Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title, places specific demands on a system that the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and the Intel Arc B370 struggles to meet. The measured data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor, resulting in a gameplay experience that is largely confined to lower resolutions and settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across various configurations to provide a clear picture of what this hardware pairing can deliver.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combination is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average frame rate of 73 FPS. This is the only configuration in the dataset that consistently surpasses the 60 FPS threshold, offering a playable and responsive experience for a stealth game where precision is key. Choosing this preset is the only way to ensure the game remains fluid during action sequences.

While the Medium preset at 1080p yields a respectable 54 FPS average, it comes with a significant performance cost relative to Low. The 19 FPS drop from Low to Medium represents a 26% reduction in average frame rate. The data shows that the jump from Medium to High is even more punishing, with a further 13 FPS decline to 41 FPS, indicating that each step up the quality ladder has a substantial impact on this particular GPU. For users seeking a balance between visual fidelity and performance, Medium at 1080p could be considered, but the data suggests that the frame rate is not consistently stable enough for the most demanding scenarios.

At higher resolutions, the situation becomes untenable. The 1440p Low setting manages a 46 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal, and the 4K Low setting drops to just 25 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it only achieves a 30 FPS average at 1080p and falls to a stutter-prone 10 FPS at 2160p. The data clearly indicates that the Intel Arc B370 is not capable of handling the graphical load of Hitman 2 at high settings or high resolutions. The best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally the 1080p Low preset, as it is the only configuration that provides a frame rate high enough to ensure a consistently smooth gameplay experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall performance of this CPU and GPU pairing in Hitman 2 is extremely low. The combo ranks 2768 out of 3001 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested. This rank is a direct reflection of the severe bottleneck created by the Intel Arc B370, which is in the 5th percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score. In contrast, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a much more capable component, sitting in the 81st percentile of all CPUs.

This massive disparity in relative performance is the defining characteristic of this system. The CPU is vastly overpowered for the GPU it is paired with. The GPU's average benchmark score of 1184 places it in the company of much older, entry-level cards, with its nearest rivals including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, both of which have near-identical average scores. This comparison highlights that the Arc B370, despite its modern architecture, delivers performance that is on par with hardware from over a decade ago.

Consequently, in a game like Hitman 2, the system's rank is not determined by the processor's capabilities but entirely by the graphics card's limitations. The Ryzen 7 5800XT is capable of far more, but it is held back by the GPU's inability to render frames quickly enough. The benchmark results indicate that this is a fundamentally unbalanced configuration for gaming, where the CPU's potential is essentially wasted in this specific workload. The data suggests that the system's performance is capped by the GPU at every resolution and settings combination tested.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination can achieve in Hitman 2?

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 73 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184, which is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), indicating it performs at a similar level to these much older cards.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT a limiting factor in this game?

A: No. The CPU is in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, suggesting it has ample processing power. The limiting factor is the GPU, which is in the 5th percentile and prevents the CPU from reaching its full potential.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system achieves an average frame rate of 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows it cannot run the game smoothly at 4K. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only yields an average of 25 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to an unplayable 10 FPS.

Q: How significant is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 73 FPS, while the Ultra preset only manages 30 FPS. This is a 43 FPS drop, representing a 59% reduction in average frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a stark and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is a clear indicator of a GPU-bound system. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings results in a 27 FPS drop, from 73 FPS to 46 FPS, a 37% decrease. The further jump to 3840x2160 at Low settings sees the average frame rate plummet to 25 FPS, which is a 46% reduction from the 1440p figure. This pattern is repeated across all settings presets, demonstrating a direct correlation between pixel count and performance.

This behavior is classic evidence that the Intel Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck. As the resolution increases, the number of pixels the GPU must process grows exponentially, and the Arc B370's limited processing power (6.144 TFLOPS FP32) is quickly overwhelmed. The CPU's workload does not scale in the same way, so the Ryzen 7 5800XT remains largely idle, waiting for the GPU to finish its tasks. The frame rate is therefore determined almost entirely by the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities.

The scalability also highlights the GPU's low memory bandwidth, which is listed as "System Dependent." At higher resolutions, the demand for memory bandwidth increases significantly, and the shared system memory architecture of this GPU becomes a severe limitation. The dramatic FPS drops, particularly the 21 FPS difference between 1440p Low (46 FPS) and 4K Low (25 FPS), suggest that the system is also struggling to feed the GPU with texture data quickly enough. This confirms that the Intel Arc B370 is not just a weak GPU, but one that is fundamentally unsuited for high-resolution gaming.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a high-performance processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it offers substantial multi-threading capabilities, reflected in its 3DMark 16-thread score of 7683 and its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23794. Its single-thread performance is also strong, as shown by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3359, which is crucial for games that rely on a few fast cores. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 4.80 GHz boost clock further enhance its gaming potential.

However, in Hitman 2, the data suggests that the CPU's role is entirely secondary. The game's frame rates are consistently low, and the FPS scaling is tied directly to resolution and graphics settings, not to CPU workload. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1879 and 4-thread score of 3603 indicate strong performance in lightly-threaded tasks, which should be more than adequate for a game released in 2018. The fact that the system fails to maintain high frame rates even at 1080p Low settings points decisively away from a CPU limitation.

The CPU's high percentile ranking (81st) compared to the GPU's (5th) underscores this imbalance. The Ryzen 7 5800XT is capable of feeding frames to a much more powerful GPU, but the Intel Arc B370 cannot keep up with the CPU's output. In this configuration, the CPU is effectively "waiting" for the GPU at every turn. The benchmark results indicate that the processor's advanced capabilities, including its 16 threads and high boost clock, are simply not being utilized to their full extent, as the system's performance is gated by the graphics card's rendering speed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves its best results. The Low preset delivers an average of 73 FPS. Moving up, the Medium preset averages 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. The High preset averages 41 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 30 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops considerably. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with an average of 46 FPS. The Medium preset averages 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. The High preset averages 26 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to an average of 19 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system is not capable of delivering a smooth experience. The Low preset averages 25 FPS. The Medium preset averages 19 FPS, with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 21 FPS. The High preset averages 14 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages a mere 10 FPS.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each increase in settings or resolution results in a significant reduction in average FPS. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 43 FPS. The difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low is 48 FPS. The system's performance envelope is clearly very narrow, with the playable range limited to 1080p Low and, marginally, 1440p Low. The minimum FPS data for the Medium settings at each resolution shows that frame times are not consistent, with drops to 46, 30, and 16 FPS at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively, which would be noticeable as stuttering.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck in this system. Its average benchmark score of 1184 puts it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its performance is comparable to that of the ATI Radeon HD 5770, a card released over a decade prior. The GPU's specifications, such as 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs, are modest, and its performance in Hitman 2 reflects this. The data shows that it cannot handle the demands of the game at higher settings or resolutions.

The GPU's role as the limiting factor is most evident in the resolution scaling. As the pixel count increases, the frame rate plummets, which is a classic sign of a GPU that is starved for processing power and memory bandwidth. The GPU's memory is "System Shared," and its bandwidth is "System Dependent," which means it relies on the system's main memory (DDR4) for its frame buffer. This shared memory architecture is inherently slower than dedicated VRAM and is a major contributor to the poor performance at high resolutions, where the demand for memory bandwidth is greatest.

The GPU's low pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are insufficient for a game like Hitman 2, which features detailed environments and character models. The combination of these factors results in the low FPS figures seen throughout the measured data. The GPU's powerful CPU counterpart cannot compensate for its lack of raw graphics power. The benchmark results indicate that the Intel Arc B370 is a component designed for basic tasks, and its performance in this gaming workload is severely lacking, firmly establishing it as the primary reason this combo ranks so low.