Hitman 2

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 lands at rank 1739 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2. That places this configuration almost exactly in the middle of the database, at the 58th percentile of all tested pairings. The data suggests a system that is competent but not exceptional for this title, and the ranking reveals a subtle tension: the CPU is a top-tier performer in synthetic workloads, while the GPU sits much closer to the median. This imbalance is worth investigating because the final in-game experience depends heavily on which component becomes the limiting factor at a given resolution.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 48618 places it in the 90th percentile against all processors, which is an elite standing. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (deltaPct -0.2), the AMD EPYC 4345P (deltaPct 0.3), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (deltaPct 0.7), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (deltaPct -0.8). All four rivals are within one percentage point of the i5-14600K's average score, which indicates that the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class. The GPU, however, tells a different story. With an average benchmark score of 16014, the RX 9060 sits in the 59th percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (deltaPct -0.7), the AMD Radeon R9 370X (deltaPct 1), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (deltaPct 1), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (deltaPct 2.1). The RX 9060 is essentially neck-and-neck with the RTX 3060 Ti, which is a notable data point for understanding its performance ceiling in this game.

The rank of 1739 suggests that this combo is neither a bottleneck nightmare nor a perfect match. The CPU has the headroom to push much higher frame rates, but the GPU's mid-pack standing means that at higher resolutions, the graphics card will likely be the primary constraint. At lower resolutions, the CPU's strength could shine through, but the measured FPS data reveals a more complex story about where the real limits lie.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo's rank in Hitman 2 compare to its individual component ranks?

A: The combo ranks 1739 out of 3001, which is the 58th percentile. The CPU alone ranks in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. The combo's rank is dragged down by the GPU's more modest standing.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 159 FPS on average. The CPU's strong single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064) suggests it can handle high frame rates, but the GPU's mid-tier standing means it will likely still be the limiting factor even at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 58 FPS on average, which is just under 60. The Medium preset delivers 76 FPS on average, which provides comfortable headroom above 60 FPS. The data suggests Medium is the better choice for a locked 60 FPS experience at this resolution.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to the RTX 3060 Ti in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, while the RTX 3060 Ti has an average score of 16129. The deltaPct is -0.7, meaning the RX 9060 is 0.7% slower on average in synthetic tests. This is a negligible difference that would not be perceptible in real-world gaming.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: No, not at any tested settings. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 31 FPS, Medium delivers 41 FPS, Low delivers 54 FPS, and Ultra delivers 23 FPS. Even the lowest settings fall short of 60 FPS at 4K.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the measured data includes min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the range is 101 to 137 FPS with an average of 119. At 1440p, the range is 65 to 88 FPS with an average of 76. At 4K, the range is 35 to 47 FPS with an average of 41. The spread between min and max is roughly 30% of the average at each resolution, indicating moderate frame time variance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation. Starting at 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 90 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, that drops to 58 FPS, a reduction of 35.6%. At 3840x2160, the frame rate falls to 31 FPS, which is a 65.6% drop from 1080p. This scaling curve is steeper than what a CPU-bound scenario would produce, because the CPU's performance does not degrade with resolution. The i5-14600K's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and single-core score of 2064 suggest it has substantial headroom, yet the frame rates plummet as pixel count increases.

The Low settings data reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 159 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 102 FPS, a 35.8% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 54 FPS, a 66.0% drop from 1080p. The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings presets is striking. Whether the game is running at Low or High, the resolution scaling penalty is nearly identical, which indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput is the dominant factor. The RX 9060's pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s are the specs that govern this behavior, and they are simply not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The 1440p to 4K transition is particularly punishing. At High settings, the drop from 58 to 31 FPS is a 46.6% reduction. At Medium settings, the drop from 76 to 41 FPS is 46.1%. At Low settings, the drop from 102 to 54 FPS is 47.1%. This consistent ~47% penalty when moving from 1440p to 4K strongly suggests that the GPU is running out of fillrate and memory bandwidth. The RX 9060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a modest figure for 4K workloads. The data implies that 4K is not a viable target for this combo, regardless of settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which settings presets offer the best experience at each resolution. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 66 FPS on average, which is playable, but the High preset at 90 FPS offers a significantly smoother experience with only a modest visual downgrade. The Medium preset at 119 FPS is the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate monitors, especially given the min FPS of 101, which means the frame rate never dips below 100. The Low preset at 159 FPS is only useful for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount.

At 1440p, the situation changes. The Ultra preset delivers 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 58 FPS is tantalizingly close to 60 but will likely experience noticeable frame pacing issues. The Medium preset at 76 FPS with a min of 65 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining visual quality. The Low preset at 102 FPS is also viable if frame rate is prioritized over visuals, but Medium offers the best balance.

At 4K, no settings preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset at 54 FPS is the highest average, but it falls short of the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 41 FPS is playable for a stealth game like Hitman 2, where precise timing is less critical than in fast-paced shooters. The High preset at 31 FPS and Ultra at 23 FPS are not recommended for a satisfactory experience. The data suggests that 4K gameplay on this combo requires accepting reduced visual fidelity and frame rates below 60.

The overall recommendation based on the measured rows is to use the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 119 FPS with a min of 101, which provides a smooth and responsive experience. At 1440p Medium, the 76 FPS average with a min of 65 ensures consistent frame delivery. The Ultra preset offers only marginal visual improvements over High and Medium while exacting a significant frame rate penalty, making it the least efficient choice in terms of performance per visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 159 FPS on average, which is the maximum measured in the entire dataset. The Medium preset delivers 119 FPS with a minimum of 101 and a maximum of 137, indicating a narrow frame time distribution. The High preset provides 90 FPS on average, and the Ultra preset drops to 66 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 93 FPS, which represents a 58.5% reduction in performance when maxing out the settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. The Low preset delivers 102 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset achieves 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 88, which is a playable range but with more variance than the 1080p Medium result. The High preset drops to 58 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 43 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 59 FPS, a 57.8% reduction, which is nearly identical to the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become marginal. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 54 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 47, which is a tight range but at a low level. The High preset drops to 31 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 23 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 31 FPS, a 57.4% reduction. The consistency of this ~58% penalty from Low to Ultra across all three resolutions is noteworthy and suggests that the settings presets scale uniformly regardless of resolution.

The Medium settings are the only preset with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 36 FPS (101 to 137). At 1440p, the range is 23 FPS (65 to 88). At 4K, the range is 12 FPS (35 to 47). The absolute frame time variance decreases as resolution increases, but the relative variance (range divided by average) remains roughly constant at 30%, 30%, and 29% respectively. This indicates that the game's frame pacing is consistent across resolutions, but the overall performance level is the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, which is reflected in the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core are generous allocations that help feed the game's simulation and AI logic. Hitman 2 is a stealth game that relies heavily on NPC behavior and dynamic systems, which are typically single-threaded or lightly threaded workloads.

The CPU's multicore capabilities are also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and a Geekbench multicore score of 16673. However, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 159 FPS, which is a high frame rate that requires significant CPU throughput. The fact that the frame rate scales down so predictably with resolution indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect frame rates to remain flat across resolutions, which is not what the data shows.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 90 against all CPUs puts it in the top 10% of processors, and its nearest rivals are all within 1% of its average benchmark score. This indicates that the i5-14600K is performing exactly as expected, with no anomalies in synthetic tests. The Passmark multithread score of 38682 and single-thread score of 4270 further confirm its strong standing. For Hitman 2 specifically, the CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz is likely the most relevant spec, as the game's core simulation loop benefits from high single-thread performance. The data implies that the CPU has significant headroom left on the table, and a more powerful GPU would allow it to push much higher frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process. It features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The GPU's boost clock of 2990 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz are high frequencies that help mitigate its modest core count. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a significant constraint at higher resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark results place it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 16014. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, has an average score of 16129, putting the RX 9060 at a 0.7% disadvantage. This is a statistical tie, and the data shows that the RX 9060 is firmly in the mid-range category. The Passmark G3D score of 17631 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3322 confirm its mid-pack positioning.

The measured FPS data in Hitman 2 is consistent with the GPU's benchmark standing. At 1080p, the GPU is able to deliver high frame rates (159 FPS at Low), but at 4K, it struggles to maintain playable performance (54 FPS at Low is the best result). The GPU's pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s are the specifications that determine its fillrate capabilities, and these are simply insufficient for 4K gaming at high settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is also a potential issue at 4K, where texture-heavy scenes can exceed this limit, though the data does not explicitly confirm VRAM overflow.

The GPU's TDP of 132 W and its requirement for a 300 W suggested PSU indicate that it is a power-efficient mid-range card. The data suggests that this GPU is well-matched to 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not suitable for 4K. The fact that the combo's in-game rank (1739 out of 3001) closely mirrors the GPU's percentile ranking (59th) suggests that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance in this title. The CPU's superior ranking (90th percentile) has little influence on the final outcome because the GPU becomes the limiting factor at all but the lowest resolutions and settings.