Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i3-12100F + Intel Arc B570

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Hitman 2, with the measured data showing a clear pattern: the combination sits near the bottom of the performance distribution (rank 2399 out of 3001 combos), indicating that this is a mid-tier setup that requires careful settings management to hit smooth frame rates. The Arc B570's 10 GB VRAM and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth provide enough headroom for the game's stealth environments, while the i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads at up to 4.30 GHz boost clock prove sufficient for the CPU demands, but the overall balance tilts heavily toward GPU limitation at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, which is the defining characteristic of this combo in Hitman 2. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 123 FPS average, which drops to 79 FPS at 1440p Low and further to 42 FPS at 4K Low — that is a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings. The scaling pattern suggests the Arc B570 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops nearly linearly with pixel count rather than flattening out, which would indicate CPU limitation.

Moving to Medium settings, the same trend holds: 93 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K, representing a 66% drop from 1080p to 4K. The High preset shows 70 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K, a 66% reduction as well. Ultra settings follow the pattern with 52 FPS at 1080p, 33 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, again a 65% decrease. This consistent ~66% scaling across all presets indicates that the GPU's rendering throughput is the limiting factor, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where this combo can consistently exceed 60 FPS, and even then only on Low (123 FPS) and Medium (93 FPS) presets. At 1440p, only the Low preset (79 FPS) breaks the 60 FPS barrier, while Medium (59 FPS) is borderline and High (45 FPS) and Ultra (33 FPS) fall short. At 4K, no preset achieves even 45 FPS, with the best being Low at 42 FPS and the worst being Ultra at 18 FPS. This scaling behavior strongly suggests that players targeting 1440p or 4K should expect to sacrifice visual quality significantly, while 1080p users have more flexibility.

The frame time consistency data, available only for Medium settings, shows that the 1080p Medium preset (79-106 FPS range) provides a smoother experience than 1440p Medium (50-68 FPS) or 4K Medium (27-36 FPS). The narrower range at 1080p relative to the average indicates more stable frame pacing, which is critical for a stealth game where precise timing matters.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the dominant factor in this combo's performance, and its specifications explain the observed scaling behavior. With 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus delivering 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, the GPU has ample memory capacity for Hitman 2's environments, which is confirmed by the fact that even at 4K Ultra the system doesn't appear to hit a VRAM wall — the frame rate drops are consistent with compute limitations rather than memory thrashing. The 2500 MHz base and boost clocks (identical, suggesting a fixed clock behavior) drive 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, producing 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 0.1% slower), the Intel Arc A750 (20582, 0.1% faster), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, 0.4% slower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, 0.5% faster). These near-identical scores indicate that the Arc B570 sits in a narrow performance band where even a 1% difference separates it from competitors, and in Hitman 2 specifically, the measured results align with this mid-pack positioning.

The GPU's 18 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) suggest it can handle modern rendering features, but Hitman 2 is a 2018 title that doesn't heavily leverage these capabilities. The 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate provide the raw throughput needed for the game's detailed environments, and the measured FPS data shows that the GPU scales predictably with resolution — a sign that the card's memory bandwidth and compute units are well balanced for this workload. The 150 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a mid-range power envelope, and the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface provides sufficient bandwidth for the 10 GB frame buffer.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F plays a supporting role in this combo, and its specifications suggest it is not the limiting factor in Hitman 2's performance at most settings. With 4 cores and 8 threads on the Alder Lake architecture, the CPU runs at a 3.30 GHz base clock and boosts to 4.30 GHz, providing solid single-thread performance that is crucial for game logic and AI in a stealth title. The 12 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core offer reasonable data locality for the game's systems, and the 58 W TDP indicates efficient operation.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong single-thread capabilities: a 3DMark single-thread score of 893, Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674, and Geekbench single-core score of 1932. Multi-threaded performance is more modest, with Cinebench R23 multi-core at 11860 and Geekbench multi-core at 7252, reflecting the 4-core/8-thread design. The CPU sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 13494, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (13492, 0% difference), Intel Core i5-9500 (13452, 0.3% slower), Intel Core 5 120UL (13594, 0.7% faster), and Intel Core i7-1250U (13351, 1.1% slower).

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU has spare capacity. At 1080p Low (123 FPS), the frame rate is high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance likely becomes a factor, as the game's AI and physics calculations must keep pace with the GPU's output. However, the fact that 1080p Low achieves 123 FPS — well above the 60 FPS target — indicates that the i3-12100F's 4.30 GHz boost clock is sufficient for the game's CPU demands at this level. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1659 and 4-thread score of 2859 suggest that the CPU can handle the multi-threaded workloads Hitman 2 presents, while the single-thread score of 893 confirms adequate per-core performance.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 with dual-channel configuration provides flexibility, and the PCIe Gen 5 interface (16 lanes CPU-only) ensures the GPU is not starved for bandwidth. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, as the frame rate drops proportionally with pixel count — a signature of GPU limitation. However, at 1080p with lower presets, the CPU's capabilities may cap the maximum achievable frame rate, which is consistent with the observed 123 FPS on Low being the ceiling for this combo.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, at 1080p with Low (123 FPS) or Medium (93 FPS) settings. At 1440p, only Low (79 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium (59 FPS) is just below. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS — the best is Low at 42 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this setup?

A: 1080p is the only resolution where all presets are playable, with even Ultra hitting 52 FPS. At 1440p, High (45 FPS) and Ultra (33 FPS) drop below smooth playability, and 4K is not recommended with any preset above Low (42 FPS).

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

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, placing it within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534), Intel Arc A750 (20582), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662). It sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the i3-12100F a bottleneck for the Arc B570?

A: The data indicates the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, where GPU scaling is consistent. At 1080p Low (123 FPS), the CPU's single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 893) may become a limiting factor, but the CPU still achieves playable results across all presets.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows 1440p Medium averages 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS. This provides a mostly smooth experience but may dip below 60 FPS during demanding scenes.

Q: How does this combo rank overall for Hitman 2?

A: This combination ranks 2399 out of 3001 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 20% of systems. This indicates that while playable at lower settings, it is not a high-performance setup for this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for the optimal experience with this combo. At 1080p, the Medium preset (93 FPS average, 79-106 FPS range) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, delivering well above 60 FPS with reasonable frame time consistency. The Low preset (123 FPS) is only recommended if maximum frame rates are desired, as the visual quality trade-off is significant. High (70 FPS) is playable but the drop from Medium is notable, and Ultra (52 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it less ideal for a smooth experience.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (59 FPS, 50-68 FPS range) is the best choice, as it sits right at the 60 FPS target and provides more visual detail than Low (79 FPS) while maintaining playability. The High preset (45 FPS) and Ultra (33 FPS) are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as they drop below the 50 FPS threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable in a stealth game. Players at 1440p should prioritize Medium settings to maintain responsiveness.

At 4K, the data shows that no preset provides a fully smooth experience. Low (42 FPS) is the most playable option, but even this falls below 45 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay but is not ideal. Medium (32 FPS) and High (24 FPS) are marginal, and Ultra (18 FPS) is essentially unplayable. For 4K users, the recommendation is to drop to 1440p or accept the Low preset with its visual compromises.

The overall recommendation is to play at 1080p Medium for the best experience, as this provides a 93 FPS average with a narrow frame time range (79-106 FPS), ensuring smooth performance for Hitman 2's stealth mechanics. Players with 1440p monitors should use Medium settings (59 FPS), while 4K is not recommended without significant settings reductions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in Hitman 2 is as follows:

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 123 FPS average
• Medium: 93 FPS average, 79 FPS minimum, 106 FPS maximum
• High: 70 FPS average
• Ultra: 52 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 79 FPS average
• Medium: 59 FPS average, 50 FPS minimum, 68 FPS maximum
• High: 45 FPS average
• Ultra: 33 FPS average

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 42 FPS average
• Medium: 32 FPS average, 27 FPS minimum, 36 FPS maximum
• High: 24 FPS average
• Ultra: 18 FPS average

These numbers demonstrate a consistent scaling pattern across all settings, with roughly a 66% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at every preset level. The Medium preset is the only one with measured minimum and maximum values, showing that the frame time variance increases with resolution — the 1080p Medium range is 27 FPS wide (79-106), the 1440p Medium range is 18 FPS wide (50-68), and the 4K Medium range is 9 FPS wide (27-36). This suggests that while absolute frame rates drop at higher resolutions, the frame pacing becomes more consistent relative to the average, which is a positive sign for the GPU's memory bandwidth management at lower frame rates.