Hitman 2

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 3428 out of 3711 tested combos in the database for Hitman 2. This places the combination in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the GPU's extremely low standing among graphics cards. The Arc B370 itself sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184. For context, the nearest GPU rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% faster). The only GPU that the Arc B370 beats in its immediate comparison group is the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4% slower).

The CPU side does not rescue the pairing. The Core i5-9400 ranks at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254 across Cinebench and Geekbench tests. Its nearest CPU rivals are tightly clustered: the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, 0.2% faster), the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, 0.4% faster), the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248, 0.3% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, 0.4% slower). The CPU is a middling part, but the GPU is the binding constraint. A 5th percentile GPU paired with a 47th percentile CPU yields a combo that cannot clear 60 FPS at any resolution above 1080p, and only barely does so at 1080p on Low settings.

The measured data confirms this ranking. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 10 FPS average, which is unplayable by any standard. At 1440p Ultra, it reaches 19 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, 30 FPS. The only configuration that crosses the 60 FPS threshold is 1080p Low at 73 FPS. Across all 12 measured configurations, the average FPS ranges from 10 to 73, a spread that illustrates how heavily this system depends on resolution and preset reductions to approach playability.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU dominates performance scaling in Hitman 2 for this combination. Resolution scaling tells the story. At 1080p High, the combo produces 41 FPS. Dropping to 1440p High reduces the average to 26 FPS, a 37% loss. Dropping further to 4K High yields 14 FPS, a 46% loss from 1440p and a 66% loss from 1080p. These are large, consistent drops that point to a GPU-limited system, since resolution scaling primarily affects pixel throughput, which is the GPU's domain.

Preset scaling reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces FPS from 73 to 54, a 26% drop. Moving from Medium to High reduces it from 54 to 41, a 24% drop. High to Ultra drops from 41 to 30, a 27% drop. The reductions are almost perfectly proportional, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where each preset tier adds roughly the same shading and texture load. At 1440p, the same pattern holds: Low at 46 FPS, Medium at 35 (24% drop), High at 26 (26% drop), Ultra at 19 (27% drop). At 4K, Low is 25, Medium is 19 (24% drop), High is 14 (26% drop), Ultra is 10 (29% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops across three different resolutions strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rate in every configuration tested.

The CPU's role is secondary but not irrelevant. The i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 6629, and its single-core score is 935. These are adequate figures for a 2018 game like Hitman 2, which launched in November 2018. The game's stealth and AI simulation workloads can be single-thread sensitive, and the i5-9400's single-core performance is its stronger attribute relative to its multicore showing. However, the measured FPS patterns do not show any CPU-related stalling. Minimum FPS values recorded for Medium settings are 16 at 4K, 30 at 1440p, and 46 at 1080p, and these minimums scale with the averages rather than collapsing, which indicates the CPU is not introducing frame-time spikes.

In short, the Arc B370 is the limiting factor at every resolution and preset. The i5-9400 is capable enough to feed the GPU at all tested settings, but the GPU's 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs cannot push enough pixels to sustain high frame rates. The GPU's theoretical pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are modest figures, and the measured data aligns with those specifications.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are all older or lower-tier parts. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 is 0.2% faster in average benchmark score, making it effectively identical in raw compute. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 is 0.5% faster, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M is 0.7% faster. The AMD FirePro M2000 is 1.4% slower, meaning it sits just below the Arc B370 in the database's ranking. In practical terms, anyone considering this system should expect frame rates within a couple of percent of what these older GPUs would deliver. The Arc B370 is not in a performance class of its own; it is clustered with hardware that is a decade or more older, which explains its 5th percentile standing.

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are similarly close. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and the Intel Core i3-10305 are both slightly faster (0.2% and 0.4% respectively), while the Intel Core i7-10710U and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 are slightly slower (0.3% and 0.4%). The i5-9400's 47th percentile ranking puts it in the middle of the pack, and the delta percentages are all under half a percent. Any of these CPUs would behave nearly identically in Hitman 2 when paired with the Arc B370, because the GPU would remain the bottleneck. The CPU could be swapped for the i7-1068NG7 or the i3-10305 with no meaningful change in the measured FPS, and the same holds true for the i7-10710U or the Ryzen 5 PRO 1500.

The database's combo ranking of 3428 out of 3711 reflects this pairing's overall position. The GPU's low percentile is the dominant factor. The CPU's mid-pack standing does not compensate. Users who already own this CPU could consider pairing it with a stronger GPU, but that analysis lies outside this data set. Within the measured configurations, the Arc B370 behaves like the ATI Radeon HD 5770 or the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, and the i5-9400 behaves like the i3-10305 or the i7-1068NG7. The combination is what the data shows: a low-end GPU with a mid-range CPU, producing low-end results.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Hitman 2 at 60 FPS?

A: Only at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average FPS is 73. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1440p and 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The only resolution with a playable configuration is 1920x1080. At 1440p, the highest average FPS is 46 on Low settings, and at 4K, the highest is 25 on Low settings. Neither reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% faster). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% slower).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. Resolution scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K produces consistent 24% to 46% FPS drops at every preset, which indicates GPU-bound rendering. The CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid frame-time issues, as minimum FPS values scale proportionally with averages.

Q: What settings should be used at 1080p for the best experience?

A: Low settings produce 73 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings produce 54 FPS average with a minimum of 46 and a maximum of 63, but the average is below the threshold. High produces 41 FPS and Ultra produces 30 FPS.

Q: What are the 4K performance numbers?

A: At 4K, the averages are 25 FPS on Low, 19 FPS on Medium (minimum 16, maximum 21), 14 FPS on High, and 10 FPS on Ultra. All of these are far below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured averages are as follows: Low 25 FPS, Medium 19 FPS (minimum 16, maximum 21), High 14 FPS, and Ultra 10 FPS. No minimum or maximum values were recorded for Low, High, or Ultra in the database. The Medium setting is the only 4K configuration with a recorded minimum and maximum, and even its maximum of 21 FPS is far below playable.

At 2560x1440, the averages improve substantially: Low 46 FPS, Medium 35 FPS (minimum 30, maximum 40), High 26 FPS, and Ultra 19 FPS. The Medium setting again has the only recorded range. The jump from 4K Medium (19 FPS) to 1440p Medium (35 FPS) is an 84% improvement, which demonstrates the heavy pixel-throughput cost of 4K on this GPU.

At 1920x1080, the averages are: Low 73 FPS, Medium 54 FPS (minimum 46, maximum 63), High 41 FPS, and Ultra 30 FPS. The Medium setting has a recorded range of 46 to 63 FPS, meaning some frames clear the 60 FPS threshold but the average does not. Low is the only fully playable configuration across all resolutions and presets.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent. At Low settings, 1080p yields 73 FPS, 1440p yields 46 FPS (a 37% drop), and 4K yields 25 FPS (a 46% drop from 1440p). At Medium, 1080p yields 54 FPS, 1440p yields 35 FPS (a 35% drop), and 4K yields 19 FPS (a 46% drop). At High, 1080p yields 41 FPS, 1440p yields 26 FPS (a 37% drop), and 4K yields 14 FPS (a 46% drop). At Ultra, 1080p yields 30 FPS, 1440p yields 19 FPS (a 37% drop), and 4K yields 10 FPS (a 47% drop). The consistent 35% to 47% drops per resolution step confirm a GPU-bound system with no unexpected CPU interference.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The best average is 25 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 19 FPS, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 10 FPS. The verdict data confirms that no settings are playable at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold either. Low averages 46 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. The best result is 46 FPS on Low, which is 14 FPS short of the playable threshold.

At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 73 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a 13 FPS margin. This is the only playable configuration in the entire measured set. Medium averages 54 FPS, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The best settings per resolution are therefore: 1080p Low at 73 FPS, 1440p none, and 4K none.

The Verdict

This PC can run Hitman 2, but only at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The measured data shows 73 FPS average at that configuration, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Every other resolution and preset combination falls short. At 1080p Medium, the average is 54 FPS. At 1080p High, 41 FPS. At 1080p Ultra, 30 FPS. The verdict data confirms that the only playable settings are at 1080p Low.

At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, no settings are playable. The best 1440p result is 46 FPS on Low, and the best 4K result is 25 FPS on Low. Both are well below the 60 FPS threshold. The combo rank of 3428 out of 3711 reflects this reality: the system is positioned near the bottom of the database, and its performance in Hitman 2 matches that ranking.

The GPU is the limiting component. The Arc B370's 5th percentile standing among all GPUs, its 1184 average 3DMark score, and its measured FPS results all point to a part that cannot sustain high frame rates in this game. The i5-9400, at the 47th percentile among CPUs, is adequate for the task but does not compensate. Users who want to play Hitman 2 at higher settings or resolutions would need a different GPU, as the data shows no path to 60 FPS above 1080p Low with this hardware combination.