Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable but decidedly mid-range experience in Hitman 2, with performance that scales predictably with resolution and settings. The data places this combo in the 80th percentile of tested configurations, highlighting a system that is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles to maintain frame rates at 4K. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: this pairing is a capable 1080p performer, a solid 1440p option, and a 4K compromise.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 70 FPS, which drops to 45 FPS at 2560x1440 and plummets to 24 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 66% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at High settings, indicating that the system becomes heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The scaling is not linear; the jump from 1440p to 4K is particularly brutal, with average FPS nearly halving from 45 to 24.

This resolution scaling pattern strongly suggests that the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting component at 4K. The GPU’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 160-bit bus width, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p, simply cannot sustain the pixel throughput demanded by 3840x2160. The data confirms this: at Ultra settings, the 4K average drops to just 18 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread between Low (123 FPS) and Ultra (52 FPS) is 71 FPS, while at 4K, the spread narrows to just 24 FPS (42 FPS Low vs. 18 FPS Ultra). This compression of performance at 4K indicates that the GPU is saturated regardless of graphical fidelity, a classic sign of a resolution-bound bottleneck.

The 1440p results paint a more balanced picture. At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo averages 59 FPS, which is within the playable range for most gamers. The transition from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 12 FPS (45 to 33), suggesting that the B570 has some headroom at this resolution but cannot handle the most demanding presets. For users targeting 4K, the data suggests that only Low settings (42 FPS) approach playability, and even then, the experience would be marginal. The benchmark results indicate that 1440p is the sweet spot for this pairing, where the CPU and GPU work in better harmony.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and the BMG-G21 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its clock speeds are fixed at 2500 MHz for both base and boost, which is a relatively modest clock for a modern GPU. The card features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operations pipelines. The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications place the B570 in the mid-range tier, and its benchmark scores reflect this positioning.

In the Passmark G3D benchmark, the B570 scores 14195, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avgScore 20534, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (avgScore 20582, deltaPct -0.1). The B570’s average benchmark score of 20556 puts it within a fraction of a percent of these competitors, indicating that it trades blows with the RTX 3070 Mobile and the Arc A750. This is noteworthy because the B570 is a desktop card competing against a mobile GPU, yet the performance delta is negligible.

The GPU’s 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 23.04 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1) provide adequate raw horsepower for Hitman 2, a game that is not particularly demanding by modern standards. The 18 ray tracing cores are present but irrelevant for this title, which does not utilize RT effects. The pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are the key metrics for rasterization performance, and they explain the 4K struggles. At 3840x2160, the GPU must fill over 8.3 million pixels per frame, and with a pixel rate of 200 GPixel/s, the theoretical maximum fill rate is only about 24 FPS at 100% efficiency. The measured 24 FPS at High settings matches this theoretical limit almost exactly, confirming that the B570 is maxed out at 4K.

In Vulkan and OpenCL benchmarks, the B570 scores 96844 and 83514 respectively, showing strong API support that benefits Hitman 2, which runs on the Glacier engine. The GPU’s 150 W TDP and 1x 8-pin power connector are modest, but the data shows that power is not the limiting factor here—raw pixel throughput is.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU is unlocked for overclocking and has a launch MSRP of $359.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 9700X demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance. It scores 20485 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2211 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 37161. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 37943, placing it in the 86th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14901E (avgScore 37911, deltaPct 0.1) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (avgScore 37904, deltaPct 0.1), showing that the 9700X is within a fraction of a percent of these processors. This indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in Hitman 2, as it has ample headroom for the game’s threading requirements.

The 3DMark results further highlight the CPU’s capabilities: 9824 in the 16-thread test and 1280 in the single-thread test. These scores suggest that the 9700X can feed the GPU with sufficient draw calls and physics calculations without becoming a limiting factor. In Hitman 2, which is known for its detailed crowd simulations and complex AI, the 8-core/16-thread configuration is well-suited. The game benefits from the high boost clock of 5.50 GHz for single-threaded tasks, while the 16 threads handle the scene complexity.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is more than adequate for this game, and the dual-channel DDR5 support ensures fast data transfer to the GPU. The benchmark data shows that the CPU’s performance is essentially flat across resolutions: the FPS drops from 123 to 79 to 42 at Low settings across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, respectively. This pattern is entirely GPU-driven, confirming that the 9700X is not the performance limiter. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 86% versus the GPU’s 65% suggests a slight imbalance, but in practice, this pairing works well for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU-GPU combinations for Hitman 2, this pairing ranks 2399 out of 3001 configurations, placing it in the 80th percentile. This is a respectable ranking, indicating that the Ryzen 7 9700X + Arc B570 combo outperforms a significant majority of tested systems. The rank reflects a balanced system that delivers consistent, playable performance at mainstream resolutions, though it does not compete with high-end configurations.

The combo’s ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s mid-range positioning. The B570’s 65th percentile GPU score pulls the overall ranking down, despite the CPU’s strong 86th percentile showing. This suggests that users with this CPU could achieve better in-game results by pairing it with a more powerful GPU, as the 9700X has significant headroom. However, the 80th percentile rank is still commendable, placing this combo ahead of systems with lower-tier CPUs or GPUs.

Compared to its nearest GPU rivals, the B570’s performance is nearly identical to the RTX 3070 Mobile and Arc A750. This means that a system with a Ryzen 7 9700X and any of these GPUs would likely produce similar FPS numbers in Hitman 2. The data shows that the combo’s ranking is driven by the GPU, and users seeking higher ranks should focus on GPU upgrades rather than CPU swaps. The 80th percentile rank is a solid indicator of mid-range performance, but it also highlights the ceiling of this particular pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 70. This is a playable frame rate for most gamers, though it falls short of the 123 FPS achievable at Low settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: The data shows that 4K gaming is largely impractical with this pairing. At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 32, and at High settings it drops to 24 FPS. Only Low settings (42 FPS) approach playability, but the experience remains marginal.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo?

A: The benchmark results indicate that 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution. At Medium settings, the combo averages 59 FPS, and at High settings it averages 45 FPS, both of which are playable. 1080p also works well, but 1440p offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The B570’s average benchmark score is 20556, which is within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and within 0.1% of the Intel Arc A750 (20582). This indicates virtually identical performance among these GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting component. The CPU ranks in the 86th percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile. The FPS drops across resolutions align with the GPU’s pixel fill rate limits, not the CPU’s processing capabilities.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking in the game database?

A: This pairing ranks 2399 out of 3001 tested combinations, placing it in the 80th percentile. This is a solid mid-range ranking, indicating that it outperforms 80% of tested systems in Hitman 2.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates range from 123 FPS at Low settings to 52 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset delivers 93 FPS average, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, showing good frame time consistency. High settings at 1080p produce 70 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops but remains playable. Low settings yield 79 FPS average, Medium yields 59 FPS (min 50, max 68), High yields 45 FPS, and Ultra yields 33 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is the sweet spot, offering a good balance of visual quality and smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the data shows severe performance degradation. Low settings produce 42 FPS average, Medium produces 32 FPS (min 27, max 36), High produces 24 FPS, and Ultra produces just 18 FPS. The 4K Medium result is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, indicating that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent frame delivery at this resolution.

The frame rate deltas between settings are instructive. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 71 FPS (123 to 52), showing that the GPU has headroom to handle higher graphical fidelity. At 1440p, this delta narrows to 46 FPS (79 to 33), and at 4K, it narrows further to 24 FPS (42 to 18). This compression at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes the absolute bottleneck, and no amount of graphical tweaking can overcome the pixel throughput limitation. The data consistently points to the Intel Arc B570 as the performance ceiling for this system in Hitman 2.