Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks at position 517 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 14% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a game that leans heavily on single-thread performance, and the data confirms the combo delivers high frame rates across all settings, though the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck at 4K Ultra where average FPS drops to 39.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 517 out of 3711 represents a solid mid-to-high tier placement, meaning roughly 86% of tested systems perform worse in Hitman 2. The CPU sits at the 79th percentile among all processors, and its nearest rival comparison shows it is effectively tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K (deltaPct -0.3), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (deltaPct -0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (deltaPct -0.3). The only positive delta is against the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE at +0.3, but all four rivals are within a fraction of a percent, indicating the i5-12600KF's processing power is not the limiting factor here.

The GPU ranks at the 84th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 44795. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (deltaPct -0.8), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (deltaPct -1.3), and the Intel Arc A730M (deltaPct -1.7), all of which score slightly higher on average. The only rival with a lower score is the NVIDIA RTX A6000 at +1.6 deltaPct. This suggests the RTX 4070 Ti is a high-tier GPU, but not the absolute top, which aligns with the combo's overall ranking.

The ranking is further contextualized by the game's release date of 2018-11-12, meaning Hitman 2 is not particularly demanding by modern standards. The i5-12600KF's single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302, is more than adequate for this title. The data shows the combo's placement is driven by the GPU's ability to push high frame rates at lower resolutions, with the CPU keeping pace effectively.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 Ti is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 7680 shading units and 60 RT cores. Its memory configuration is 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The base clock is 2310 MHz with a boost clock of 2610 MHz, and the memory runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective. These specifications place it firmly in the high-end segment, with a pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 277 FPS average, which is far beyond what the CPU could limit, indicating the GPU is barely taxed. The frame rate scales almost linearly with settings: at 1080p Medium it drops to 208 FPS, at High to 157 FPS, and at Ultra to 116 FPS. This pattern shows the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences between presets, as the CPU can easily feed it at these rates.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which was released in 2018 and has no modern high-VRAM requirements. The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s ensures that texture streaming at 4K Ultra does not cause stuttering, as evidenced by the 4K Medium results showing a minimum FPS of 60. The GPU's FP32 performance of 40.09 TFLOPS provides ample compute headroom, though the game's engine appears to be more sensitive to memory bandwidth than raw compute, given the sharp FPS drops at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p High, the combo averages 157 FPS, which drops to 101 FPS at 1440p High (a 36% reduction) and then to 54 FPS at 4K High (a 47% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance does not degrade with resolution.

The Low preset shows an even more dramatic scaling: 277 FPS at 1080p, 177 FPS at 1440p (36% drop), and 95 FPS at 4K (46% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets suggests the game's rendering load scales uniformly with pixel count, and the RTX 4070 Ti's bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s becomes the bottleneck at 4K. At 4K Low, the 95 FPS average is still playable, but the 182 FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low highlights how resolution dominates performance.

Ultra settings amplify this effect. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 116 FPS, but this falls to 74 FPS at 1440p Ultra (36% drop) and 39 FPS at 4K Ultra (47% drop from 1440p). The 39 FPS at 4K Ultra is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, confirming that the GPU cannot handle full-resolution ultra settings. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum FPS of 60, which suggests that medium settings are the practical ceiling for 4K playability, with an average of 71 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The data points to Medium settings as the optimal balance for most users, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 1440p Medium, the combo achieves 133 FPS average with a minimum of 113 FPS and a maximum of 153 FPS, which provides a smooth experience on high-refresh monitors without dipping below 60 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, just reaching the playable threshold.

High settings are viable at 1440p with 101 FPS average, but at 4K the average drops to 54 FPS, which may feel sluggish for action sequences. Low settings are only recommended for competitive play at 1080p, where 277 FPS average provides maximum responsiveness, but the visual quality loss is significant. Ultra settings are not recommended for this combo at any resolution above 1080p, as even at 1080p the 116 FPS average is only marginally better than High's 157 FPS, and at 4K the 39 FPS average is unplayable.

The measured rows show that the jump from Medium to High at 1080p costs 51 FPS (208 to 157), while the jump from High to Ultra costs 41 FPS (157 to 116). These diminishing returns suggest that Medium offers the best visual-to-performance ratio, especially considering the 4K Medium results maintain a 60 FPS minimum. For users with 1440p monitors, Medium at 133 FPS is the sweet spot, as it leaves headroom for occasional dips without sacrificing smoothness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers consistently high frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 277 FPS, which is the highest measured in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 208 FPS average with a minimum of 177 FPS and a maximum of 239 FPS. High settings drop to 157 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 116 FPS average. The 161 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p demonstrates the GPU's headroom at this resolution, where even Ultra remains well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected scaling. Low settings average 177 FPS, which is still excellent for high-refresh gaming. Medium settings produce 133 FPS average with a minimum of 113 FPS and a maximum of 153 FPS, maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. High settings drop to 101 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 74 FPS average. The 103 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is less pronounced than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is starting to feel the resolution load.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits become apparent. Low settings average 95 FPS, which is playable but no longer competitive. Medium settings produce 71 FPS average with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS, just touching the playable threshold. High settings drop to 54 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings produce 39 FPS average, which is not recommended for any serious play. The 56 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest of all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank in Hitman 2 compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 517th out of 3711 tested configurations, placing it in the top 14% of all systems tested in this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Hitman 2?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 39, while the CPU's nearest rival comparisons show it is within 0.3% of the Intel Core i9-10900K and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, indicating it is not the bottleneck.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for smooth gameplay?

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium provides 133 FPS average with a minimum of 113 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. For 4K, Medium settings at 71 FPS average with a 60 FPS minimum is the highest playable option.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings in Hitman 2?

A: No, at 4K Ultra the average FPS is 39, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for full ultra settings at this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 157 at 1080p to 54 at 4K, a 66% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 277 FPS to 95 FPS, a 66% reduction as well.

Q: Is the CPU's single-thread performance sufficient for Hitman 2?

A: Yes, the i5-12600KF has a 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302, which places it at the 79th percentile among all CPUs. The game's performance is not CPU-limited at any resolution, as shown by the consistent FPS scaling with resolution.