Hitman 2

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a robust 1080p and 1440p experience in Hitman 2, though 4K Ultra remains out of reach. The measured data shows this combination ranks in the 52nd percentile of all tested configurations, placing it solidly in the mid-to-upper tier for this stealth title.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, delivering an average of 63.9 FPS. This is the only 1440p setting that clears the 60 FPS threshold, making it the optimal choice for smooth gameplay without sacrificing image quality. At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves 104.3 FPS, which provides a significant headroom above standard refresh rates, while the Medium preset at 133.8 FPS is better suited for high-refresh displays.

The Ultra preset presents a steep performance penalty across all resolutions. At 2560x1440, it drops to 46.9 FPS, and at 1920x1080 it falls to 74.1 FPS. The data suggests that Ultra is not worth the frame rate cost for this combination. Conversely, the Low preset delivers extreme frame rates—179.1 FPS at 1080p and 112.3 FPS at 1440p—but the visual downgrade is substantial for a game where environmental detail matters for stealth gameplay.

For 4K, the situation is more constrained. The High preset at 3840x2160 produces only 35.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a stealth title requiring precise timing. The Medium preset at 44.7 FPS offers a marginal improvement, but neither reaches the smoothness of the 1440p High setting. Users with 4K displays should consider the Low preset at 58.8 FPS, which is the only 4K option approaching acceptable playability.

The sweet spot is clearly 2560x1440 High at 63.9 FPS. It maintains the visual quality needed for Hitman 2’s detailed environments while keeping frame rates comfortably above the 60 FPS target. Users prioritizing competitive or speedrun play may prefer 1080p Medium for the higher 133.8 FPS, but the 1440p High setting offers the most complete experience.

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. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache are modest by modern standards, but the single-thread performance is strong. The 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681 indicate that this CPU handles lightly-threaded game logic well.

Hitman 2’s workload appears to benefit from this combination’s thread configuration. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 and 8-thread score of 4026 show good scaling up to the CPU’s physical core count, with the 8-thread score nearly matching the max-thread score of 4023. This suggests that the game utilizes the available threads without hitting a bottleneck. The PassMark multithread score of 14015 places this CPU at the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, which is respectable for a budget-oriented part.

The CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals is tight. It sits within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX in average benchmark score (13516 vs 13534), and is only 0.4% behind the Intel Core i7-1250U. More notably, it edges out the Intel Core i7-7700K by 1.8% and the Intel Core i3-10105 by 0.6%. This indicates that the i3-12100F’s modern architecture compensates for its lower core count in this game’s context. The measured frame rates show that the CPU does not starve the RTX 3060 Ti, as the 1080p Low preset reaches 179.1 FPS, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor even at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip manufactured on an 8 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The boost clock of 1665 MHz and 4864 shading units provide substantial compute throughput, with FP32 performance rated at 16.20 TFLOPS. The GPU’s 38 RT cores and 152 tensor cores are present but not heavily utilized in this non-ray-traced title.

The GPU’s memory configuration is sufficient for Hitman 2’s environments at the tested settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity does not appear to cause stuttering or texture pop-in at 4K, as the High preset still manages 35.7 FPS. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth supports the high-resolution textures without significant bottlenecks. The PassMark G3D score of 20349 places this GPU at the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with a compute score of 10006.

In terms of rival positioning, the RTX 3060 Ti is closely matched with several AMD offerings. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6700M by only 0.2% in average benchmark score (25120 vs 25180) and is 0.5% behind both the Radeon RX 6600 and the Radeon 890M. The delta with the RX 580 2048SP is slightly larger at 0.7%. These small margins indicate that the GPU’s performance is competitive with mid-range options from the same era. The measured frame rates show strong scaling from 4K to 1080p, with the Low preset at 1080p hitting 179.1 FPS—a 5x improvement over the 4K High result.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 937th out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 52nd percentile. This is a slightly below-average position, but the context matters: this ranking includes high-end multi-GPU and flagship configurations. The measured performance shows that this combo is well-balanced, with neither component being a clear bottleneck across the tested resolutions.

The 4K results reveal the combo’s limitations. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields only 26.3 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. However, the jump from Low to High at 4K (58.8 to 35.7 FPS) shows that the GPU has headroom for medium settings if users compromise on visual effects. At 1440p, the combo moves into comfortable territory, with all presets except Ultra exceeding 60 FPS. The 1080p results are uniformly strong, with even the Ultra preset achieving 74.1 FPS.

The ranking reflects a system that excels at mainstream resolutions but struggles with enthusiast 4K Ultra settings. The 52nd percentile position is respectable given the CPU’s budget positioning. The data indicates that users upgrading from older 4-core CPUs will see significant gains, as the i3-12100F’s 12 MB L3 cache and Alder Lake efficiency are well-suited to Hitman 2’s level streaming. The RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth provide enough throughput for the game’s draw distances, but the 4K Ultra preset’s 26.3 FPS shows where the combination hits its ceiling.

FAQ

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

A: The 2560x1440 High preset offers the best experience at 63.9 FPS, providing smooth gameplay while maintaining visual quality. It is the only 1440p setting that exceeds 60 FPS, while 4K High falls to 35.7 FPS and 1080p Ultra reaches 74.1 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core i3-12100F compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark scores?

A: The i3-12100F scores 13516 in average benchmarks, which is 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534), 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462), and 1.8% above the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280).

Q: Is the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: Yes, the 8 GB GDDR6 memory is sufficient for 4K play, as evidenced by the High preset achieving 35.7 FPS and Low reaching 58.8 FPS. However, the Ultra preset drops to 26.3 FPS, indicating that VRAM is not the limiting factor—the GPU’s compute throughput is.

Q: Why does the Ultra preset perform so poorly compared to High?

A: The performance drop from High to Ultra is substantial across all resolutions: at 1080p, it falls from 104.3 to 74.1 FPS; at 1440p, from 63.9 to 46.9 FPS; and at 4K, from 35.7 to 26.3 FPS. This suggests Ultra enables effects that disproportionately tax the GPU’s shading units.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 937th out of 1795 combos, placing it at the 52nd percentile. This is a mid-pack result, with the system performing better at 1080p and 1440p than at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at lower resolutions?

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck even at 1080p. The Low preset reaches 179.1 FPS at 1080p, which is near the RTX 3060 Ti’s practical limits, while the CPU’s max-thread score of 4023 suggests it can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them.