Hitman 2

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the Intel Arc B370 lands at rank 2768 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2. That places this configuration in the bottom 8% of all tested system pairings, a position that reflects the GPU's extreme limitation rather than any fault of the processor. The combo sits in the lower tier of results, with the Arc B370 dragging the overall score down despite the CPU's strong showing in synthetic benchmarks.

The ranking disparity between components is stark. The Ryzen 7 9700F sits at the 94th percentile among all CPUs tested, putting it in the top 6% of processors. The Arc B370, however, sits at just the 5th percentile among GPUs, meaning 95% of tested graphics cards outperform it. This creates a fundamentally unbalanced pairing where the CPU is operating at a completely different performance class than the GPU. In practical terms, this combo ranks where it does because the GPU becomes the bottleneck in virtually every scenario Hitman 2 presents.

When examining the nearest rivals for both components, the CPU side shows a tightly contested field. The Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 0.2% higher, the Core i7-14700KF sits 0.2% behind, the Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.7% ahead, and the Core i7-14700K trails by 0.9%. These are all within a rounding error of each other, confirming the 9700F is a top-tier performer that trades blows with flagship silicon from both AMD and Intel. The GPU side tells a completely different story, with the Arc B370's nearest rivals being the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (0.2% behind), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (0.5% behind), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (0.7% behind), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1.4% ahead) — all legacy or mobile parts from a bygone era.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9700F brings 8 cores and 16 threads to this pairing, running on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. Its base clock sits at 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, providing ample single-thread headroom for Hitman 2's engine. The CPU draws 65 W TDP and mounts on AMD Socket AM5, using the 4 nm process node from TSMC with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. Cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3.

In synthetic testing, the 9700F demonstrates its capability across a range of workloads. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4691 places it among the fastest desktop processors available, which matters for Hitman 2's simulation and AI logic that rely heavily on single-core performance. The multithread score of 36470 shows the 8-core/16-thread configuration scales well with parallel workloads, while the integer math score of 120788 and floating-point math score of 77955 indicate strong general-purpose compute. The data compression score of 421988 and encryption score of 21488 round out a well-rounded profile.

For Hitman 2 specifically, the CPU's role is largely supportive. The game's crowd simulations, NPC pathfinding, and environmental interactions benefit from the 9700F's high single-thread throughput. The 5.50 GHz boost clock ensures that frame pacing remains consistent when the GPU is able to keep up. However, benchmark results show that the CPU rarely becomes the limiting factor in this combo. The measured FPS numbers across all resolutions and settings show GPU-bound behavior patterns, with the Arc B370's low compute throughput capping performance well before the 9700F's capabilities are stressed.

The 9700F's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 provides adequate data flow for the game engine. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes gives the GPU plenty of bandwidth, though the Arc B370's system-shared memory architecture means data transfer patterns differ from discrete GPUs. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all tested processors confirms that this component is not holding back the combo in any measurable way.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. Built on the Panther Lake chip with Xe3-LPG architecture, this GPU operates at a 3 nm process node from Intel. Its clock speeds range from a 300 MHz base to a 2400 MHz boost, with memory being system-shared rather than dedicated VRAM. The GPU features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operation units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its compute capabilities include 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 12.29 TFLOPS of FP16 (at 2:1 ratio). The 25 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate this is an integrated-class part, despite bearing the Arc branding.

The Arc B370's benchmark results are catastrophic relative to modern gaming expectations. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it at the 5th percentile among all GPUs tested. The nearest rivals — all legacy parts like the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 — demonstrate that this GPU performs at a level comparable to discrete graphics cards from roughly 15 years ago. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M, a mobile part from the same era, sits just 0.7% behind, while the AMD FirePro M2000, a workstation GPU, leads by only 1.4%.

For Hitman 2, the Arc B370's limitations manifest immediately. The game's rendering requirements — detailed environments, dynamic lighting, character models, and particle effects — demand far more from the GPU than this part can deliver. The system-shared memory architecture means the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, and the 25 W TDP severely constrains sustained performance. The 2400 MHz boost clock is respectable on paper, but with only 1280 shading units, the raw throughput simply isn't there for modern gaming at acceptable framerates.

The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s provide theoretical ceilings that the measured FPS numbers reflect. Hitman 2's dense environments with many draw calls and texture-heavy surfaces quickly saturate these limited resources. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility mean the API features are modern, but the hardware underneath cannot leverage them effectively at playable settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a component that struggles to hit playable framerates at any resolution above 1080p with reasonable settings. At 1920x1080, the best case scenario emerges: Low settings produce 73 FPS average, which is playable. Medium settings drop to 54 FPS average with a minimum of 46 and maximum of 63. High settings fall to 41 FPS average, and Ultra settings bottom out at 30 FPS average. These numbers show that even at 1080p, the Arc B370 requires significant compromises in visual quality to maintain fluid gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance cliff becomes apparent. Low settings yield 46 FPS average, which is still borderline playable but a 37% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 35 FPS average with a minimum of 30 and maximum of 40. High settings manage 26 FPS average, and Ultra settings plunge to 19 FPS average. None of these results are comfortable for a stealth game that rewards smooth, precise movement.

At 3840x2160, the combo becomes effectively unplayable regardless of settings. Low settings deliver 25 FPS average, Medium drops to 19 FPS with a minimum of 16 and maximum of 21, High falls to 14 FPS, and Ultra crashes to 10 FPS. These framerates make Hitman 2's stealth mechanics — which rely on timing and observation — nearly impossible to execute reliably. The minimum FPS values at 4K Medium (16 FPS) indicate stuttering that would break immersion entirely.

The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU's limited compute resources get overwhelmed as pixel count increases. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution also widens as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities are the primary constraints. At 1080p, the difference between Low (73 FPS) and Ultra (30 FPS) is 43 FPS. At 1440p, that gap shrinks to 27 FPS (46 vs 19). At 4K, the gap narrows further to 15 FPS (25 vs 10), suggesting that at higher resolutions, even the lowest settings cannot compensate for the GPU's fundamental lack of throughput.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K demonstrates severe scaling penalties that confirm the GPU as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 73 at 1080p to 46 at 1440p to 25 at 4K. That represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K. These are dramatic drops that far exceed what would be expected from pixel count increases alone, indicating the GPU is running out of compute resources rather than memory bandwidth.

At Medium settings, the pattern holds: 54 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are similar to Low settings, suggesting the GPU is consistently bottlenecked regardless of the workload level. High settings show 41 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings exhibit the most severe scaling, with 30 FPS at 1080p falling to 19 FPS at 1440p and just 10 FPS at 4K.

The scaling behavior indicates a GPU that is compute-limited rather than fill-rate-limited. The resolution increases should theoretically be manageable if the bottleneck were purely pixel throughput, but the consistent percentage drops across all settings suggest the shading units and TMUs are saturated. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 5.50 GHz boost clock and 8 fast Zen 5 cores, is clearly not the constraint — if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less severe FPS drops at higher resolutions since the CPU workload remains relatively constant regardless of resolution.

The data supports a processor that could handle far more demanding GPUs without becoming a bottleneck. The 9700F's single-thread score of 4691 and its 94th percentile ranking indicate it has ample headroom for Hitman 2's CPU demands. In a balanced system, this CPU would pair with a GPU capable of delivering 100+ FPS at 1080p and 60+ FPS at 1440p. Instead, the Arc B370 caps performance at levels that would be considered low-end even for integrated graphics from the last decade.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Hitman 2 at 1080p with playable framerates?

A: Only at Low settings, where the measured average FPS is 73. Medium settings produce 54 FPS average, which is playable but with noticeable compromises, while High (41 FPS) and Ultra (30 FPS) fall below what most players would consider smooth for a stealth game.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The 9700F sits within 0.9% of all four nearest rivals. It is 0.2% behind the Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.2% ahead of the Core i7-14700KF, 0.7% behind the Ryzen 9 7950X, and 0.9% ahead of the Core i7-14700K.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this combo?

A: The only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS average is 1080p Low at 73 FPS. For a smoother experience, 1440p Low at 46 FPS average is the highest resolution that stays above 30 FPS, though 4K is not viable at any setting.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low in Hitman 2 despite having a top-tier CPU?

A: The Intel Arc B370 scores at the 5th percentile among GPUs, with nearest rivals being legacy parts like the ATI Radeon HD 5770. The GPU's limited shading units (1280), 25 W TDP, and system-shared memory architecture create a severe bottleneck that caps performance regardless of CPU capability.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this configuration?

A: No. The resolution scaling data shows the opposite: FPS drops disproportionately as resolution increases, which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The 9700F's 94th percentile CPU ranking and strong single-thread score (4691) show it has substantial headroom that the GPU cannot utilize.

Q: How does the Arc B370's benchmark score translate to real-world Hitman 2 performance?

A: The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it at the 5th percentile, and the measured FPS data reflects this: 4K Ultra averages 10 FPS, 1440p Ultra averages 19 FPS, and 1080p Ultra averages 30 FPS. This is consistent with a GPU that sits near the bottom of the tested hardware pool.