Hitman 2

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti presents a striking contrast in Hitman 2: a modest four-core processor driving a high-end Ada Lovelace GPU. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is heavily influenced by resolution and settings, with the CPU’s limitations becoming more apparent at lower graphical loads. This combination ranks in the top tier of tested configurations, but the data suggests that its performance profile is far from uniform across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies in this pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 275.5 FPS, but this drops to 180.1 FPS at 1440p and further to 97.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 64.5% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is being tasked with progressively heavier work, yet the CPU is still keeping pace to allow such high numbers. The scaling is not perfectly linear, however, which points to a mixed workload.

Moving to High settings, the trend continues but with a different shape. At 1080p High, the system posts 157.8 FPS, which falls to 103.5 FPS at 1440p and 54.1 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p here is 54.3 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 49.4 FPS, showing a more consistent degradation. This suggests that at higher settings, the GPU’s rendering load becomes the dominant factor, smoothing out the scaling curve.

The Ultra preset tells the clearest story about the limiting component. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 41.4, a figure that is far below the 114.2 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 72.8 FPS, a massive drop that reflects the extreme demands of 4K Ultra on the RTX 4070 Ti. In contrast, the difference between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra is 37.2 FPS, which is proportionally smaller. This indicates that while the GPU is clearly the primary constraint at higher resolutions, the CPU’s four cores still manage to feed it adequately, preventing a complete collapse at lower resolutions.

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. Its benchmark scores show a strong single-thread capability, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2224 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681. This strength is crucial for Hitman 2, as the game’s stealth simulation and AI logic often rely on single-threaded performance. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 275.5 FPS, a figure that would be impossible if the CPU were severely limiting.

However, the CPU’s multi-threaded performance is more modest. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 11912, and its 3DMark 8-thread score is 4026. In Hitman 2, this translates to a ceiling that becomes visible at higher frame rates. At 1080p Low, the GPU is capable of far more than 275.5 FPS, but the CPU cannot push beyond this point. The same effect is seen at 1440p Low, where the frame rate is 180.1 FPS, a number that is still high but indicates the processor is working near its limit. The 4-core design, while efficient, lacks the headroom of higher-core-count parts, making it the bottleneck in these low-load scenarios.

The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide a solid foundation, but its 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs places it in the mid-range. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core i3-12100F scores within 1.8% of the Intel Core i7-7700K and within 0.6% of the Intel Core i3-10105, showing that it is competitive with older and similarly positioned chips. In Hitman 2, this means the processor is adequate for the game’s demands, but it will not boost frame rates beyond what its core count allows.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, is the clear workhorse of this combination. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, and its boost clock of 2610 MHz provides substantial compute power. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 31624 and its 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirm its high-end status. In Hitman 2, the GPU’s role is most evident at higher resolutions and settings.

At 4K Ultra, the RTX 4070 Ti manages 41.4 FPS, which is a playable but not smooth experience. The drop from 4K High (54.1 FPS) to 4K Ultra (41.4 FPS) is 12.7 FPS, showing the cost of the Ultra preset’s additional effects. The GPU’s 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are not heavily utilized in this game, but its raw rasterization power is what drives the numbers. At 1440p Ultra, the GPU produces 77 FPS, which is respectable, while at 1080p Ultra, it reaches 114.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU still has headroom even at the highest settings.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is sufficient for Hitman 2, as the game does not require excessive memory at any tested setting. The GPU’s memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth ensure that texture streaming is not a bottleneck. The data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at 4K and at Ultra settings, where the CPU’s limitations are masked by the sheer rendering load.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 203rd out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 11.3% of all configurations. This is a strong result, but it is not as high as one might expect given the GPU’s power. The ranking reflects the CPU’s moderate performance, which holds back the system in certain scenarios. The combo outperforms 90% of tested pairs, but it falls short of the absolute top tier, where more balanced CPU-GPU pairings with higher-core-count processors reside.

The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, score within 0.6% of the RTX 4070 Ti, showing that this desktop card is competitive with the latest mobile flagship. However, the CPU’s rivals, like the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, score within 0.1% of the Core i3-12100F, indicating that the processor is not a standout in its class. In Hitman 2, the combo’s rank is a direct result of this imbalance: the GPU carries the system at high resolutions, but the CPU limits it at lower ones.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the system demonstrates its full range. With Low settings, the average FPS is 275.5, which is exceptionally high and suitable for competitive play. Medium settings yield 208.9 FPS, while High settings produce 157.8 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 114.2 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decrease, with the largest jump being 51.3 FPS from Low to Medium.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain strong but show the GPU’s increasing workload. Low settings achieve 180.1 FPS, Medium settings 134.6 FPS, and High settings 103.5 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 77 FPS, which is the first point where the system dips below the 100 FPS mark. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is roughly a 35-40% reduction, reflecting the increased pixel count.

At 4K, the system’s limitations become clear. Low settings produce 97.8 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium settings drop to 71.2 FPS. High settings yield 54.1 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 41.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 56.4 FPS, showing the massive impact of graphical fidelity at this resolution. The data indicates that for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, users would need to stick to Medium settings or below, while at 1440p, High settings are achievable, and at 1080p, even Ultra is comfortable.