Hitman 2

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 lands at rank 580 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the upper third of all systems evaluated. This is a strong showing for a combination that pairs a 4-core, 8-thread Alder Lake processor with a high-end Ampere graphics card. The combo’s position suggests that while the CPU is not the absolute fastest on the market, the overall package is more than capable of delivering a smooth experience in this stealth title. The data indicates a system that is balanced enough to avoid severe bottlenecks, though the CPU’s limitations become more apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 580 out of 1795 places it in the 67th percentile of all tested configurations. This is a solid result, but it is not a top-tier finish. The Intel Core i3-12100F itself sits in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which scores 13534 (a delta of -0.1%), and the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13462 (a delta of 0.4%). The i3-12100F’s score is also very close to the Intel Core i3-10105 at 13430 (0.6% delta) and the Intel Core i7-7700K at 13280 (1.8% delta). This tight grouping shows that the i3-12100F delivers performance on par with much higher-tier processors in general compute tasks, which helps explain why the combo ranks as well as it does. The RTX 3080, meanwhile, sits in the 80th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 35787, edging out the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35860, -0.2% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35435, 1% delta). The GPU’s high percentile is a major contributor to the combo’s overall standing, but the rank of 580 indicates that other systems with faster CPUs pull ahead in this specific game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications make it well-suited for Hitman 2’s demanding visuals. The card features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is ample for the game’s textures and geometry at high resolutions. The GPU’s boost clock of 1710 MHz, built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, provides substantial raw compute power. The RTX 3080’s 8704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units allow it to handle complex scenes with ease. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 25086 in Passmark G3D and 14397 in Passmark GPU Compute, indicating strong rasterization and compute capabilities. The data shows that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor in this combo, as it consistently pushes high frame rates across all settings. However, the 10 GB VRAM, while sufficient for Hitman 2, is a consideration for future titles, but in this game, the GPU’s role is to provide the graphical headroom that the CPU can then feed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance at higher resolutions and CPU-bound performance at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with Low settings hitting 227 FPS and Medium reaching 168.6 FPS. This indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to achieve these numbers, but the scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a substantial drop. For example, at High settings, the frame rate falls from 126.4 FPS at 1080p to 85.2 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of about 32%. This drop is steeper than what would be expected from a purely GPU-limited scenario, suggesting that the i3-12100F’s 4 cores are starting to become a bottleneck as the GPU’s workload increases. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the scaling becomes more typical of a GPU-bound situation. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 85.2 FPS at 1440p to 46.1 FPS at 4K, a reduction of about 46%. This steep decline is characteristic of the GPU struggling to maintain performance at 4K, which is expected given the RTX 3080’s capabilities. The data shows that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, while the GPU takes over as the primary constraint at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1080p, Medium delivers 168.6 FPS, which is more than enough for smooth gameplay, while High drops to 126.4 FPS and Ultra falls to 92.5 FPS. At 1440p, Medium provides 108.4 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for a good experience, while High drops to 85.2 FPS and Ultra falls to 58.4 FPS. At 4K, Medium is the only setting that maintains a playable frame rate, with 59.8 FPS, while High drops to 46.1 FPS and Ultra falls to 33.8 FPS. The Low preset, while delivering high frame rates (227 FPS at 1080p, 143.1 FPS at 1440p, and 79.1 FPS at 4K), sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game like Hitman 2, where stealth and environmental detail are key. The data indicates that Medium is the sweet spot, offering a 60+ FPS experience at 1440p and a near-60 FPS experience at 4K, while High is only viable at 1080p and 1440p. Ultra, while visually impressive, pushes the system too hard at 4K and even at 1440p, it barely breaks 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 227 FPS, Medium averages 168.6 FPS, High averages 126.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 92.5 FPS. These numbers show that the CPU is the primary limiter at this resolution, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. The gap between Low and Ultra is significant, with Ultra being 59% slower than Low, but even Ultra remains above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the frame rates drop considerably. Low averages 143.1 FPS, Medium averages 108.4 FPS, High averages 85.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 58.4 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is more pronounced, with High losing 32% of its performance and Ultra losing 37%. This indicates that the GPU is beginning to take on more of the workload, but the CPU is still contributing to the performance ceiling.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. Low averages 79.1 FPS, Medium averages 59.8 FPS, High averages 46.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 33.8 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steep across all settings, with High losing 46% of its performance and Ultra losing 42%. This is classic GPU-bound behavior, as the RTX 3080 struggles to maintain high frame rates at this resolution. The data shows that only Low and Medium presets are playable at 4K, with High and Ultra falling below 60 FPS. The measured results indicate that the combo is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can handle High settings at 85.2 FPS, providing a smooth and visually rich experience.