Hitman 2

Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with Intel Arc B580 in Hitman 2 produces a combination that ranks 2810th out of 3711 tested configurations, placing it in the lower third of the database. The measured frame rates reveal a GPU-bound experience at higher resolutions, while the 10-core, 16-thread Alder Lake processor provides sufficient headroom to push the Arc B580 to its limits. The data indicates this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K proving too demanding for the graphics card's 13.67 TFLOPS of compute performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop varies significantly by settings preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 140 FPS at 1920x1080 to 89 FPS at 2560x1440, a 36% reduction, and then to 48 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 46% drop. This pattern indicates that even at the lowest graphical load, the Arc B580's rendering pipeline becomes progressively more strained, though the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution.

At Medium settings, the scaling is steeper: 105 FPS at 1080p drops to 67 FPS at 1440p (36% loss) and then to 36 FPS at 4K (46% loss from 1440p). The High preset follows a similar trajectory with 79 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p (35% loss), and 27 FPS at 4K (47% loss). The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, starts at 58 FPS at 1080p, falls to 37 FPS at 1440p (36% loss), and bottoms out at 20 FPS at 4K (46% loss). The consistency of these percentage drops—roughly 36% between 1080p and 1440p, and 46-47% between 1440p and 4K—strongly suggests that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck across all settings.

The 4K results are particularly telling. Even at Low settings, the average FPS of 48 is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth, and at High and Ultra settings, the 27 and 20 FPS averages respectively indicate a stutter-prone experience. The pixel throughput of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in this game, regardless of how much CPU headroom the i5-12600KF provides. The data suggests that players targeting 4K would need to accept Low settings and still face sub-60 FPS performance, making this resolution impractical for the combo.

FAQ

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

A: The measured FPS data indicates 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At Medium settings, the combo achieves 105 FPS average with a minimum of 89 FPS, while High settings deliver 79 FPS. Both are well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, only Low settings (89 FPS) and Medium settings (67 FPS) remain playable, while 4K fails to reach 60 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at each resolution?

A: The Ultra preset imposes a significant performance penalty across all resolutions. At 1080p, Ultra averages 58 FPS versus 79 FPS for High, a 27% reduction. At 1440p, Ultra averages 37 FPS versus 51 FPS for High, a similar 27% drop. At 4K, Ultra averages 20 FPS versus 27 FPS for High, a 26% reduction. The consistent penalty suggests Ultra adds substantial rendering load without proportional visual gains.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF bottlenecking the Arc B580 in this game?

A: No. The benchmark data shows that FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's 3DMark scores—7956 with 16 threads and 1016 single-thread—are more than adequate for Hitman 2. If the CPU were the bottleneck, FPS would not drop as sharply when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What minimum FPS can be expected at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows a minimum FPS of 57 and a maximum of 77, with an average of 67. This indicates the combo maintains playable performance, though the 57 FPS floor is close to the 60 FPS target and could dip below in more demanding scenes.

Q: How does the Arc B580's 12 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: The 12 GB GDDR6 memory with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth does not appear to be the limiting factor at 4K, as the FPS drops are consistent across all settings. The GPU's raw compute (13.67 TFLOPS FP32) and pixel fill rate (213.6 GPixel/s) are the more likely constraints, evidenced by the 20 FPS average at Ultra 4K even with ample VRAM headroom.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 1080p High settings?

A: Yes. The average FPS at 1080p High is 79, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The data does not include a minimum FPS for this configuration, but the average suggests consistent smoothness. For guaranteed minimums above 60, the Medium preset with 89 FPS minimum is the safer choice.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with the BMG-G21 chip, demonstrates clear performance characteristics in Hitman 2. Its 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units operate at a fixed 2670 MHz clock for both base and boost, which is a notable design choice that ensures consistent performance without thermal throttling variance. The GPU's 12 GB GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is plentiful for this game's asset streaming demands.

The measured FPS data reveals that the GPU's compute capabilities are the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The 13.67 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate translate directly to the observed frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the 20 FPS average represents a 66% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score of 58 FPS, which aligns with the 4x pixel count increase from 1080p to 4K. The GPU's 20 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present in the hardware, though Hitman 2's rendering workload primarily stresses the traditional rasterization pipeline.

The Arc B580's passmark G3D score of 15748 places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% faster) and RTX 3080 (0.7% slower on average benchmarks). This mid-range positioning is reflected in the game results: the GPU can handle 1080p and 1440p with high settings, but struggles with 4K. The 190 W TDP and dual-slot form factor indicate a power-efficient design, though the data does not show thermal or power throttling effects in the measured frame times.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12600KF and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2810th out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 24th percentile of all recorded configurations. This rank is notably lower than what either component's individual percentile might suggest—the CPU sits in the 79th percentile of all processors, and the GPU in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy indicates that this game is particularly demanding on the GPU, and the Arc B580's mid-range positioning drags the overall combo ranking down.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i9-10900K (-0.3% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (0.3% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (-0.3% delta), and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (-0.3% delta). These scores are based on synthetic benchmarks, but in Hitman 2, the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are unlikely to be the differentiator. The GPU's nearest rivals—AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (-0.2% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (-0.7% delta), and NVIDIA P106-100 (-1% delta)—suggest the Arc B580 performs competitively with much older architectures, which explains the 4K limitations.

The combo rank of 2810 out of 3711 means that 76% of tested configurations outperform this pairing in Hitman 2. This is primarily due to the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, as the CPU is clearly capable of feeding the graphics card. The data suggests that pairing the i5-12600KF with a stronger GPU would yield significantly better results, while the Arc B580 would be better matched with a less powerful CPU to balance the system cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 140 FPS, indicating the CPU and GPU can easily handle the game's minimum load. Medium settings average 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and maximum of 121 FPS, providing a smooth experience with headroom for demanding scenes. High settings average 79 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 58 FPS average, which is playable but lacks the margin of the lower presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades predictably. Low settings average 89 FPS, maintaining playability. Medium settings average 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 77 FPS, meaning occasional dips below 60 FPS are possible. High settings average 51 FPS, which is below the smooth threshold, and Ultra settings average 37 FPS, which is borderline playable but not ideal for a stealth game requiring precise timing.

At 3840x2160, the Arc B580's limitations become stark. Low settings average 48 FPS, which is below 60 FPS and will be noticeable in fast-paced sequences. Medium settings average 36 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 41 FPS, indicating significant frame time variance. High settings average 27 FPS, and Ultra settings average 20 FPS, both of which are too low for comfortable gameplay. The data shows no scenario where 4K provides an acceptable experience with this combo.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points to the 1920x1080 Medium preset as the optimal configuration for this combo. The 105 FPS average with a 89 FPS minimum provides a substantial buffer above the 60 FPS target, ensuring consistent smoothness even in crowded areas or during complex assassination sequences. The 89 FPS minimum is 48% higher than the 60 FPS threshold, making this the most reliable choice for competitive or precision gameplay.

For players who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rate, the 1920x1080 High preset is the next best option. The 79 FPS average is still above 60 FPS, though the absence of a minimum FPS measurement means there is some uncertainty about worst-case performance. The 27% performance cost from Medium to High is significant, but the visual improvements may justify it for players with 60 Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the only configuration that maintains an average above 60 FPS, with 67 FPS and a 57 FPS minimum. This is a viable option for 1440p users who can tolerate occasional dips below 60 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p offers 89 FPS average but sacrifices too much visual quality for most players. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p, with 51 FPS and 37 FPS averages respectively, are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely with this combo. Even the Low preset's 48 FPS average falls short of the 60 FPS target, and the Medium preset's 36 FPS average with a 30 FPS minimum would result in a stutter-heavy experience. Players with 4K displays should either lower their resolution to 1440p or consider a more powerful GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF, with its 10 cores (including performance and efficiency cores) and 16 threads, provides ample processing power for Hitman 2. The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate strong multi-threaded performance: 3DMark 16-thread score of 7956, Cinebench R23 multi-core of 23391, and PassMark multi-thread of 27575. Single-thread performance is equally solid, with 3DMark single-thread at 1016, Cinebench R23 single-core at 3302, and PassMark single-thread at 3925.

The game's stealth genre typically involves moderate CPU load with AI calculations, pathfinding, and physics simulations. The i5-12600KF's boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensures responsive single-threaded performance, which is crucial for maintaining consistent frame pacing. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide sufficient data locality for the game's asset streaming.

However, the measured FPS data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this configuration. The consistent performance scaling from 1080p to 4K, as well as the clear GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions, confirms that the i5-12600KF is delivering frames faster than the Arc B580 can render them. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking among all processors, with nearest rivals like the Intel Core i9-10900K and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, further supports the conclusion that the processor is well-matched for this game and would pair effectively with a stronger GPU in future upgrades.