p confirm.