Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and Intel Arc B570 pairing delivers a peculiar performance profile in Hitman 2, one that shifts dramatically depending on the resolution and settings chosen. The data reveals a system that can comfortably handle 1080p gaming with high refresh rates, but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K, suggesting a clear bottleneck that changes as the workload scales. This analysis breaks down the measured results to understand exactly where this combination excels and where it falls short.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and telling. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 123 FPS, which falls to 79 FPS at 1440p and then to 42 FPS at 4K. That is a 66% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. The pattern holds across other settings, with High dropping from 70 FPS at 1080p to 45 FPS at 1440p and 24 FPS at 4K. This scaling curve indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The data implies that the GPU’s 10 GB of VRAM and 160-bit memory bus become increasingly stressed at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to feed frames quickly, but the transition to 1440p and 4K exposes its bandwidth constraints. The 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is simply not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where the 24 FPS average at High settings is well below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Interestingly, the scaling between Medium and High is relatively linear, but the jump from Low to Medium at each resolution is substantial. At 1080p, Low produces 123 FPS while Medium drops to 93 FPS, a 24% hit. This suggests that Medium settings introduce significant additional GPU workload, likely through increased texture detail and shadow complexity, which the B570 handles but with noticeable performance cost. The 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS confirms that this combo is not designed for maximum fidelity at high resolutions.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5500X3D brings six cores and twelve threads, based on the Zen 3 architecture with a 96 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores show a strong single-threaded performance of 2941 in Passmark, which is critical for a game like Hitman 2 that relies on CPU logic for AI and simulation. The multithreaded score of 20363 further indicates that the CPU has ample headroom for modern game workloads.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is likely not the bottleneck. The 123 FPS at Low settings is a high figure, and the CPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs supports its capability. However, the question arises: is the CPU holding back the GPU at lower resolutions? The 70 FPS at 1080p High is respectable, but the GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 14195 and its 65th percentile ranking among GPUs suggest that the B570 is the weaker link. The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, scores nearly identically (0.2% delta), indicating that the 5500X3D is not an outlier in its class.

The 3.00 GHz base clock and 4.00 GHz boost clock are modest, but the large L3 cache likely compensates in gaming scenarios. The CPU’s Passmark physics score of 2282 is relatively low, which could indicate weaker game physics performance, but Hitman 2 may not heavily rely on that specific metric. Overall, the benchmark results point to a CPU that is more than adequate for this title, leaving the GPU as the primary performance limiter, especially at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where the measured average is 79 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. High and Ultra settings produce 45 FPS and 33 FPS respectively, indicating that consistent 60 FPS at 1440p requires reduced graphical fidelity.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: The data clearly favors 1080p. At this resolution, all settings except Ultra produce at least 70 FPS, with Low reaching 123 FPS. 1440p is usable with Low settings, but 4K is only playable at Low (42 FPS) or Medium (32 FPS), which may not be acceptable for all users.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500X3D's average benchmark score of 37018 is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945, +0.2%), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938, +0.2%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093, -0.2%). It also sits within 0.3% of the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112), showing that its performance is well within the expected range for its class.

Q: Is the GPU comparable to other cards in its segment?

A: The Intel Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly on par with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, +0.1%) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, -0.1%). It also edges out the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, +0.4%) and trails the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, -0.5%), indicating it sits in a competitive mid-range tier for synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 4K with this setup?

A: The measured data shows 4K performance is limited. Low settings yield 42 FPS, Medium gives 32 FPS, High drops to 24 FPS, and Ultra falls to 18 FPS. None of these results provide a smooth 60 FPS experience, suggesting that 4K is not a viable option for this combo without significant compromises.

Q: Does the game favor the CPU or GPU more in this configuration?

A: The resolution scaling data suggests the GPU is the dominant bottleneck. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, frame rates drop by over 50% at most settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's strong benchmark scores and high cache size indicate it is not the primary constraint in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 123 FPS on Low, 93 FPS on Medium (with a min of 79 and max of 106), 70 FPS on High, and 52 FPS on Ultra. These figures show a smooth degradation as settings increase, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 71 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings produce 79 FPS, Medium averages 59 FPS (min 50, max 68), High reaches 45 FPS, and Ultra falls to 33 FPS. The 1440p results show that Medium is the highest setting that approaches playable frame rates, but it still misses the 60 FPS mark.

At 3840x2160, the numbers become marginal. Low settings yield 42 FPS, Medium averages 32 FPS (min 27, max 36), High produces 24 FPS, and Ultra drops to 18 FPS. The 4K results indicate that even Low settings cannot sustain a smooth 60 FPS experience, and the min FPS of 27 at Medium highlights potential stuttering in demanding scenes. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step up halves the performance, and each settings increase at a given resolution costs roughly 20-30 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2399th out of 3001 tested combinations for Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 20% of all systems tested. This rank is surprisingly low given the individual component benchmarks, which show the CPU in the 85th percentile and the GPU in the 65th percentile. The discrepancy suggests that the pairing does not translate its synthetic scores into strong in-game performance, likely due to the GPU's limitations in this specific title.

The rank implies that many other CPU-GPU combinations outperform this setup in Hitman 2, despite the Ryzen 5 5500X3D's strong single-threaded performance. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking is the likely culprit, as the B570's architecture may not be optimally suited for this game's engine. The data shows that the combo's 1080p High result of 70 FPS is modest, and the 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS is far below what top-tier combinations achieve.

This ranking also highlights that the CPU's high benchmark scores do not guarantee in-game success. The 5500X3D's nearest rivals all score within 0.3% in synthetic tests, yet the overall combo rank suggests that pairing it with a different GPU would likely yield better results. The data indicates that the Arc B570 is the limiting factor, dragging down an otherwise capable processor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1080p with Medium settings. This preset delivers 93 FPS on average, with a minimum of 79 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without the performance hit of High or Ultra. The 93 FPS average is more than sufficient for most displays and provides a good balance between visual quality and frame rate.

For users seeking higher visual fidelity, 1080p High at 70 FPS is a viable alternative, though it sacrifices 23 FPS compared to Medium. The jump to Ultra at 1080p drops the average to 52 FPS, which may still be playable but introduces more noticeable frame pacing issues. At 1440p, Low settings at 79 FPS is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for that resolution. Medium at 1440p (59 FPS) is borderline, and anything above that is not recommended for a consistent experience.

4K is not recommended for this combo. Even Low settings only achieve 42 FPS, and the visual trade-offs are not worth the performance loss. The data shows that the sweet spot is clearly 1080p with Medium or High settings, where the combo can deliver a responsive and visually appealing experience without overworking the GPU.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the defining component in this combo's performance. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest for modern gaming. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, and its Passmark G3D score of 14195 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The data shows that this card is capable at 1080p but struggles as resolution increases.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (within 0.1%) and the Intel Arc A750 (within 0.1%), indicating that its synthetic performance is competitive. However, in Hitman 2, the B570's real-world results are less impressive. The 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS and the 1440p Ultra result of 33 FPS suggest that the card's memory bandwidth and 2304 shading units are insufficient for high-resolution workloads.

The GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is decent, but the 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate are not exceptional. The data implies that the B570 is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can leverage its strengths without being overwhelmed by pixel count. The card's 5 nm process and 19,600 million transistors indicate a modern design, but the 160-bit memory bus is a clear limitation in this title. Ultimately, the GPU is the bottleneck in this pairing, and its performance characteristics define the combo's overall capabilities.