Hitman 2

Hitman 2 is a stealth game that, on this Intel Core i5-14600K + Intel Arc B370 pairing, shows a clear and consistent pattern: the graphics processor is the limiting factor at every resolution and quality setting tested. The data reveals a system that can handle the game’s logic and AI demands with ease, but the Arc B370’s modest rendering capabilities cap performance well below what the CPU alone could deliver. This combination ranks 2768 out of 3001 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of the database, which aligns with the measured frame rates that hover around playable only at the lowest settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and tells a straightforward story about where the bottleneck sits. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 73 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 46 FPS, a reduction of 27 FPS or roughly 37% lower. At 4K Low, the average falls to 25 FPS, which is just 34% of the 1080p Low figure. This steep decline with increasing pixel count is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario—the CPU’s frame generation capacity is not the constraint; the renderer simply cannot push more pixels.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, 1080p yields 41 FPS, 1440p drops to 26 FPS, and 4K bottoms out at 14 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings cuts performance by nearly half (from 26 to 14 FPS), indicating that the GPU is overwhelmed by the combination of resolution and shading work. Similarly, at Medium settings, the progression is 54 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the harshest scaling: 30 FPS at 1080p, 19 FPS at 1440p, and just 10 FPS at 4K.

What this scaling data suggests is that the Intel Core i5-14600K is never the limiting component in this pairing. The CPU has 14 cores, 20 threads, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064. Those are strong numbers, and the CPU’s 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates ample headroom for frame rate generation. The GPU, however, sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The delta between the CPU’s high percentile and the GPU’s low percentile is the root cause of the observed FPS scaling—the Arc B370 simply cannot keep up with the pixel throughput demands of higher resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the 73 FPS average suggests the GPU is working hard but still delivering a playable experience. Dropping to 1440p Low cuts that to 46 FPS, which is a 37% penalty for a 78% increase in pixel count (from roughly 2.07 million to 3.69 million pixels). The non-linear drop indicates that the GPU’s fill rate and shading units are the bottleneck, not memory bandwidth or CPU overhead. At 4K, the pixel count quadruples from 1080p, and the FPS falls to about one-third, which is typical for a GPU that is severely underpowered for that resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playable frame rates with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The only resolution that consistently delivers above 60 FPS is 1920x1080 at Low settings, where the average is 73 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 54 FPS, which is playable but not smooth by modern standards. At 1440p, even Low settings only reach 46 FPS, and at 4K, no preset exceeds 25 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform across resolutions?

A: Ultra is the most demanding preset and the data shows it is not viable for this combo. At 1080p, the average is 30 FPS. At 1440p, it falls to 19 FPS. At 4K, it drops to 10 FPS. These numbers are below the threshold for comfortable play, and the 4K result is essentially a slideshow.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600K holding back the Arc B370 in Hitman 2?

A: No. The CPU’s benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4270, place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU is at the 5th percentile. The FPS scaling with resolution indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at all settings.

Q: What are the nearest rivals to this GPU, and how do they compare?

A: The Arc B370’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is within 1% of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, delta -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, delta -0.7%). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% lower. These are all older, low-end parts, reinforcing the GPU’s weak position.

Q: Does the Arc B370 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," meaning it uses system memory. The memory clock is also "System Shared," and bandwidth is "System Dependent." This is a critical limitation for a game like Hitman 2, which benefits from dedicated video memory.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 2768 out of 3001 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested combos, which is consistent with the low GPU percentile and the measured FPS data.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS data, the only sensible configuration for actual gameplay is 1080p with Low settings, which yields an average of 73 FPS. This is the only tested point that clears 60 FPS, and it does so with a comfortable margin. The Low preset at 1440p produces 46 FPS, which is borderline playable but will feel stuttery in fast-paced stealth sequences where quick camera pans are common. At 4K, even Low settings only hit 25 FPS, which is not acceptable for a game that requires precise timing and spatial awareness.

If you must play at 1440p, the Medium preset averages 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. This is a significant step down from Low (46 FPS), and the minimum frame rate of 30 suggests occasional dips that could affect gameplay. The High preset at 1440p averages 26 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth play. The Ultra preset at 1440p is effectively unplayable at 19 FPS.

For those who insist on 4K, the data is clear: no preset is viable. The best 4K result is Low at 25 FPS, followed by Medium at 19 FPS, High at 14 FPS, and Ultra at 10 FPS. These numbers are all well below playable thresholds, and even the minimum FPS values for Medium (16 FPS) confirm that the experience will be consistently poor.

The recommendation is to run the game at 1080p Low for the best experience. If visual fidelity is a priority, the Medium preset at 1080p (54 FPS) is a reasonable compromise, but you will sacrifice smoothness. The High preset at 1080p (41 FPS) is still playable for a stealth game, where reaction times are less demanding than in a competitive shooter. The Ultra preset at 1080p (30 FPS) is the ceiling for this combo, and it is only suitable for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2768 out of 3001 tested combinations places it in the bottom 8% of the database. This is a poor showing, but it is not surprising given the hardware. The Intel Core i5-14600K is a high-end CPU, ranking in the 90th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 48618. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698, delta -0.2%), the AMD EPYC 4345P (48470, delta 0.3%), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (48287, delta 0.7%), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995, delta -0.8%). These rivals are all within 1% of the i5-14600K’s score, confirming that the CPU is not the weak link.

The GPU, however, is at the bottom of the barrel. The Arc B370’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 puts it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, delta -0.5%), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, delta -0.7%), and the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, delta 1.4%). These scores are essentially identical to the Arc B370’s, which means the GPU is performing at the level of hardware from over a decade ago.

The combination of a top-tier CPU with a bottom-tier GPU results in a system that is wildly unbalanced for gaming. The CPU’s high single-thread and multi-thread scores (Cinebench R23 single-core 2064, multi-core 24491; Geekbench single-core 2491, multi-core 16673) are wasted in Hitman 2 because the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to utilize them. The rank of 2768 out of 3001 reflects this imbalance, and it is a clear warning to anyone considering this pairing for gaming.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 25 W TDP, and its role in this combo is almost entirely detrimental to Hitman 2’s performance. Its memory configuration is system-shared, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. The memory size, type, bus width, and clock are all listed as "System Shared," and bandwidth is "System Dependent." This forces the GPU to contend with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which is a severe handicap in a game that streams textures and geometry.

The GPU’s clock speeds are a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2400 MHz. While the boost clock is respectable for an IGP, the chip has only 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. These are extremely low counts compared to discrete GPUs, and they explain the poor fill rate. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards.

The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so it is feature-complete for Hitman 2, which can use DX12. However, feature support does not translate into performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is the only benchmark listed for this GPU, and it places the card at the 5th percentile. This low score is consistent with the measured FPS in Hitman 2, where the GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates even at 1080p.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all older, low-end parts, which further underscores its weak position. The ATI Radeon HD 5770, a GPU from 2009, scores 1190, which is 0.5% higher than the Arc B370. This means the Arc B370 is roughly equivalent to a mid-range GPU from over a decade ago. For a game like Hitman 2, which was released in 2018 and has moderate system requirements, this GPU is simply not sufficient for anything beyond the lowest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings average 73 FPS, which is the only test point above 60 FPS. Medium settings average 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. High settings average 41 FPS. Ultra settings average 30 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a steady decline, with Ultra delivering only 41% of the Low preset’s frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 46 FPS. Medium settings average 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. High settings average 26 FPS. Ultra settings average 19 FPS. The step from 1080p Low (73 FPS) to 1440p Low (46 FPS) is a 37% reduction, which is substantial. At 1440p, only Low settings come close to playable, and even then, the average is below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low settings average 25 FPS. Medium settings average 19 FPS, with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 21 FPS. High settings average 14 FPS. Ultra settings average 10 FPS. No preset at 4K reaches even 30 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers a single-digit frame rate average. The minimum FPS of 16 at 4K Medium highlights how unstable the experience is at that resolution.

The data shows that the combo’s best case is 1080p Low, where the 73 FPS average is playable. Every other configuration sacrifices either resolution or settings to varying degrees, and none of them achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience. The 4K results are essentially unusable, and even 1440p requires dropping to Low settings to approach playability. For anyone building a system with this CPU and GPU, the measured FPS breakdown is a clear guide: stick to 1080p Low or Medium, and avoid 4K entirely.