Hitman 2

Hitman 2’s measured performance on the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination reveals a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet shows surprising headroom at 1080p. The data indicates a pairing that can handle the game’s stealth sandboxes smoothly, provided the user makes informed preset choices. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) data across three resolutions and four quality presets to show exactly where this hardware excels and where it struggles.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, pointing squarely at the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the system delivers 89 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 60.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 32.3 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 63.7% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, a classic sign that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB frame buffer and compute throughput are being overwhelmed by the pixel count. The scaling is not linear; the jump from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, costing 28.6 FPS, whereas the jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 28.1 FPS.

The pattern holds across all presets, but the severity varies. On Low settings, the system achieves 161 FPS at 1080p, 101.1 FPS at 1440p, and 53.1 FPS at 4K. Here, the 4K figure is still below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that even with the lowest graphical load, the GPU cannot maintain a smooth experience at that resolution. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU has more room to work, but the GPU still dominates the performance curve. The delta between Low and High at 1080p is 72 FPS, while at 4K the same delta is only 20.8 FPS, showing that as resolution increases, the GPU’s fixed cost becomes a larger share of the total frame time, making preset changes less impactful.

This behavior is typical of a system where the CPU, with its high boost clock, is not the limiting factor at 4K. The 4K results across all presets (ranging from 24.6 FPS on Ultra to 53.1 FPS on Low) are all below the 60 FPS target, which suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER is simply not powerful enough for 4K gaming in this title. At 1440p, the system is on the edge; High settings yield 60.9 FPS, which is playable, but any increase in quality pushes it down to 44.9 FPS on Ultra. The 1080p results are the only ones where the system consistently breaks past 60 FPS on all presets, and even reaches 161 FPS on Low, indicating that this resolution is where the hardware is best utilized.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the clear performance limiter in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU’s memory configuration includes 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This memory subsystem is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows it struggles to feed the renderer at 4K. The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 24.6, which is below the playable threshold, and even at 4K Low, the card only manages 53.1 FPS. This suggests that the GPU’s raw compute, rated at 9.062 TFLOPS FP32, is insufficient for the 4K workload.

The clock speeds are also a factor. The GPU has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. These figures are moderate, and the data indicates they are not enough to overcome the pixel throughput demands at 4K. The card’s performance relative to its peers, as indicated by its average benchmark score of 22206, places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A400, scores 22307, a delta of -0.5%, meaning the RTX 2070 SUPER is essentially on par with that workstation card. It is also 2.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile, but 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700. These comparisons show that while the card is not top-tier, it is a solid mid-range performer that can handle Hitman 2 at moderate settings.

The data suggests that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is not the primary issue at 1080p, where the system hits 89 FPS on High. However, at 4K, the combination of memory bandwidth and compute limits the card to sub-60 FPS results. The benchmark results for the GPU, such as a Passmark G3D score of 18169 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 98316, corroborate its mid-range positioning. The card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is relevant since Hitman 2 can utilize that API, but the measured FPS shows that even with this support, the hardware cannot push 4K Ultra past 24.6 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF provides a solid foundation that prevents the system from being CPU-limited at most settings. This processor features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This high boost clock is crucial for gaming, as Hitman 2’s simulation and AI logic can be single-thread dependent. The CPU’s benchmark scores support this: it achieves a 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309, indicating strong per-core performance. In contrast, its multi-threaded scores are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444, ensuring that background tasks or heavily threaded game elements do not cause stutters.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 161 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for this game. When compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-12600KF’s average benchmark score of 27827 puts it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. It is essentially tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores 27829, and the Intel Core i5-12600K, which scores 27851, showing a delta of 0% and -0.1%, respectively. This means that the KF variant is virtually identical in performance to its non-KF counterpart, and it matches the older i9 in this specific benchmark suite. The CPU is also 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700H, a mobile processor, indicating that desktop performance is still superior.

The fact that the FPS scales so heavily with resolution and settings suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck. For example, at 1440p High, the system gets 60.9 FPS, which is a 31.5% drop from the 1080p High result of 89 FPS. This drop is almost entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload increase. The CPU’s Passmark multi-thread score of 27575 and single-thread score of 3925 indicate it has ample headroom. The data implies that the i5-12600KF is a capable partner for the RTX 2070 SUPER, as it does not hold the GPU back at lower resolutions, but its performance is not the deciding factor in the higher-resolution FPS drops.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this hardware?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets achieve above 60 FPS, with High settings at 89 FPS and Ultra at 68.6 FPS. 2560x1440 is playable on High at 60.9 FPS, but 3840x2160 fails to reach 60 FPS even on Low, maxing out at 53.1 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the Intel Core i9-10900K?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827, which is 0% different from the Intel Core i9-10900K’s score of 27829. The data indicates they are effectively tied in overall performance.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER better than the RTX 4060 Mobile?

A: No, the RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 22206, which is 2.3% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile’s score of 22729. The desktop card is slightly behind in this comparison.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 101.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 44.9 FPS. This represents a 56.2 FPS difference, showing that the preset choice has a massive impact on performance at this resolution.

Q: Does the CPU support overclocking?

A: Yes, the Intel Core i5-12600KF has an unlocked multiplier, as indicated in the data, which allows for overclocking to potentially improve performance further.

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

A: The data suggests it cannot. The best 4K result is on Low settings with 53.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Ultra settings at 4K yield only 24.6 FPS, making it unplayable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear choice. The system delivers 68.6 FPS, which is well above the smoothness threshold, and the visual fidelity gains are worth the performance cost compared to High, which yields 89 FPS. The data indicates no reason to sacrifice quality at this resolution, as even the heaviest preset remains playable.

At 2560x1440, the situation is more nuanced. The High preset is the best balance, hitting 60.9 FPS. This is the only setting at this resolution that achieves a 60+ FPS average. Dropping to Medium increases the frame rate to 74.9 FPS, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often noticeable in Hitman 2’s detailed environments. The Ultra preset, at 44.9 FPS, falls below the playable threshold and should be avoided. Therefore, for a smooth experience, High is recommended, with Medium as a fallback if the user prefers higher frame rates.

For 3840x2160, the data is clear: this hardware is not suited for 4K in this game. The Low preset yields 53.1 FPS, which is the only result even close to playable, but it still falls short of 60 FPS. High and Medium produce 32.3 FPS and 41.8 FPS respectively, and Ultra is a slideshow at 24.6 FPS. Given these numbers, users with a 4K display should either lower the resolution to 1440p or accept a sub-60 FPS experience on Low settings. The measured data strongly suggests that the best overall experience for this combo is at 1080p Ultra, where the system has the most headroom and can deliver a consistently fluid performance without compromising visual quality.