Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title, remains a demanding benchmark for modern hardware. This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT across various resolutions and settings. The data indicates a configuration that is heavily influenced by graphical settings, with the CPU providing a robust foundation while the GPU dictates the ultimate frame rate ceiling at higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The performance of this combo scales predictably with resolution, but the magnitude of the drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 236 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 151 FPS, a 36% reduction, and at 4K it falls further to 81 FPS, a 46% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep decline at higher resolutions, even on Low settings, indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. For instance, at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 134 FPS at 1080p to 86 FPS at 1440p and finally to 46 FPS at 4K. This consistent ~35-40% performance hit for each resolution step-up demonstrates that the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is being saturated by the workload. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU, but as resolution climbs, the rendering load on the GPU grows exponentially, making it the definitive performance limiter.

The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is particularly stark, with average frame rates of 81 FPS and 34 FPS respectively. This 58% performance penalty for enabling Ultra settings shows that the GPU's fill rate and shading power are the dominant constraints at this resolution. The benchmark results clearly indicate that users targeting 4K will need to make significant compromises in graphical fidelity to maintain high refresh rates, while 1080p and 1440p offer far more headroom for maximizing visual quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F provides a solid foundation for gaming, featuring 10 cores and 16 threads based on the Raptor Lake architecture. With a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, this processor is designed to handle both multi-threaded workloads and high-frequency single-thread tasks. Its benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, place it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong performance relative to other processors in the database.

In the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's role appears to be a stable foundation that does not bottleneck the GPU at lower resolutions. The fact that frame rates scale dramatically with resolution suggests that the CPU is capable of supplying the necessary draw calls and game logic updates to keep the GPU busy, even at 1080p where the GPU is less stressed. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game data locality, and its support for DDR5 memory provides high bandwidth for feeding the GPU.

The nearest rivals for the i5-14400F, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and the Intel Core i9-11900, with performance deltas of only 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. This indicates that the i5-14400F is very well-positioned in its performance class. The Passmark single-thread score of 3701 is a strong indicator of its ability to handle games that rely on a few high-performance cores, which is typical for titles like Hitman 2. The CPU's performance is more than adequate for this game, as evidenced by the high frame rates observed at 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the undisputed performance driver in this pairing. Built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a 4 nm process, it features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The GPU's specifications, including a boost clock of 2970 MHz and 4096 shading units, allow it to deliver substantial raw compute power, as indicated by its FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS. The data suggests this card is a high-end enthusiast component, designed to tackle demanding titles at high resolutions.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's performance is the primary determinant of frame rate, especially at 4K and with higher quality presets. The benchmark results show a clear correlation between GPU workload and performance. At 1080p Low, the card produces an average of 236 FPS, but this drops to 99 FPS at 1080p Ultra, a 58% decrease. This demonstrates that while the card is powerful, the Ultra preset in this game imposes a significant load that challenges even high-end hardware.

The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is a notable asset for Hitman 2, ensuring that texture data can be fully loaded without swapping to system memory, even at 4K resolution. The card's percentile ranking of 55 among all GPUs is based on its average benchmark score of 13543, which places it near the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 in the database's scoring, though these rival comparisons are based on synthetic benchmarks rather than gaming performance. The data indicates that the RX 9070 XT is the component that dictates the playable settings and resolutions for this combo, with the CPU providing ample support.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across 12 distinct scenarios. At 1920x1080, the system is capable of excellent performance, with an average of 236 FPS at Low settings and 134 FPS at High settings. The Medium preset yields an average of 177 FPS with a minimum of 151 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers an average of 99 FPS. These results show that 1080p is easily handled, making the combo ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's workload. The Low preset produces an average of 151 FPS, while High drops to 86 FPS. Medium offers a balanced average of 113 FPS, with minimum and maximums of 96 and 130 FPS, respectively. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields an average of 63 FPS, which is still playable for many users but may not fully utilize a 144Hz display. This resolution represents a sweet spot for the combo, offering a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining respectable frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset drops to an average of 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS. High settings lower the average to 46 FPS, and Ultra is the most demanding, yielding an average of just 34 FPS. This data indicates that 4K gaming is possible with this combo, but users will need to select lower presets to achieve smooth frame rates. The step from 1440p to 4K at High settings represents a 46% performance drop, confirming that 4K is the most stressful scenario for the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT holds a rank of 916 out of 3711 tested combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the top 25% of all configurations tested, indicating that it is a high-performing pairing for this game. The rank reflects the combined capabilities of the CPU and GPU, with the powerful RX 9070 XT being the primary driver of the strong showing.

The combo's ranking suggests that it outperforms a significant majority of other systems in the database. This reflects the balance between the two components, where the i5-14400F provides sufficient processing power to avoid holding back the RX 9070 XT. While it is not the highest-ranked combination, its position in the 916th spot out of 3711 combos signifies that it is a robust choice for gamers seeking high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, with capable performance at 4K on lower settings. The data confirms that this is a well-matched pair for Hitman 2, delivering a smooth and responsive experience in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this combo for a high refresh rate experience?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080, the combo achieves over 99 FPS on all presets, including 236 FPS on Low and 134 FPS on High. This makes 1080p the best choice for pushing very high refresh rates. At 2560x1440, the High preset still delivers an average of 86 FPS, which is also suitable for gaming.

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

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields an average of 81 FPS, and Medium drops to 60 FPS. However, the High preset only averages 46 FPS, and Ultra drops to 34 FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, users would need to stick to Medium settings or lower.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i9-11900. It also trails the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by 0.2%, showing it is very closely matched with these alternatives.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity and how does it affect performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. This capacity is sufficient to handle the high-resolution textures in Hitman 2 without performance degradation due to memory limitations, even at 4K resolution.

Q: How significant is the performance drop when switching from 1080p to 4K?

A: The performance drop is substantial. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 134 FPS at 1080p to 46 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 65%. This indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, requiring users to lower settings to maintain playable frame rates.

Q: Is this combo better suited for CPU-bound or GPU-bound scenarios?

A: The benchmark data indicates that the combo is GPU-bound at resolutions of 1440p and above, as frame rates scale down significantly with increased resolution. At 1080p, the system is more balanced, with the CPU capable of delivering high frame rates, but the GPU still limits performance on Ultra presets.