Hitman 2

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in Hitman 2 presents a study in balance between a strong 10-core processor and a high-bandwidth 16 GB GPU. The benchmark data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, though the performance curves reveal distinct bottlenecks depending on the workload. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates to interpret where the hardware excels and where it struggles within this specific stealth title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data demonstrates a clear and consistent penalty as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 126.3 FPS at 1080p to 77.4 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 43.3 FPS at 4K. This represents a steep decline, with the 4K result being roughly one-third of the 1080p performance. The scaling pattern indicates that the RX 6800 XT is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are taxed more heavily.

The scaling is even more dramatic at Ultra settings, where the frame rate falls from 93.7 FPS at 1080p to 59.0 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 31.4 FPS at 4K. This 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, suggesting that the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical fidelity overwhelms the GPU. Conversely, at Low settings, the drop from 221.2 FPS at 1080p to 137.8 FPS at 1440p and 78.1 FPS at 4K shows a less severe relative decline, indicating that the CPU has more headroom to push frames when the GPU load is reduced.

The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, as High settings deliver 77.4 FPS, which is playable, while Medium settings push to 106.6 FPS. At 1080p, the system is clearly CPU-bound at lower settings, as evidenced by the 221.2 FPS Low result, which far exceeds what the GPU alone would dictate. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each setting tier reinforces that the RX 6800 XT is the limiting component for this game, particularly at Ultra where the 4K result is only 33.5% of the 1080p figure.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested combinations, this specific pairing ranks 639 out of 1795 combinations in Hitman 2. That places it in the upper-middle tier of the database, roughly in the 64th percentile of all combos. The Intel Core i5-14400F itself holds an 88th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT sits at an 87th percentile versus all GPUs. The combination of two high-percentile components results in a rank that is slightly lower than either part individually, which indicates that the game's engine does not fully utilize the combined potential of this hardware.

The combo's rank of 639 may seem modest given the individual component strengths, but it reflects the specific demands of Hitman 2. The game is not particularly demanding on multi-threaded CPU performance compared to other titles, and the GPU's raw compute is not the sole determinant of frame rates. The benchmark results show that the system's performance is heavily influenced by settings and resolution, with the 4K Ultra result of 31.4 FPS being a significant drag on the overall ranking. When compared to other combos, this pairing likely excels in 1080p scenarios but falls behind at 4K, where more powerful GPUs or more optimized drivers would be needed.

The nearestRivals data for the CPU shows it is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the Intel Core i7-12800H and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, with deltaPct values of 0% and 0.2% respectively. This suggests that the i5-14400F's performance is well-matched to its peers, but it does not offer a significant edge in CPU-bound scenarios. For the GPU, the nearest rival is the Intel Arc A550M with a deltaPct of 0.5%, indicating that the RX 6800 XT is only marginally ahead of that part in synthetic benchmarks. This data implies that the combo's rank is more a function of the game's optimization than any single component's superiority.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the workhorse of this combo, and its specifications directly influence the measured frame rates. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is crucial for Hitman 2, which can consume significant video memory at high resolutions. The 4K High result of 43.3 FPS, while not stellar, indicates that the 16 GB capacity prevents any memory-related stuttering or texture thrashing, even at 4K Ultra where the frame rate drops to 31.4 FPS.

The GPU's clock speeds are equally important. The base clock is 1825 MHz, with a game clock of 2015 MHz and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. The boost clock is particularly relevant for the lower resolution results, where the GPU can sustain higher frequencies. At 1080p Low, the 221.2 FPS result likely benefits from the boost clock being maintained, as the GPU is not fully saturated. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU is pushed to its limits, and the frame rate of 31.4 FPS suggests that the boost clock cannot be sustained under heavy load. The 300 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a power-hungry part, but the data shows that the thermal headroom is sufficient to maintain performance across the tested scenarios.

The GPU's compute capabilities, with 4608 shading units and 128 ROPs, are substantial for a 2020-era card. The pixel rate of 288.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 648.0 GTexel/s are high, but Hitman 2's engine appears to be more sensitive to memory bandwidth than raw pixel throughput. The 4K results, which drop significantly from Medium (54.3 FPS) to Ultra (31.4 FPS), suggest that the game's ultra settings introduce effects that heavily tax the GPU's shading units, rather than just the memory subsystem. The GPU's FP32 performance of 20.74 TFLOPS is competitive, but the game's lighting and shadow calculations at Ultra settings clearly exceed what the RX 6800 XT can handle at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the results are consistently high, with Low settings achieving 221.2 FPS, Medium at 163.5 FPS, High at 126.3 FPS, and Ultra at 93.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 58% reduction in frame rate, which is a significant but expected penalty for increased graphical fidelity. The 1080p results indicate that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, as even the Ultra setting maintains nearly 94 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain respectable but show a clear drop from 1080p. Low settings produce 137.8 FPS, Medium 106.6 FPS, High 77.4 FPS, and Ultra 59.0 FPS. The Ultra result is just below the 60 FPS target, which may require minor settings adjustments for competitive play. The transition from High to Ultra at 1440p results in an 18.4 FPS drop, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p drop from High to Ultra (32.6 FPS). This consistency suggests that the GPU is handling the resolution increase linearly, without any unexpected bottlenecks.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings deliver 78.1 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 54.3 FPS, High to 43.3 FPS, and Ultra to 31.4 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only one in the entire dataset that falls below 30 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The data shows that the RX 6800 XT is simply not powerful enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum settings. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 46.7 FPS, which is a larger absolute drop than at any other resolution, further confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a supporting role in this combo, but its specifications ensure that it does not become a limiting factor in most scenarios. The CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This configuration is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which is not a heavily threaded game. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for the game's data access patterns, and the 10 nm process node ensures efficient power delivery with a 65 W TDP.

The CPU's benchmark scores support its capability. In Cinebench R23, it achieves a multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093. These scores indicate strong per-thread performance, which is critical for a game like Hitman 2 that relies on a few primary threads for simulation and AI. The single-core score of 3093 is particularly relevant, as it ensures that the game's main thread is not a bottleneck. The Geekbench single-core score of 2333 further confirms this, while the multi-core score of 11209 shows that the CPU can handle background tasks without impacting gameplay.

The measured FPS data reveals that the CPU's role becomes more prominent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 221.2 FPS result is likely near the CPU's maximum frame generation capability, as the GPU has headroom to render more frames if the CPU could provide them. The fact that the 1080p Low result is 60% higher than the 1440p Low result (137.8 FPS) suggests that the CPU is indeed the limiting factor at 1080p with low settings. However, at 4K, the CPU's influence wanes, and the GPU's rendering capabilities become the sole determinant of performance. The CPU's percentile ranking of 88 versus all CPUs indicates that it is well above average, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13705H with a deltaPct of -0.2%, are statistically identical in performance. This means that the i5-14400F provides a stable foundation for the RX 6800 XT, without introducing any CPU-induced frame drops or stuttering in Hitman 2.