Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i5-12600KF + AMD Radeon RX 580

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combination reveals a steep performance curve as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 77 FPS average, which drops to 49 FPS at 1440p and further to 26 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K at Low settings. The scaling pattern indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 580 becomes the primary limiting factor as pixel count grows, since the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions.

Looking at High settings, the progression is 44 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%. This consistent scaling behavior across settings suggests a GPU-bound scenario at all resolutions tested. The 4K results are particularly telling — even at Low settings, the average FPS barely reaches 26, which is below playable thresholds for most users. At Ultra settings, 4K yields only 11 FPS, making that configuration essentially unusable for actual gameplay.

The medium preset shows the most complete data with minimum and maximum FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the range is 49 to 67 FPS with an average of 58. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 31 to 43 FPS with an average of 37. At 4K Medium, the range is 17 to 23 FPS with an average of 20. These ranges indicate that frame pacing becomes more erratic as resolution increases, with the minimum FPS dropping proportionally more than the average — a sign that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being stretched thin at higher resolutions.

The data suggests that this combination is best suited for 1080p gaming, where even High settings maintain a playable 44 FPS average. At 1440p, users would need to compromise on settings to achieve smooth gameplay, and 4K is not a realistic target for this GPU in Hitman 2.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). These specifications place the RX 580 in the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928.

The nearest rivals for this GPU in the benchmark database are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with an average score of 12940 (0.1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER at 12986 (0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon 740M at 12870 (0.5% lower), and the AMD FirePro W5100 at 12847 (0.6% lower). This clustering within 1% of each other indicates that the RX 580 sits in a well-populated performance tier, though its 14 nm process node and GCN 4.0 architecture are older than most modern alternatives.

The GPU's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 193.0 GTexel/s texture rate are modest by current standards, but they are sufficient for Hitman 2 at lower resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for the game's textures at 1080p and 1440p, though the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a constraint at higher resolutions where the GPU must move more pixel data. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation — the 4K results show a dramatic performance collapse that aligns with memory bandwidth saturation.

The RX 580's DirectX 12 support (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3 compatibility are relevant for Hitman 2, which uses the Glacier engine and can leverage modern graphics APIs. However, the GPU's pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and 32 ROPs limit its ability to fill high-resolution frames efficiently. At 4K, the GPU is asked to process four times as many pixels as 1080p, and the 11-26 FPS results across settings confirm that this workload exceeds the card's capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF provides 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This Alder Lake-S processor features a 20 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core, with 80 KB L1 cache per core. The CPU sits in the 79th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 27799.

The nearest rivals for this CPU include the Intel Core i9-10900K with an average score of 27872 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE at 27712 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U at 27887 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D at 27896 (0.3% higher). These deltas are negligible, placing the i5-12600KF in a tightly contested performance band where no single processor holds a meaningful advantage in aggregate benchmarks.

In single-threaded workloads, the i5-12600KF scores 1016 in 3DMark single-thread and 3302 in Cinebench R23 single-core. Multi-threaded performance is strong as well, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 12137. These results indicate that the CPU is more than capable of feeding the RX 580 in Hitman 2, which is not a particularly CPU-intensive title at lower resolutions.

The measured FPS data supports this conclusion — the CPU's performance headroom means that the RX 580 is the bottleneck in virtually all tested configurations. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 77 FPS, which is likely near the GPU's maximum output in this game. The fact that increasing settings from Low to Ultra at the same resolution reduces FPS from 77 to 32 demonstrates that the GPU workload scales with settings while the CPU remains underutilized.

The i5-12600KF's 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory give it flexibility, though the motherboard and memory configuration would influence overall system performance. The processor's PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the RX 580, which uses PCIe 3.0 x16 — a backward-compatible configuration that does not limit the GPU's performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 58 FPS average with a range of 49 to 67 FPS, which provides a smooth experience for most players. High settings at 1080p drop to 44 FPS, still playable but with less headroom for demanding scenes. Low settings at 1080p reach 77 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays, though visual quality suffers significantly.

For 1440p users, the Low preset at 49 FPS is the only configuration that maintains near-60 FPS performance. Medium at 1440p yields 37 FPS with a range of 31 to 43 FPS, which is playable but may feel inconsistent during action sequences. High at 1440p drops to 28 FPS, and Ultra at 1440p is only 21 FPS — neither is recommended for a satisfying experience.

At 4K, no settings preset provides acceptable performance. Even Low settings yield only 26 FPS, which falls below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K averages 20 FPS with a range of 17 to 23 FPS, and High and Ultra produce 15 and 11 FPS respectively. Users with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p or 1080p for this combination.

The data suggests that 1080p Medium is the best balance of visual quality and performance for this system, offering a 58 FPS average that stays above 49 FPS even in the worst recorded frames. For users who prioritize frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low at 77 FPS is the strongest option. The High preset at 1080p provides a middle ground at 44 FPS, though the gap to Medium is substantial enough that most users would prefer the higher frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combination in Hitman 2?

A: 1080p is the only resolution where all settings presets produce playable frame rates, with averages ranging from 32 FPS at Ultra to 77 FPS at Low. At 1440p, only Low and Medium settings exceed 30 FPS, and at 4K, even Low settings average just 26 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928, placing it 0.1% below the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, 0.4% below the GTX 1660 SUPER, 0.5% above the Radeon 740M, and 0.6% above the FirePro W5100. These differences are within 1% of each other, indicating similar overall performance.

Q: Is the i5-12600KF a bottleneck for the RX 580 in this game?

A: No, the measured FPS data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking and strong multi-threaded scores (23391 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) suggest it has ample headroom, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops when increasing resolution or settings — a pattern characteristic of GPU-bound workloads.

Q: What is the most consistent frame rate configuration for this system?

A: The 1080p Medium preset offers the most complete data with a minimum of 49 FPS, maximum of 67 FPS, and average of 58 FPS. This 18 FPS spread between minimum and maximum is the tightest among all measured configurations, indicating relatively consistent frame delivery.

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

A: No, the 4K results show 26 FPS at Low, 20 FPS at Medium, 15 FPS at High, and 11 FPS at Ultra. None of these configurations approach playable frame rates, and the GPU's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth appears insufficient for the pixel workload at this resolution.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 3388 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the lower portion of the database. This ranking reflects the RX 580's age and performance tier rather than any deficiency in the i5-12600KF.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all settings. Low settings produce 77 FPS average, Medium produces 58 FPS (with a range of 49 to 67 FPS), High produces 44 FPS, and Ultra produces 32 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 58% reduction in frame rate, demonstrating the significant impact of graphics settings on GPU load.

At 2560x1440, performance drops notably. Low settings average 49 FPS, Medium averages 37 FPS (range 31 to 43 FPS), High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 57%, similar to the 1080p scaling, but the absolute values are roughly 36% lower across the board compared to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 26 FPS, Medium averages 20 FPS (range 17 to 23 FPS), High averages 15 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 58%, consistent with the other resolutions, but the starting point of 26 FPS means even the best configuration falls short of smooth gameplay.

The Medium preset is the only setting with complete minimum and maximum FPS data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 49 to 67 FPS; at 1440p, it is 31 to 43 FPS; and at 4K, it is 17 to 23 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS remains relatively consistent at 18, 12, and 6 FPS respectively, though the percentage variation increases at lower frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 3388 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 9th percentile of all configurations in the database. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 79th percentile among all processors.

The disparity between CPU and GPU performance tiers explains the ranking. The i5-12600KF is a high-performing processor that can handle demanding workloads, but the RX 580 is a mid-range GPU from an older generation. In a game like Hitman 2, where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at the resolutions tested, the overall combo performance is constrained by the graphics card's capabilities.

The RX 580's nearest GPU rivals — the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, GTX 1660 SUPER, Radeon 740M, and FirePro W5100 — all have average benchmark scores within 0.6% of each other. This tight clustering suggests that any of these GPUs would produce similar results when paired with the i5-12600KF in Hitman 2. The combo's low ranking relative to the full database reflects the fact that most tested configurations use more powerful GPUs, which are better suited to the game's graphical demands.

The measured FPS data confirms this analysis. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 32 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target that many modern configurations can reach. The combination's 4K performance is particularly weak, with no settings preset exceeding 26 FPS. For users considering this pairing, the data indicates that the CPU provides a solid foundation for future GPU upgrades, but the current configuration is best suited for 1080p gaming at medium to high settings.