Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable but highly variable experience in Hitman 2, with performance dictated almost entirely by the graphics settings slider. The measured data shows a clear pattern: the GTX 1070 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality presets, while the i5-12600KF provides ample headroom at lower settings. This combination ranks 1527th out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, a position that reflects the GPU's age rather than the CPU's capability.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component in most scenarios. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 65.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 40.6 FPS at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 25.1 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 61.6% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a steep curve that points directly at the GTX 1070's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus being overwhelmed by the pixel count.

The scaling pattern becomes even more telling at Ultra settings. The average frame rate at 1080p is already a marginal 47.2 FPS, but this drops to 30.8 FPS at 1440p and a nearly unplayable 15.4 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 67.4%, which is even steeper than at High settings. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces additional shading and texture work that disproportionately taxes the GPU's 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs, causing the frame rate to collapse faster than the resolution scaling alone would predict.

At Low settings, the story shifts slightly. The 1080p result of 116.8 FPS is excellent, and the 1440p result of 78.9 FPS remains smooth. However, 4K Low still only manages 40.9 FPS, a 65% drop from 1080p. This indicates that even with reduced geometry and texture loads, the GTX 1070's raw pixel throughput—rated at 107.7 GPixel/s—simply cannot keep pace with 4K demands. The CPU is not the constraint here; the data shows the i5-12600KF could push far higher frame rates if the GPU allowed it, but the Pascal architecture's limitations are clear.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the definitive performance ceiling for this combo. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results reveal a hard wall. The GPU's boost clock of 1683 MHz and base clock of 1506 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is what drives the frame rates seen in the data.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its position. It sits at the 51st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12331. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, scores 12504, a delta of -1.4%, meaning the GTX 1070 is actually slightly slower. Interestingly, the GTX 1070 outperforms the Quadro K4200 by 0.7%, but loses to the GTX 880M by 1.3%. This tight cluster of scores around 12200-12500 confirms that the GTX 1070 is firmly mid-range, which aligns with its in-game performance.

The DirectX 12 score of 48 on Passmark is notably weak compared to the DirectX 11 score of 100. This suggests the Pascal architecture struggles with modern API overhead, which is evident in Hitman 2's engine. The game's High and Ultra presets likely leverage features that tax the GPU's memory bandwidth, and the data shows the 8 GB frame buffer is a limiting factor at 4K, where the 15.4 FPS Ultra result is barely a slideshow.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is far from the bottleneck in this configuration. With 10 cores and 16 threads, it provides robust multi-threaded performance that Hitman 2 can utilize, but the measured frame rates show the GPU hits its limits long before the CPU does. The CPU's boost clock of 4.90 GHz and base clock of 3.70 GHz are high, and its 20 MB of shared L3 cache supports efficient data handling.

The CPU's benchmark results are strong, placing it at the 84th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 27827 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores 27829 with a 0% delta, and it is only 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12600K. This means the 12600KF is effectively on par with its closest rivals, offering no meaningful performance gap. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and single-core score of 3309 are solid indicators of its capability.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. At 1080p Low, the 116.8 FPS result shows the CPU can handle the game's logic without breaking a sweat, and the frame rate is purely GPU-bound. Even at 4K Low, the 40.9 FPS result is not caused by CPU limitations; rather, the GPU's pixel fill rate is the ceiling. The CPU's 3DMark scores—7956 for 16 threads and 1016 for single-thread—confirm it has the headroom to support higher frame rates if the GPU were upgraded.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings remain playable. At 1080p, even Ultra averages 47.2 FPS, while 1440p Ultra drops to 30.8 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 15.4 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rival in benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score of 12331 is 1.4% lower than the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER's 12504, and it trails the GTX 880M by 1.3%, but it leads the Quadro K4200 by 0.7%.

Q: Is the i5-12600KF a bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: No. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 116.8 FPS, which is the highest result in the dataset. The CPU's 84th percentile ranking and high single-thread score of 1016 in 3DMark indicate it is not limiting performance.

Q: What happens to frame rates when moving from 1440p to 4K on High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 40.6 FPS at 2560x1440 to 25.1 FPS at 3840x2160, a 38.2% reduction. This steep decline shows the GPU's memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s is insufficient for 4K.

Q: How does this combo's CPU ranking compare to the i9-10900K?

A: The i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827, which is exactly 0% different from the Intel Core i9-10900K's 27829, making them statistically identical in performance.

Q: Which settings preset offers the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 yield 57.2 FPS, which is the highest frame rate above 60 FPS in the dataset at that resolution. High settings drop to 40.6 FPS, and Low reaches 78.9 FPS but sacrifices visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 116.8 FPS, which is smooth for stealth gameplay. Medium settings reduce this to 89.8 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings drop further to 65.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 47.2 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 59.6% reduction, showing the GPU's limits are reached quickly as quality increases.

At 2560x1440, performance becomes more strained. Low settings average 78.9 FPS, which is playable but notably lower than 1080p. Medium settings produce 57.2 FPS, just shy of 60 FPS smoothness. High settings fall to 40.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 30.8 FPS. The 1440p results show a 61% reduction from Low to Ultra, indicating that the GTX 1070's pixel rate is the key constraint.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals a harsh reality. Low settings average 40.9 FPS, which is marginal for a stealth game requiring precision. Medium settings fall to 28.3 FPS, High to 25.1 FPS, and Ultra to a mere 15.4 FPS. The 4K results are consistently below playable thresholds, and the gap between Low and Ultra is 62.3%. The GPU's 8 GB frame buffer and 256-bit bus are simply insufficient for 4K rendering, regardless of the CPU's strength.