Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a solid but not top-tier experience in Hitman 2, with the data placing this combo at rank 794 out of 3711 tested combinations. That puts it in the 79th percentile of all tested combos, a strong showing that indicates this pairing is well above average for the game’s requirements. The system excels at high refresh rate 1080p play, remains very capable at 1440p, and only starts to show significant strain at 4K Ultra settings, where the GPU’s limits become clearly apparent.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3711 tested combos, this configuration sits at rank 794. That is a strong result, placing it comfortably within the top 21% of all systems tested for Hitman 2. The ranking is driven by a combination of a very capable CPU and a modern GPU that handles the game’s engine well at most settings. The combo’s percentile ranking is slightly lower than the CPU’s individual percentile vs all CPUs (83) and the GPU’s percentile vs all GPUs (82), which suggests that the game’s specific workload prevents the duo from achieving the absolute top tier of performance.

The data indicates this is a well-balanced pairing for the game. In practical terms, this rank means the system will outperform the vast majority of other configurations tested, but it is not in the league of the top 100 combos that likely feature higher-end CPUs and GPUs. When comparing to the CPU’s nearest rivals, the i5-14400F shows a near-perfect match with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher average score), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% higher). The GPU’s nearest rivals are notably lower-tier workstation cards like the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% higher) and Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% higher), which are not gaming-focused, reinforcing that the RTX 5070 is a significant step up for this game’s specific rendering paths.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of how settings presets impact performance across resolutions. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 105 FPS average, which is excellent for a smooth experience on high refresh rate monitors. However, the Medium preset pushes that to 189 FPS average, with a minimum of 161 FPS, ensuring no noticeable drops even in crowded scenes. The Low preset reaches 253 FPS average, which is overkill for most displays.

At 1440p, the High preset is the sweet spot for visual quality and performance, achieving 92 FPS average. The Ultra preset drops to 67 FPS average, which is still playable, but the Medium preset at 121 FPS average (103 min) offers a better balance for competitive or fast-paced play. For 4K, the High preset yields 49 FPS average, which is borderline for smooth play, while Medium drops to 65 FPS average.

The best overall experience per the measured data is the High preset at 1440p, providing 92 FPS with a significant visual upgrade over Medium, while remaining well above the 60 FPS threshold. If you prefer maximum fidelity, 1080p Ultra at 105 FPS is the highest visual setting that still maintains fluid motion. For those chasing maximum frame rates, 1080p Low at 253 FPS exposes the CPU’s strong single-thread performance, but this is rarely necessary. The data shows that Ultra at 4K (36 FPS) is the only setting that becomes unplayable, so users should avoid that combination.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, but with a CPU that holds up well at lower ones. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 143 at 1080p to 92 at 1440p and finally 49 at 4K. That is a 35.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 46.7% drop from 1440p to 4K. This steep decline as resolution increases is a textbook sign that the RTX 5070 is the limiting factor at 4K, especially on the High preset.

Looking at the Low preset, the drop is even more pronounced in absolute terms: 253 FPS at 1080p falls to 162 FPS at 1440p (a 36% drop) and then to 86 FPS at 4K (a 47% drop). The fact that even Low settings at 4K cannot hold 100 FPS confirms the GPU is the bottleneck; the CPU has enough headroom to generate frames, but the GPU cannot render them fast enough at higher pixel counts. The Medium preset shows the same pattern: 189 FPS at 1080p, 121 at 1440p, and 65 at 4K.

The data strongly suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the i5-14400F is feeding the GPU adequately, as the FPS scales almost linearly with the GPU’s rendering load. However, at 4K, the GPU’s memory bandwidth and raw compute limits (672.0 GB/s bandwidth, 30.87 TFLOPS FP32) become the primary constraint, and the CPU’s role diminishes. This is a GPU-limited setup at 4K, while at 1080p, the system is more balanced, with the CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads preventing any significant bottleneck.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this combo?*

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p High provides the best balance, achieving 92 FPS average. 1080p High offers 143 FPS for higher refresh rate displays, while 4K is only playable on Medium (65 FPS) or High (49 FPS) presets.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, the data shows 4K Ultra averages only 36 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. The GPU is the limiting factor here, as even 4K Medium (65 FPS) requires a significant drop in visual quality to achieve smooth performance.

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

A: The i5-14400F’s average benchmark score of 32279 is nearly identical to its closest rivals: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233, 0.1% lower), Intel Core i9-11900 (32226, 0.2% lower), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354, 0.2% higher). This indicates the CPU is not a weak point in the combo.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5070’s average benchmark score of 40377 is within 2% of its nearest rivals, which include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40318) and AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40063). These are professional workstation GPUs, not gaming cards, so the RTX 5070 is clearly the superior gaming choice.

Q: Is the Medium preset better than High for this game?

A: It depends on your refresh rate. At 1440p, Medium (121 FPS) offers a 31.5% higher frame rate than High (92 FPS), making it better for 120Hz displays. At 1080p, Medium (189 FPS) is excessive unless you have a 180Hz+ monitor, while High (143 FPS) is more balanced.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data shows the CPU is not a bottleneck at any tested resolution. Even at 1080p Low (253 FPS), the system is likely GPU-limited, as the CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide enough headroom. The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are purely a result of GPU rendering load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this combo, and its specifications directly explain the measured FPS results. With 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Hitman 2’s textures at 4K, but the data shows it starts to struggle at that resolution. The GPU’s base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz are high for a modern card, and the 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 compute power is substantial.

The card’s architectural efficiency is shown in its benchmarks: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 and a Passmark G3D score of 29137. These synthetic numbers align with the real-world gaming results, where the GPU delivers 253 FPS at 1080p Low but only 36 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are present, but Hitman 2 does not heavily rely on ray tracing, so the traditional raster performance (80 ROPs, 192 TMUs) is what matters most here.

The GPU’s 82nd percentile vs all GPUs indicates it is a high-end part, but the 4K Ultra result of 36 FPS shows its limits. The card’s memory bandwidth (672.0 GB/s) is the likely constraint at 4K, as the pixel rate (201.0 GPixel/s) and texture rate (482.3 GTexel/s) are high but cannot compensate for the sheer pixel count. At 1440p and below, the GPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by the 162 FPS at 1440p Low. The GPU’s nearest rivals are all older professional cards, which confirms the RTX 5070’s modern architecture being far better suited for gaming workloads.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a supporting but critical role in this combo, ensuring the RTX 5070 is never starved for data. With 10 cores (6 performance + 4 efficiency) and 16 threads, the CPU provides strong multi-threaded performance, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and Geekbench multi-core score of 11268. The single-thread performance is equally important for Hitman 2’s game logic and AI, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3701.

The CPU’s base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz are adequate for this game, as the measured FPS at 1080p Low (253 FPS) shows the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames to saturate it. The 65W TDP is low, but the Raptor Lake architecture’s efficiency ensures sustained performance. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache is beneficial for game assets, and the dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) gives flexibility, though the data does not specify which memory type was used.

The CPU’s 83rd percentile vs all CPUs places it slightly above the GPU in relative performance, suggesting the i5-14400F is not a bottleneck. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, has a nearly identical average score (32233 vs 32279), indicating that the i5-14400F is well-matched to the RTX 5070. In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed; the jump from 105 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 253 FPS at 1080p Low shows the CPU can handle high frame rates without breaking a sweat. The 16 threads ensure that background tasks do not interfere with gameplay, and the 10 cores provide enough parallelism for the game’s engine to run smoothly.