Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the Intel Arc B370. The benchmark data reveals a configuration that is severely constrained by its graphics solution across all tested resolutions and settings. While the processor demonstrates substantial headroom, the integrated GPU, which shares system memory, becomes the definitive bottleneck, resulting in frame rates that are largely unplayable at higher graphical presets. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to understand the scaling behavior and the respective roles of the CPU and GPU in this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling

The impact of resolution on performance in Hitman 2 is dramatic and clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 73 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings, the average drops to 46 FPS, a reduction of 27 frames. At 4K with Low settings, the average falls further to 25 FPS. This scaling pattern shows a steep decline as pixel count increases, which is characteristic of a graphics card that is overwhelmed by the fill rate and shading demands of higher resolutions.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings represents a 37% decrease in average frame rate. The subsequent jump to 4K from 1440p results in another 46% decrease. This non-linear drop suggests that the GPU is hitting a performance wall where memory bandwidth and processing power are insufficient. With a "System Shared" memory type and "System Dependent" bandwidth, the Arc B370 is heavily reliant on the system's RAM, and the demands of 4K resolution likely saturate the available bandwidth, causing the frame rate to plummet.

At the High preset, the resolution scaling follows a similar but even more punishing trajectory. The average FPS drops from 41 at 1080p to 26 at 1440p, and then to a mere 14 at 4K. The 4K result is particularly telling, as it represents a 66% drop from the 1080p High performance. This indicates that the combination of higher resolution and more complex shading effects creates an insurmountable load for the GPU. The data suggests that this configuration is only viable for playable frame rates at 1080p, and even then, only at the lowest settings. The 4K Ultra result of 10 FPS reinforces the notion that the Arc B370 is not designed for such workloads, making the resolution scaling a primary indicator of the GPU's limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested processor and graphics card combinations for Hitman 2, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and Intel Arc B370 does not fare well. The combo holds a rank of 2768 out of 3001 total combinations. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, which is a poor showing for a modern processor. The overall rank is heavily dragged down by the GPU's performance, which is in the 5th percentile of all GPUs according to its benchmark score. While the CPU is a strong performer, the combination's overall capability is defined by its weakest link.

The benchmark data for the Intel Arc B370 shows an average score of 1184 on the 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 test. Its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, with a score of 1186 (a -0.2% difference), and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, with a score of 1190 (a -0.5% difference). These comparisons put the Arc B370's raw graphics processing power in the same tier as legacy discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, which explains its inability to handle modern game resolutions and settings. The GPU's percentile rank of 5 indicates that it is outperformed by 95% of all other graphics solutions in the database.

This low GPU rank is the primary driver of the combo's overall position. A top-tier processor cannot compensate for a graphics solution that scores at this level. While the CPU is in the 79th percentile of all processors, the massive disparity between the CPU's capabilities and the GPU's performance creates a system that is fundamentally unbalanced for gaming. The combo's rank of 2768 suggests that most other pairings, even those with older or less powerful CPUs, would likely deliver better gaming performance if they were paired with a more capable GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This processor is a strong performer, as evidenced by its benchmark scores, which include a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and a single-core score of 3302. In terms of overall CPU processing power, it sits in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K, which has an average score of 27872 (a -0.3% difference from the i5-12600KF), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, with an average score of 27896 (a -0.3% difference). This indicates that the i5-12600KF is competitive with previous-generation flagship processors.

For a game like Hitman 2, which is a stealth title with complex AI and simulation systems, the CPU plays a significant role in maintaining frame times and handling game logic. With 10 cores and 16 threads, the i5-12600KF has ample resources to manage the game's simulation. The high boost clock of 4.90 GHz is also beneficial for the game's single-threaded performance demands. The 3DMark benchmark scores for this CPU show a scalable performance increase from 1995 for 2 threads to 7956 for 16 threads, indicating that its multi-threading capabilities are robust.

However, the benchmark results from Hitman 2 show that the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 73 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 25 FPS. This drastic change in performance while the settings remain at "Low" points directly to the GPU being the bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would be similar across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution. The data shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with data, but the GPU cannot process it fast enough, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, as shown by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and Passmark single-thread score of 3925, ensures that it is not holding back performance in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this configuration in Hitman 2 provide a detailed picture of its performance envelope. At 1920x1080, the results range from a low of 30 FPS on Ultra settings to a high of 73 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset yields an average of 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. The High preset produces an average of 41 FPS. These numbers show that even at 1080p, achieving a consistently smooth 60 FPS experience is only possible on the Low preset, and even that may not be perfectly stable. The 1080p Medium result of 54 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, and the High and Ultra presets are significantly lower, at 41 FPS and 30 FPS respectively.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance declines further. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 46 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. The High preset averages 26 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 19 FPS. These figures suggest that 1440p is only suitable for the Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is not ideal for a fast-paced stealth game. The 4K results are even more indicative of the GPU's limitations. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 25 FPS. The Medium preset averages 19 FPS (with a min of 16 and max of 21), High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages just 10 FPS. None of these 4K results are close to playable, making this resolution a non-starter for this configuration.

The data across all resolutions shows a clear and consistent pattern. The average FPS for each preset at a given resolution is significantly lower than the next lowest resolution. For example, the 1080p High average of 41 FPS is 15 FPS higher than the 1440p High average of 26 FPS, which is in turn 12 FPS higher than the 4K High average of 14 FPS. This consistent drop-off, combined with the fact that the CPU has high-performance scores, confirms that the Intel Arc B370 is the sole performance limiter. The frame rate data is measured, not estimated, providing a reliable basis for this analysis.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its performance is extremely limited, as its benchmark score places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units. It also includes 10 ray tracing cores. While these specifications might seem reasonable on paper, the GPU's memory configuration is its critical weakness. It uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM and instead relies on the system's main memory (DDR4 or DDR5 in this CPU's case). This shared memory architecture has "System Dependent" bandwidth, which is a major bottleneck.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 is its only dedicated benchmark result. Its nearest rivals in the GPU database are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, with scores of 1186 and 1190, respectively. These are GPUs from a much older generation, and the fact that the Arc B370 performs at their level is a clear indication of its low performance ceiling. The computed pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, which are very low figures for modern gaming, especially at resolutions above 1080p. The FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS is also a modest number that limits the GPU's ability to handle complex shaders and effects.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role is to render the game world, and it fails to do so at acceptable speeds for most settings. The 1080p Low result of 73 FPS is the only instance where the GPU can keep up with the CPU's output. As soon as the settings are increased to Medium, the frame rate drops to 54 FPS, indicating that the GPU's shading units and texture units are overwhelmed. The 4K results, which all fall below 25 FPS, show that the GPU's memory bandwidth is completely saturated. The "System Shared" memory is a disaster for high-resolution gaming, as it competes with the CPU for the same memory bandwidth. The data strongly suggests that the Arc B370 is a GPU designed for basic productivity and light, older games, not for a title like Hitman 2 at high resolutions. Its low pixel rate and texture rate, combined with shared memory, are the direct causes of the low FPS figures.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in Hitman 2?

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 73 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that comes close to a 60+ FPS experience.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K resolution?

A: Technically yes, but not at playable frame rates. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 25 FPS on Low settings. The Ultra preset averages only 10 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF the bottleneck in this system for Hitman 2?

A: No. The benchmark data shows frame rates drop significantly with resolution increases at the same settings, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's strong multi-threaded and single-threaded benchmark scores indicate it is not the limiting component.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370's performance compare to its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database?

A: The Arc B370 has an average 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, with a score of 1186 (a -0.2% difference), and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, with a score of 1190 (a -0.5% difference).

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the average FPS is 54. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average FPS is 35. This is a 19 FPS reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combo for Hitman 2?

A: This combo is ranked 2768 out of 3001 tested combinations. Its performance is heavily limited by the GPU, which is in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.