Hitman 2

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a stark contrast in compute hierarchy. The CPU is a 12-core, 20-thread Alder Lake-S part with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, placing it in the 84th percentile among all tested CPUs. Its 25 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile and powerful processor. In contrast, the Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, featuring 1536 shading units and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. This GPU sits in the 9th percentile of all tested GPUs, indicating a fundamental performance disparity that dictates the gaming experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Core i7-12700K is demonstrably not the bottleneck in this configuration. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and a single-core score of 1850.5. In the context of Hitman 2, a stealth game that relies on complex AI routines and dynamic crowd simulations, this level of processing power is typically more than sufficient to maintain high frame rates. The data suggests that the CPU is operating well within its capacity, as the measured FPS figures are consistently low across all settings, pointing directly at the GPU as the limiting factor. The 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for the game's engine to manage background tasks and physics calculations without straining the processor. Even at 1080p with Low settings, where the CPU load is proportionally higher relative to the GPU, the average FPS of 80 is far below what this processor is capable of feeding in a less GPU-limited scenario. This indicates that the game's frame pacing is being dictated entirely by the graphics subsystem, not the processor's ability to prepare frames.

The CPU's 3.60 GHz base and 5.00 GHz boost clocks are high enough to handle the single-threaded dependencies common in game logic. The single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2308, is strong. However, the measured FPS at 1080p Low (80 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (34 FPS) shows a 46 FPS drop. If the CPU were the primary constraint, we would expect less variance between these two settings because the CPU's workload would remain relatively constant. The fact that the frame rate scales so dramatically with visual fidelity is a clear indicator that the CPU is waiting on the GPU for the vast majority of each frame. The CPU is essentially idle, or at least underutilized, while the Arc B390 struggles to process the pixel and geometry data. This is a classic case of a high-end processor being paired with an entry-level integrated GPU, resulting in a CPU that is perpetually "waiting" and never reaching its potential.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Analyzing the measured rows, the playability threshold for this combo is extremely narrow. At 1080p, the Low preset yields an average of 80 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches a smooth experience. The Medium preset drops to 60 FPS, which is technically playable but represents a 25% performance hit. The High preset falls to 46 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 34 FPS. The data clearly indicates that for a responsive, competitive experience, the Low preset at 1080p is the only viable option. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 20 FPS, a significant penalty for what is typically a modest visual improvement in shadow and texture quality. At 1440p, the situation becomes more dire; even the Low preset only manages 51 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for fast-paced action. The 4K data is effectively non-playable, with the High preset at 16 FPS and Ultra at 11 FPS. Therefore, the best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally the 1920x1080 Low setting. This is the only configuration where the average frame rate is high enough to ensure consistent input latency and visual fluidity.

The data implies that any attempt to raise the graphical fidelity will result in a sub-optimal experience. The Medium preset at 1080p, with a minimum FPS of 51, is on the edge of playability but will likely suffer from noticeable stutters in dense areas. The High and Ultra presets are best avoided entirely, as they transform the game from a playable stealth title into a slideshow. Users should prioritize frame rate over visual bells and whistles with this combination. The measured results show that the GPU's performance ceiling is so low that even the "Low" preset is not a guarantee of a locked 60 FPS in all scenes, as the minimum FPS is not provided for that setting. The recommendation is to accept the visual compromises of the Low preset to achieve a playable frame rate.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data provides a textbook example of GPU-bound performance. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the High preset, the average FPS drops from 46 to 29, a 37% reduction. Scaling up to 3840x2160 further decimates the frame rate to 16 FPS, a 65% drop from the 1440p figure. This exponential decline in performance as pixel count increases is a direct reflection of the GPU's limited fill rate and shader processing power. The Arc B390's pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s; these figures are simply inadequate for the demands of 4K rendering in a modern game like Hitman 2. The pattern is consistent across all settings. For instance, on the Low preset, the FPS goes from 80 at 1080p to 51 at 1440p to 27 at 4K. This scaling indicates that the GPU is working at its absolute maximum capacity at every resolution, and any increase in pixel workload directly translates to a near-linear decrease in performance.

This behavior confirms that the limiting component is the GPU. A system bottlenecked by the CPU would show a less drastic drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p, as the GPU would still have headroom to render more pixels. Here, the frame rate is almost entirely dependent on the resolution, which is the primary variable affecting the GPU's workload. The data suggests that even at 1080p, the GPU is the constraint, as evidenced by the fact that lowering the settings from High to Low produces a 74% increase in frame rate (46 to 80 FPS). This is a much larger performance swing than one would expect if the CPU were the limiting factor. The conclusion is inescapable: the Intel Arc B390 is the sole arbiter of performance in this pairing, and its capabilities are exhausted at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K strong enough for gaming?

A: Yes, the data shows it is a very capable processor. It scores in the 84th percentile of all CPUs and has a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784. The bottleneck in this system is not the CPU, as its performance is more than adequate for Hitman 2.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The benchmark results show it is incredibly close to its nearest competitors. It scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. This indicates it is an entry-level graphics solution.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system?

A: According to the measured FPS, the only playable configuration is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which achieves an average of 80 FPS. All other settings at this resolution drop below 60 FPS, and higher resolutions yield unplayable frame rates.

Q: Why is the frame rate so low even at 1080p?

A: The frame rate is low because the Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU with a 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is insufficient for demanding game engines, making it the definitive performance bottleneck.

Q: Will upgrading the CPU improve my FPS in Hitman 2?

A: No. The data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The FPS scales dramatically with resolution and settings, which is a characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. Upgrading the CPU would have no impact on performance unless the GPU is also upgraded.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B390's memory bandwidth a concern?

A: The memory is listed as "System Shared" with bandwidth that is "System Dependent." This means it uses the system RAM, which is slower than dedicated VRAM. This architecture is a significant contributor to the low performance figures observed.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is the definitive performance limiter in this system. Its specifications reveal why. It is an integrated graphics processor with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The memory is "System Shared," meaning it has no dedicated VRAM and relies on the system's main memory, which is a major performance handicap for a game like Hitman 2 that requires high bandwidth for textures. The GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is a modest figure, and its 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are low in number, limiting its ability to fill pixels and apply textures. This is reflected in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are all older, low-end NVIDIA parts like the GeForce GT 710, confirming its status as an entry-level solution.

The GPU's performance in the game's measured FPS directly correlates with its hardware limitations. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 11, which is a direct result of the GPU being overwhelmed by the pixel count and the high-fidelity settings. The fact that the GPU has no dedicated memory and relies on system RAM creates a bandwidth bottleneck that is exacerbated at higher resolutions and texture quality settings. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy: the GPU is the bottleneck at every single resolution and settings combination. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is high, but it cannot compensate for the low core count (1536 shading units) and the memory architecture limitations. The results suggest that this GPU is designed for basic productivity and light 2D workloads, not for modern 3D gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture of this combo's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the most demanding resolution for this GPU, the average FPS varies wildly depending on the preset. The Low preset achieves 80 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for any configuration. The Medium preset averages 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69. The High preset drops to an average of 46 FPS, and the Ultra preset is only 34 FPS. This shows a 46 FPS difference between the highest and lowest settings at 1080p, emphasizing the GPU's sensitivity to graphical load.

Moving up to 2560x1440, the performance degrades significantly. The Low preset averages 51 FPS, which is a 36% drop from its 1080p counterpart. The Medium preset averages 39 FPS (min 33, max 44), High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages just 21 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 30 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are mostly unplayable. The Low preset averages 27 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS (min 17, max 24), High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. The minimum FPS figures for the Medium presets at 1440p and 4K (33 and 17, respectively) indicate that there are moments of significant stutter, making these settings particularly problematic. The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the GPU's performance is insufficient to maintain a fluid experience at anything above 1080p Low.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the grand scheme of all tested hardware combinations for Hitman 2, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700K and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 3300 out of 3711 combos. This places it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested. This ranking is entirely attributable to the GPU's poor performance, as the CPU is a high-end part. The combo's rank of 3300 indicates that the overwhelming majority of other systems, even those with much weaker CPUs, will outperform this one due to having a more capable graphics solution. The data suggests that this pairing is severely unbalanced, with a top-tier processor being hamstrung by a bottom-tier integrated GPU.

This low ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's 9th percentile standing. While the CPU is in the 84th percentile, the GPU's abysmal performance drags the entire system down to the bottom quartile of gaming performance. The rank of 3300 out of 3711 means that only 411 other tested combinations perform worse, and those likely feature even older or more limited integrated graphics. This data point serves as a clear warning about the importance of balance in a gaming system. The i7-12700K is a future-proof processor, but its potential is completely untapped in this configuration. The benchmark results indicate that this combo is only suitable for very light gaming at the lowest settings, and its overall rank reflects that severe limitation.