Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Hitman 2 with the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B580 reveal a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs, and the pattern points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 140 FPS average, but at 2160p Low, that figure collapses to 48 FPS — a drop of roughly 66% from the baseline. The scaling curve across settings confirms that pixel throughput, not CPU headroom, is what governs performance in this title.

Looking at the Medium preset, the data shows 105 FPS at 1920x1080, 67 FPS at 2560x1440, and 36 FPS at 3840x2160. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs 38 FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K costs another 31 FPS. This is not a linear degradation; it is an accelerating decline that becomes more severe as resolution increases. The High preset follows a similar trajectory: 79 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with 58 FPS at 1080p falling to 37 FPS at 1440p and finally 20 FPS at 4K.

What this scaling pattern says about the limiting component is unambiguous. The Ryzen 5 3600, a 6-core/12-thread Zen 2 processor with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, has ample headroom at lower resolutions — witness the 140 FPS result at 1080p Low. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to plateau or degrade only modestly as resolution rises, since the CPU workload per frame stays roughly constant. Instead, the consistent halving of performance at 4K relative to 1440p across all settings indicates that the Intel Arc B580's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 456.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are being saturated. The GPU's 192-bit memory bus and 12 GB of GDDR6 are simply not enough to sustain playable frame rates at 3840x2160, even on the Low preset where the 48 FPS result is technically above the 30 FPS minimum observed elsewhere but still far from smooth.

The Ultra preset at 4K delivers a 20 FPS average, which is below the 30 FPS minimum recorded at 1440p Medium. This is a critical data point: the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 28 FPS (48 vs 20), whereas at 1080p the same settings gap is 82 FPS (140 vs 58). The compression of the settings range at higher resolutions is a classic sign of GPU-bound operation — when the render target grows, the cost of each pixel becomes so high that even reducing quality settings cannot offset the resolution penalty. The data suggests that for this pairing, 4K is only viable on the Low preset, and even then, the 48 FPS average leaves little margin for demanding scenes.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580's role in these results is defined by its memory subsystem and clock behavior. The GPU operates at a fixed 2670 MHz for both base and boost clocks, which means there is no dynamic clock variation to complicate the analysis — the silicon runs at a constant rate. The memory clock is listed at 2375 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed, feeding a 192-bit bus that yields 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 12 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is generous for a card in this performance class, but in Hitman 2, the capacity is not the issue; the bandwidth and compute throughput are.

Consider the 4K results more carefully. At 2160p Medium, the measured minimum FPS is 30 and the maximum is 41, producing a 36 FPS average. The spread of 11 FPS between minimum and maximum indicates that the GPU is working near its limits, with frame times fluctuating as scenes vary in complexity. At 1080p Medium, the same settings yield a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS — a 32 FPS spread on a much higher average of 105 FPS. The relative consistency at 1080p suggests that the GPU has enough headroom to absorb scene complexity spikes, while at 4K, every additional pixel shader operation pushes the card closer to its ceiling.

The B580's 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs are the architectural components that determine pixel throughput. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are the theoretical maxima, but the measured data shows that real-world performance falls well short of these figures at high resolutions. The GPU's benchmark scores support this interpretation: a PassMark G3D score of 15748 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3068 place it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% higher average score) and the RTX 3080 (0.7% lower average score), which contextualizes the B580 as a mid-range performer that competes with previous-generation high-end cards.

In Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU's role as the bottleneck is confirmed by the scaling behavior. The Ryzen 5 3600's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045 and single-core score of 2124 indicate a capable processor that should not constrain a mid-range GPU at 1080p. The fact that 1080p Low achieves 140 FPS while 1080p Ultra drops to 58 FPS shows that the GPU is the variable that matters — the CPU can feed frames quickly, but the B580's compute resources are exhausted by the Ultra preset's additional effects and geometry.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports a clear hierarchy of settings for this combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 105 FPS average with a minimum of 89 FPS and maximum of 121 FPS. This is the sweet spot: it provides nearly double the frame rate of Ultra (58 FPS) while sacrificing only the highest-quality effects. The High preset at 79 FPS is also playable, but the 26 FPS gap between High and Medium suggests that the Medium preset eliminates unnecessary GPU strain without a proportional visual penalty.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. Medium produces 67 FPS average with a 57 FPS minimum, which is adequate for most displays. High at 51 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the target for smooth gameplay. Low at 89 FPS is the only preset that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, but it likely sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game like Hitman 2 where stealth and environmental detail matter. The data indicates that Medium is the optimal choice at 1440p, balancing the 67 FPS average against the 30 FPS minimum observed at 4K Medium — the 1440p result has a much healthier minimum of 57 FPS.

For 3840x2160, the options are severely constrained. Low at 48 FPS is the only preset that approaches playability, and even that figure is below the 60 FPS target. Medium at 36 FPS and High at 27 FPS are marginal at best, while Ultra at 20 FPS is not a viable gameplay experience. The data strongly suggests that 4K is not a realistic target for this combo in Hitman 2, and players with 4K displays should either reduce resolution to 1440p or accept the Low preset with its 48 FPS average. The 30 FPS minimum at 4K Medium is the only data point that shows the card's floor, and it is barely above the threshold for cinematic frame rates.

The Ultra preset is consistently the worst performer across all resolutions, with 58 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. The performance cost of Ultra over Medium is substantial: 47 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K. Given that the visual difference between Medium and Ultra is typically incremental in Hitman 2, the data does not support using Ultra with this hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: The Low preset produces the highest average at 140 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium delivers 105 FPS average, with a minimum of 89 FPS and maximum of 121 FPS. High achieves 79 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 58 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 82 FPS, indicating that settings have a massive impact at this resolution.

2560x1440: Low remains the top performer at 89 FPS average. Medium follows at 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 77 FPS. High produces 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 52 FPS, showing that resolution begins to compress the settings range.

3840x2160: Low is the only preset above 40 FPS, delivering 48 FPS average. Medium is next at 36 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 41 FPS. High manages 27 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 20 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is just 28 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the dominant constraint at 4K.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: Medium is the only preset with complete minimum and maximum measurements, which suggests it was the reference configuration for stability testing. The minimum FPS values for Medium are 89 at 1080p, 57 at 1440p, and 30 at 4K, while the maximums are 121, 77, and 41 respectively. These figures indicate that the Medium preset provides the most predictable frame pacing, with the 4K result being the only one that approaches the 30 FPS floor.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2810 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 24th percentile of all configurations. This is a below-average result for the game, which may surprise given the individual component benchmarks — the CPU sits in the 71st percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17035, and the GPU sits in the 68th percentile with an average score of 23021. The disparity between component-level percentiles and the in-game rank suggests that Hitman 2's engine does not favor this pairing.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the Intel Core i7-1260P (0.2% higher score), Intel Core i5-11400 (0.2% lower score), AMD EPYC 7573X (0.2% lower score), and AMD EPYC 7742 (0.2% higher score). These deltas are negligible, indicating that the Ryzen 5 3600 performs as expected for its class. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (0.2% higher score), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% higher score), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (0.7% lower score), and NVIDIA P106-100 (1.0% lower score). Again, the differences are small, placing the B580 in a competitive mid-range position.

However, the in-game rank of 2810 out of 3711 means that 901 other combos perform worse, and 2810 perform better. This places the pairing in the lower third of tested configurations. The likely explanation is that Hitman 2's engine, released in 2018, does not fully utilize the B580's modern architecture features, such as its DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility. The game's release date of 2018-11-12 predates the GPU's 2024-12-12 release by six years, so the B580's Xe2-HPG architecture may not be optimally scheduled by the game's draw calls. The CPU, released in 2019, is also older than the GPU, and its Zen 2 architecture may not provide the per-thread performance that modern game engines expect.

The rank data, when combined with the FPS measurements, tells a consistent story: this combo is capable at 1080p and 1440p with moderate settings, but it does not excel in Hitman 2 relative to other tested configurations. The 24th percentile ranking is a sobering metric that tempers the component-level strengths.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings delivers 105 FPS average with a minimum of 89 FPS, which is the only configuration that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average drops to 67 FPS with a 57 FPS minimum, which is still playable. The 3840x2160 results are all below 50 FPS, with the best being 48 FPS on Low.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K?

A: On the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 140 at 1080p to 48 at 4K, a loss of 92 FPS. On Medium, the drop is from 105 to 36 FPS (69 FPS lost). On High, it is from 79 to 27 FPS (52 FPS lost), and on Ultra, from 58 to 20 FPS (38 FPS lost). The absolute loss decreases as settings increase, but the percentage loss grows.

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

A: The resolution scaling pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 140 FPS, showing the CPU can feed frames quickly. As resolution increases, performance drops dramatically across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound operation. The Ryzen 5 3600's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Hitman 2, but the Arc B580's 13.67 TFLOPS of compute cannot sustain high frame rates at large render targets.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p display?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 77 FPS. This is the only preset at 1440p that maintains an average above 60 FPS while providing a reasonable minimum. The High preset at 51 FPS and Ultra at 37 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold, while Low at 89 FPS sacrifices visual quality for headroom that may not be necessary.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Hitman 2?

A: The combination ranks 2810 out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the 24th percentile. This is notably lower than the component-level percentiles of 71 for the CPU and 68 for the GPU, indicating that the pairing underperforms in this specific game relative to its aggregate benchmark standing.

Q: What frame rates can be expected on the Ultra preset?

A: The Ultra preset delivers 58 FPS average at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. Only the 1080p result approaches playability, and even that falls short of the 60 FPS target. The data does not support using Ultra settings with this combo at any resolution above 1080p.