Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT occupies the 401st position out of 1795 tested combos for Hitman 2. This places the configuration comfortably within the top 22% of all tested pairings, indicating a strong overall capability for this title. The ranking suggests that while this combo is not at the absolute high-end of performance, it sits in a high-performance tier that should deliver a smooth and responsive experience in most scenarios. The data implies a balanced pairing where neither component is a severe bottleneck, allowing the system to perform well above the median tested setup.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a substantial piece of hardware with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, resulting in a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. This large frame buffer and high bandwidth are crucial for high-resolution textures and complex scenes, which are common in the detailed environments of Hitman 2. The GPU's architecture is RDNA 3.0, built on a 5 nm process, and it operates with a base clock of 1387 MHz and a boost clock of 2394 MHz. These clock speeds, combined with 5376 shading units, allow for significant raw computational power, reflected in its FP32 performance of 51.48 TFLOPS.

In the context of Hitman 2, the GPU's role is to handle the rendering of crowd simulations, lighting effects, and large, interactive levels. The data shows that the GPU is heavily utilized at higher settings and resolutions. For instance, at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 33.9 FPS, which is a substantial decrease from the 49.7 FPS at 4K High. This indicates that the most demanding visual presets place a significant load on the GPU. The card's performance percentile of 82 versus all GPUs underscores its high-end positioning, and its benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 29009, confirm its strong capabilities. The GPU is clearly the primary driver of performance when moving from Medium to Ultra settings, as the CPU has less influence on these scaling factors.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K brings 14 cores and 20 threads to the table, operating with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This processor, based on the Raptor Lake architecture, has a 24 MB shared L3 cache that helps with fast data access for game logic and physics calculations. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and a single-core score of 4642, showing strong performance in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads. The CPU's percentile of 93 versus all CPUs indicates it is a top-tier processor for gaming and productivity alike.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is to manage the game's AI, simulation of NPC routines, and the overall game state. The data suggests that the CPU is less of a bottleneck than the GPU, especially at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 255.2 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that relies heavily on CPU capabilities to feed the GPU with draw calls. The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is notable; it is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and only 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-14600KF. This shows that the processor is performing as expected for its class. The CPU is capable of keeping up with the GPU's demands, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where frame rates are high and the processing of game logic becomes more critical.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The combo ranks 401st out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the top 22% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score that is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, showing near-identical performance in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 93.4 FPS, which is a smooth and playable experience for most users.

Q: Is there a large performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 89.8, while at 4K Ultra, it drops to 33.9 FPS, a decrease of over 60%.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s, which is a key specification for handling high-resolution textures.

Q: What is the boost clock speed of the CPU?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, allowing for high single-threaded performance when needed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 255.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 166.1 FPS, and at 4K Low, it further decreases to 89.8 FPS. This scaling indicates that the GPU is becoming an increasing bottleneck as resolution rises, since the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while the GPU must render more pixels. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 35%, and from 1440p to 4K is about 46%.

This trend is even more pronounced at higher settings. At Ultra settings, the frame rates are 109.1 FPS at 1080p, 66.3 FPS at 1440p, and 33.9 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 39%, and from 1440p to 4K is 49%. This steeper decline at higher settings suggests that the GPU's raw shading and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is more of a limiting component, as the frame rates are high enough that the CPU's ability to process game logic becomes more relevant. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint, with the frame rate scaling almost linearly with the number of pixels, indicating a GPU-bound scenario.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 143.8 FPS offers an excellent balance, providing high visual fidelity while maintaining a frame rate well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of many monitors. The Ultra preset at 109.1 FPS is also viable for those with 120 Hz displays, offering maximum visual quality. The Low preset at 255.2 FPS is excessive for most displays, but it shows the combo's headroom for competitive play.

At 1440p, the High preset at 93.4 FPS is the recommended choice for a smooth experience on 60 Hz to 100 Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 121.5 FPS is also a strong option for higher refresh rate displays, providing a good balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 66.3 FPS is playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced action, while the Low preset at 166.1 FPS is suitable for competitive play. For 4K, the Medium preset at 65.1 FPS is the most practical for a playable experience, as the High preset at 49.7 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 33.9 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 89.8 FPS offers a high frame rate but sacrifices visual quality significantly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measurements for each resolution and settings combination:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|:--------- |:------- | ------: |

| 3840x2160 | High | 49.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 89.8 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 65.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 33.9 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 93.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 166.1 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 121.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 66.3 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 143.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 255.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 189.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 109.1 |

The data shows a consistent hierarchy across all resolutions, with Low settings providing the highest frame rates and Ultra providing the lowest. The 1080p Low result of 255.2 FPS is the highest recorded, while the 4K Ultra result of 33.9 FPS is the lowest. This spread of 221.3 FPS across the tested configurations highlights the wide performance envelope of this combo. The scaling is smooth, with no anomalies, indicating stable performance across all settings. The results suggest that users can tune their experience from a high-refresh-rate competitive setup at 1080p Low to a visually rich but less fluid 4K High experience, depending on their priorities.