Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics produces a combination that is heavily constrained by the GPU in Hitman 2. The benchmark data shows a system where the CPU’s substantial processing power is largely untapped due to the graphics solution’s limited throughput. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings indicate that this combo is best suited for lower fidelity gaming, with playability dropping off sharply as graphical demands increase.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results provide a clear hierarchy for the best experience in Hitman 2. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 80 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo across all tested configurations. This makes it the only setting that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p achieves an average of 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, offering a balanced alternative for those who prefer visual improvements over raw frame rate headroom. However, the data suggests that the Low setting is the most reliable choice for maintaining a consistent performance level.

Moving to the High preset at 1080p drops the average to 46 FPS, which is noticeable but still playable for a stealth title. The Ultra preset at 1080p falls to an average of 34 FPS, a significant reduction that introduces stutter and diminishes the responsiveness required for precise stealth mechanics. The data indicates that the gap between Low and Medium is a 20 FPS difference, while the gap between Medium and High is a 14 FPS difference, showing diminishing returns for each tier of graphical fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 51 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. The Medium preset drops to 39 FPS, and High falls to 29 FPS, with Ultra becoming nearly unplayable at 21 FPS. For 3840x2160, all settings are below playable thresholds, with the Low preset averaging just 27 FPS. The recommendation is clear: for the best experience, users should prioritize 1080p with the Low or Medium presets, as higher resolutions or settings quickly lead to sub-30 FPS averages.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2662nd out of 3001 tested combinations for Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems. This low ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU’s performance ceiling, as the CPU is a high-end part that scores in the 96th percentile against all processors. The data shows a stark contrast between the components: the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, while the Intel Arc B390 has an average score of just 1482.

When compared to similar GPUs, the Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile, with its nearest rivals being the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which is 1.3% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, which is 2.7% slower. This positions the GPU in the entry-level segment, which is consistent with its integrated nature. The CPU, by contrast, is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% faster than the AMD EPYC 4584PX in synthetic benchmarks. The disparity between the CPU’s high percentile ranking and the combo’s low in-game rank highlights that Hitman 2 is primarily GPU-limited for this pairing. The 3001-combo database shows that the CPU’s power is wasted when paired with this GPU, as the graphics solution becomes the bottleneck well before the processor is stressed.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, using the Panther Lake chip on a 3 nm process. Its clock speeds are listed with a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, which means its bandwidth is system dependent. This is a critical limitation for Hitman 2, as the game’s texture streaming and scene complexity require fast memory access.

The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units. Its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with a FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, it scores 1482 points. The data shows that the GPU’s performance is the defining factor in this combo’s in-game results. For instance, at 1080p, the frame rate drops from 80 FPS on Low to 34 FPS on Ultra, a 58% reduction that corresponds directly to the increase in GPU workload. At 4K, the Ultra preset averages 11 FPS, which is barely a slideshow. The shared memory architecture means the GPU is competing with the CPU for bandwidth, and the benchmark results indicate this leads to severe performance degradation at higher resolutions where memory pressure increases.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with the Low preset provides the highest average frame rate at 80 FPS. The Medium preset at the same resolution is also viable, averaging 60 FPS. Higher resolutions or settings result in frame rates below 50 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 84003 on average, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807) and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090). It is 1.3% slower than the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85072).

Q: Is the GPU the limiting factor for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: Yes, the benchmark data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The GPU has an average benchmark score of 1482, ranking at the 9th percentile, while the CPU ranks at the 96th percentile. The in-game frame rates are consistently low, even at 1080p with Medium settings, which points to the GPU’s limited throughput.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum frame rates recorded for the Medium preset?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset has a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset has a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset has a minimum of 17 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU’s performance rank against other graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B390 ranks at the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which is 1.3% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, which is 2.7% slower in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in the game’s benchmark database?

A: The combo ranks 2662nd out of 3001 tested combinations for Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a clear degradation pattern. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 80 at 1920x1080 to 51 at 2560x1440, a 36% decrease, and then to 27 at 3840x2160, a further 47% decrease. This scaling is non-linear, with the most significant drop occurring between 1440p and 4K. At the Medium preset, the averages are 60 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows 46 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 34 FPS at 1080p, 21 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K.

The percentage drops between resolutions are consistent across settings, averaging around a 35-40% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 40-45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. This pattern is typical of a GPU-limited scenario, where the rendering workload scales with the number of pixels. The data shows that the GPU’s memory bandwidth, being system shared, cannot keep up with the increased data demands at higher resolutions. The limiting component is clearly the Intel Arc B390, as the CPU’s performance is more than sufficient to handle the game’s logic at any resolution. The frame rate collapse at 4K, where even the Low preset fails to reach 30 FPS, confirms that this combo is not designed for high-resolution gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache configuration includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. Its synthetic benchmarks are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303.

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is largely passive due to the GPU bottleneck. The game is not heavily threaded, and the CPU’s 24 threads are more than adequate for the workload. The PassMark multithread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 indicate that the CPU has no trouble processing game logic, AI, and physics calculations. The data shows that the CPU’s performance is not a limiting factor at any resolution or setting. For example, the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 46 FPS, which is entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering load. The CPU’s high boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks are handled quickly, but the integrated GPU cannot translate this into higher frame rates. The CPU’s percentile rank of 96th versus the GPU’s 9th percentile underscores the mismatch. The combo’s low rank in the game database is not a reflection of CPU performance, but rather a consequence of pairing a top-tier processor with an entry-level integrated graphics solution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 80 FPS, which is the highest recorded. The Medium preset averages 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69. The High preset averages 46 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 34 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 46 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 51 FPS, which is a 36% drop from 1080p. The Medium preset averages 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 44. The High preset averages 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 21 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 30 FPS, narrowing as the GPU becomes more strained.

At 3840x2160, all settings fall below playable thresholds. The Low preset averages 27 FPS, the Medium preset averages 21 FPS (with a minimum of 17 and a maximum of 24), the High preset averages 16 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 11 FPS. The data shows that even the lowest settings at 4K cannot achieve a smooth experience. The frame rates at 4K are less than half of those at 1080p for every preset, indicating that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are severely inadequate for 4K rendering. This breakdown confirms that the combo is only suitable for 1080p gaming at low-to-medium settings, with any higher resolution or preset resulting in a degraded experience.