Hitman 2

The data for Hitman 2, captured with an Intel Core i5-14400F and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, shows a configuration that scales predictably across resolutions and presets. The measurements reveal a GPU-heavy workload at higher settings, with the CPU proving sufficient to keep frame rates high at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the 12 measured data points to explain why the combination behaves as it does, focusing strictly on the provided benchmark results.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate monitors?

A: At 1920x1080, the configuration delivers 131.1 FPS on High and 171.9 FPS on Medium, making it the only resolution where the High preset exceeds 120 FPS. For 1440p, the High preset averages 85 FPS, which is still smooth but below the 120 FPS threshold.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate falls from 96.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 32.8 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 66% reduction. This steep decline indicates the RTX 3080's 10 GB GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are heavily taxed at 4K Ultra.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-14400F bottleneck the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests no significant CPU bottleneck at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 229.1 FPS, showing that the 10-core, 16-thread processor can feed the GPU adequately. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and single-core score of 3093 support this capability.

Q: Which preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces 106.3 FPS, which is 25% higher than High's 85 FPS. Given that the GPU's percentile rank is 80 among all GPUs, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for maintaining high frame rates without sacrificing too much detail.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with lower settings?

A: At 3840x2160, dropping from Ultra to Low raises the average FPS from 32.8 to 79.9, a 143% improvement. Even the Medium preset at 4K yields 55.7 FPS, which is playable for a stealth game that doesn't require twitch reflexes.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The High preset averages 131.1 FPS, while Ultra drops to 96.4 FPS. This 34.7 FPS gap (26.5% reduction) suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects impose a notable cost on the RTX 3080, making High the more efficient choice at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm Samsung process. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory operates across a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock reaches 1710 MHz, with a base clock of 1440 MHz, and it houses 8704 shading units alongside 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores. These specifications place the card at the 80th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35787.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role becomes evident in the measured frame rates across settings. At 1080p, the RTX 3080 scales from 229.1 FPS on Low to 96.4 FPS on Ultra, demonstrating that the card's raw compute power is the primary driver. The 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 performance allows the GPU to handle the game's lighting and shadow calculations efficiently at lower presets, but the Ultra preset's added complexity causes a significant frame rate penalty. At 4K, the same pattern holds: 79.9 FPS on Low versus 32.8 FPS on Ultra, with the gap widening due to increased pixel count and memory pressure.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (deltaPct -0.2) and the AMD Radeon 880M (deltaPct 0.4), placing it in a competitive mid-to-high tier. However, in Hitman 2 specifically, the RTX 3080's performance at 4K Ultra (32.8 FPS) suggests that the 10 GB memory capacity is borderline for this workload, as the game's texture-heavy environments at high resolutions consume VRAM quickly. The 465.1 GTexel/s texture rate helps maintain detail, but the 164.2 GPixel/s pixel rate is the limiting factor at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 14th-generation Raptor Lake processor with 10 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, boosting up to 4.70 GHz, and it carries 20 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 1.25 MB of L2 per core. The CPU's 65 W TDP and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 make it a versatile pairing for the RTX 3080. Benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 11209.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's influence is most visible at lower resolutions where the GPU has spare capacity. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 229.1 FPS, a figure that would be impossible if the CPU were a bottleneck. The 4.70 GHz boost clock provides strong single-thread performance, which is crucial for the game's stealth AI and physics calculations. The CPU's percentile rank of 88 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508, confirms its position in the upper tier of desktop processors.

The nearest rival comparisons show the i5-14400F trading blows with the Intel Core i7-12800H (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (deltaPct 0.2). This parity indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this configuration. At 1440p and 4K, the frame rate differences between presets are almost entirely attributable to GPU load, as the CPU maintains consistent performance across all 12 measured rows. The 16 threads handle the game's background tasks without issue, even at 229.1 FPS where per-frame CPU time is under 4.4 milliseconds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides 12 measured average FPS values, covering three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the performance ranges from 229.1 FPS on Low to 96.4 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset yields 171.9 FPS, while High produces 131.1 FPS. This ordering is linear, with each preset step reducing frame rate by roughly 25-30%.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges but at lower absolute values. Low delivers 146.6 FPS, Medium drops to 106.3 FPS, High reaches 85 FPS, and Ultra falls to 62.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 83.7 FPS, slightly narrower than the 132.7 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the numbers compress further. Low averages 79.9 FPS, Medium 55.7 FPS, High 45.3 FPS, and Ultra 32.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 47.1 FPS, showing that even the fastest preset cannot overcome the 4K pixel load. The 4K Ultra result of 32.8 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while 4K Medium at 55.7 FPS is borderline playable. The 1080p High result of 131.1 FPS is the most balanced for competitive play, while 1440p High at 85 FPS offers a good compromise between clarity and speed.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the workload distribution between CPU and GPU. At Low settings, the 1080p result is 229.1 FPS, which drops to 146.6 FPS at 1440p (36% reduction) and 79.9 FPS at 4K (65% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, indicating a GPU-bound scenario even at Low settings.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper. The 1080p Ultra result of 96.4 FPS falls to 62.9 FPS at 1440p (35% reduction) and 32.8 FPS at 4K (66% reduction). The consistent percentage drops across all presets suggest that the RTX 3080 is the limiting component at every resolution, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom. The GPU's 760.3 GB/s bandwidth is likely the constraint at 4K, as the memory bus width of 320 bits must feed 8.3 million pixels with high-detail textures.

The data shows that the i5-14400F does not introduce a bottleneck even at 1080p Low, where 229.1 FPS would require the CPU to process frames in under 4.4 milliseconds. The CPU's multi-core score of 21914 in Cinebench R23 supports this capability. The resolution scaling pattern confirms that Hitman 2 is a GPU-intensive title, and lowering resolution primarily benefits the GPU, not the CPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 131.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard and suitable for 144 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset drops to 96.4 FPS, a 26.5% penalty for marginal visual gains, making High the recommended choice for most users. For those with 240 Hz displays, the Medium preset at 171.9 FPS offers a better balance.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 106.3 FPS is the standout option. It provides a 25% frame rate advantage over High (85 FPS) while maintaining acceptable visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 62.9 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action, while Low at 146.6 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for the modest resolution increase. The High preset at 85 FPS is a solid middle ground for those who prioritize image quality over raw speed.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset at 79.9 FPS is the only option above 60 FPS, making it the recommended preset for 4K gaming on this hardware. Medium at 55.7 FPS is playable but risks frame drops in crowded scenes. High at 45.3 FPS and Ultra at 32.8 FPS are best avoided unless visual fidelity is paramount and frame rate is secondary. The data suggests that 4K Ultra is not viable with this configuration, given the 10 GB VRAM and the game's demands. For the best overall experience, 1440p Medium offers the highest frame rate per visual quality unit, while 1080p High provides the most consistent performance above 120 FPS.