Hitman 2

Hitman 2 is a stealth title from 2018 that remains surprisingly demanding at higher settings, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a performance profile that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics preset. The data shows a clear hierarchy: the system is capable of extremely high frame rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain smooth 4K Ultra performance, indicating a shift from CPU-bound to GPU-bound behavior as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to determine the optimal settings for this specific hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a classic resolution scaling curve, with the most dramatic drop occurring between 1080p and 1440p, and a further significant decline at 4K. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 263 FPS at 1920x1080 to 171.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 35%. Moving to 3840x2160 Low yields 91.7 FPS, which is a 47% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern strongly indicates that at 1080p and even 1440p with lower settings, the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly.

The scaling becomes more severe at higher graphical presets, where the GPU's workload increases. At High settings, the transition from 1080p (149.7 FPS) to 1440p (96.7 FPS) represents a 35% performance hit, and the further drop to 4K (48.5 FPS) is another 50% reduction. This steep decline at 4K High, and especially at 4K Ultra (36.4 FPS), confirms that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the bottleneck at this resolution. The data suggests that for a 60 FPS target, 4K is only feasible with Low settings (91.7 FPS), while 1440p is the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate monitors, capable of exceeding 144 FPS at Medium settings (126.3 FPS) and approaching 100 FPS at High.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average is 263 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. Even at Ultra settings, the system maintains a strong 112.9 FPS at this resolution.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is 36.4 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target. To achieve a playable experience at 4K, settings must be lowered to High (48.5 FPS) or Low (91.7 FPS).

Q: Which is more crucial for performance at 4K Ultra, the CPU or the GPU?

A: The GPU is the limiting component at 4K Ultra. The data shows that the frame rate drops to 36.4 FPS, while the same CPU with a more capable GPU would likely yield higher scores. The Ryzen 7 9700X's high 3DMark scores (9824 for 16 threads) suggest it is not the bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER's performance compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 42576, placing it 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A6000 and 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE. It is 1.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580X and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M40.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz monitor with this hardware?

A: 2560x1440 is the optimal choice. At Medium settings, the system achieves 126.3 FPS, and at High settings, it reaches 96.7 FPS. Both are close to or exceed the 100 FPS mark, providing a fluid experience on high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Does the CPU's performance in this game scale with its multi-threaded capabilities?

A: The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31588) suggests it can handle the game's simulation load. However, the frame rates at 1080p Low (263 FPS) indicate that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output, making the RTX 4070 SUPER the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the data points to 2560x1440 with High settings as the recommended configuration. This preset yields an average of 96.7 FPS, which is smooth on most monitors and represents a significant visual upgrade over Medium settings (126.3 FPS) without the steep performance cost of Ultra (71.4 FPS). The 4K resolution is only viable with Low settings (91.7 FPS), which sacrifices too much visual quality to be generally recommended.

At 1080p, the system has enough power to run Ultra settings at 112.9 FPS, making this the best choice for esports-style play or for users who prioritize maximum frame rates. The data shows that the jump from High (149.7 FPS) to Ultra (112.9 FPS) is a 25% performance cost, but the resulting visual improvements may be worth it for users with 1080p 144Hz displays. For 4K users, lowering shadows and reflections is more effective than dropping the entire preset, but given the measured data, High settings at 48.5 FPS is the highest preset that remains playable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured dataset provides a detailed picture of performance across all tested configurations.

1920x1080: The system excels at this resolution. Low settings produce an average of 263 FPS, Medium yields 198.1 FPS, High reaches 149.7 FPS, and Ultra still maintains a very playable 112.9 FPS. The performance scaling from Ultra to Low is nearly linear, with each step down in quality providing a substantial frame rate increase.

2560x1440: This resolution shows a more pronounced GPU dependency. Low settings deliver 171.7 FPS, Medium drops to 126.3 FPS, High falls to 96.7 FPS, and Ultra is the first preset to dip below 90 FPS, averaging 71.4 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra (25.3 FPS) is the largest relative drop at this resolution, suggesting that Ultra's added effects are particularly taxing on the GPU.

3840x2160: The RTX 4070 SUPER is clearly the limiting factor here. Low settings are the only preset to exceed 60 FPS, with an average of 91.7 FPS. Medium settings drop to 69.7 FPS, High falls to 48.5 FPS, and Ultra is the only configuration to drop below 40 FPS, averaging just 36.4 FPS. This makes 4K a challenging target for this GPU, requiring significant settings compromises.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, is the definitive bottleneck at higher resolutions and presets. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and its Ada Lovelace architecture (with 7168 shading units) are well-suited for modern titles, but the data shows that Hitman 2's Ultra preset at 4K requires more raw throughput than this card can provide. The 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 compute rate is substantial, yet the 36.4 FPS score at 4K Ultra indicates that the GPU is fully saturated.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores (average 42576) place it in the 84th percentile, and its nearest rival, the RTX A6000, is only 0.2% faster on average. This suggests that the 4070 SUPER is a strong performer relative to its peers. However, in this specific game, the transition from 1440p High (96.7 FPS) to 4K High (48.5 FPS) shows a 50% performance reduction, which is a steeper drop than expected from the resolution's pixel count increase alone. This points to the game's heavy use of effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading units.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, provides ample processing power for Hitman 2. The CPU's high single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1280, Geekbench single-core 3353) is crucial for a game that relies on a single main thread for game logic. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 263 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can handle, indicating that the CPU is not limiting performance at this settings level.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31588) also ensure that background tasks and the game's AI simulation do not cause stutters. The fact that the frame rates scale almost perfectly with GPU load across resolutions suggests that the Ryzen 7 9700X is never the primary bottleneck in Hitman 2. Its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with a negligible 0.2% difference from the Intel Core i5-14500HX, confirms that it is a top-tier processor that will not hold back the RTX 4070 SUPER in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Hitman 2, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 314th out of 1795 total combos. This places it in the top 17.5% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end configuration. The rank is likely influenced by the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, which is a common benchmark metric.

The ranking suggests that while this combo is powerful, it is not at the absolute top tier. The data shows that the CPU is a top-tier performer (89th percentile), but the GPU's 84th percentile ranking pulls the combo down slightly. In comparison to other combos, the 4070 SUPER's performance is close to that of the RTX A6000 (0.2% difference), but the overall rank of 314 indicates that there are over 300 other combinations that achieve better average frame rates across the tested settings. This is likely due to the presence of more powerful GPUs (like the RTX 4090) in the database, which can handle 4K Ultra with ease.