Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B390 show a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, which points squarely at the graphics subsystem as the limiting factor. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 80 FPS average, but moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 51 FPS, a 36% reduction. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields just 27 FPS, which is another 47% cut from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load grows with pixel count and the processor has ample headroom to feed frames.

The High preset tells a similar story with slightly different magnitudes. At 1080p, the average is 46 FPS. At 1440p, it falls to 29 FPS, a 37% decline. At 4K, the average collapses to 16 FPS, a 45% drop from 1440p. The consistency of these percentage reductions across presets reinforces that resolution scaling is the dominant variable, not the quality settings themselves. The Ultra preset follows the same trajectory: 34 FPS at 1080p, 21 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K. Each step down in resolution roughly halves the pixel count, and the frame rates respond almost proportionally.

What this scaling behavior reveals is that the Intel Arc B390, with its integrated graphics design and shared system memory, simply cannot sustain playable frame rates at higher resolutions in this game. The data shows that even at 1440p with Low settings, the 51 FPS average is barely acceptable for smooth gameplay, and every preset above that falls below 40 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with the best case being 27 FPS on Low and the worst being 11 FPS on Ultra. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance would not be expected to bottleneck at these modest frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing of Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2662 out of 3001 combos for Hitman 2. That places it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations, a position that reflects the GPU's severe performance limitations rather than any deficiency in the processor. The comboRankInGame of 2662 means that 2661 other CPU-GPU pairings delivered higher average frame rates in this specific title, leaving only 339 combinations performing worse.

The ranking context is stark when considering the individual components. The Intel Core i7-13700K sits in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 with a score of 46971 (a delta of -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 at 47022 (delta -0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX at 46654 (delta +0.5%). The CPU is clearly a high-end part capable of driving much faster graphics cards. In contrast, the Intel Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rivals are all ancient or entry-level parts: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (delta +1.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M at 1460 (delta +1.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (delta +2.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (delta +2.7%).

The deltaPct values between the GPU and its rivals are small, ranging from 1.3% to 2.7%, indicating that the Arc B390 is clustered with some of the weakest discrete GPUs ever made. This explains why the overall combo ranks so poorly despite the CPU's strength. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU anchors the system's performance in Hitman 2, dragging what could otherwise be a high-end configuration down to near-bottom-tier status.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a Panther Lake chip, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process node. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU's clock speeds are listed as a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz, which is a wide operating range. The pixel rate is specified at 60.00 GPixel/s, the texture rate at 120.0 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance at 7.680 TFLOPS. FP16 throughput is 15.36 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio.

The most defining characteristic of this GPU is its memory configuration. The memory size is listed as "System Shared," the type is "System Shared," the bus width is "System Shared," and the bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means the GPU does not have dedicated VRAM but instead borrows from the system's main memory. In Hitman 2, a game that loads detailed environments and textures, shared memory can introduce latency and bandwidth bottlenecks that dedicated VRAM would avoid. The measured frame rates reflect this constraint, as even at 1080p with Low settings, the GPU only manages 80 FPS, which is modest for a modern architecture.

The GPU's TDP is listed at 80 W, and it is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no power connectors and a slot width of IGP. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which means it is capable of running modern game APIs. However, the benchmark results show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of only 1482, placing the GPU in the 9th percentile. This is a very low score, consistent with the frame rates observed in Hitman 2. The GPU's nearest rivals, all scoring between 1443 and 1463, are legacy parts from over a decade ago, which contextualizes the Arc B390's performance tier.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only preset that provides a consistently smooth experience at 1080p is Low, which achieves an average of 80 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, which is also acceptable for most players. High at 1080p drops to 46 FPS average, which is borderline, while Ultra falls to 34 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more constrained. Low settings produce 51 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal. Medium drops to 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS, which is marginal. High falls to 29 FPS, and Ultra to 21 FPS, both of which are too low for a satisfying experience. At 4K, no preset achieves even 30 FPS; Low tops out at 27 FPS, Medium at 21 FPS, High at 16 FPS, and Ultra at 11 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is not viable for this game with this GPU.

The best experience per the measured rows is achieved at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This provides a 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS, which offers a balanced compromise between visual quality and smoothness. The Low preset at 1080p gives higher frame rates but sacrifices visual fidelity, while High and Ultra at 1080p do not deliver enough of a frame rate improvement to justify the quality jump. For players willing to accept lower visual quality, 1440p with Low settings at 51 FPS is the only reasonable option above 1080p. The 4K results are uniformly unsuitable for gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression across presets. Low settings deliver an average of 80 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combination. Medium settings average 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, indicating decent frame pacing. High settings average 46 FPS, which is a 23% reduction from Medium. Ultra settings average 34 FPS, which is a further 26% drop from High. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 46 FPS, showing the significant impact of quality settings on performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates step down noticeably. Low settings average 51 FPS, which is 36% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. High settings average 29 FPS, and Ultra settings average 21 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 30 FPS, a slightly smaller absolute spread than at 1080p but with proportionally similar reductions. The minimum FPS of 33 at Medium 1440p indicates that even this preset can dip below smooth playback thresholds.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low settings average 27 FPS, which is the only preset to exceed 25 FPS at this resolution. Medium settings average 21 FPS, with a minimum of 17 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS. High settings average 16 FPS, and Ultra settings average 11 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 16 FPS total spread, but every value is well below the 30 FPS threshold typically considered the minimum for playability. The data indicates that the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K, regardless of quality settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it includes integrated UHD Graphics 770, though the discrete Arc B390 handles rendering in this test.

The CPU's benchmark scores are strong across the board. In Cinebench R23, it scores 30745 in multi-core and 2116 in single-core. Geekbench results show 19429 multi-core and 2529 single-core. PassMark multi-thread score is 45887, with a single-thread score of 4333. In 3DMark tests, it scores 10717 with 16 threads, 8193 with 8 threads, 4469 with 4 threads, 2262 with 2 threads, and 1136 with a single thread. The max threads score is 12412. These numbers place the CPU in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, AI, and draw call processing. The measured frame rates, particularly the low FPS values at higher resolutions, indicate that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this configuration. Even at 1080p Low with 80 FPS, the CPU has significant headroom, as evidenced by its high multi-threaded scores. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 with a delta of -0.2% and the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX with a delta of +0.5%, show that the i7-13700K is competitively positioned among top-tier processors. The fact that the combo ranks 2662 out of 3001 despite such a capable CPU underscores that the GPU is the decisive factor in this pairing.