Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i5-14400F + AMD Radeon RX 7700

This combo lands at rank 1371 out of 3001 tested configurations in Hitman 2, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database. The pairing of Intel's 10-core Raptor Lake refresh CPU with AMD's RDNA 3.0 GPU produces a system that handles the stealth title competently at 1080p and 1440p, but the data reveals clear limitations when pushing toward 4K Ultra. The measured frames per second across twelve resolution/settings combinations show a pattern where the GPU becomes the decisive factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance keeps minimums respectable at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The rank of 1371 out of 3001 combos (approximately the 54th percentile) indicates this system sits slightly above the median performer for Hitman 2. The Intel Core i5-14400F achieves an 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs in the database, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700 sits at the 58th percentile among GPUs. This discrepancy suggests the graphics card is the limiting factor in this pairing — the CPU has more headroom than the GPU can exploit in this particular title.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the i5-14400F's average benchmark score of 32279 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233, delta 0.1%), the Intel Core i9-11900 (32226, delta 0.2%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354, delta -0.2%). The i7-12800H trails by just 0.5%. These sub-1% differences mean the CPU choice among these four options would have virtually no measurable impact on Hitman 2 frame rates.

For the GPU, the RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15852 places it within 1.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129) and 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16014). The Radeon Pro W5500 (15679) is 1.1% slower, and the R9 370X (15862) is essentially tied at -0.1%. This tight cluster means the RX 7700's actual gaming performance in Hitman 2 — particularly the 4K results — reflects a GPU that competes in the same tier as these alternatives rather than dominating them.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 packs 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die (5 nm TSMC process) feed 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. Clock speeds range from a 1900 MHz base to a 2459 MHz boost, with a 2041 MHz game clock. The 40 ray accelerators support DirectX 12 Ultimate, though Hitman 2's 2018 release predates heavy ray tracing adoption in the series.

In Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU's role becomes evident when examining the frame rate scaling across settings. At 1080p, the gap between Low (182 FPS) and Ultra (76 FPS) represents a 58% performance drop — the GPU is processing significantly more visual data at Ultra. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is never stressed by this title, as even 4K Ultra with the game's largest textures would fit comfortably within that allocation. The memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s proves adequate for the game's crowd and reflection rendering, but the compute throughput (25.18 TFLOPS FP32) becomes the binding constraint at higher resolutions.

The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s explain why 4K performance collapses. At 3840x2160, the GPU must fill over 8.3 million pixels per frame; at Ultra settings, the 26 FPS average indicates the ROPs and shader units are overwhelmed. The 2041 MHz game clock (rather than the 2459 MHz boost) suggests sustained loads settle below peak clocks, which is typical for a 200 W card under extended gaming sessions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a consistent pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude varies dramatically by settings preset. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (182 FPS) to 1440p (116 FPS) represents a 36% drop, and 4K (62 FPS) drops another 47% from 1440p. This steep decline indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck even at Low settings — a CPU-limited scenario would show flatter scaling across resolutions.

At High settings, the pattern shifts: 1080p delivers 103 FPS, 1440p drops to 66 FPS (-36%), and 4K falls to 35 FPS (-47%). The consistent percentage drops across Low and High suggest the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity scale predictably with pixel count, with no unexpected bottlenecks emerging. Medium settings follow the same trajectory: 136 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p (-36%), and 46 FPS at 4K (-47%).

Ultra settings show the most dramatic degradation: 76 FPS at 1080p, 49 FPS at 1440p (-36%), and 26 FPS at 4K (-47%). The near-identical percentage drops across all four presets (36% for 1080p-to-1440p and 47% for 1440p-to-4K) strongly indicate a purely GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are not the limiting factor at any resolution — if they were, the percentage drops would compress at higher resolutions as the GPU became more dominant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 182 FPS average, which is exceptionally smooth for a stealth title where precise timing matters. Medium settings drop to 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS and maximum of 157 FPS — the narrow min/max spread suggests consistent frame pacing. High settings yield 103 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 76 FPS, which remains playable but begins to show the GPU's limitations when all visual features are enabled.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain respectable for most presets. Low settings deliver 116 FPS, which is smooth for competitive play. Medium settings produce 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS — the 74 FPS minimum indicates occasional dips but nothing that would cause noticeable stuttering. High settings achieve 66 FPS, right at the edge of the 60 FPS threshold for fluid gameplay. Ultra settings drop to 49 FPS, which is below ideal for a game that rewards precise movement and camera control.

At 3840x2160, the results become marginal. Low settings manage 62 FPS, which is playable but not smooth by modern standards. Medium settings average 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS and maximum of 53 FPS — the 39 FPS minimum could produce noticeable hitches during crowded scenes. High settings fall to 35 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 26 FPS. These 4K numbers indicate the RX 7700 cannot sustain fluid gameplay at this resolution for Hitman 2, regardless of settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 60 FPS in 4K?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average is 62 FPS. Medium settings drop to 46 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 26 FPS. The 4K Low result barely exceeds 60 FPS, but any increase in visual fidelity pushes the frame rate below the target.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: 1440p offers the best balance, with High settings delivering 66 FPS and Medium delivering 87 FPS. At 1080p, Ultra settings hit 76 FPS, but 1440p Medium (87 FPS) provides higher resolution with better frame rates than 1080p Ultra.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F's average benchmark score of 32279 is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, Intel Core i9-11900, AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS, and Intel Core i7-12800H. This means CPU choice among these four would have negligible impact on Hitman 2 performance.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The RX 7700 ranks at the 58th percentile among GPUs, while the CPU ranks at the 83rd percentile. The consistent 36% and 47% frame rate drops across resolution steps confirm GPU-bound scaling.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 103 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides smooth gameplay. For comparison, Medium settings deliver 136 FPS and Ultra delivers 76 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7700 compare to the RTX 3060 Ti in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15852 is 1.7% lower than the RTX 3060 Ti's 16129. This places them in the same performance tier, though Hitman 2-specific results may vary.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests 1440p Medium as the optimal configuration for this combo. The 87 FPS average with a 74 FPS minimum provides smooth gameplay while maintaining a 74 FPS floor that prevents noticeable stuttering. This combination offers 36% higher frame rates than 1440p High (66 FPS) while only sacrificing visual quality features that have diminishing returns in a stealth game where spotting enemies and environmental details matter more than reflections or shadows.

For players prioritizing visual fidelity, 1440p High at 66 FPS remains viable, though the frame rate hovers near the 60 FPS threshold. The 1080p Ultra setting (76 FPS) provides a higher quality image than 1080p High (103 FPS) but at a 26% performance cost. Given that Hitman 2 rewards careful observation, the additional detail from Ultra settings at 1080p might be preferable to the resolution increase to 1440p Medium for some players.

At 4K, the recommendation is Low settings (62 FPS) if resolution is non-negotiable. Medium settings at 4K (46 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold, and the 39 FPS minimum during demanding scenes would likely harm gameplay. Players with 4K displays should consider running at 1440p with Medium or High settings instead, as the resolution difference is less noticeable than the frame rate improvement during fast camera movements.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F provides 10 cores and 16 threads across its Raptor Lake architecture, with a 2.50 GHz base clock boosting to 4.70 GHz. The 20 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache feed the 16 threads effectively for Hitman 2's AI-driven crowd simulations and physics calculations. The CPU's percentile ranking of 83 among all processors indicates it outperforms the majority of CPUs in the database, yet the combo's overall rank of 1371 out of 3001 shows the GPU holds the system back.

The CPU's benchmark results paint a picture of strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 21645, while single-core scores 3055. The PassMark multi-thread score of 25470 and single-thread score of 3701 confirm balanced performance across both workloads. Hitman 2's engine utilizes multiple threads for NPC behavior and environmental interactions, so the 16 threads prevent CPU-induced frame drops even in crowded scenes.

The 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform make this a power-efficient choice, though the CPU's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 means system memory choice could affect performance. The 4.70 GHz boost clock provides the single-thread speed that Hitman 2's main game logic requires, while the 10 cores handle background simulation tasks. The data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking — the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which is the hallmark of a GPU-limited configuration. The launch MSRP of $196 for the CPU positions it as a mid-range option, but the measured performance in this combo suggests the GPU investment should be prioritized for better Hitman 2 results.