Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and Intel Arc B580 pairing in Hitman 2 produces a performance curve that clearly favors lower resolutions, with the data showing a steep drop-off as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the combo delivers smooth, high-refresh gameplay across most presets, but 4K proves to be a significant challenge, revealing a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher loads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern: as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, average frame rates fall dramatically. At the Low preset, the system delivers 141.9 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 88.5 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 44.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 68.5% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. The trend is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset, where the 59.3 FPS seen at 1080p falls to 36.2 FPS at 1440p and finally to a barely playable 18.9 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior strongly indicates that the Intel Arc B580 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and even 1440p gaming, but the sheer pixel count at 4K overwhelms its 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power. The fact that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens significantly at 4K (44.7 FPS vs 18.9 FPS) versus 1080p (141.9 FPS vs 59.3 FPS) suggests that the GPU is struggling to maintain its rendering throughput when both resolution and graphical complexity increase simultaneously.

The CPU’s role in this scaling is relatively static. The Ryzen 5 5500’s 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz, appear to keep pace with the GPU at lower resolutions. However, at 4K, the frame rates become so low that CPU utilization likely drops, as the GPU cannot generate enough frames to keep the processor busy. This is classic GPU-bound behavior, confirming that the Arc B580 is the bottleneck in this configuration for any resolution above 1440p.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5500, built on the Zen 3 architecture with a 7 nm process, provides a solid foundation for Hitman 2. Its 6 cores and 12 threads are well-suited for a game that, while not heavily multithreaded, benefits from having extra threads available for background tasks and AI processing. The CPU’s benchmark results show a strong single-thread score of 836 in 3DMark, which is crucial for a stealth game where each NPC’s decision-making and line-of-sight calculations can tax a single core.

The CPU’s multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429, ensures that the system does not become CPU-bound at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 141.9 FPS result suggests the processor is keeping up with the GPU’s output. However, the data also reveals that the CPU’s performance is not the limiting factor in this pairing. When compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5500 performs almost identically to the Intel Core i5-12500, with a delta of -0.1% in average benchmark score, indicating that either processor would yield similar results in this game.

The CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide adequate bandwidth for the game’s data streams. With a 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth, the CPU can feed data to the GPU without causing stutters, as evidenced by the smooth frame rates at 1080p. The processor’s percentile ranking of 79 against all CPUs further reinforces that it is a capable mid-range part that does not hold back the Arc B580 in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1404th out of 1795 combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all systems tested, which is consistent with the GPU’s 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The combo’s ranking suggests that while it can play the game, it is far from being an optimal configuration for high-end performance.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions. The Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 places it just 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, yet the measured FPS in Hitman 2 at 4K Ultra (18.9 FPS) is well below what a gamer would consider playable. This indicates that the combo’s 1404th rank is dragged down by the 4K results, while its 1080p performance would likely rank much higher.

It is also notably the CPU’s performance relative to its rivals does not significantly alter the combo’s ranking. With an average benchmark score of 20875, the Ryzen 5 5500 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (20900) and Intel Core i5-12600T (20917). This means that swapping the CPU for a close rival would not meaningfully change the combo’s standing in the rankings, further cementing the GPU as the primary determinant of this pairing’s overall position.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 141.9 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings follow at 105.4 FPS, High at 79 FPS, and Ultra at 59.3 FPS. These numbers show a linear progression of performance cost as settings increase, with the Ultra preset costing roughly 58% of the performance of Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the impact of the higher resolution becomes clear. Low settings produce 88.5 FPS, which is still very playable, but represents a 37.6% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings hit 69.2 FPS, High at 49.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36.2 FPS. At this resolution, the Ultra preset is approaching the edge of playability, though it remains consistent.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles significantly. Low settings produce 44.7 FPS, which is technically playable but not smooth. Medium settings drop to 37.3 FPS, High to 24.8 FPS, and Ultra to 18.9 FPS. These figures make 4K gaming impractical for this combo, especially at higher quality presets. The data shows that the Arc B580 simply does not have enough raw compute power to handle the pixel count at 4K, regardless of the CPU’s capabilities.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this combo?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets achieve at least 59 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium settings remain above 60 FPS, while 4K never exceeds 45 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 20875, which is just 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-12500 and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-12600T. This indicates virtually identical performance for this game.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra setting playable?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 18.9 FPS, which is far below the 30 FPS threshold generally considered the minimum for playable frame rates.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 141.9 FPS while Ultra achieves 59.3 FPS. This represents a 58.2% reduction in frame rate when switching from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the GPU or CPU limit performance at 1440p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop by roughly 38% across all presets compared to 1080p, indicating that the Arc B580’s compute power is the bottleneck, not the Ryzen 5 5500.

Q: How does this combo’s ranking compare to its overall hardware percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 1404th out of 1795 for Hitman 2, while the GPU sits at the 66th percentile and the CPU at the 79th percentile among all components. The lower combo ranking reflects the GPU’s weakness at 4K in this specific game.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the strongest balance of visual quality and performance. At 105.4 FPS, it provides a smooth, responsive experience that takes advantage of high-refresh-rate displays while maintaining a significant visual upgrade over Low settings. The High preset at 79 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing image quality, but the jump from Medium to High costs 26.4 FPS, which may be too steep for some.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only setting that guarantees frame rates above 85 FPS, achieving 88.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 69.2 FPS is still smooth and is the recommended choice for 1440p gaming, as it provides a noticeable visual improvement while remaining comfortably above 60 FPS. High and Ultra settings at this resolution fall below 50 FPS, which introduces noticeable stutter in fast-moving scenes.

For 4K, none of the presets deliver playable performance. The Low preset at 44.7 FPS is the least objectionable, but even this is below the 60 FPS target most gamers expect. Users with 4K displays should consider running the game at 1440p with Medium settings instead, as the scaling data shows this delivers a superior experience without requiring a resolution change on the display itself.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the dominant factor in this combo’s Hitman 2 performance. With its Xe2-HPG architecture and 5 nm process, the GPU provides 2560 shading units and 160 texture mapping units, which handle the game’s rendering workload. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for 1080p and 1440p textures but becomes a limiting factor at 4K when the larger frame buffer demands more bandwidth.

The GPU’s clock speeds are fixed at 2670 MHz for both base and boost, which means there is no thermal or power-related boost variance to consider. The 190 W TDP ensures consistent performance, and the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface provides sufficient bandwidth for the GPU to communicate with the CPU, especially given the CPU’s PCIe Gen 3 support. The FP32 performance of 13.67 TFLOPS is the key metric for Hitman 2, as the game relies heavily on traditional rasterization rather than ray tracing.

The GPU’s benchmark results show it performs within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 in average score, yet the measured FPS in Hitman 2 at 4K Ultra is only 18.9 FPS. This discrepancy suggests that the game’s specific rendering demands, such as complex shadow calculations and NPC AI processing, are particularly taxing on the Arc B580’s architecture. The GPU’s 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms it is a mid-range part that excels at 1080p but struggles with the demands of 4K gaming in this title.