Hitman 2

The Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 570 pairing in Hitman 2 presents a clear picture of a system where the graphics card is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, but the CPU holds its own at 1080p. The measured frame rates show a steep decline as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 72.5 FPS, but this drops to 46.6 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 24.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 66% performance drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low, indicating that the RX 570’s rendering capabilities are being overwhelmed by the pixel count. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets, reinforcing that resolution scaling is the dominant factor in this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a predictable and steep FPS degradation as resolution increases, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p, the system is relatively playable, with Low settings yielding 72.5 FPS and Medium hitting 54.1 FPS. However, High settings at 1080p drop to 42.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates become more constrained: Low manages 46.6 FPS, Medium 33.8 FPS, High 27.7 FPS, and Ultra 19.4 FPS. At 4K, the situation becomes dire, as even Low settings only produce 24.7 FPS, and Ultra is essentially unplayable at 11.2 FPS.

The scaling pattern reveals that the GPU is the bottleneck. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is severe across all presets, with the gap widening as settings increase. For instance, High settings drop from 42.3 FPS at 1080p to 27.7 FPS at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 12 FPS at 4K (a 72% reduction from 1080p). This non-linear decline suggests that the RX 570’s 4 GB of VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the higher texture and shading demands at 4K. The CPU, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, is not the limiting factor here; the rapid FPS collapse with resolution points squarely at the GPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is built on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, featuring 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz, and it carries 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The pixel rate is 39.81 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 159.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 5.095 TFLOPS. These specifications explain its behavior in Hitman 2. The card’s 4 GB VRAM is a notable limitation; at 4K Ultra, the game likely exceeds this capacity, causing severe frame rate drops to 11.2 FPS.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 30158. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (0.2% higher), AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0.2% higher), and NVIDIA Tesla M60 (0.6% lower). This indicates that the RX 570 is a mid-range performer, but its age and 4 GB VRAM cap it in modern titles. In Hitman 2, the GPU is clearly the limiting component at 1440p and 4K, as evidenced by the FPS collapse. At 1080p, it can still deliver playable frame rates, but the Ultra preset at 32.1 FPS shows that even at the lowest resolution, the card struggles with maximum settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and a 58W TDP. Its benchmark scores are respectable for a budget part: it achieves 11912 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1681 in single-core. The CPU’s percentile rank is 72, with an average benchmark score of 13516, placing it near the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (0.1% lower) and Intel Core i7-7700K (1.8% higher).

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is less critical than the GPU’s, but it still matters at 1080p. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (72.5 FPS) and Medium (54.1 FPS) suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at these settings. The 4-core/8-thread configuration is sufficient for this game, which is a stealth title that likely does not heavily utilize many threads. The boost clock of 4.30 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681. However, the CPU’s 3DMark 16-thread score of 4051 shows that multi-threaded workloads are handled less efficiently, but this does not bottleneck Hitman 2 at 1080p. The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor until the GPU is maxed out, which happens at 1440p and above.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this combo?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system consistently exceeds 30 FPS across all settings. At 1080p Low (72.5 FPS), Medium (54.1 FPS), and High (42.3 FPS) are all playable, while Ultra (32.1 FPS) is borderline.

Q: Can this system handle 4K in Hitman 2?

A: No. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only produce 24.7 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. Ultra at 4K drops to 11.2 FPS, making it unplayable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The GPU. At 2560x1440, the FPS drops significantly compared to 1080p (e.g., High goes from 42.3 to 27.7 FPS), while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance is not the limiting factor. The GPU’s 4 GB VRAM and bandwidth constraints are the primary issue.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The RX 570’s average benchmark score (30158) is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (0.2% higher) and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0.2% higher), indicating similar overall performance, though Hitman 2’s specific demands may vary.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested systems for Hitman 2?

A: It ranks 1687 out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 7% of all configurations, reflecting its limited ability to run this game at high resolutions.

Q: Should I use the Low or Medium preset at 1080p?

A: Medium offers a better experience than Low, with 54.1 FPS versus 72.5 FPS, which is a 25% performance cost for likely improved visuals. High is also viable at 42.3 FPS, but Ultra is not recommended due to the steep drop to 32.1 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1687 out of 1795 tested systems for Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 6% of all configurations. This is a low ranking, reflecting the hardware’s age and limitations. The Intel Core i3-12100F is a capable budget CPU, but the AMD Radeon RX 570 is an older mid-range GPU that struggles with modern titles at higher resolutions. The ranking indicates that most other tested combos deliver better performance, particularly at 1440p and 4K. The CPU’s percentile rank of 72 is above average, but the GPU’s percentile of 74 is dragged down by its 4 GB VRAM. In Hitman 2, which is a visually detailed stealth game, this combo is only suitable for 1080p gaming with medium-to-high settings. The low ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s inability to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions, as the CPU is not the bottleneck. For context, the combo sits near the bottom, meaning a significant majority of other CPU-GPU pairings tested outperform it in this specific title.

Settings Recommendations

For the best playable experience, the data suggests using 1920x1080 resolution with the Medium preset, which delivers 54.1 FPS. This is a balanced choice, offering a 33% improvement over High (42.3 FPS) while still maintaining reasonable visual quality. Low settings at 1080p push performance to 72.5 FPS, but this comes at a significant graphical cost, making it a fallback for users who prioritize frame rate over visuals. High settings at 1080p (42.3 FPS) are acceptable for a smooth experience, but Ultra (32.1 FPS) is below the 60 FPS target and should be avoided.

At 1440p, the only viable option is Low settings at 46.6 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium at 1440p (33.8 FPS) is borderline, while High (27.7 FPS) and Ultra (19.4 FPS) are too slow. At 4K, no preset is recommended, as even Low (24.7 FPS) falls below playable thresholds. The best overall experience is 1080p Medium, which balances frame rate and fidelity without pushing the GPU to its limits. For users seeking higher visual fidelity, 1080p High is the maximum recommended setting, as Ultra’s 32.1 FPS is not worth the performance hit. The system is best suited for 1080p gaming with medium-to-high presets, and attempting higher resolutions will result in poor performance.