Hitman 2

Hitman 2 on the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with the Intel Arc B370 presents a heavily GPU-limited scenario across all tested resolutions. The measured data indicates that the integrated-class Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck, with the high-end 16-core CPU providing ample headroom that goes largely unused. The benchmark results show a clear hierarchy where lowering graphical settings yields significant frame rate gains, while resolution scaling has a dramatic impact on playability.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across the four available presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) shows that the Low preset is the only viable option for achieving playable frame rates at most resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 73 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this combination. This is substantially ahead of the Medium preset's 54 FPS and more than double the Ultra preset's 30 FPS. For users targeting smooth gameplay, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear recommendation based on the data.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 46 FPS average, which remains playable but shows a significant 27 FPS decline from the 1080p result. The Medium preset at 1440p averages only 35 FPS, with a reported minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 40 FPS, indicating inconsistent frame pacing. The High preset at 1440p (26 FPS) and Ultra (19 FPS) fall below acceptable thresholds for most gameplay scenarios. The data suggests that even the Low preset at 1440p may struggle in demanding scenes, given the narrow gap between average and minimum FPS.

For 4K resolution (3840x2160), the results are uniformly poor. The Low preset averages 25 FPS, Medium averages 19 FPS, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages just 10 FPS. None of these meet the 30 FPS minimum typically considered necessary for a smooth experience. The recommendation is to avoid 4K entirely with this configuration, as even the lowest settings fail to deliver playable performance. The Medium preset at 1080p, with its 54 FPS average and reported range of 46-63 FPS, could serve as a compromise for users who prioritize visual quality over maximum frame rates, but the Low preset offers the best measured experience overall.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process. Its performance profile is extremely limited, as evidenced by its 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of just 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The GPU features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 ROPs, with 10 ray tracing cores. The base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2400 MHz, yielding a theoretical FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s.

The memory configuration is notable for being entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM. Memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," with bandwidth being "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the host system's DDR4 memory through the CPU's dual-channel memory bus, which provides a maximum bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s for the Ryzen 9 5950X. This shared memory arrangement is likely a significant factor in the GPU's poor performance, as it competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth and introduces latency.

The measured FPS data confirms the GPU's limitations. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium settings costs 19 FPS (from 73 to 54), and the jump to High costs another 13 FPS (from 54 to 41). The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers only 30 FPS, which is less than half of the Low preset's performance. This pattern is consistent across all resolutions, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory resources are severely taxed by higher graphical settings. The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (deltaPct -0.2), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (deltaPct -0.5), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (deltaPct -0.7), all of which are similarly aged or low-power parts.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread desktop processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename), manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a TDP of 105 W. The processor features 64 MB of L3 cache, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 64 KB of L1 cache per core. Its memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration, and it uses the AMD Socket AM4 interface with PCIe Gen 4 (20 lanes from the CPU).

In synthetic benchmarks, the 5950X demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017, Geekbench multicore of 15233, and Passmark multithread of 45424. Its single-thread scores are also respectable, with Cinebench R23 singlecore at 1614 and Geekbench singlecore at 2083. The processor ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (deltaPct -0.2), AMD EPYC 8124P (deltaPct -0.3), Intel Core i9-13900F (deltaPct 0.4), and Intel Core i7-14700 (deltaPct -0.7).

Despite this CPU's capabilities, the Hitman 2 benchmark results show that the processor is not the limiting factor in this combination. The FPS differences between settings and resolutions are entirely consistent with GPU-bound behavior. For instance, at 1080p Low, the 73 FPS average is far below what the 5950X could theoretically support in a CPU-bound scenario. The CPU's role is essentially to feed frames to the GPU, and with 16 cores and 32 threads, it has ample capacity to handle the game's simulation and AI workloads. The data provides no evidence of CPU bottlenecking; even at the lowest settings and resolution, the frame rates are constrained by the Arc B370's rendering capabilities rather than the processor's instruction throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2768th out of 3001 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested combos, reflecting the severe GPU limitation. The ranking is particularly notable because the CPU itself is in the 91st percentile, meaning the combo's poor performance is almost entirely attributable to the integrated graphics. The data suggests that pairing such a high-end CPU with this level of GPU creates a massively imbalanced system where the CPU's potential is wasted.

The combo's rank of 2768 out of 3001 means that only 233 tested combinations perform worse. This is a stark illustration of how the GPU dominates the gaming experience in this title. The nearest GPU rivals (ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD Radeon HD 7650M) all have similar benchmark scores, and the combo's position in the rankings reflects this bottom-tier GPU performance. For perspective, the CPU's nearest rivals all have average benchmark scores within 0.7% of the 5950X, but their pairing with better GPUs would likely result in significantly higher Hitman 2 frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Hitman 2?

A: The only resolution that delivers consistently playable frame rates is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which averages 73 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 46 FPS, and at 3840x2160, even Low averages just 25 FPS.

Q: How much performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset averages 73 FPS while Ultra averages 30 FPS, a difference of 43 FPS. At 1440p, Low averages 46 FPS versus Ultra's 19 FPS. At 4K, Low averages 25 FPS versus Ultra's 10 FPS.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5950X bottlenecking the Intel Arc B370?

A: No, the benchmark data shows the opposite. The GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the CPU's 91st percentile ranking and the fact that frame rates scale dramatically with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound rendering.

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark score compared to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2% delta), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5% delta), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, -0.7% delta).

Q: Does the GPU have dedicated VRAM?

A: No, the Arc B370 uses system-shared memory. Memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," with bandwidth dependent on the host system. The Ryzen 9 5950X provides dual-channel DDR4 with 51.2 GB/s maximum bandwidth.

Q: What is the best FPS recorded across all settings and resolutions?

A: The highest average FPS is 73, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The next highest is 54 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 46 FPS at 1440p Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 73 FPS, Medium averages 54 FPS with a range of 46 to 63 FPS, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear linear degradation as settings increase, with each step up in preset costing roughly 12-13 FPS on average.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low averages 46 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS (range 30-40), High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. The 1440p results show a similar pattern to 1080p but with reduced absolute values. The gap between Low and Medium is 11 FPS, between Medium and High is 9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 7 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings scale down.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low averages 25 FPS, Medium averages 19 FPS (range 16-21), High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 10 FPS. The 4K results show the GPU approaching its absolute limits, with even the lowest settings failing to reach 30 FPS. The minimum FPS for Medium at 4K (16 FPS) represents a particularly poor experience, with potential for stuttering.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a steep performance curve that strongly indicates GPU-bound operation. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at the Low preset reduces the average FPS from 73 to 46, a drop of 27 FPS or approximately 37%. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low reduces the average from 46 to 25 FPS, another 21 FPS drop or about 46%. Overall, the Low preset loses 48 FPS (from 73 to 25) when going from 1080p to 4K, representing a 66% reduction in frame rate.

The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 54 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35 FPS total drop (65% reduction) from 1080p to 4K. The High preset goes from 41 FPS at 1080p to 26 FPS at 1440p to 14 FPS at 4K, a 27 FPS drop (66% reduction). The Ultra preset moves from 30 FPS at 1080p to 19 FPS at 1440p to 10 FPS at 4K, a 20 FPS drop (67% reduction).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets is a hallmark of GPU-limited performance. As the pixel count increases, the GPU's fixed compute resources (1280 shading units, 20 ROPs) must process more fragments, resulting in roughly linear scaling with pixel count. The fact that the CPU can maintain frame delivery at these low rates (given its high single-thread and multi-thread scores) confirms that the Arc B370's rendering throughput is the sole constraint. The resolution scaling pattern shows no evidence of CPU limitation, as the frame rate drops are proportional to the pixel count increase rather than being capped at a CPU-determined ceiling.