Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title, exhibits pronounced performance scaling across resolutions and settings when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and Intel Arc B580. The measured frame rates reveal a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the processor’s capabilities become more apparent at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the empirical data from the benchmark runs.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic and non-linear collapse in frame rates, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 81.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 48.3 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 41%. Moving further to 3840x2160 yields just 26.8 FPS, which is a 67% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the Arc B580’s rendering pipeline is overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K, with the raw compute and memory bandwidth becoming the limiting factors.

The scaling pattern tells a more nuanced story when examining the Low preset. Here, the frame rate at 1080p reaches 140.2 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high rates when graphical load is minimal. However, at 1440p, the Low preset still manages 86.9 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 44.8 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 68%, which is nearly identical to the 67% drop seen at High. This consistency implies that even at the lowest graphical settings, the GPU’s fillrate and shading throughput are the dominant constraints, not the CPU.

The Ultra preset demonstrates the most severe degradation. At 1080p, it achieves 56.9 FPS, which drops to 34.5 FPS at 1440p and a nearly unplayable 19.6 FPS at 4K. The gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is stark: 38.2 FPS versus 19.6 FPS respectively, representing a 49% performance loss for the higher preset. This suggests that Ultra introduces effects that disproportionately tax the B580’s 80 ROPs and 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, making 4K Ultra practically unusable for smooth gameplay.

At 1080p, the scaling from Low to Ultra (140.2 FPS down to 56.9 FPS) shows a 59% performance hit, which is less severe than at 4K where the drop from Low to Ultra is 56%. However, the absolute numbers at 1080p are high enough that the CPU’s 20 cores and 30 MB of L3 cache are likely preventing any additional stutter, though the data does not show min FPS values to confirm this. The data strongly suggests that 1080p and 1440p are the viable ranges for this combo, with 4K reserved only for the lowest settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combo in Hitman 2?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 140.2 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 1440p compared to 4K?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 34.5 FPS, while at 3840x2160 it drops to 19.6 FPS. This represents a 43% reduction in performance when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K, the difference between Low (44.8 FPS) and High (26.8 FPS) settings is 40%, showing that graphics load heavily impacts performance regardless of the CPU’s capabilities.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium settings produce 106.5 FPS, while High settings produce 81.9 FPS. The High preset is 23% slower than Medium.

Q: How does the combo rank relative to other tested configurations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1415 out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 21% of all configurations for Hitman 2 performance.

Q: Does the data show any settings where the frame rate exceeds 100 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, the Low preset at 2560x1440 achieves 86.9 FPS, which is below 100 FPS. No 1440p setting reaches 100 FPS; the closest is Low at 86.9 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience at high refresh rates, the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that approaches esports-level fluidity, hitting 140.2 FPS. However, this sacrifices visual fidelity significantly. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a better balance, delivering 106.5 FPS while presumably retaining more graphical features; this is the recommended setting for 60+ FPS gameplay on standard monitors.

At 1440p, the data indicates that users should stick to Low settings to maintain a playable frame rate. The Low preset achieves 86.9 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. Medium at 1440p drops to 64.8 FPS, which is still playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High and Ultra at 1440p (48.3 and 34.5 FPS respectively) are not recommended for action-heavy stealth sequences, as the frame rate dips below the 50 FPS comfort zone.

For 4K, the analysis shows that only the Low preset (44.8 FPS) is viable, and even that is marginal. Medium at 4K (38.2 FPS) and High (26.8 FPS) produce stutter-prone experiences. Ultra at 4K (19.6 FPS) is effectively a slideshow and should be avoided entirely. Given the steep drop-off, the best experience per the measured rows is achieved by selecting the Medium preset at 1080p, which offers a 65% performance uplift over High at the same resolution while likely maintaining most visual quality. If resolution is prioritized over effects, Low at 1440p is the optimal choice, as it provides 86.9 FPS and uses the B580’s 12 GB frame buffer more effectively than 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 1415 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 21% of all configurations. This low rank is somewhat surprising given the CPU’s strong synthetic benchmarks, where it scores 50009 in Cinebench R23 multicore and holds a 97th percentile ranking versus all CPUs. The disparity suggests that the Arc B580 is the weak link in gaming workloads, dragging down the overall combo ranking despite the processor’s capabilities.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 23021 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with a delta of -0.7% and the AMD Radeon 760M with a delta of 0.1%. This near-parity with the RTX 4060 in synthetic tests does not translate to strong Hitman 2 performance, as the game appears to favor NVIDIA’s architecture based on the combo’s low rank. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, has a delta of -0.2% in average benchmark score, confirming that the processor is performing as expected relative to its siblings.

The rank of 1415 indicates that most other combos, even those with older or weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs, outperform this pairing in Hitman 2. The data implies that for this specific title, the GPU’s raw FPS output at 1080p High (81.9 FPS) is below average, as the 50th percentile combo likely exceeds this figure. The combination’s only saving grace is the CPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at Low settings, but this is not enough to boost its standing among the 1795 tested configurations.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, plays a decisive role in Hitman 2’s performance, as evidenced by the heavy resolution scaling. The GPU features 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2670 MHz. These specifications yield a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s, which are moderate figures that explain the frame rate drops at higher resolutions.

The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Hitman 2, this memory capacity is likely sufficient for 4K textures, but the bandwidth becomes a bottleneck when the resolution increases, as the data shows a 67% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The memory clock runs at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), which is standard for the GDDR6 generation but does not offer the headroom needed for 4K Ultra (19.6 FPS).

The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is relevant, as Hitman 2 can utilize DX12 features. However, the benchmark scores for the GPU in Passmark show a DirectX 12 score of 76, which is lower than the DirectX 11 score of 128. This suggests that the B580’s DX12 path may not be fully optimized for this title, potentially explaining why the frame rates at High and Ultra are lower than expected. The FP32 compute of 13.67 TFLOPS is modest, and the 20 RT cores are minimally used in this non-ray-traced game, meaning the traditional shading units are doing all the work.

The GPU’s 66th percentile ranking versus all GPUs aligns with its mid-range positioning, but in Hitman 2, it performs like a lower-tier part due to the game’s specific engine demands. The 190 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class, but the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface could theoretically limit data transfer, though the measured FPS does not indicate a PCIe bottleneck at 1080p. In summary, the B580’s role is that of a capable 1080p card that struggles beyond 1440p, with its VRAM size being the only high-end attribute that does not translate to playable 4K frame rates.