Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 produces a highly playable experience in Hitman 2 at 1080p and 1440p, though 4K Ultra proves too demanding for the GPU. The data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, revealing a clear GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions while the quad-core CPU maintains adequate frame pacing. This pairing ranks 1837 out of 3001 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field, a position driven primarily by the CPU's modest core count rather than the GPU's raw capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions tells a clear story of GPU limitation. At 1920x1080 High, the system delivers 86 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops performance to 55 FPS, a 36% reduction. The jump to 3840x2160 High further reduces average FPS to 29, representing a 47% decline from 1440p and a 66% decline from 1080p. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario — the RTX 5050's 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 compute cannot keep up with the pixel throughput demands at higher resolutions.

Low settings exhibit the same trend but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 152 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it drops to 97 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 52 FPS. The percentage drops are 36% and 46% respectively, nearly identical to the High preset scaling. This consistency suggests that resolution scaling is independent of settings level, reinforcing that pixel count is the dominant factor.

Medium settings provide the most granular data, with min and max FPS recorded at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 114 FPS with a min of 97 and max of 131. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 73 FPS (min 62, max 84), and at 4K Medium, the average is 39 FPS (min 33, max 45). The frame time variance remains consistent across resolutions, with approximately a 30% spread between min and max FPS at each setting level.

The Ultra preset reveals the steepest scaling curve. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 64 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 41 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it bottoms out at 22 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration in the entire dataset that falls below the 30 FPS playability threshold, indicating that this combination is not suited for maximum fidelity at maximum resolution.

The limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU. The RTX 5050's 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 320.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is insufficient for the texture and shading workloads at 3840x2160. The CPU's 3DMark scores — 4051 in the 16-thread test and 893 in single-thread — remain constant regardless of resolution, yet FPS drops by two-thirds from 1080p to 4K, confirming the GPU as the primary constraint.

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. It operates at a base clock of 3.30 GHz with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, and its 12 MB shared L3 cache provides adequate data locality for Hitman 2's level-based design. The CPU's benchmark scores indicate solid single-thread performance — 1674 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1932 in Geekbench single-core — which is critical for a stealth game where AI calculations and physics updates occur on the main thread.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but it becomes more relevant at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 152 FPS. At this frame rate, the CPU's 4 cores are likely approaching their limit. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 and 8-thread score of 4026 suggest that the CPU can handle the game's multi-threaded workloads, but the thread count is modest by modern standards. The PassMark multithread score of 14015, while respectable, does not match the throughput of higher-core-count alternatives.

The CPU's performance relative to its peers is tightly clustered. The nearest rival, the Intel Core 3 N355, has an identical average benchmark score of 13492 (0% delta). The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452 (0.3% higher), while the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594 (0.7% lower). The Intel Core i7-1250U achieves 13351 (1.1% higher). This clustering within a 1.1% band indicates that the i3-12100F delivers performance consistent with its price tier, with no significant outlier characteristics.

The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with its avgBenchmarkScore of 13494, positions it as a mid-range performer. In Hitman 2 specifically, the CPU's 4.30 GHz boost clock helps maintain frame times during crowded scenes, but the architecture's lack of efficiency cores means background tasks compete with the game for the same 4 physical cores. The 58 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a straightforward drop-in for budget builds, but the data suggests that frame rates above 150 FPS at 1080p Low are likely CPU-limited.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combination in Hitman 2?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 152 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this CPU-GPU pairing in the measured configurations.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K with acceptable performance?

A: At 4K, the system can achieve 52 FPS on Low settings and 39 FPS on Medium settings. However, High settings drop to 29 FPS and Ultra falls to 22 FPS, both below the commonly accepted 30 FPS minimum for playable performance.

Q: Which settings preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings deliver 73 FPS average with a min of 62 FPS and max of 84 FPS. This is the highest preset that maintains a 60+ FPS floor, making it the recommended choice for smooth gameplay at that resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5050's avgBenchmarkScore of 21035 places it 0.6% below the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153), 1% below the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237), 1.6% above the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713), and 1.6% below the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21379).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests some CPU limitation at 1080p Low (152 FPS) and 1080p Medium (114 FPS), where the GPU's workload is lighter. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and PassMark single-thread score of 3444 indicate reasonable per-core performance, but the 4-core/8-thread configuration may limit frame rates above the 150 FPS range.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1080p Medium?

A: At 1080p Medium, the system records a min FPS of 97 and max FPS of 131, with an average of 114 FPS. The 34 FPS spread between min and max indicates moderate frame time variance, likely due to scene complexity changes during gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all settings. Low settings produce 152 FPS average, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset. Medium settings achieve 114 FPS average with a min of 97 and max of 131. High settings reduce performance to 86 FPS average, while Ultra settings hold at 64 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 58% reduction in frame rate, with each preset tier costing approximately 20-25% performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance envelope shifts downward. Low settings maintain 97 FPS average, still comfortably playable. Medium settings deliver 73 FPS average (min 62, max 84), which remains smooth for most displays. High settings drop to 55 FPS average, which is playable but may show judder on 60 Hz panels. Ultra settings fall to 41 FPS average, which is borderline for fast-paced gameplay. The 1440p results show a 58% reduction from Low to Ultra, matching the 1080p scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher presets. Low settings achieve 52 FPS average, which is still usable. Medium settings drop to 39 FPS average (min 33, max 45), with the minimum approaching the stutter threshold. High settings fall to 29 FPS average, which is below the 30 FPS playability standard. Ultra settings bottom out at 22 FPS average, making this configuration impractical for competitive or action-heavy sequences.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. The frame time consistency, measured as the spread between min and max, remains relatively stable: 34 FPS at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently saturated, reducing the impact of scene complexity variations on frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die. It features 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units, delivering 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves to be a limiting factor at 4K resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds are 2317 MHz base and 2572 MHz boost, with memory running at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s are respectable for the GPU's class, but the 32 ROPs become a bottleneck at 4K where pixel fill requirements quadruple compared to 1080p. This is evident in the 4K Ultra result of 22 FPS, which is only 34% of the 1080p Ultra result of 64 FPS.

The RTX 5050's synthetic benchmark scores paint a picture of a mid-range GPU. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502 and PassMark G3D score of 17326 place it in the 66th percentile among all GPUs. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 90334 and Vulkan score of 89381 are nearly identical, indicating well-balanced compute performance across APIs.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a tight competitive field. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 21153 (0.6% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M scores 21237 (1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713 (1.6% lower), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379 (1.6% higher). The RTX 5050's avgBenchmarkScore of 21035 places it in the middle of this group, with no rival more than 1.6% different.

The GPU's 130 W TDP and single 8-pin power connector make it efficient for its performance class. The suggested 300 W PSU and dual-slot form factor are standard for modern GPUs. The PCIe 5.0 x8 interface provides adequate bandwidth for the GPU's data transfer needs, and the 5 nm process node contributes to the favorable performance-per-watt characteristics observed in the benchmark data.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080 displays, the data supports using Ultra settings for the best visual experience. The system achieves 64 FPS average at 1080p Ultra, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay on standard refresh rate monitors. If a higher refresh rate display is in use, dropping to High settings yields 86 FPS average, which better utilizes 144 Hz panels. Medium settings at 114 FPS average are the highest preset that maintains a 100+ FPS experience.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance. The 73 FPS average with a 62 FPS minimum ensures that frame times rarely drop below the 60 FPS playability threshold. High settings at 55 FPS average are playable but may exhibit visible stutter during busy scenes. Ultra settings at 41 FPS average are not recommended for gameplay that requires consistent frame pacing.

For 3840x2160, Low settings are the only preset that maintains a consistent 50+ FPS experience, with 52 FPS average. Medium settings at 39 FPS average are borderline playable, but the 33 FPS minimum may cause noticeable hitches. High and Ultra settings at 29 FPS and 22 FPS respectively are not recommended for actual gameplay, as frame rates below 30 FPS are generally considered unplayable for action-oriented stealth mechanics.

The data indicates that this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 1080p, the system has headroom to run Ultra settings while maintaining playable frame rates. At 1440p, Medium settings are the sweet spot, offering a 73 FPS average that balances visual fidelity with smooth performance. The 4K resolution should only be considered with Low settings, and even then, the 52 FPS average may not be sufficient for all users.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination ranks 1837 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 61st percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects the system's mid-range positioning, with the CPU's 4-core/8-thread configuration limiting its ceiling relative to higher-core-count alternatives.

The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 68 and GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 66 are closely aligned, indicating a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically outclasses the other. However, the combo rank of 1837 is lower than either component's individual percentile, suggesting that Hitman 2 specifically favors configurations with more CPU cores or higher GPU memory bandwidth.

The combo's position in the lower-middle of the ranking table is consistent with its measured performance characteristics. At 1080p, the system achieves frame rates that are competitive with higher-tier configurations, but the 4K results fall behind systems with more powerful GPUs. The 22 FPS at 4K Ultra is a significant outlier that drags down the overall ranking, even though the 1080p and 1440p results are respectable.

The data suggests that this combo is well-suited for 1080p gaming with high settings and 1440p gaming with medium settings. The ranking of 1837 out of 3001 indicates that while many configurations outperform it, a substantial number of tested combos deliver worse results. For users targeting 1080p or 1440p gameplay, this pairing offers a balanced experience that maximizes the capabilities of both components within their respective performance classes.