Thief

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a robust performance profile in Thief, a stealth title from 2014. The data shows a configuration that scales predictably with resolution, with the GPU emerging as the clear limiting factor at 4K and the CPU providing ample headroom at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, ranking, and the distinct roles of the processor and graphics card in shaping the gaming experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K reveal a classic pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, with the GPU becoming the bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo pushes an average of 194 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High, the average drops to 156 FPS, a 19.6% reduction. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 92 FPS, a 41% decrease from the 1440p figure and a 52.6% drop from 1080p. This steep decline at 4K is a direct indicator of the GPU’s workload scaling with pixel count, while the CPU's role recedes.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. In Low settings, the framerates are 237 FPS at 1080p, 209 FPS at 1440p, and 158 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 33.3%, which is less severe than the 49% drop seen in High settings. This is because at Low settings, the game is less GPU-intensive, allowing the CPU to take on more of the workload and mitigating the frame rate loss at higher resolutions. Conversely, at Ultra settings, the 4K average is 87 FPS, only 5 FPS below the High preset's 92 FPS, showing that the GPU is already saturated at 4K, and the difference between High and Ultra is minimal.

The performance data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the configuration is likely CPU-bound at lower settings, but the framerates are so high that the limiting factor is rarely a concern. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, with the average FPS dropping to a range where a high refresh rate monitor would not be fully utilized. The scaling from High to Ultra at 4K is marginal (92 to 87 FPS), suggesting the GPU is the primary constraint, and the game's engine is also a factor, as newer titles would typically show a larger gap between these presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and GeForce RTX 5090 D combination holds the 6th position out of 3,720 tested combos in Thief. This top 1% ranking confirms the hardware’s capabilities. The CPU percentile of 96 versus all CPUs indicates that it is in the top 4% of processors, and the GPU percentile of 92 places it in the top 8% of graphics cards. This hardware pairing is near the pinnacle of current desktop performance, and the rank reflects that.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807), and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090). It is also 1.2% higher than the EPYC 9135 (82980) and 1.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85072). These numbers show that the 290K Plus is not a massive leap over its closest competition, but it is still a top-tier processor. The GPU, with an average benchmark score of 77712, is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904) and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940). The RTX 5090 D is also 2.1% and 2.4% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants, showing that while it is a high performer, it is not the absolute fastest in synthetic benchmarks.

The rank of 6 out of 3724 indicates a very strong overall result, but the exact delta between the combo and the top spot is not provided. The data does show that the CPU and GPU are both highly ranked, and the combination is positioned to deliver a premium experience in this title. The high rank is likely due to the combination of a top-4% CPU and a top-8% GPU, which together handle the game's requirements with ease.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 194.

Q: At which resolution does the frame rate drop below 100 FPS on High settings?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 92, which is below 100.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D have a higher average benchmark score than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT?

A: No, the RTX 5090 D's average score is 77712, which is 1.6% lower than the RX 6850M XT's score of 78940.

Q: How many cores does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus have?

A: It has 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5090 D has a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus.

Q: Is the combo more likely to be CPU-bound or GPU-bound at 4K?

A: At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as seen in the frame rate drops and the marginal difference between High and Ultra settings at 3840x2160.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the average framerate ranges from 237 FPS on Low to 191 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset achieves 214 FPS (with a minimum of 182 and a maximum of 246), while High sits at 194 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 46 FPS, with a 19.4% drop from Low to Ultra. This indicates that the CPU and GPU have enough headroom to handle the game at 1080p without any significant performance issues.

At 2560x1440, the average framerates are 209 FPS on Low, 189 FPS on Medium (with a min/max of 160/217), 156 FPS on High, and 148 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 60 FPS, a 28.7% reduction. The performance is still very high, and the combo can easily drive high refresh rate monitors at this resolution. The gap between High and Ultra is only 8 FPS, suggesting that the game is becoming more GPU-bound at this resolution, but the extra detail is still affordable.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes significantly. The average FPS is 158 on Low, 120 on Medium (min/max of 102/138), 92 on High, and 87 on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 71 FPS, a 52.6% reduction. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 5 FPS, indicating that the GPU is at its limit. The game is clearly GPU-bound at this resolution, and the CPU's performance is not a factor. The 4K results show that the combo is still very capable, but the frame rates are lower than the 1440p or 1080p, and a user would need to prioritize either resolution or settings for a consistent experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on the best preset to use for a given resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 191 FPS, which is only 3 FPS lower than High at 194 FPS. The Ultra preset is the best choice, as it offers a 1.6% FPS reduction for a significant increase in visual quality. The Low preset at 237 FPS is also viable for competitive play, but the High and Ultra are the best for a balanced experience.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset provides 148 FPS, which is 8 FPS lower than High at 156 FPS. The Ultra preset is still the best choice, as it maintains a frame rate above 144 FPS, which is suitable for high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset at 189 FPS is also a good option for a balance between visuals and performance. The Low preset at 209 FPS is the best for maximizing frame rates, but the visual quality may be a drawback.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 92 FPS is the best choice. The Ultra preset only offers 87 FPS, a 5 FPS or 5.4% reduction, which is not worth the potential visual trade-off. The Medium preset at 120 FPS is also viable, offering a 30% higher frame rate than High, but with lower visual quality. The Low preset at 158 FPS is the best for high-refresh-rate 4K displays, but it sacrifices most of the visual quality. The data suggests that the High preset is the sweet spot for 4K, as it provides a good balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Medium preset is a viable alternative if a higher frame rate is desired.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. In Thief, the CPU's role is the bottleneck is not at the tested resolutions, as the frame rates are consistently high even at 1080p. The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single core score of 7303, indicates it has substantial processing power, but the game's 2014 engine is not likely to be CPU-intensive enough to challenge it.

The Core Ultra 9's large number of cores and high boost clock allow it to easily handle the game's population and AI tasks, which are likely single-threaded. The CPU's percentile of 96 versus all CPUs is the top 4%, and its performance in Thief shows the game's frame rate is mostly a function of the GPU at higher settings. The data shows that at 4K with High settings, the combo averages 92 FPS, which is 52.6% lower than at 1080p. This is a typical GPU-bound scenario. The CPU is not a limiting factor in this configuration, as the frame rates are high at all resolutions, and the GPU is the first to be saturated.

GPU Role

The GeForce RTX 5090 D is a flagship GPU based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, with a die size of 750 mm² and 92,200 million transistors. It has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The GPU's performance in Thief is the primary driver of the frame rate, especially at 4K. At 1080p, the GPU is powerful enough to push the frame rate above 200 FPS on Low settings, but the CPU can still keep up. At 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck, with the frame rate dropping to 92 FPS on High.

The GPU's 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, along with its 91.4 TFLOPS FP32 performance, are more than sufficient for this 2014 title. The game's engine is not very demanding, but the RTX 5090 D still shows a clear performance scaling with resolution. The 4K results show a 52.6% drop in FPS from 1080p High, which is a typical GPU-bound scaling. The GPU's the high memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that textures and data are loaded quickly, which is a factor in the game's performance at 4K, where the asset sizes are larger.

The GPU's role is further confirmed by the fact that the High and Ultra presets at 4K are only 5 FPS apart, indicating that the GPU is at its limit and the extra visual load of Ultra has a minimal impact on the frame rate. The RTX 5090 D is a top-tier GPU, with a percentile of 92 versus all GPUs, and it provides a powerful experience in Thief, but the game's age means the CPU is rarely a challenge, and the GPU is the primary component for determining the frame rate at high resolutions.