Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a severely GPU-limited experience in Hitman 2, with the data showing that even at 1080p Low settings the combo only manages 73 FPS average. The Arc B370, an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and the measured results consistently show that resolution reductions yield massive performance gains, indicating the CPU is never the bottleneck in this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K reveals a textbook case of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 73 FPS average, but this drops by 37% to 46 FPS at 1440p Low, and then by another 46% to 25 FPS at 4K Low. The progression from 1080p to 4K at Low settings represents a total performance loss of 66%, which aligns perfectly with the increased pixel count overwhelming the Arc B370's 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs.

The High preset tells a similar story with slightly compressed percentages. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 41; at 1440p High it falls to 26 FPS (a 37% drop), and at 4K High it bottoms out at 14 FPS (a 46% further reduction). The Ultra preset is the most punishing, starting at just 30 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 19 FPS at 1440p, and reaching only 10 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that the 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 compute throughput of the Arc B370 is simply insufficient for Hitman 2 beyond 1080p with any graphical fidelity.

What makes this scaling pattern notable is the consistency of the percentage drops across settings. Whether at Low, High, or Ultra, moving from 1080p to 1440p consistently costs roughly 37% of performance, and moving from 1440p to 4K costs another 46%. This uniformity suggests that the GPU's fill rate and pixel processing capabilities are the sole limiting factors, with the Ryzen 7 3700X's 8 cores and 16 threads providing ample headroom. The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all processors, contrasted with the GPU's 5th percentile, confirms that the Arc B370 is the performance ceiling in every scenario.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 4K with acceptable frame rates?*

A: No. The measured data shows 25 FPS at 4K Low, 19 FPS at 4K Medium, 14 FPS at 4K High, and 10 FPS at 4K Ultra. None of these approach a playable threshold, and even the minimum recorded frame rate at 4K Medium is 16 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: The data shows 73 FPS at 1080p Low, 54 FPS at 1080p Medium, 41 FPS at 1080p High, and 30 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The Low preset is the only one that clears 60 FPS, making it the sole option for smooth gameplay.

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

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

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 3700X holding back performance in this game?

A: No. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking versus the CPU's 84th percentile, combined with the linear FPS scaling across resolutions, indicates the CPU has no influence on results. The 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 processor is never the limiting factor here.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the range is 46 to 63 FPS (average 54). At 1440p Medium, it is 30 to 40 FPS (average 35). At 4K Medium, it is 16 to 21 FPS (average 19). The spreads are relatively tight, suggesting consistent frame pacing.

Q: How large is the gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, the gap is 43 FPS (73 vs 30). At 1440p, the gap is 27 FPS (46 vs 19). At 4K, the gap is 15 FPS (25 vs 10). The absolute difference shrinks as resolution increases, but the proportional penalty of Ultra grows at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific hardware combination, the settings hierarchy is straightforward: the Low preset is the only viable option for actual gameplay. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 73 FPS average, which is the only measured configuration that reaches a smooth, competitive frame rate. The Medium preset at 1080p produces 54 FPS with a range of 46 to 63 FPS, which may be playable for some users but fails to maintain 60 FPS consistently based on the average.

The High preset at 1080p produces 41 FPS, which is borderline for a stealth game like Hitman 2 where precise timing matters. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 30 FPS, which is too low for any action-oriented gameplay. At 1440p, even the Low preset only manages 46 FPS, so users with 1440p monitors should strongly consider downscaling to 1080p if frame rate is a priority. At 4K, all settings produce unplayable results, with the best case being 25 FPS at Low.

Given the data, the recommended configuration is 1080p with the Low preset. This yields 73 FPS average, a 35% improvement over Medium and a 78% improvement over High. The performance cost of moving from Low to Medium is 19 FPS, from Medium to High is 13 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 11 FPS. The diminishing returns of each higher preset do not justify the frame rate sacrifice on this GPU. For users who absolutely require better visual fidelity, the Medium preset at 1080p provides a usable 54 FPS average, but the data indicates that Low is the only preset that fully utilizes the CPU's capabilities without GPU bottlenecks.

How This Combo Ranks

The Ryzen 7 3700X + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2768 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This ranking is entirely attributable to the GPU, as the Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs based on its 1184 3DMark Steel Nomad score. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 84th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 34260 that places it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (34222, 0.1% slower), AMD EPYC 4244P (34220, 0.1% slower), Intel Core i5-13450HX (34333, 0.2% faster), and Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (34083, 0.5% slower).

The combo's poor rank is not surprising given the GPU's performance class. The Arc B370's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all legacy mobile and desktop parts from over a decade ago, including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and AMD FirePro M2000. These GPUs predate Hitman 2's 2018 release by years, and the measured FPS data confirms that the Arc B370 performs at a level consistent with that era of hardware.

Within the context of Hitman 2 specifically, the 2768th ranking out of 3001 combos means that 92% of tested configurations deliver better performance. The data shows that this combo is only suitable for 1080p Low settings at playable frame rates, which is a significant limitation for a game that can scale to 4K Ultra on capable hardware. The ranking reflects the reality that the GPU is a bottleneck that no CPU, regardless of its 84th percentile standing, can overcome.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is a Zen 2 (Matisse) architecture processor built on TSMC's 7 nm process node with 3,800 million transistors in a 74 mm² die. It features 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration and a theoretical bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, using AMD Socket AM4 with PCIe Gen 4 (24 lanes).

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded capability: Cinebench R15 multicore scores 2092, Geekbench multicore scores 8899, and Passmark multithread scores 22458. Single-thread performance is relatively weaker, with Cinebench R15 singlecore at 204 and Geekbench singlecore at 1593. The Passmark suite shows a mix of strengths and weaknesses: integer math scores 66399, floating point math scores 39005, data compression scores 296379, data encryption scores 18900, extended instructions score 19241, and random string sorting scores 32131.

Despite these respectable numbers, Hitman 2's performance in this combo is entirely GPU-bound. The evidence is in the resolution scaling: at 1080p Low, the GPU produces 73 FPS, but dropping to 4K Low reduces this to 25 FPS, a 66% reduction that correlates with pixel count rather than CPU workload. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for the game's AI and simulation tasks, and its 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it has no trouble feeding frames to a GPU that ranks in the 5th percentile. The Ryzen 7 3700X's role in this pairing is to provide stable, consistent CPU performance that never becomes the limiting factor, which the data confirms.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 resolution, the combo produces the following average frame rates: Low settings achieve 25 FPS, Medium achieves 19 FPS with a range of 16 to 21 FPS, High achieves 14 FPS, and Ultra achieves 10 FPS. No preset at 4K reaches even 30 FPS, making this resolution unusable for the Arc B370.

At 2560x1440 resolution, performance improves substantially but remains limited: Low settings achieve 46 FPS, Medium achieves 35 FPS with a range of 30 to 40 FPS, High achieves 26 FPS, and Ultra achieves 19 FPS. The Low preset is the only 1440p option that approaches playability, though it still falls short of 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080 resolution, the results are as follows: Low settings achieve 73 FPS, Medium achieves 54 FPS with a range of 46 to 63 FPS, High achieves 41 FPS, and Ultra achieves 30 FPS. The Low preset is the only measured configuration that exceeds 60 FPS, while Ultra dips to exactly 30 FPS, which is the minimum threshold for playable frame rates in most games.

The full data grid shows consistent scaling: across all settings, 1080p to 1440p costs approximately 37% performance, and 1440p to 4K costs another 46% performance. The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data at all three resolutions, showing frame time ranges of 46-63 FPS at 1080p, 30-40 FPS at 1440p, and 16-21 FPS at 4K. These ranges indicate that the GPU maintains relatively stable frame pacing even when average FPS is low. The Arc B370's integrated nature (25 W TDP, system shared memory) explains the performance ceiling, as it has no dedicated VRAM and relies on system memory bandwidth that is "System Dependent" per the specifications.