Hitman 2

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a highly capable Hitman 2 experience, with the data showing that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and fluid performance across all tested resolutions. While Ultra settings are playable at 1080p, the combination of a 4-core CPU and a mid-range GPU makes Medium the optimal choice for maintaining consistently high frame rates. The benchmark results clearly indicate that this combo ranks in the 54th percentile of all tested systems, positioning it as a solid, mainstream performer that excels at 1080p and remains respectable at 1440p, though 4K gaming requires significant compromises.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of settings for this specific hardware combination, and the verdict is that Medium is the best overall preset. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS. This is more than sufficient for smooth, responsive gameplay on standard 60Hz monitors and leaves ample headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. The jump from Low to Medium costs only 46 FPS (from 182 to 136) but provides a substantial improvement in visual quality, making it a worthwhile trade-off.

High settings at 1080p are also viable, producing 103 FPS on average, but the drop from Medium is noticeable (33 FPS fewer). Ultra, while visually impressive at 76 FPS, dips below the 100 FPS threshold that many players consider ideal for fast-paced stealth action. The data suggests that the i3-12100F's limited core count begins to constrain performance at higher settings, where additional CPU overhead for physics and AI becomes a factor.

At 2560x1440, Medium remains the sweet spot. The average FPS drops to 87, with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100. This is still comfortably playable and demonstrates that the RX 7700's 16 GB of VRAM and 624.1 GB/s of memory bandwidth are sufficient to handle the increased pixel count without severe penalties. High at 1440p yields 66 FPS, which is acceptable but begins to show the strain of the CPU-GPU balance. Low at 1440p produces 116 FPS, but this setting sacrifices too much visual detail for the modest gain over Medium.

For 4K (3840x2160), the picture changes dramatically. Medium is the only setting that provides a consistently playable experience, averaging 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS. High at 4K drops to 35 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 26 FPS, both of which are below the generally accepted threshold for smooth gameplay. Low at 4K achieves 62 FPS, but this is a last-resort option for users who prioritize frame rate over all else. The recommendation is clear: use Medium for 1080p and 1440p, and only consider 4K with Medium or Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame data places this specific pairing at rank 1371 out of 3001 tested combinations. This means the i3-12100F + RX 7700 outperforms approximately 54% of all tested combos in Hitman 2, while falling behind the remaining 46%. This is a solid mid-pack result that reflects the balanced, mainstream nature of the components.

Breaking down the CPU's contribution, the i3-12100F's average benchmark score is 13,494, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (score 13,492, deltaPct 0), the Intel Core i5-9500 (score 13,452, deltaPct 0.3), and the Intel Core 7 1250U (score 13,351, deltaPct 1.1). The data shows the i3-12100F is essentially tied with these processors in synthetic benchmarks, yet the Hitman 2 results suggest that its 4-core, 8-thread configuration is adequate but not exceptional for this title, which can scale with additional cores.

On the GPU side, the RX 7700's average benchmark score is 15,852, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R9 370X (score 15,862, deltaPct -0.1), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (score 16,014, deltaPct -1), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (score 15,679, deltaPct 1.1). The RX 7700 is effectively on par with these cards in aggregate performance, but its 16 GB VRAM and RDNA 3.0 architecture provide advantages in modern titles that may not be fully reflected in older games like Hitman 2.

The rank of 1371 suggests that while this combo is not a top-tier performer, it is far from being an outlier at the bottom. Users can expect a dependable experience that handles the game's core mechanics well, but they should not expect to max out every setting at high resolutions. The ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows strong 1080p performance and acceptable 1440p performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the dominant component in this pairing for Hitman 2, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of VRAM that easily handles Hitman 2's textures and effects at all settings, even at 4K where the game can be memory-intensive.

The clock speeds are base: 1900 MHz, boost: 2459 MHz, and game: 2041 MHz. The boost clock of 2459 MHz is the theoretical maximum, while the game clock of 2041 MHz represents the typical sustained speed under load. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 136; at 1440p Medium, it drops to 87; and at 4K Medium, it falls to 46. This scaling pattern (roughly 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K) indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs provide a raw compute throughput of 25.18 TFLOPS (FP32). This is sufficient to drive Hitman 2's DirectX 12 rendering pipeline, which the game supports via the GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) API. The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s are well-matched to the game's requirements, but the 4K Ultra setting (26 FPS) demonstrates the limits of this GPU when pushed to its maximum.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 58th among all GPUs is slightly below its CPU counterpart's 68th percentile, but the measured results in Hitman 2 show that the GPU handles the graphical load admirably. The 16 GB VRAM is particularly beneficial for Hitman 2's large open-ended levels, ensuring that texture streaming does not cause stuttering, even at 4K. However, the data also reveals that the GPU's performance is not the sole limiting factor, as the CPU can become a bottleneck at lower resolutions with high settings.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides the best experience, averaging 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS. This offers a high frame rate with good visual quality, and the 1440p Medium setting (87 FPS) is a strong alternative for users with higher-resolution monitors.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K with Medium settings, the system averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS, which is playable. Lowering to Low settings at 4K yields 62 FPS, while High (35 FPS) and Ultra (26 FPS) are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's core count affect performance in Hitman 2?

A: The i3-12100F has 4 cores and 8 threads with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The data shows that at 1080p Low (182 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (76 FPS), the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at low settings, but at higher settings with more complex scenes, the 4-core configuration can limit frame rates, as evidenced by the significant drops at 4K.

Q: Is the RX 7700's 16 GB VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which was released in 2018 and does not require massive memory allocations. The GPU's bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s and 256-bit bus ensure that memory is never a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS of 26 is limited by compute performance rather than VRAM capacity.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 1371 out of 3001 tested combinations, placing it in the 54th percentile. The CPU scores 13,494 on average (68th percentile), while the GPU scores 15,852 (58th percentile). These rankings indicate a balanced system that performs better than the majority of tested combos but is not top-tier.

Q: What is the minimum FPS I can expect at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows a minimum FPS of 74 at 2560x1440 with Medium settings. This ensures that frame times remain stable enough to avoid noticeable stutter, making it a comfortable setting for most gaming scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 136 at 1920x1080 to 87 at 2560x1440, and then to 46 at 3840x2160. This represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The non-linear drop-off indicates that the GPU is being progressively more stressed as the pixel count increases.

For High settings, the pattern is similar but steeper: 103 FPS at 1080p, 66 FPS at 1440p (a 36% drop), and 35 FPS at 4K (a 47% drop from 1440p). The Low settings show the highest absolute numbers: 182 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The Ultra settings are the most demanding, starting at 76 FPS at 1080p, falling to 49 FPS at 1440p, and reaching just 26 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior strongly suggests that the GPU is the limiting component at resolutions above 1080p. The RX 7700's raw compute power, while sufficient for 1080p, is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K with demanding settings. The fact that even Low settings at 4K only achieve 62 FPS (a 66% drop from 1080p Low) confirms that the pixel throughput required at 4K is beyond the GPU's comfortable range.

Conversely, at 1080p, the CPU begins to play a more significant role. The difference between Low (182 FPS) and Ultra (76 FPS) is 106 FPS, which is a much larger gap than what would be expected if the GPU were the sole bottleneck. This indicates that the i3-12100F's 4 cores limit the frame rate at higher settings, where more CPU work is needed for game logic and draw calls. The data shows that for 1080p gaming, the system is well-balanced, but for 4K, the GPU is clearly the weak link.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It features 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, with 80 KB of L1 per core. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it has a TDP of 58 W. The CPU's benchmark scores show a single-thread performance of 893 (3dmark_single_thread) and a multi-thread score of 4,023 (3dmark_max_threads), indicating strong single-core performance for a budget chip.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p with lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 182 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum output for this game. The drop to 136 FPS at Medium (a 25% reduction) suggests that the GPU is handling the increased graphical load, but the CPU is still managing to keep up. However, at 1080p Ultra (76 FPS), the CPU becomes a more significant constraint, as the additional graphical effects and shadow computations require more CPU overhead.

The CPU's 4 cores are sufficient for Hitman 2's engine, which is not heavily multi-threaded, but the data shows that the processor cannot maintain the same frame rates at high settings as a higher-core-count CPU might. The 3dmark_8_threads score of 4,026 is nearly identical to the max_threads score of 4,023, confirming that the CPU's 8 threads are fully utilized and that adding more cores would not provide additional benefit for this workload.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU takes over as the primary bottleneck. The FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p are consistent across settings, indicating that the CPU is not the limiting factor at these resolutions. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs (average score 13,494) places it above the median, but its nearest rivals (Core 3 N355, i5-9500, Core 7 1250U) all have similar scores, showing that the i3-12100F is a competent but not exceptional performer for this game. Users with higher-core-count CPUs might see better minimum FPS in crowded scenes, but for the majority of Hitman 2 gameplay, the i3-12100F provides a stable foundation.