Hitman 2

The benchmark data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER reveals a configuration that shifts from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to heavily GPU-limited at 4K. The measured FPS figures show a clear pattern: scaling from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K produces predictable performance drops that align with the increasing pixel load on the GPU, while the CPU's capabilities become less relevant as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory across resolutions is steep and consistent. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 162.1 FPS, but this drops to 99.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 56.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 38.4% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 43.4% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary limiter at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops proportionally with the increase in pixel count.

At High settings, the same trend emerges: 89.2 FPS at 1080p, 60.5 FPS at 1440p, and 32.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result falls below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that this resolution and settings combination is not suitable for smooth gameplay. The gap between Low and High settings at 4K is substantial—56.5 FPS versus 32.2 FPS—highlighting how much overhead the GPU has to sacrifice for visual fidelity at this resolution.

Ultra settings exacerbate the GPU bottleneck further. The 4K Ultra result of 20.5 FPS is barely playable, and even 1440p Ultra at 40.8 FPS struggles to maintain fluid motion. The data suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of Hitman 2 at 4K with higher quality presets. The scaling from 1080p Ultra at 67.7 FPS to 4K Ultra at 20.5 FPS represents a 69.8% drop, a stark illustration of the resolution wall this combination hits.

The limiting component at 1080p appears to be the CPU, given that the i3-12100F's four cores with Hyper-Threading (8 threads) have to feed frames to a GPU capable of over 160 FPS at Low settings. However, as resolution increases, the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth constraints take over, and the CPU headroom becomes irrelevant. The measured data shows that at 4K, even dropping from Ultra to Low only recovers from 20.5 FPS to 56.5 FPS, which indicates the GPU is saturated regardless of the settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1110 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the 61.8th percentile of all configurations tested, meaning it outperforms nearly two-thirds of the field but sits well behind high-end pairings. The rank reflects a mismatch between the CPU's modest 4-core, 8-thread design and the GPU's mid-to-high-range Turing architecture.

The i3-12100F itself holds the 72nd percentile against all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX with an average score of 13534 (a 0.1% difference), the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13462 (0.4% ahead of the i3), and the Intel Core i3-10105 at 13430 (0.6% behind). This clustering shows that the i3-12100F's raw compute capability is competitive with much more expensive processors in aggregate benchmarks, but its 4-core limitation becomes apparent in gaming workloads that scale with thread count.

The RTX 2070 SUPER ranks in the 65th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 22206. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A400 at 22307 (0.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 22006 (0.9% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile at 22729 (2.3% higher). The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 18169 and DirectX 12 score of 67 indicate solid but not exceptional DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for Hitman 2's engine.

The 1110th rank out of 1795 combos suggests that while this pairing is functional, it does not maximize the potential of either component. The data indicates that the CPU holds back the GPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU's 4K performance is compromised, resulting in a mid-pack ranking that reflects these trade-offs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide decent single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681. The processor has 12 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps with game data locality.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most pronounced at 1080p with lower settings. The 162.1 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the i3-12100F can feed frames quickly enough to exploit the GPU's headroom, but the 4-core design limits maximum throughput. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912 and PassMark multi-thread score of 14015 show that the processor can handle parallel workloads, but Hitman 2's engine may not scale perfectly with only 8 threads.

The benchmark data for the i3-12100F shows a significant drop from 4 threads to 8 threads in 3DMark: 2859 for 4 threads versus 4026 for 8 threads, and 4023 for max threads. This indicates that the processor gains only about 40% performance from adding Hyper-Threading, which is typical for a 4-core part. In a game like Hitman 2 that benefits from higher core counts, this limitation becomes apparent when comparing to rivals with more cores, such as the Intel Core i7-1250U, which has a 0.4% higher average score despite being a mobile chip.

The i3-12100F's performance relative to its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks shows that it punches above its weight class. It is only 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, a workstation processor with far more cores, which suggests that Hitman 2's primary thread load is not heavily parallelized. However, in scenarios where the GPU is not the bottleneck, the CPU's 4-core limit becomes a constraint, particularly at 1080p High and Ultra settings where frame rates drop to 89.2 FPS and 67.7 FPS, respectively.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 162.1 FPS, Medium 118.6 FPS, High 89.2 FPS, and Ultra 67.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 58.2% reduction in frame rate, which is substantial but keeps the combo playable at all settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 99.8 FPS on Low, 75.2 FPS on Medium, 60.5 FPS on High, and 40.8 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p High result of 60.5 FPS is right at the edge of smooth gameplay, while Ultra falls below 60 FPS, indicating that this resolution demands careful settings tuning for a consistent experience. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is 32.2%, which aligns with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the results are 56.5 FPS on Low, 42.8 FPS on Medium, 32.2 FPS on High, and 20.5 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low result is the only one above 60 FPS, and even that is borderline. The 4K Ultra result of 20.5 FPS is not playable for most users, and the 4K High result of 32.2 FPS would require adaptive sync or frame rate capping to be tolerable. The data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is not sufficient for 4K gaming in Hitman 2 beyond Low settings.

Comparing settings at each resolution, the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 94.4 FPS (from 162.1 to 67.7), at 1440p it is 59.0 FPS (from 99.8 to 40.8), and at 4K it is 36.0 FPS (from 56.5 to 20.5). This pattern suggests that the GPU becomes the dominant factor at higher resolutions, and the CPU's influence on frame rate diminishes. The 4K Low result of 56.5 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra result of 67.7 FPS shows that the combo can achieve similar frame rates by trading resolution against settings, but the visual quality trade-off is significant.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p Ultra at 67.7 FPS and 1440p High at 60.5 FPS both provide playable frame rates. For a balanced experience, 1440p High offers a good compromise between visual fidelity and performance, while 1080p Medium at 118.6 FPS is suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: The benchmark results indicate that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, where the combo achieves 56.5 FPS. At Medium settings, the frame rate drops to 42.8 FPS, and at High and Ultra, it falls to 32.2 FPS and 20.5 FPS, respectively, making those settings unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the i3-12100F's 4-core design cannot push frame rates beyond 162.1 FPS. As resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the RTX 2070 SUPER becomes the bottleneck, with frame rates dropping proportionally to pixel count.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i3-12100F's average benchmark score of 13516 is 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-1250U, and 0.6% above the Intel Core i3-10105. This places it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the RTX 2070 SUPER's performance ranking relative to other GPUs?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER holds the 65th percentile against all GPUs with an average score of 22206. It is 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400, 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, and 2.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: Does the combo's rank in Hitman 2 reflect its overall capability?

A: The combo ranks 1110 out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the 61.8th percentile. This mid-pack ranking reflects the CPU's 4-core limitation at lower resolutions and the GPU's 4K performance constraints, resulting in a configuration that is competent but not exceptional for this game.