Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B580 pairing delivers a distinctly mixed experience in Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title that remains demanding at higher presets. The data shows a configuration that is highly capable at 1080p, but which struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, focusing on how resolution scaling, the CPU, and the GPU each contribute to the final results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, a pattern that clearly identifies the Intel Arc B580 as the primary bottleneck at higher settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 140 FPS. This drops to 89 FPS at 1440p and further to 48 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is working progressively harder to fill the additional pixels.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 79 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p, and finally to a marginal 27 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K alone is a 47% performance loss, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The data suggests that while the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, the Arc B580's rendering throughput is the limiting factor as the pixel count increases.

A closer look at the Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS data, shows the frame time consistency also degrades with resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 105 FPS with a range of 89 to 121 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 67 FPS with a range of 57 to 77 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 36 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS. The 30 FPS minimum at 4K is on the edge of playability, and the narrowing of the range suggests the GPU is consistently saturated. The data indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo at higher settings, while 4K is only viable at Low settings, where the 48 FPS average is still below the 60 FPS target many players prefer.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this CPU and GPU combo?*

A: Benchmark results indicate 1080p is the optimal resolution, with averages ranging from 58 FPS at Ultra to 140 FPS at Low. At 1440p, performance is still respectable for High and Medium presets, with averages of 51 FPS and 67 FPS respectively, but the 4K resolution produces averages below 48 FPS across all settings.

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

A: The data shows 4K performance is limited. The average frame rate at 4K is 48 FPS on Low, 36 FPS on Medium, 27 FPS on High, and 20 FPS on Ultra. These results suggest that 4K gaming is only feasible at the Low preset, and even then, it does not reach a consistent 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580's performance compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: According to the GPU's benchmark data, the Arc B580's average score is 23021. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, has an average score of 23061, which is a -0.2% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is 0.6% behind, and the RTX 3080 is -0.7% behind, indicating a tight grouping in overall compute performance.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 a strong performer for this game?

A: The CPU's benchmark data shows it is a solid mid-range part. It has an average benchmark score of 36938, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its multi-core performance is comparable to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which has a delta of 0%, and it is slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D by -0.2%.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The measured FPS shows a significant gap. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 140 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves an average of 58 FPS. This is a 141% increase in performance from Ultra to Low, highlighting the heavy load that the Ultra preset places on the GPU.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 140 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would require strong CPU performance. The fact that frame rates scale down significantly with resolution increases indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the defining component in this system's Hitman 2 performance, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of memory bandwidth, which is crucial for a game like Hitman 2 that features large, detailed environments. The data shows that the GPU has enough memory and bandwidth to handle the game's assets at 1080p and 1440p, but the rendering pipeline becomes the limiting factor at 4K.

The Arc B580 operates at a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz. This high clock speed helps drive its 2560 shading units. The GPU's theoretical peak performance is 13.67 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. While this is a respectable figure, the measured FPS data shows that it is insufficient for smooth 4K gaming at high settings. The frame rates at 4K, such as the 36 FPS average on Medium, indicate that the GPU's raw compute power is being overwhelmed by the pixel fill rate required at that resolution.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for its overall capabilities. It has a PassMark G3D score of 15748 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 109672. Its average benchmark score of 23021 places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. In comparison, its nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, with all deltas within 1% of the Arc B580's score. This suggests that despite being a newer architecture, its overall compute performance is in line with these older, established cards. However, in Hitman 2, the specific workload appears to favor the Arc B580 less, as it struggles at 4K where those cards might perform differently.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2262 out of 3001 total combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, despite the individual components having respectable benchmark scores. The CPU is in the 85th percentile, and the GPU is in the 68th percentile, yet their combined performance in this specific title is not as strong as those individual rankings might suggest.

This ranking indicates that the combo is not a top-tier performer for this game, likely due to the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. The data shows that the system is competitive at 1080p, where it can achieve frame rates well above 60 FPS on most presets. However, its rank is dragged down by its inability to maintain playable frame rates at 4K, which is a metric that likely weighs heavily in the overall ranking. The combo's performance is consistent with a mid-range system that excels at 1080p gaming but is not suited for high-resolution, high-detail play.

The gap between the component's individual percentiles and the combo's rank suggests that the pairing is not perfectly balanced for this game. While the CPU has enough headroom to support the GPU at lower resolutions, the GPU's performance ceiling becomes the limiting factor, preventing the combo from achieving a higher rank. This is a clear case where the GPU is the primary determinant of the system's gaming capability in Hitman 2.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 provides a solid foundation for this system, with a 10-core, 10-thread configuration based on the Arrow Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, which can boost up to 4.90 GHz. This level of single-thread performance is crucial for Hitman 2, which is a game that often relies on a few well-optimized threads for core simulation and AI tasks. The CPU's benchmark scores reflect this strength, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4412.

The CPU's multi-core performance is also robust, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and its PassMark multithread score of 30459. This is helpful for handling background tasks and the broader game world simulation. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache is also beneficial for keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this configuration, as it is able to push the GPU to its limits at 1080p, where the combo achieves 140 FPS on Low settings.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 36938 places it in the 85th percentile, and it is positioned directly against rivals like the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D. The deltas are negligible, with the Ryzen 5 5600F being 0% different and the Ryzen 5 5500X3D being -0.2% different. This indicates that the Ultra 5 225 is a competitive mid-range CPU. In Hitman 2, its performance is sufficient to feed the Arc B580 at all resolutions, meaning that frame rate differences between settings are almost entirely attributable to the GPU's workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system performs well. The Low preset averages 140 FPS, ensuring a very smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset averages 105 FPS, with a range of 89 to 121 FPS, indicating good frame pacing. The High preset averages 79 FPS, which is still a solid result. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 58 FPS, which is playable but does not consistently hit the 60 FPS mark.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance takes a noticeable hit. The Low preset averages 89 FPS, which is still excellent. The Medium preset averages 67 FPS, with a range of 57 to 77 FPS, placing it right at the edge of the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset averages 51 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Ultra preset falls to an average of 37 FPS, which is a significant drop and indicates the GPU is struggling with the higher pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the combo is clearly out of its depth for most settings. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 48 FPS. The Medium preset averages 36 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS, which is a borderline experience. The High preset averages just 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset is a slideshow at 20 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming is not a viable option for this combo, even at the lowest settings. The system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can provide a good balance of visual fidelity and frame rate.