Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a compelling mid-range configuration for Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018. The measured data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution, offering playable performance at 1080p and 1440p but struggling to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results by resolution, settings, and component role, using only the measured data provided.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating a system that becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 140.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 87.4 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 53.3 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields just 45.5 FPS, meaning the 4K result is roughly half the 1080p figure. This pattern holds for Medium settings, where the averages descend from 107.1 FPS at 1080p to 68.9 FPS at 1440p and finally 36.6 FPS at 4K.

The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 77.9 FPS at 1080p, 53.2 FPS at 1440p, and 26.8 FPS at 4K. The most dramatic scaling occurs with the Ultra preset, which starts at 59.1 FPS at 1080p, drops to 38.1 FPS at 1440p, and collapses to 20.1 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is consistently larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p, suggesting that the Intel Arc B580’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput become limiting factors as pixel count rises.

At 1080p, the system can clearly keep the GPU fed, with even Ultra settings producing a playable 59.1 FPS. The data indicates that at this resolution, the CPU’s 10 cores and boost clock of 4.70 GHz are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU. However, at 4K, the workload shifts heavily toward the GPU, and the Arc B580’s 456.0 GB/s bandwidth and 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are not enough to maintain fluid motion. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings—a 3.1x reduction in frame rate—shows that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s influence wanes as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS, the data points to specific settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 140.7 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show, while Medium still provides a very smooth 107.1 FPS. The High preset at 77.9 FPS also clears the 60 FPS threshold with headroom. Even Ultra at 59.1 FPS is nearly playable, sitting just below the standard target. For 1080p, High settings offer a strong balance between visual fidelity and performance, with the measured 77.9 FPS leaving room for dips without dropping below playability.

At 2560x1440, the choice becomes stricter. Low settings produce 87.4 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, while Medium at 68.9 FPS remains smooth. High settings drop to 53.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but still acceptable for a stealth game where precise timing matters less than in a fast shooter. Ultra at 38.1 FPS is noticeably choppy and not recommended for extended play. The best experience at 1440p is the Medium preset, as it delivers 68.9 FPS—enough for a fluid experience—while maintaining higher visual quality than Low.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low settings top out at 45.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium at 36.6 FPS and High at 26.8 FPS are borderline, while Ultra at 20.1 FPS is effectively a slideshow. For 4K, the Low preset is the only reasonable option, providing 45.5 FPS that is adequate for slower-paced stealth gameplay. Players with 4K displays should consider reducing resolution or accepting lower settings, as the data shows no way to achieve smooth frame rates at that resolution with this combo.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus. The memory runs at 2375 MHz, yielding 19 Gbps effective speed and a total bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. The GPU’s 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s, while the texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s helps with detailed environments. The boost clock is fixed at 2670 MHz, matching the base clock, which suggests a stable operating point under load.

In Hitman 2, the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the Arc B580’s bandwidth is sufficient to handle the game’s data, allowing the CPU to drive high frame rates. However, at 4K, the 12 GB frame buffer is ample, but the 456.0 GB/s bandwidth is strained by the higher pixel count. The measured drop from 45.5 FPS at Low 4K to 26.8 FPS at High 4K shows that the GPU struggles with the increased texture and shading loads, not with memory capacity. The 20.1 FPS at Ultra 4K confirms that the GPU’s compute throughput, at 13.67 TFLOPS, is the limiting factor for the heaviest settings.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 23021. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, scores 23181, a delta of -0.7%, meaning the Arc B580 is nearly on par with that card. The AMD Radeon 760M scores 22999, just 0.1% behind. These comparisons indicate that the Arc B580 is a capable mid-range GPU, but its performance in Hitman 2 at 4K shows it is not designed for ultra-high-resolution gaming. The 190 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class, but the data shows the GPU’s limits clearly at 3840x2160.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1389 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the lower half of the database. This rank reflects the GPU’s mid-tier standing, as the CPU is far stronger relative to its peers. The i5-14400F sits in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i7-12800H at 32513, a 0% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 at 32446, a 0.2% delta. The CPU’s strong showing in synthetic benchmarks—such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093—suggests it is not the bottleneck in most scenarios.

The combo’s rank of 1389 out of 1795 means that 406 other combinations perform better, likely those pairing stronger GPUs with similar CPUs. The GPU’s 66th percentile ranking, compared to the CPU’s 88th percentile, indicates a slight imbalance where the GPU holds the combo back. In Hitman 2, this manifests as the frame rate being tied to the GPU at higher resolutions, while the CPU has headroom to spare. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 140.7 FPS, which is nearly triple the 4K Ultra result of 20.1 FPS, underscoring that the GPU is the primary determinant of the combo’s overall rank. For a stealth game that prioritizes atmosphere over twitch reflexes, the rank is acceptable, but it is clear that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core provide ample data for game logic and AI calculations. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, which adds flexibility for system builders. With a 65 W TDP and a launch MSRP of $196, it is positioned as a mainstream desktop part.

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1080p Low, the 140.7 FPS average indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to hit high numbers. The 10 cores handle the game’s simulation and NPC AI without issue, and the boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance for game logic. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 3723 and multi-thread score of 25783 show it is well-rounded for gaming workloads.

As resolution increases, the CPU’s influence diminishes. At 4K, the frame rates are nearly identical across different CPUs paired with the same GPU, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The data shows that the CPU’s 10 cores are more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which is a game from 2018 and not heavily multi-threaded. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, scores nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks, yet the combo rank is determined by the GPU’s performance. For this title, the i5-14400F provides a solid foundation, but the Arc B580 dictates the playable settings and resolutions.