Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination delivers exceptional performance in Thief, securing a rank of 14 out of 2851 tested combos. This places the system in the top 0.5% of all configurations, a position that reflects the sheer horsepower of both the 24-core processor and the Blackwell-architecture flagship GPU. However, the measured data reveals that this pairing is not merely about brute force; the game’s 2014 engine shows interesting scaling behavior that makes the choice of settings and resolution critical for the optimal experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 14 out of 2851 tested combos is a dominant result, placing it well within the top 1% of all systems evaluated. This is a verdict-driven outcome; the data shows that this pairing is one of the most capable available for Thief, a game that is over a decade old. The ranking confirms the CPU’s strong synthetic scores, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus achieving an average benchmark score of 84003, which places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807, a delta of just 0.2%, indicating that the 290K Plus holds a marginal but real edge in processing power.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5090 is equally formidable. Its average benchmark score of 79842 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. It outpaces its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (score 79605), by 0.3%. This high baseline performance positions the combo for success, but the in-game FPS data shows that the game’s engine can be a limiting factor, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU’s raw speed becomes more critical. The rank of 14 is not just a number; it signifies a system that can max out the game’s settings with headroom to spare, making it a top-tier choice for enthusiasts seeking the definitive Thief experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth 4K experience?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 86 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 82 FPS. While Ultra is playable, High offers a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS, making it the superior choice for consistent 4K performance.

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p with a high refresh rate monitor?

A: Yes, the data confirms this. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 209 FPS, and even the demanding Ultra preset reaches 139 FPS. This means the system is well-suited for 144Hz and even 165Hz displays at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5090’s performance compare to its closest rival in synthetic tests?

A: The RTX 5090’s average benchmark score is 79842, which is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB’s score of 79605. This indicates a slight but measurable performance lead for the RTX 5090 in general compute tasks.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high, with the Low preset hitting 237 FPS and the High preset at 194 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is relatively small, suggesting that the CPU is keeping pace well, though the GPU’s frame rate advantage narrows, hinting at an engine-level limit.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between the Medium and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 189 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 139 FPS. This is a 50 FPS difference, which is significant for high-refresh-rate gaming, but the trade-off in visual fidelity may be worth it for some players.

Q: Does the RTX 5090’s 32 GB of memory provide an advantage in this game?

A: The game is from 2014 and is not memory-hungry by modern standards. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is far more than Thief requires, but it ensures no memory-related stutters and future-proofs the system for more demanding titles.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the standout recommendation. It delivers 146 FPS, which is well above the 144Hz refresh rate target for most high-end monitors, while still providing a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset. The jump from High to Ultra at this resolution costs only 7 FPS (146 to 139), but the jump from Medium to High is a 43 FPS difference (189 to 146), showing that High is the sweet spot where the visual gains are substantial without a major performance hit.

At 4K, the High preset (86 FPS) is the clear winner over Ultra (82 FPS). The 4 FPS difference is negligible, and the High preset offers a more stable frame rate, especially during complex scenes. For players targeting 60 FPS, the Medium preset at 4K (113 FPS) provides a massive headroom, allowing for potential V-Sync or frame-capping to ensure perfectly smooth playback. While the Low preset at 4K achieves 148 FPS, it is not recommended as it sacrifices too much visual detail for a frame rate that the 4K panel cannot display. The data suggests that High is the optimal preset for a high-fidelity experience, while Medium offers an exceptional safety margin for those who prioritize frame-time consistency.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the combo’s capabilities across resolutions and settings. At the highest resolution, 3840x2160, the performance is consistently high. The Low preset averages 148 FPS, which is impressive for 4K. The Medium preset averages 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 and a maximum of 130 FPS, indicating a stable frame rate. The High preset averages 86 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 82 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each step up in quality reduces the average frame rate, but even the most demanding Ultra preset remains playable.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales up significantly. The Low preset reaches an average of 209 FPS, making it ideal for 200Hz+ monitors. The Medium preset averages 189 FPS, with a minimum of 160 and a maximum of 217 FPS, showing excellent consistency. The High preset averages 146 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 139 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is the largest at this resolution, suggesting a significant visual quality jump that comes at a cost. At 1920x1080, the performance is capped by the game’s engine. The Low preset averages 237 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 214 FPS, with a minimum of 182 and a maximum of 246 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are nearly identical, with averages of 194 and 191 FPS, respectively. The small delta between High and Ultra at 1080p (3 FPS) suggests the game becomes CPU-limited at these high frame rates, as the GPU is not the bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling from 1080p to 4K, but with a notable curve. At the High preset, the frame rate drops from 194 FPS at 1080p to 146 FPS at 1440p (a ~25% decrease), and then to 86 FPS at 4K (a ~41% decrease from 1440p). This indicates a heavy reliance on the GPU at higher resolutions, as the RTX 5090’s rendering load increases substantially with pixel count. The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, dropping from 191 FPS at 1080p to 139 FPS at 1440p, and then to 82 FPS at 4K. This is a more linear scaling, suggesting that the Ultra settings are consistently pushing the GPU to its limits.

However, the Low preset tells a different story. The frame rate drops from 237 FPS at 1080p to 209 FPS at 1440p (a ~12% decrease), but then only to 148 FPS at 4K (a ~29% decrease from 1440p). This smaller drop at lower settings indicates that the CPU is playing a more significant role. At 1080p with Low settings, the CPU’s 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock are able to feed the GPU efficiently, but the frame rate is likely limited by the game engine’s single-threaded performance. The 237 FPS at 1080p is a ceiling for this engine, and the GPU is not fully utilized until the resolution increases. The limiting component at 1080p is the CPU, as the RTX 5090 is capable of far higher frame rates, but the game cannot request more work from it. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, and the scaling is more pronounced, showing the RTX 5090’s raw power.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This is a high-core-count CPU designed for multi-threaded workloads, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731. In Thief, a game from 2014, this multi-core power is not fully utilized, as the game’s engine is likely optimized for fewer threads. The single-core performance, however, is critical. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 is very high, which helps drive the frame rates at lower resolutions where the CPU must process game logic and draw calls quickly.

The data shows that the CPU’s role is most prominent at 1080p. The difference between the High preset (194 FPS) and the Ultra preset (191 FPS) is only 3 FPS, which is within the margin of error. This suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU has headroom to render more frames if the CPU could provide them. The 24 threads and 36 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient for this game, but the engine’s single-threaded nature means that the boost clock of 5.80 GHz is the most important spec. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 4823 is strong, but the game’s engine is old, and its performance ceiling is reached. In contrast, at 4K, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck, and the CPU’s role diminishes. The 290K Plus is more than capable of keeping up with the RTX 5090, ensuring that it is not a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The combo’s performance is a balance of the CPU’s high single-core speed and the GPU’s massive rendering power, with the CPU providing the foundation for the high frame rates seen in the data.