Hitman 2

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 is a combination that targets 1080p gaming, and the measured data for Hitman 2 confirms this positioning. This pairing lands at rank 1674 out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the lower third of the database. The 4-core, 8-thread Alder Lake processor demonstrates strong single-thread performance, while the Polaris-based GPU with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory provides the graphical foundation. Together, they deliver playable frame rates at 1080p with adjusted settings, but the data clearly shows the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable frame rates, ranging from 32.9 FPS on Ultra to 78.5 FPS on Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, sitting just 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX and 1.8% above the Intel Core i7-7700K.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile?

A: The Radeon RX 580 falls in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559, placing it roughly on par with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570.

Q: Is this combo better suited for CPU-bound or GPU-bound scenarios?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions; the CPU's 3dmark single-thread score of 893 is respectable, but the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 8813 shows it struggles as pixel count increases.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, average FPS drops from 41.6 at 1920x1080 to 14.8 at 3840x2160, representing a 64.4% reduction in frame rate.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Ultra delivers 23.4 FPS while High achieves 26.1 FPS, a modest 11.5% improvement that suggests High is the more practical choice.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 operates with a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, paired with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications position the GPU in the 53rd percentile of all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559. The GPU's architecture, GCN 4.0 on a 14 nm process, supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, which are relevant for Hitman 2's rendering paths.

The memory configuration is particularly important for Hitman 2's large, detailed environments. The 8 GB frame buffer provides adequate capacity for 1080p and 1440p textures, but the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a constraint at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows this clearly: at 3840x2160, even Low settings only produce 28.7 FPS, indicating the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are insufficient for 4K rendering. The GPU's pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s help explain the performance cliff between 1440p and 4K.

The GPU's compute capabilities, rated at 6.175 TFLOPS FP32, are modest by modern standards. This limits the effectiveness of advanced graphical features at higher resolutions. The PassMark DirectX 12 score of 43 and DirectX 11 score of 60 suggest the GPU handles API overhead adequately but lacks the raw throughput for demanding scenes. In contrast, the CPU's performance characteristics do not appear to bottleneck the GPU at lower resolutions, as the 1080p Low setting achieves 78.5 FPS, which is likely near the GPU's practical limit.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver 78.5 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium settings reduce this to 56.9 FPS, still comfortable for most players. High settings produce 41.6 FPS, which is acceptable for a stealth game where precise timing matters less than in fast-paced shooters. Ultra settings drop to 32.9 FPS, which may feel less responsive.

At 2560x1440, the options narrow. Low settings achieve 49.5 FPS, making it the only preset that clears 40 FPS. Medium settings produce 36.2 FPS, while High delivers 26.1 FPS and Ultra falls to 23.4 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 26.8% FPS reduction, indicating a significant graphical cost for moderate visual improvements. For 1440p gaming, Low is the recommended preset, with Medium as a compromise for those prioritizing visuals over frame rate.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves playable performance. Low settings yield 28.7 FPS, Medium produces 19.1 FPS, High drops to 14.8 FPS, and Ultra is essentially unplayable at 10.8 FPS. The data suggests 4K is not viable for this combination in Hitman 2. The best experience across all resolutions is 1080p with Medium settings, which balances the 56.9 FPS average with improved visual fidelity over Low. For players who prefer maximum smoothness, Low at 1080p provides the highest measured frame rate in the entire dataset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 1674 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 6.7% of all pairings. This low ranking reflects the GPU's age and performance tier rather than the CPU's capabilities. The CPU itself performs well relative to its class, with a percentile rank of 72 against all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, scores nearly identically at 13534, a difference of just 0.1%.

The GPU's ranking is more modest, sitting at the 53rd percentile with an average score of 13559. Its closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, matches it exactly with a 0% delta. This suggests the RX 580 is a mid-pack GPU that struggles in modern titles like Hitman 2, which was released in 2018 and has demanding rendering requirements. The combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's limitations, particularly at higher resolutions where the CPU's strong single-thread performance cannot compensate for the GPU's fill rate constraints.

The data shows a clear imbalance in this pairing. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11912 and singlecore score of 1681 indicate it can handle modern game logic and physics calculations. However, the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 8813 limits the system's overall gaming potential. For Hitman 2 specifically, this means the combo is only competitive at 1080p with reduced settings, which aligns with its bottom-tier ranking among tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 41.6 at 1920x1080 to 26.1 at 2560x1440, a 37.3% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the FPS falls further to 14.8, another 43.3% decrease. This nonlinear scaling is typical of a GPU that hits memory bandwidth or shader throughput limits as pixel count increases.

Examining Low settings shows a similar pattern. At 1080p, Low achieves 78.5 FPS, which drops to 49.5 FPS at 1440p (a 36.9% reduction) and then to 28.7 FPS at 4K (a 42.0% reduction). The consistent percentage drops across settings indicate the GPU is the limiting component at all quality levels. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat at higher resolutions, but the data shows continuous decline.

The gap between 1080p and 4K is substantial. At High settings, the 4K result is only 35.6% of the 1080p frame rate. This suggests the RX 580's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is insufficient for 4K workloads, as the GPU must process four times as many pixels with only modest clock speed increases available. The processor's 4.30 GHz boost clock cannot offset this GPU limitation. The data indicates that for this combo, 1080p is the practical ceiling, with 1440p requiring significant settings compromises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range is usable. Low settings produce 78.5 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings deliver 56.9 FPS, a 27.5% reduction from Low. High settings achieve 41.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32.9 FPS. The step from High to Ultra represents a 20.9% FPS loss, which may not justify the visual gains for many users.

At 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings yield 49.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast action. Medium settings produce 36.2 FPS, a 26.9% drop from Low. High settings manage 26.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 23.4 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is only 2.7 FPS, suggesting Ultra provides minimal visual benefit for the performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the combo is not viable for gameplay. Low settings achieve 28.7 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold considered minimally playable. Medium settings produce 19.1 FPS, High drops to 14.8 FPS, and Ultra is nearly static at 10.8 FPS. The absolute FPS values at 4K are consistently below playable levels, regardless of settings. The data shows a clear pattern: the system delivers playable performance only at 1080p with Low to High settings, with Medium being the recommended balance of visual quality and frame rate for this resolution.