Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti delivers a classic 1080p gaming experience in Hitman 2, but the data reveals a sharp performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 204 FPS, which is more than enough for high-refresh-rate monitors. Moving to Medium at the same resolution drops the average to 153 FPS, while High settings still maintain a strong 116 FPS. Even the demanding Ultra preset at 1080p holds at 85 FPS, suggesting the CPU-GPU pairing is well-balanced for this title at standard HD resolutions.

The picture changes dramatically when scaling to 2560x1440. The average frame rate at High settings falls to 74 FPS, a significant reduction from the 116 FPS seen at 1080p High. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 98 FPS, while Low settings reach 131 FPS. At this resolution, the Ultra preset drops to 55 FPS, which is playable but begins to strain the system. The scaling pattern indicates that the graphics card is becoming the primary bottleneck, as the resolution increase demands more pixel-pushing power than the CPU can offset.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens considerably. High settings produce just 39 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay on most displays. Medium settings fare slightly better at 52 FPS, while Low settings reach 70 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K bottoms out at 29 FPS, making it essentially unplayable for action sequences. The data clearly shows that this combo is optimized for 1080p and acceptable at 1440p, but 4K gaming requires significant settings compromises to maintain playable frame rates. The drop from 204 FPS at 1080p Low to 70 FPS at 4K Low represents a 65% reduction, highlighting the GPU's limitations under heavy pixel load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti relies on the Ampere architecture and GA104 chip, built on Samsung's 8 nm process. This specific model carries 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz with an effective data rate of 19 Gbps. The GPU's base clock is 1575 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and it packs 6144 shading units alongside 192 texture mapping units and 96 raster output units. The card also includes 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, though Hitman 2 predates widespread ray tracing adoption in the genre.

In the measured results, the RTX 3070 Ti's memory capacity becomes a critical factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate collapses to 29 FPS, which aligns with the GPU struggling to manage the combination of high-resolution textures and complex geometry. The 8 GB VRAM buffer appears sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, where the card maintains respectable averages across most presets, but the Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 55 FPS, suggesting memory bandwidth constraints. The GPU's FP32 performance is rated at 21.75 TFLOPS, which translates to raw compute power that helps at lower resolutions but cannot overcome memory bandwidth limitations at 4K.

The RTX 3070 Ti's 75th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it sits in the upper tier of graphics cards, yet the data shows it is not a 4K powerhouse for this title. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3478 points to solid synthetic performance, but real-world gaming results at 4K show the card hitting its practical ceiling. The near-rival comparisons are instructive: the RTX 3070 Ti scores 0.1% higher than the RTX 5070 Mobile and 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 6800 by 0.5% and the RX 6700 by 1.6%. These margins are negligible, meaning the RTX 3070 Ti behaves comparably to its closest competitors in this workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F brings 10 cores and 16 threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This Raptor Lake Refresh part, built on Intel's 10 nm process, features 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, and its 65 W TDP makes it a power-efficient choice for gaming builds. The processor's multithreaded capabilities are demonstrated by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, indicating strong per-thread performance for game logic.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is less demanding than the GPU's, as evidenced by the frame rate behavior across resolutions. At 1080p, the combo achieves 204 FPS on Low settings, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to exceed typical monitor refresh rates. The single-core performance is particularly relevant for this stealth game, which relies on AI pathfinding and physics calculations that benefit from high clock speeds. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all processors places it above average, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher average score) and the Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), with the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS trailing by 0.2% and the Intel Core i7-12800H behind by 0.5%.

The benchmark data indicates that the i5-14400F is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. At 1440p and 4K, the frame rates drop in a pattern consistent with GPU-bound performance, where the CPU has spare capacity. The Passmark multithread score of 25470 and single-thread score of 3701 reinforce that this processor handles game threading efficiently. However, the data also shows that at 1080p Low, the 204 FPS average approaches the practical limit of what the CPU can sustain, suggesting that further GPU upgrades might not yield proportional gains at lower resolutions in this specific title.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti combination holds a rank of 1341 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 36th percentile overall. This ranking reflects the system's strong performance at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results drag down its relative standing. The rank of 1341 means that roughly 63% of tested combos perform better, which is a humbling statistic for a mid-range to upper-mid-range system. The data suggests that while this pairing excels at standard resolutions, it falls behind more powerful configurations that can maintain higher frame rates at 4K.

The combo's ranking is influenced by the RTX 3070 Ti's 75th percentile GPU ranking and the i5-14400F's 83rd percentile CPU ranking, yet the combined result is lower than either component's individual standing. This discrepancy indicates that Hitman 2 places specific demands on the system that this pairing does not fully satisfy, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU's 8 GB VRAM becomes a constraint. The measured FPS data shows that the combo achieves its best relative performance at 1080p Medium, where the 153 FPS average is competitive with more expensive systems, but the 4K Ultra result of 29 FPS is a significant outlier that pulls the overall rank down.

Compared to the nearest rival combos, this system's behavior is consistent with its component-level benchmarks. The RTX 3070 Ti's near-tie with the RTX 2080 Ti in synthetic tests translates to similar real-world performance in Hitman 2, while the CPU's slight edge over the Ryzen 7 6800HS provides marginal gains in CPU-bound scenarios. The rank of 1341 out of 3711 places this combo in the upper-middle tier, suitable for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming and respectable 1440p performance, but it is not a top-tier configuration for this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, High settings at 116 FPS provide an excellent balance between visual quality and smoothness, while Medium settings at 153 FPS offer a significant boost for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset at 85 FPS remains playable but introduces diminishing returns in visual fidelity for the performance cost. Low settings at 204 FPS are best reserved for maximum responsiveness, though they sacrifice the game's atmospheric details.

At 1440p, High settings at 74 FPS are the recommended starting point, as they maintain smooth gameplay on standard 60 Hz monitors and most 144 Hz displays with adaptive sync. Medium settings at 98 FPS provide a better experience for fast-paced sequences, while the Ultra preset at 55 FPS is borderline and may cause noticeable stuttering on some displays. Low settings at 131 FPS are viable for players prioritizing frame rate over visuals, but the visual downgrade is more pronounced at this resolution.

For 4K gaming, the data strongly suggests avoiding Ultra settings, as the 29 FPS average is below playable thresholds. High settings at 39 FPS are also marginal, making Medium at 52 FPS the minimum viable option for stable gameplay. Low settings at 70 FPS offer the only consistently smooth experience at this resolution, but they require significant visual compromises. The frame time data for Medium settings shows a minimum of 44 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS at 4K, indicating some variance that could cause occasional hitches. For the best overall experience, 1080p High or 1440p Medium offer the most balanced combination of visual quality and performance across the measured data.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution, with High settings achieving 116 FPS and Medium reaching 153 FPS. At 2560x1440, performance drops to 74 FPS on High, while 3840x2160 only manages 39 FPS on High settings.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU scores 0.1% higher than the RTX 5070 Mobile and 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 6800 by 0.5% and the RX 6700 by 1.6% in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Is the i5-14400F a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 Ti?

A: The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking and strong single-core performance suggest it is not the primary bottleneck. Frame rates drop consistently with resolution increases, indicating the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K.

Q: What settings provide the smoothest gameplay at 1440p?

A: Medium settings at 98 FPS offer the best balance, with a minimum frame rate of 83 FPS and maximum of 113 FPS. High settings at 74 FPS are also viable, while Ultra drops to 55 FPS.

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

A: Only at Low settings, which achieve 70 FPS. Medium settings at 52 FPS are borderline playable, while High at 39 FPS and Ultra at 29 FPS fall below acceptable thresholds.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1341 out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier. The CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile and the GPU in the 75th percentile, but the combined performance is limited by 4K results.