Hitman 2

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B580 lands at rank 2810 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2. That places this configuration in the 24th percentile of all tested systems — a decidedly mid-pack result. The ranking reflects a pairing where the GPU's 68th percentile standing among all GPUs is dragged down by the demands of this particular title, while the CPU sits comfortably in the 84th percentile among all processors. The gap between those two percentile positions tells the story: the graphics card is the bottleneck in this combo, not the processor.

Benchmark results indicate this is not a combination built for chasing top-tier frame rates in Hitman 2. Instead, the data shows a system that delivers playable performance at mainstream resolutions with settings tuned appropriately. The CPU's average benchmark score of 35287 places it within 0.4% of its nearest rivals — the Intel Core i5-13600T at 35305, the Intel Core i7-12700KF at 35365, the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35403, and the Intel Core 5 213PE at 35428. That clustering shows the i7-12700K is essentially performance-equivalent to a broad swath of modern mid-range and upper-mid-range processors, none of which would meaningfully change this combo's ranking.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 23021 puts it in close company with the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, 0.2% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, 0.6% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172, 0.7% faster), and the NVIDIA P106-100 (23249, 1% faster). The Arc B580's position here is notable — it trades blows with cards from very different generations and market tiers, but in Hitman 2 specifically, the measured FPS data reveals a more complex picture than raw benchmark averages suggest.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That memory configuration is generous for a card in this performance class, and it matters in Hitman 2's larger, more detailed environments where texture streaming can pressure lesser cards. The 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, built on TSMC's 5 nm process, give the card substantial hardware resources: 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Clock speeds are locked at 2670 MHz for both base and boost, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

The measured FPS data shows this GPU hitting a hard ceiling in Hitman 2 at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 20 FPS average; at 4K High, it rises to 27 FPS. Those numbers are well below playable thresholds for most users. The card's FP32 throughput of 13.67 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s are respectable on paper, but Hitman 2's rendering workload at 4K simply overwhelms the Arc B580's raw fill-rate and compute capabilities.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compliance are relevant here because Hitman 2 can leverage modern APIs. Passmark DirectX 12 scoring of 76 and DirectX 11 scoring of 128 suggest the card performs relatively better under older API paths, which partially explains why the game's Ultra preset — likely using more advanced rendering features — causes such a steep drop. The card's 20 ray tracing cores are present but do little to help in a game that does not heavily rely on RT effects.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates where the Arc B580's limits lie. At High settings, the combo delivers 79 FPS at 1920x1080, drops to 51 FPS at 2560x1440, and falls to 27 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, then a 47% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates the GPU becomes progressively more saturated as pixel count rises, with the 4K result showing severe strain.

Low settings show a similar trend but with higher absolute numbers: 140 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result being only 48 FPS — barely above the 1440p High result of 51 FPS — suggests that even at minimal graphical load, the GPU cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K. The resolution scaling data points to a component that is fundamentally a 1080p-to-1440p performer in this game, with 4K viable only at Low settings and even then not comfortably above 60 FPS.

Medium settings provide the only complete min/max FPS data in the pack: at 1080p, the combo averages 105 FPS with a range of 89 to 121; at 1440p, it averages 67 FPS with a range of 57 to 77; at 4K, it averages 36 FPS with a range of 30 to 41. The narrowing of the FPS range as resolution increases — from a 32 FPS spread at 1080p down to an 11 FPS spread at 4K — indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU is running near its sustained limit with less headroom for variation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo performs best across all settings. Low settings produce 140 FPS average, Medium delivers 105 FPS (min 89, max 121), High reaches 79 FPS, and Ultra drops to 58 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 35 FPS, Medium to High costs 26 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 21 FPS. The scaling is roughly linear, suggesting the CPU has ample headroom at 1080p and the GPU is the primary determinant of performance even at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the numbers compress significantly. Low settings give 89 FPS, Medium averages 67 FPS (min 57, max 77), High produces 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 52 FPS at 1440p compared to 82 FPS at 1080p. This compression indicates the GPU is beginning to hit its throughput ceiling, with each additional graphical feature having a smaller absolute impact because the baseline pixel workload is already high.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles across the board. Low settings manage 48 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS (min 30, max 41), High drops to 27 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 20 FPS. None of these results reach the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth gameplay. The 4K Ultra result of 20 FPS is particularly telling — it suggests that even with the i7-12700K's strong single-thread performance, the Arc B580 cannot render Hitman 2's full visual feature set at this resolution.

The Ultra preset deserves special attention. At 1080p, it produces 58 FPS — playable but not smooth. At 1440p, it drops to 37 FPS. At 4K, it is 20 FPS. The Ultra setting demands more from the GPU than the Arc B580 can deliver beyond 1080p, and even at 1080p, the margin above the 30 FPS minimum is slim. Users targeting Ultra settings will need to accept 1080p as the practical ceiling for this combo.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process with a 215 mm² die. It runs at a 3.60 GHz base clock and boosts to 5.00 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 25 MB shared L3. This is a desktop-class chip with an unlocked multiplier, supporting DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus. Its 125 W TDP and PCIe Gen 4 with 20 CPU lanes provide ample platform bandwidth.

Benchmark results show the CPU's strengths are heavily weighted toward multi-threaded workloads. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 versus a single-core score of 1850.5 demonstrates strong scaling across cores. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9276 and max-thread score of 9979 indicate that the processor can leverage its 20 threads effectively. Passmark multi-thread scoring of 34404 versus single-thread of 4013 reinforces this pattern.

In Hitman 2, however, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 140 FPS — a result that suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low produces nearly triple the FPS of 4K Low (140 vs 48) demonstrates that the GPU, not the CPU, is the limiting factor as resolution climbs. The i7-12700K's single-thread performance — a Geekbench single-core score of 2308 — is sufficient for this game's simulation and AI workloads, which rarely scale beyond a few threads.

The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all processors, combined with its average benchmark score of 35287, places it well above the median. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T, scores 35305 with a deltaPct of -0.1% — essentially identical. This means the i7-12700K provides no meaningful advantage over its closest competitors in this game. The bottleneck is decisively the GPU, and upgrading the processor would yield negligible FPS gains without also upgrading the Arc B580.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1080p in Hitman 2?

A: Yes, at Low (140 FPS), Medium (105 FPS), and High (79 FPS) settings. At Ultra, it drops to 58 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: 1920x1080 offers the most consistent performance, with all settings except Ultra averaging above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (89 FPS) and Medium (67 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, while High averages 51 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw benchmarks?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 is within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172), and NVIDIA P106-100 (23249).

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 48 FPS. Medium averages 36 FPS, High averages 27 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS — none of which are ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The i7-12700K ranks in the 84th percentile among CPUs, while the Arc B580 ranks in the 68th percentile among GPUs. FPS drops sharply from 1080p to 4K, indicating GPU saturation rather than CPU limitation.

Q: How does the i7-12700K's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and average benchmark score of 35287 place it within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-13600T, i7-12700KF, i7-13700T, and Core 5 213PE, all of which score between 35305 and 35428.