Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers playable performance in Hitman 2 only at 1080p, with a steep decline in frame rates as resolution increases. At 1080p Medium settings, the combo achieves an average of 105 FPS, but this drops to 67 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 36 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that the Intel Arc B580’s 12 GB of VRAM and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game’s demands, yet the rendering load at higher resolutions quickly overwhelms the GPU, making 4K Ultra a marginal experience at just 20 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p Low, the combo posts an average of 140 FPS, which is more than double the 4K Low result of 48 FPS. This represents a 65.7% drop in frame rate when moving from the lowest settings at Full HD to the same settings at Ultra HD. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less severe, with High settings dropping from 79 FPS to 51 FPS, a 35.4% reduction. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K is brutal, with High settings falling from 51 FPS to 27 FPS, a 47.1% decline.

The pattern suggests that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor above 1080p. The Intel Arc B580’s 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is adequate for 1080p gaming, but the pixel throughput requirements at 4K—which demand four times the pixel count of 1080p—exceed what the card can deliver. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are the hardware constraints that manifest in these frame rates. At 4K, even Low settings yield only 48 FPS, indicating that the GPU is saturated regardless of graphical complexity.

The Medium settings data provides the most complete picture, with min and max frame rates recorded at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS, showing a tight frame time distribution. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 67 FPS with a range of 57 to 77 FPS, indicating the GPU is working harder but still maintaining consistency. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 36 FPS with a 30 to 41 FPS range, revealing that frame pacing becomes more erratic as the GPU approaches its limits.

For competitive or high-refresh-rate play, 1080p is the only viable resolution. The 140 FPS at Low settings and 105 FPS at Medium provide headroom above 60 FPS, while the 79 FPS at High and 58 FPS at Ultra remain playable. At 1440p, only Low settings (89 FPS) and Medium (67 FPS) exceed the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, no setting combination reaches 60 FPS; the best result is 48 FPS at Low, which is marginal for smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580’s memory configuration is a critical factor in Hitman 2’s performance. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, a game that does not typically exceed 8 GB of VRAM usage at 1080p or 1440p. The generous memory allocation means that the GPU is never starved for data, allowing the shading units and texture mapping units to operate at full capacity. The 2560 shading units and 160 TMUs are the execution engines that process the game’s geometry and textures.

Clock speeds play a less significant role than memory bandwidth in this analysis. The GPU’s base and boost clocks are identical at 2670 MHz, which is a relatively high operating frequency for a 190 W TDP card. This sustained clock speed helps maintain consistent performance across different scenes in Hitman 2, as the GPU does not need to throttle aggressively under load. The 20 ray tracing cores are present but Hitman 2 does not utilize ray tracing, so they remain idle during gameplay.

The GPU’s compute capabilities, as measured by synthetic benchmarks, provide context for the in-game results. The PassMark G3D score of 15748 places the Arc B580 in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 92821 and Vulkan score of 109672 indicate strong general-purpose compute performance, which translates well to the DirectX 12 workload that Hitman 2 uses. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3068 shows the card’s DirectX 12 rendering capability is solid, though not exceptional.

The GPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals is telling. The average benchmark score of 23021 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, deltaPct -0.2) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct 0.6). This places the Arc B580 in a performance tier that is competitive with older high-end cards, but the in-game results show that Hitman 2’s specific workload favors the Arc’s architecture. The 4K Ultra result of 20 FPS is particularly low, suggesting that the GPU’s 80 ROPs are a bottleneck when rendering the game’s complex scenes at maximum quality settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2262 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 75.4th percentile of all configurations. This ranking indicates that while the combo is not at the top tier, it outperforms approximately three-quarters of tested systems. The rank reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where the CPU is not bottlenecking the GPU at 1080p, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 32750 places it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, which is higher than the GPU’s 68th percentile ranking. This imbalance suggests that the CPU has more headroom than the GPU, and in games like Hitman 2 that are more GPU-bound at higher resolutions, the CPU’s extra capacity is not fully utilized. The Ryzen 5 7400F’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32697, deltaPct 0.2), and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (32812, deltaPct -0.2). These competitors are all within 0.3% of the 7400F’s performance, showing that the CPU is firmly in the mid-range tier.

The GPU’s ranking against its nearest rivals is more variable. The Arc B580’s average score of 23021 is within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, deltaPct -0.2), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct 0.6), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172, deltaPct -0.7). Interestingly, the RTX 3080 has a higher average score but the Arc B580 still ranks 2262 in this game, suggesting that Hitman 2’s specific optimization favors Intel’s architecture over NVIDIA’s older designs.

The combo’s rank of 2262 out of 3001 means that 739 other combos perform worse, while 2261 perform better. This places the system in the lower half of the top quartile, which is a reasonable result for a mid-range CPU paired with a mid-range GPU. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, but it will struggle at 4K where the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its best results across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 140 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings yield 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and maximum of 121 FPS, providing a smooth experience with minimal frame drops. High settings drop to 79 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. Ultra settings produce 58 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The 1080p results show a clear scaling pattern where each settings tier costs approximately 20-25% performance.

At 1440p, the performance drops are more pronounced. Low settings average 89 FPS, which is still playable but a 36.4% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 67 FPS with a range of 57 to 77 FPS, putting the minimum frame rate just below the 60 FPS threshold. High settings produce 51 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that the GPU is starting to become the bottleneck, as the CPU has more than enough headroom at this resolution.

At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Medium settings average 36 FPS with a range of 30 to 41 FPS, showing significant frame time variance. High settings produce only 27 FPS, and Ultra drops to 20 FPS. These results are consistent with the GPU’s compute limitations, as the 4K resolution requires four times the pixel processing of 1080p.

The settings scaling at each resolution provides insight into the GPU’s architecture. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 82 FPS (140 to 58), representing a 58.6% performance penalty for maximum quality. At 1440p, the difference is 52 FPS (89 to 37), a 58.4% penalty. At 4K, the difference is 28 FPS (48 to 20), a 58.3% penalty. The consistency of this percentage across resolutions suggests that the GPU’s shading units and TMUs are the limiting factors, rather than memory bandwidth or ROP throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU/GPU pair in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows that 1080p Medium (105 FPS average) or 1080p High (79 FPS) are the optimal choices, providing the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. At 1440p, only Low (89 FPS) or Medium (67 FPS) are viable for smooth gameplay.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: No, the measured results show that 4K performance is below 60 FPS at all settings, with the best result being 48 FPS at Low settings. The 4K Ultra result of 20 FPS is not playable for most users.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in this game?

A: The Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 is within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172). This indicates similar overall performance, though in-game results may vary.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The CPU’s 83rd percentile ranking (32750 average score) is higher than the GPU’s 68th percentile (23021), suggesting the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 1080p. The high frame rates (140 FPS at Low) indicate the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at different resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the frame rate ranges from 89 to 121 FPS, showing good consistency. At 1440p Medium, the range is 57 to 77 FPS, indicating more variance. At 4K Medium, the range is 30 to 41 FPS, showing significant frame pacing issues.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2262 out of 3001 total tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 75.4th percentile. This means it outperforms about 75% of all tested systems, though it is not in the top tier.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael, built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide solid single-thread performance, which is crucial for Hitman 2’s game logic and AI systems. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, and the dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures the GPU is fed with data without CPU-side bottlenecks.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 7400F demonstrates strong performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and single-core score of 3072 place it firmly in the mid-range tier. The PassMark multi-thread score of 25645 and single-thread score of 3689 further confirm its capabilities. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 32750 puts it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, which is notably higher than the GPU’s percentile ranking of 68.

The CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 0.3% of its average score, indicating that the 7400F is competitively positioned. The Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32697, deltaPct 0.2), and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (32812, deltaPct -0.2) all perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks. This means that in CPU-bound scenarios, swapping between these processors would yield negligible performance differences.

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is to process game logic, physics, and AI while feeding draw calls to the GPU. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient for this game, as it does not heavily utilize multi-threading. The high single-thread score of 3072 in Cinebench R23 indicates that the CPU can handle Hitman 2’s primary thread efficiently. The 65 W TDP means the CPU operates within a reasonable power envelope, allowing for sustained boost clocks without thermal throttling.

The CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 support with 24 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the GPU, though the Intel Arc B580 uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. This means the CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 capability is not fully utilized, but it does not negatively impact performance either. The 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is more than sufficient for the game’s data streaming requirements, ensuring that level assets load without stuttering.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo for Hitman 2. The GPU’s performance at 4K (20-48 FPS) is far below what the CPU could potentially support. At 1080p, the CPU can easily feed the GPU, as evidenced by the 140 FPS at Low settings. The CPU’s headroom means that if the GPU were upgraded, the 7400F would not hold back the system in this game. However, the current pairing is well-balanced for 1080p gaming, where the GPU is the primary constraint.