Hitman 2

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combination shows a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable frame rates at Low and Medium presets, with the Medium preset averaging 60 FPS (minimum 51, maximum 69). The Low preset reaches an average of 80 FPS. At High settings, the average drops to 46 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS. The step from Medium to High represents a 14 FPS loss, while the step from High to Ultra costs another 12 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, no preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold. Low settings average 51 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS (minimum 33, maximum 44), High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra drops to 21 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Low to 1440p Low shows a 29 FPS reduction, indicating that the resolution increase places significant pressure on the graphics subsystem.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low settings average 27 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS (minimum 17, maximum 24), High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Low settings is 24 FPS, and at High settings it is 13 FPS. The minimum frame rate at 4K Medium, 17 FPS, is below what most users would consider acceptable for a stealth title that rewards smooth camera movement.

The data set lacks min and max values for most resolution and preset combinations, but where recorded, the Medium preset at 1080p shows a spread of 18 FPS between minimum and maximum. At 1440p Medium, that spread is 11 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 7 FPS. This tightening spread at higher resolutions suggests the frame pacing becomes more consistent but at a much lower average.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU side, the Intel Core i3-12100F sits near several processors in aggregate benchmark score. The Intel Core 3 N355 matches it almost exactly with a delta of 0 percent. The Intel Core i5-9500 trails by 0.3 percent, the Intel Core 5 120UL is 0.7 percent ahead, and the Intel Core i7-1250U leads by 1.1 percent. In practical terms, swapping the i3-12100F for any of these would produce nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Hitman 2, since the differences are within roughly one point of aggregate score. None of these alternatives would meaningfully change the FPS results recorded for this game.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B390's recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it near some very old discrete parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5 percent lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7 percent lower. The Arc B390 is the fastest of this group, but only by a small margin. A user moving from any of these GPUs to the Arc B390 would see a modest uplift in Hitman 2, not a transformative one.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 9 among all GPUs underscores how far down the performance stack this part sits. The CPU, by contrast, ranks at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. This pairing is heavily unbalanced in favor of the processor, which matters for the resolution scaling analysis below.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data shows that the Intel Arc B390 is the dominant constraint in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system averages 80 FPS, which is the highest recorded result across all settings. As settings increase at the same resolution, the average drops steadily: 60 FPS at Medium, 46 FPS at High, 34 FPS at Ultra. This is a classic GPU-bound pattern, where higher graphical workloads reduce throughput proportionally.

Resolution scaling reinforces this conclusion. From 1080p to 1440p at Low settings, the average drops from 80 to 51 FPS, a 36 percent reduction. From 1440p to 4K at Low, it drops from 51 to 27 FPS, a 47 percent reduction. If the CPU were the bottleneck, such dramatic resolution scaling would not appear; the CPU's workload would remain roughly constant. The data indicates the GPU is saturated at every resolution above 1080p Low.

The CPU's role becomes visible only in the ceiling at 1080p Low. The 80 FPS average likely represents a point where the GPU still has headroom, but the overall system is approaching the limits of what this combination can deliver. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, scores 11860 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1674 in single-core. Those scores are respectable for a modern entry-level desktop part, but they do not suggest the processor is holding back the GPU at lower settings. Instead, the GPU's low percentile ranking (9th) and its proximity to decade-old parts like the GT 710 and GT 520MX in the database place the performance ceiling squarely on the graphics side.

At 4K, the CPU matters even less. The average FPS at 4K Low (27) is barely half of the 1080p Low result (80). The GPU is so far beyond its comfort zone that the CPU is effectively idle relative to the graphics workload. For users considering this pairing, the data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield far larger gains than upgrading the CPU, regardless of resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Hitman 2 at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows 80 FPS average at Low settings and 60 FPS average at Medium settings (minimum 51, maximum 69). Both meet the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1080p for this system?

A: Medium is the best playable preset. It averages exactly 60 FPS, which meets the playable threshold, while High drops to 46 FPS and Ultra to 34 FPS.

Q: Is 1440p playable with this hardware?

A: No. The highest average at 2560x1440 is 51 FPS on Low settings, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 39 FPS, High 29 FPS, and Ultra 21 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to nearby GPUs in the database?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The closest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3 percent lower), the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5 percent lower), the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5 percent lower), and the GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7 percent lower).

Q: Does the Intel Core i3-12100F bottleneck the system in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The FPS scales strongly with resolution and settings, which points to the GPU as the limiting factor. The CPU's percentile rank of 68 among all CPUs is far higher than the GPU's rank of 9.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 4K?

A: None of the 3840x2160 presets are playable. Low averages 27 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS (minimum 17, maximum 24), High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of exactly 60 FPS. The minimum recorded at that preset is 51 FPS, so occasional dips below 60 will occur, but the average meets the threshold. Low settings average 80 FPS and are also playable, but Medium is the higher visual quality option that still qualifies.

At 2560x1440, there is no playable preset. The closest is Low at 51 FPS average, which falls 9 FPS short of the 60 FPS threshold. Users who insist on 1440p would need to accept frame rates below the playable mark or reduce the resolution.

At 3840x2160, there is also no playable preset. Low averages 27 FPS, which is less than half of the playable threshold. The gap between the best 4K result and the 60 FPS target is 33 FPS, making 4K impractical for this combination.

For users targeting a smooth experience, the data points to 1080p Medium as the maximum viable configuration. Dropping to 1080p Low provides a 20 FPS buffer above the Medium average, which may be preferable for scenes with many NPCs or complex lighting.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3711 tested combinations in the database, this pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3300th for Hitman 2. That places it in the bottom 11 percent of all tested systems, a reflection of the GPU's severe performance limitation rather than the CPU's capability. The i3-12100F alone ranks at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of processors in the database. The Arc B390, by contrast, ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms only about one in eleven.

The rank of 3300 out of 3711 means 410 combinations scored worse in this game. That group likely includes systems with similarly weak GPUs paired with stronger or weaker CPUs. The data suggests that the GPU is the primary reason for this low rank. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a PassMark multi-thread score of 14015 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 7252, are competitive for entry-level desktop use. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is not.

For context on the GPU's position, the nearest rivals in the database are all legacy NVIDIA parts from the early 2010s. The GT 710, GT 625 OEM, GeForce 800M, and GT 520MX are all within 2.7 percent of the Arc B390's score. This places the B390 in a performance tier that is not suited to modern gaming at high resolutions or high settings, and Hitman 2's results confirm that. The combination is viable only at 1080p with Low or Medium presets, and even then, the 60 FPS average at Medium offers little headroom for demanding scenes.

Users considering this pairing for Hitman 2 should set expectations accordingly. The game is playable, but only at 1080p and only with reduced settings. The system ranks near the bottom of the database for this title, and the data shows no path to higher resolutions without a significant GPU upgrade.