Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 presents a stark picture in Hitman 2: this is a combination where the graphics card is the definitive bottleneck at every resolution. The measured frames per second (FPS) data shows a dramatic collapse as resolution increases, moving from a playable 1080p experience to a slideshow at 4K. The i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread Alder Lake processor with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, and its performance is far beyond what this GPU can leverage in this title. The data indicates that any upgrade path for this system in Hitman 2 must start with the Radeon RX 570, as the CPU has ample headroom to drive a far more powerful graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is severe and tells a clear story about system balance. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 42.6 FPS at 1080p to 26.1 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 14.3 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66% loss in average FPS from 1080p to 4K. This scaling pattern is classic GPU-bound behavior; the i5-12600KF is not the limiting factor. The processor's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a single-core score of 3309, indicate it has the raw compute power to feed a much stronger GPU. The RX 570, with its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, simply cannot sustain fill rates at higher resolutions.

Looking at the Low preset, the trend continues. The average FPS drops from 69.3 at 1080p to 43.7 at 1440p, and finally to 23.0 at 4K. Even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the primary constraint. The jump from Low to High at 1080p costs 26.7 FPS, but the jump from 1440p to 4K at High costs 11.8 FPS. This indicates that the pixel count is having a more pronounced effect on performance than the visual complexity of the scene. The 4K Ultra setting is practically unplayable at 8.0 FPS, confirming that this resolution is entirely out of reach for this GPU. The data shows that 1080p is the only viable resolution for this combo, and even then, users will need to compromise on settings to achieve a smooth frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 69.3 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. This is the best experience for competitive or fast-paced play. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 51.7 FPS, a solid 60Hz-class experience but with a 17.6 FPS penalty compared to Low. The High preset at 1080p drops to 42.6 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the GPU's age. The Ultra preset at 1080p is a poor choice, delivering only 26.6 FPS, which is a 61% reduction from Low. The data suggests that for a consistent 60 FPS target, Low settings are mandatory. For those who prefer visual fidelity over frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a reasonable balance, but users should be prepared for frame rates in the 50s.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more difficult. The Low preset at 43.7 FPS is the only playable option, and it still falls short of a 60 FPS target. High and Medium at 1440p produce 26.1 and 34.3 FPS respectively, which are playable only in slower, stealth-focused sections of the game but will feel stuttery during action sequences. The 4K resolution is effectively a no-go zone for this combination. The Low preset at 4K manages 23.0 FPS, which is below the threshold for a playable experience. The data strongly recommends that users stick to 1920x1080 and choose between Low for maximum frame rate or Medium for a visual upgrade, as the performance cost of High and Ultra is not justified by the measured results.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the central figure in this performance analysis, and its specifications explain the measured results. It features a Polaris 20 chip on the GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. While this was a capable specification at its launch in 2017, it is a limiting factor in a 2018 title like Hitman 2 at higher resolutions. The GPU's clock speeds are set to a base of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1244 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). These clocks are modest by modern standards, and the 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the ceiling for this card.

The GPU's benchmark results place it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30158. Its nearest rivals according to the data are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which are in completely different performance tiers, differing by only 0.2% in average score. This is a quirk of the benchmark database, but it underscores that the RX 570's synthetic scores are not representative of its modern gaming performance. In Hitman 2, the 4 GB VRAM buffer is likely a significant constraint at 1440p and 4K, as the game's texture data exceeds the available memory, causing severe frame rate drops. The data shows that the GPU's role is to be the primary bottleneck, capping performance well below what the i5-12600KF can provide.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: The measured data shows it cannot playably. At 4K, the average FPS is 14.3 on High, 19.7 on Medium, and only 8.0 on Ultra. Even on Low, the average FPS is 23.0, which is below a playable threshold.

Q: What is the best setting for a 60 FPS target?

A: Based on the measured rows, only the Low preset at 1920x1080 achieves this, with an average of 69.3 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p comes close at 51.7 FPS but does not hit the 60 FPS mark.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF holding back the Radeon RX 570?

A: No. The data shows the GPU is the bottleneck. The i5-12600KF has a high Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a single-core score of 3309, indicating it has far more performance than the RX 570 can utilize in this game.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 30158. Its nearest rivals, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, have average scores of 30109 and 30097, respectively, showing a delta of only 0.2%.

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

A: The measured average FPS drops from 69.3 on Low to 42.6 on High at 1920x1080. This is a 26.7 FPS reduction, or about a 38% performance loss for the higher visual quality.

Q: Is the 4 GB VRAM a problem in this game?

A: The data does not explicitly measure VRAM usage, but the severe frame rate drops at 1440p and 4K, such as the 26.1 FPS at 1440p High, are consistent with a GPU that is exceeding its memory capacity and struggling to maintain performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 1716 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the bottom 4.4% of all tested systems. This low rank is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The i5-12600KF is a high-end processor that sits in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27827. Its performance is nearly identical to that of the Intel Core i9-10900K, which has an average score of 27829 and a delta of 0%. The CPU is not the problem.

The RX 570, while in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, is paired with a processor that is over a generation ahead of it in capability. This mismatch creates a system that is severely unbalanced for a game like Hitman 2. The rank of 1716 out of 1795 indicates that the vast majority of other tested combinations, even those with older or less powerful CPUs, likely perform better because they are paired with more suitable graphics cards. The data suggests that this combo is a legacy pairing or a temporary setup where the CPU was upgraded without a corresponding GPU upgrade. To improve this rank, the RX 570 must be replaced; the CPU has enough headroom to support a dramatically better result.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF plays a supportive, yet crucial, role in this combo, though its performance is not the limiting factor in Hitman 2. The processor features 10 cores and 16 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. It has a 20 MB shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. These specifications make it a formidable gaming CPU for its generation. Its benchmark scores confirm this, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2529 and a multi-core score of 12373. The Passmark single-thread score is 3925, and the multi-thread score is 27575.

In the context of the measured frame rates, the CPU's role is to ensure that the GPU is fed with data. The fact that the FPS scales linearly with resolution and settings indicates that the CPU is never waiting for work; it is the GPU that is struggling to keep up. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 69.3 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a similar FPS cap regardless of resolution. Instead, the FPS drops to 43.7 at 1440p and 23.0 at 4K on the same Low preset, proving the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, has an identical average benchmark score of 27829, showing that the 12600KF is performing at the top of its class. In this system, the CPU is ready for a much more powerful GPU, and its performance headroom is completely unused in this game.