Hitman 2

Hitman 2 is an older stealth title, but it still demands a balanced system at higher settings. This particular pairing of an Intel Core i5-14400F with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 creates a significant performance bottleneck, but not where you might expect. The data shows a clear story: the RTX 5090 is powerful enough to push frame rates into the hundreds at lower resolutions, but the game’s engine and the CPU’s capabilities start to limit things as you scale up the graphical load.

Resolution Scaling

The most telling data point is the performance drop from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 328.4 FPS. At 1440p Low, that drops to 220.5 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 122.1 FPS. This is a massive reduction, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The fact that the frame rate is so high at 1080p and 1440p indicates that the RTX 5090 is not being fully utilized at those lower resolutions. The CPU is likely the limiting factor, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential. The frame rate is still incredibly high, but the scaling is not linear, which points to a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions.

When you move to the High preset, the pattern changes. The 1080p High average is 200 FPS, and 1440p High is 129.2 FPS. At 4K High, you get 66 FPS. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35.4%, and from 1440p to 4K is 48.9%. This is a more traditional GPU-bound scaling curve. As the resolution increases, the GPU has to work harder, and the frame rate drops accordingly. This suggests that at High settings, the load is shifting back to the graphics card, but the CPU is still a factor, preventing the 4K result from being higher.

The Ultra preset shows a similar trend but with lower overall numbers. 1080p Ultra yields 145.1 FPS, 1440p Ultra yields 94.8 FPS, and 4K Ultra yields 51.4 FPS. The scaling here is more consistent, suggesting that at Ultra settings, the game is heavily GPU-limited. The RTX 5090 is a monster of a card, but Hitman 2’s Ultra settings are demanding enough to bring it to its knees at 4K, resulting in a playable but not exceptionally high frame rate. The data suggests that to get the most out of this GPU, you need to be playing at 1440p or 1080p, where the high refresh rate potential is unlocked.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 4K with High settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 66 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings. This is perfectly playable for a stealth game.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximizing frame rate?

A: The data shows the highest average FPS of 328.4 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. For a high-refresh-rate monitor, 1080p is the clear winner.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: The data indicates a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the frame rate is 328.4 FPS, which is high, but the scaling to 1440p Low (220.5 FPS) shows a larger-than-expected drop, suggesting the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough at 1080p.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 overkill for this game?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is only 51.4. This shows that even a top-tier GPU is challenged by the game’s highest settings at 4K. At lower resolutions, the GPU has headroom, but the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: What is the difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 168.1 FPS, while High averages 129.2 FPS. That is a 38.9 FPS difference, which is significant for high-refresh-rate gaming.

Q: Is the CPU’s performance in this game comparable to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446, 0.2% delta). It performs on par with these parts.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the Core i5-14400F and RTX 5090 ranks 18th out of 1795 combos for Hitman 2. This is an exceptionally high ranking, placing it in the top 1% of all tested systems. The percentile for the CPU is 88, and the GPU is 94, which are both high. However, the rank of 18 suggests that while this is a top-tier setup, there are a few other combos that manage to squeeze out slightly higher frame rates, likely due to more powerful CPUs that can better keep up with the RTX 5090 at lower resolutions.

The data shows that the combo is not necessarily held back by the GPU, which ranks in the 94th percentile. The CPU, ranking in the 88th percentile, is the weaker link. The benchmark results show the CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 21914 and single-core is 3093. These are strong scores, but in a game like Hitman 2, which can be CPU-intensive, a higher-performing CPU could yield even better results. The 18th place ranking confirms the sheer power of the RTX 5090, but it also highlights that the i5-14400F is leaving some performance on the table.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the exact measured data for this combo, showing average FPS at each resolution and settings preset.

1920x1080:

• Low: 328.4 FPS
• Medium: 261.3 FPS
• High: 200 FPS
• Ultra: 145.1 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 220.5 FPS
• Medium: 168.1 FPS
• High: 129.2 FPS
• Ultra: 94.8 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 122.1 FPS
• Medium: 87.9 FPS
• High: 66 FPS
• Ultra: 51.4 FPS

This data reveals a few key insights. First, the gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 183.3 FPS, which is a massive range. This gives the user a huge amount of flexibility. Second, the 4K Ultra result of 51.4 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS result in the entire set, indicating that this is the most demanding configuration. The jump from Medium to High at 4K is a drop from 87.9 FPS to 66 FPS, which is a significant 21.9 FPS decrease. The data also shows that the game scales well with resolution, but the CPU bottleneck at 1080p is clear when you see the 328.4 FPS Low result.

Settings Recommendations

For a high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p monitor, the High preset is the sweet spot. At 1080p, it delivers 200 FPS, and at 1440p, it delivers 129.2 FPS. This provides a great balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 168.1 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the visual upgrade to High is worth the 38.9 FPS hit for a game like Hitman 2 where immersion matters.

For 4K gaming, the High preset is the best choice for a smooth experience, hitting 66 FPS. The Ultra preset, at 51.4 FPS, is playable but may feel less fluid. The Medium preset at 4K, which averages 87.9 FPS, is a strong alternative if you want higher frame rates and are willing to sacrifice some graphical detail. The data suggests that the High preset is the most versatile, offering a playable experience across all three resolutions. Pushing to Ultra is only advisable if you prioritize maximum visual quality over frame rate stability, particularly at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The CPU’s benchmark scores are respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093. This puts it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. Its performance is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (0.2% delta).

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is significant. The data shows that at 1080p, with Low settings, the frame rate is 328.4 FPS. This is a high number, but the scaling to 1440p shows a drop of 107.9 FPS, which is a 32.9% reduction. This is a larger drop than what would be expected from a pure GPU bottleneck, suggesting the CPU is unable to maintain the same level of performance when the resolution changes, even though the GPU load is lower at 1080p. The CPU has a 20 MB L3 cache, which is shared, and a 10 nm process node. The lack of an integrated GPU means it relies on the discrete RTX 5090 for all graphics output. The data shows that while the CPU is capable, it is the component that prevents this combo from ranking even higher than 18th place. A CPU with a higher single-core performance would likely yield better results in this title, particularly at lower resolutions.