Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

Examining the measured FPS data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces an average of 126.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 83.4 FPS, a reduction of roughly 34%. Pushing further to 4K High yields 40.4 FPS, which is approximately 68% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RX 9070 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU has ample headroom.

The scaling behavior changes noticeably when examining Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 222.9 FPS, which is close to the practical ceiling for many displays. At 1440p Low, the frame rate falls to 141.3 FPS, and at 4K Low it drops to 74 FPS. The percentage drops between resolutions are larger at Low settings than at High settings, suggesting that the CPU begins to play a more significant role at lower graphical loads. However, the i5-12400F with its 6 cores and 12 threads still delivers playable results even at 4K Low.

The most telling observation comes from comparing the gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution. At 1080p, the spread from 222.9 FPS (Low) to 94.4 FPS (Ultra) covers a 128.5 FPS range. At 4K, the spread narrows to 40.7 FPS (from 74 FPS at Low to 33.3 FPS at Ultra). This compression at higher resolutions is classic GPU-bound behavior — the rendering pipeline becomes saturated, and further reducing settings yields diminishing returns because the GPU is already working near its limits. The data suggests that players targeting 4K should expect the GPU to be the bottleneck regardless of settings, while at 1080p the CPU's single-thread performance, reflected in its 3dmark_single_thread score of 909, becomes more relevant.

Settings Recommendations

For each resolution, the measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best balance. At 4K, High settings produce 40.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider smooth. Medium settings yield 55.3 FPS, while Low reaches 74 FPS and Ultra falls to 33.3 FPS. The jump from Medium to High is a 26.9% reduction in frame rate, while the jump from High to Ultra is a further 17.6% reduction. For 4K, Low settings at 74 FPS appear to be the most sensible choice if fluidity is the priority, as the visual difference between Low and Medium is often less impactful than the 25.3% performance gap between them.

At 1440p, the situation improves considerably. High settings deliver 83.4 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS. Medium reaches 106 FPS, and Low hits 141.3 FPS. Ultra drops to 62 FPS, which is still playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The data indicates that High at 1440p is the sweet spot — it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining a frame rate that exceeds most displays' refresh rates. Players with 144Hz monitors might prefer Medium at 106 FPS, but the 22.6 FPS gain over High comes at the cost of reduced graphical fidelity.

At 1080p, all settings are playable, with even Ultra maintaining 94.4 FPS. Medium at 169.3 FPS and High at 126.7 FPS are both excellent options. Low at 222.9 FPS is only relevant for competitive play or extremely high refresh rate displays. Given that the game is a stealth title where visual clarity matters for spotting enemies, High at 1080p provides a strong experience without sacrificing frame rate. Ultra at 94.4 FPS is also viable, though the performance cost over High (25.5% reduction) may not justify the marginal visual improvements in a game that is not graphically demanding by modern standards.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070, built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip, plays a dominant role in Hitman 2's performance profile. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a 2018 title that does not have unusually high VRAM demands. The measured frame rates suggest that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any resolution or setting combination tested.

The clock speeds tell an interesting story. The base clock is 1330 MHz, but the game clock is rated at 2070 MHz, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The substantial difference between base and boost clocks indicates that the GPU can sustain high frequencies under load, which is reflected in the 4K High result of 40.4 FPS. The 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs contribute to the pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s, which is relevant for a game that renders at resolutions up to 3840x2160.

In terms of relative performance, the RX 9070 sits at the 79th percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database. Its average benchmark score of 34780 places it nearly even with the NVIDIA A2 (34866, deltaPct -0.2%) and slightly ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (34677, deltaPct 0.3%). The close margins to these rivals — all within 0.8% — suggest that the RX 9070's performance in Hitman 2 is consistent with its overall benchmark standing. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility are relevant for a game that can leverage modern APIs, though the measured data does not isolate API-specific performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results span a wide range. Low settings produce 222.9 FPS, which is the highest average across all configurations. Medium achieves 169.3 FPS, High reaches 126.7 FPS, and Ultra settles at 94.4 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent step-down: 53.6 FPS lost from Low to Medium, 42.6 FPS lost from Medium to High, and 32.3 FPS lost from High to Ultra. This pattern indicates that each settings tier has a meaningful impact on performance, but even the most demanding preset remains well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results demonstrate the expected resolution penalty. Low produces 141.3 FPS, Medium hits 106 FPS, High manages 83.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 62 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 79.3 FPS, which is smaller than the 128.5 FPS gap at 1080p. This compression effect at higher resolution is typical of GPU-bound scenarios. Notably, Ultra at 1440p (62 FPS) is still playable, whereas at 4K Ultra (33.3 FPS) is not.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low yields 74 FPS, Medium produces 55.3 FPS, High falls to 40.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 33.3 FPS. Only the Low preset maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS. The differences between settings tiers are relatively small — from Low to Ultra, the total reduction is 40.7 FPS, compared to 128.5 FPS at 1080p. This demonstrates that at 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck, and changing settings has a limited effect on overall performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 610th out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 34% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the system's strong performance, particularly given that the CPU is a mid-range part from 2022 while the GPU is a high-end offering from 2025. The i5-12400F's percentileVsAllCpus of 77 and the RX 9070's percentileVsAllGpus of 79 are both above average, and their combined score appears to be greater than the sum of their parts in this particular game.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the i5-12400F scores an average benchmark of 19221, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210, deltaPct 0.1%) and the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167, deltaPct 0.3%). It is slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19364, deltaPct -0.7%) and the AMD EPYC 7773X (18979, deltaPct 1.3%). These tight margins — all within 1.3% — indicate that the CPU's performance is well-established and not a differentiator in this combo.

For the GPU, the RX 9070's nearest rivals show a similar clustering. The NVIDIA A2 (34866, deltaPct -0.2%), NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (34677, deltaPct 0.3%), AMD Radeon HD 7970 (34541, deltaPct 0.7%), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (34511, deltaPct 0.8%) all fall within 1% of the RX 9070's average score of 34780. This suggests that the GPU's performance in Hitman 2 is representative of its broader benchmark profile, and the 610th rank is driven more by the game's specific optimization than by any anomaly in this particular combo.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it achieves 74 FPS at 3840x2160. Medium drops to 55.3 FPS, High to 40.4 FPS, and Ultra to 33.3 FPS. Only the Low preset maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS at 4K.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz monitor?

A: At 1080p, Medium (169.3 FPS) or High (126.7 FPS) both exceed 144 FPS targets. At 1440p, Low (141.3 FPS) is the only preset that approaches 144 FPS, while Medium (106 FPS) falls short.

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

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19364) by 0.7% and the AMD EPYC 7773X (18979) by 1.3%.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The RX 9070 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. Hitman 2 does not appear to stress this capacity, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings without sudden drops that would indicate memory exhaustion.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 High, the average is 126.7 FPS. At 3840x2160 High, it drops to 40.4 FPS. This represents a 68.1% reduction when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 610th out of 1795 total combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 34% of all tested systems. Both the CPU (77th percentile) and GPU (79th percentile) are above average in their respective categories.