Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT pairing in Hitman 2 presents a fascinating study in balance, though the data reveals a system that leans heavily on its graphics card at higher resolutions. This 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake processor, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, anchors the system. Its performance profile, sitting at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, is strong enough to avoid being the primary bottleneck in most scenarios, particularly when compared to its nearest rivals. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 19221 places it within a hair of the Intel Core i7-8700K, which scores 19210 (a 0.1% delta), and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U at 19167 (a 0.3% delta). It also trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by a negligible 0.7% (19364) and leads the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3% (18979). These tight margins suggest that in CPU-bound scenarios, the i5-12400F is a highly consistent performer, offering no dramatic swings in capability that would artificially limit frame rates.

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The 12 threads provided by the 6 Performance cores are sufficient for the game’s engine, which was released in 2018 and is not known for being exceptionally demanding on multi-core processors. The data supports this, showing that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 201.2 FPS. This high frame rate, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, indicates that the CPU is capable of pushing the GPU to its limits at lower resolutions. The processor’s single-threaded strength, evidenced by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 909, is adequate for the game’s primary simulation thread, ensuring that the frame pacing remains stable even when the action on screen becomes complex. The CPU’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache is also beneficial, as it allows for faster access to frequently used game data, reducing potential stutters. The presence of a capable air cooler is implied by its 65W TDP, which is modest and allows for sustained boost clocks without thermal throttling, a key factor for maintaining consistent performance during longer play sessions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the undisputed workhorse of this configuration in Hitman 2, particularly as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. This RDNA 3.0 graphics card, built on a 5 nm process, features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. This substantial VRAM allocation ensures that the card does not run into memory capacity issues even at 4K Ultra settings, where texture data demands are highest. The GPU’s boost clock of 2544 MHz and game clock of 2171 MHz provide the raw computational power needed to process the game’s complex lighting and shadow effects. With a benchmark score placing it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, the RX 7700 XT is a solid mid-to-high-end performer. Its average benchmark score of 30097 is virtually identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, which scores 30109 (a 0.0% delta), and it is also closely matched with the AMD Radeon RX 570 at 30158 (a -0.2% delta).

The benchmark results show a clear correlation between GPU load and frame rate. At 1080p with Low settings, the system hits 201.2 FPS, but this drops to 80.3 FPS at Ultra settings. This 120.9 FPS difference at the same resolution highlights how the GPU is the primary driver of performance once the CPU has delivered its draw calls. The card’s 96 ROPs and 216 TMUs are tasked with rasterizing and texturing the game’s environments, and the data shows that at higher resolutions, these units become the limiting factor. For instance, at 1440p Ultra, the average FPS falls to 53.1, which is a significant 33.9% reduction from the 1080p Ultra figure. This indicates that the GPU’s fill rate and shading power are being saturated by the increased pixel count. The RX 7700 XT’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility with modern rendering techniques, but in this 2018 title, it is the raw compute and memory bandwidth that dictate the outcome. The card’s 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than enough for Hitman 2, yet the data shows that it is the memory interface and pixel throughput that ultimately govern performance at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions provide a clear picture of how this combo scales and where the bottleneck shifts. The data shows a steep decline in average FPS as resolution increases, which is expected, but the magnitude of the drop reveals the system’s balance. At Low settings, the system scales from 201.2 FPS at 1080p to 128.8 FPS at 1440p, a 36% decrease, and then to 70.2 FPS at 4K, a further 45.5% decrease from 1440p. This scaling pattern is classic GPU-bound behavior; the CPU is providing enough headroom to allow the GPU to be the sole limiting factor at all resolutions. The fact that the 1080p Low result is so high suggests that even at lower resolutions, the RX 7700 XT is not being held back by the i5-12400F, which confirms the CPU’s strength.

However, the scaling at Ultra settings tells a slightly different story. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 80.3, which drops to 53.1 at 1440p Ultra (a 33.9% decrease) and then to 30.4 at 4K Ultra (a 42.7% decrease from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling, as it falls below the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the minimum for playable frame rates. This indicates that at 4K with maximum settings, the RX 7700 XT is completely overwhelmed. The GPU’s 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient, as memory size is not the issue, but the 432.0 GB/s bandwidth and the 244.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for the 8.3 million pixels at 4K. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver smooth frame rates, but 4K gaming is only viable with reduced settings, as evidenced by the 70.2 FPS result at 4K Low. The gap between 1080p and 4K results, which is a 58% reduction in FPS at High settings (from 113 to 38.9), underscores the GPU’s dominance in the performance equation.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo achieves in Hitman 2?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 201.2 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: It can run the game at 4K, but performance is limited. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 30.4, which is just above the threshold of playability. For a smoother experience, dropping to Low settings at 4K yields an average of 70.2 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in terms of overall benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is virtually identical to the Intel Core i7-8700K’s score of 19210, putting it 0.1% ahead.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck at 1440p High settings?

A: At 1440p High, the system achieves 70.5 FPS. Given that the 1080p High result is 113 FPS, the performance drop is attributable to the GPU, as the CPU is capable of delivering higher frame rates at lower resolutions.

Q: How much faster is the system at 1080p Medium compared to 4K Medium?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 148.3, while at 4K Medium, it is 52.3 FPS. This represents a 64.7% reduction in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, indicating it performs better than nearly three-quarters of the GPUs in the database.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU and GPU combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT achieves a rank of 760 out of 1795 total combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations, specifically in the 58th percentile of tested systems. This ranking is a direct reflection of the measured frame rates, which show a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain high performance at 4K. The rank is likely held back by the GPU’s performance at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s benchmark scores suggest it is not a limiting factor. The combo’s position in the rankings is consistent with its hardware profile; it is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, but it is a well-balanced mid-range configuration that delivers excellent performance in this specific game at common gaming resolutions. The data indicates that while the RX 7700 XT is a capable card, it is not powerful enough to push this combo into the top echelons of the rankings, especially when compared to systems with more powerful GPUs that can handle 4K Ultra settings with higher average frame rates.