Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K for this Intel Core i5-14600K + AMD Radeon RX 9070 combo reveals a clear GPU-bound pattern at higher resolutions, with the CPU holding the frame rate ceiling at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 223.6 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 78.1 FPS — a 65% reduction that points squarely at the GPU as the limiting factor when pixel count rises.

This conclusion is reinforced by the scaling behavior across settings tiers. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 94.4 FPS, while 4K Ultra falls to 34.8 FPS, a 63% decline. The consistency of this drop — roughly two-thirds lost from 1080p to 4K regardless of preset — indicates that the RX 9070's rendering throughput, not the CPU, governs performance once resolution climbs. At 1080p, however, the 223.6 FPS Low figure suggests the i5-14600K's 14 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock are still able to feed the GPU efficiently, as the frame rate is high enough that CPU overhead would typically surface.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is where the GPU strain becomes most pronounced. At 1440p High, the combo delivers 79.4 FPS, dropping to 40.7 FPS at 4K High — a 49% loss. Similarly, 1440p Medium at 107.7 FPS falls to 55.1 FPS at 4K Medium, a 49% drop. This halving of performance from 1440p to 4K is a textbook sign of pixel-bound rendering, where the GPU's 644.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB of GDDR6 are being saturated. The data shows no evidence of CPU limitation at 4K, as the frame rates scale almost perfectly with resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Hitman 2?

A: The highest measured average is 223.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the peak across all tested resolution and settings combinations in the benchmark data.

Q: Does the game run smoothly at 4K with this hardware?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 34.8, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth. At 4K High, it rises to 40.7 FPS, and at 4K Medium to 55.1 FPS. Only at 4K Low does it reach 78.1 FPS, which is playable but requires significant visual compromises.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49166, placing it 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062) and 1% above the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698). It trails the Intel Core i5-14600KF by 0.4% (49367) and the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.9% (49595).

Q: Is the GPU's benchmark performance competitive with similar cards?

A: The RX 9070's average benchmark score is 34780, which is 0.2% below the NVIDIA A2 (34866) and 0.3% above the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (34677). It sits 0.7% above the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (34541) and 0.8% above the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (34511).

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 140.4 FPS, while Ultra produces 60.4 FPS. This is a 57% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset, indicating that the GPU's workload more than doubles with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 612th out of 1795 tested combinations in Hitman 2, placing it in the upper third of all tested hardware pairings. The data shows it is capable but not top-tier for this specific game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the dominant component in determining Hitman 2's performance, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom for the game's textures, and the data confirms that memory capacity is not a bottleneck — the FPS drops are consistent with compute and pixel throughput limits rather than memory exhaustion.

The GPU's clock behavior is notable: base clock is 1330 MHz, boost clock is 2520 MHz, and the game clock is 2070 MHz. The boost clock is 90% higher than the base, which translates to significant real-world performance when the card is under load. The benchmark results reflect this, with the GPU achieving a PassMark G3D score of 25381 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290. The 128 ROPs and 3584 shading units are the key architectural features driving Hitman 2's rasterization performance.

The GPU's 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability is what enables the high frame rates seen at 1080p. At 1080p Low, the 223.6 FPS figure is only possible because the GPU can process the game's geometry and lighting quickly enough to keep up with the CPU's frame delivery. However, at 4K Ultra, the 34.8 FPS result shows the GPU's limits: the pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s is insufficient to maintain high frame rates when rendering four times the pixels of 1080p.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 79 versus all GPUs indicates it sits above the majority of cards in the database, but its nearest rivals — the NVIDIA A2 and Quadro GV100 — have nearly identical average scores, suggesting that within its performance class, the RX 9070 is not exceptional for this title. The 9070's 220 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its performance class, but the benchmark data shows that Hitman 2 is demanding enough to push the card to its limits at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 223.6 FPS, Medium drops to 165.5 FPS, High to 128.2 FPS, and Ultra to 94.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 58% reduction, which is steeper than the resolution scaling, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects (likely shadows, reflections, and ambient occlusion) heavily tax the GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain playable but drop substantially. Low settings yield 140.4 FPS, Medium 107.7 FPS, High 79.4 FPS, and Ultra 60.4 FPS. The Ultra result is just above the 60 FPS line, making it viable for smooth gameplay, but the High preset at 79.4 FPS offers more headroom. The 1440p Low result of 140.4 FPS shows that the GPU is still capable of high refresh rates when visual quality is reduced.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes constrained. Low settings produce 78.1 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 55.1 FPS, High to 40.7 FPS, and Ultra to 34.8 FPS. The 4K results show a clear pattern: only Low settings achieve above 60 FPS, and Ultra falls below 40 FPS, making it unsuitable for competitive play or high-refresh monitors. The gap between 4K Medium (55.1) and 4K High (40.7) is 14.4 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra (40.7 to 34.8) is only 5.9 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from High to Ultra at this resolution.

Across all resolutions, the Low-to-Medium transition costs roughly 25-30% of frame rate, while Medium-to-High costs another 20-25%, and High-to-Ultra costs 25-30%. This consistent penalty indicates that each settings tier adds a similar load to the GPU, making the choice of preset a direct trade-off between visual quality and frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K plays a supporting role in Hitman 2, providing enough processing power to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at most settings, but its impact is visible at low resolutions and settings. The CPU's 14 cores (with 20 threads) and boost clock of 5.30 GHz give it a PassMark single-thread score of 4270 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881, which are strong results for gaming workloads.

The data shows the CPU's influence at 1080p Low, where the 223.6 FPS result is likely approaching the CPU's frame delivery limit. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is critical at high frame rates where the CPU must quickly process game logic and issue draw calls. The 125 W TDP and 10 nm process node (Raptor Lake architecture) provide a balance of power and performance that sustains high clock speeds during gaming.

In Hitman 2, a stealth game that typically has complex AI routines and level geometry, the CPU's multi-core performance matters. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and Geekbench multi-core score of 15846 indicate strong parallel processing capability, which helps maintain consistent frame rates in busy scenes with many NPCs. However, the benchmark data does not show any CPU-bound scenarios at 1440p or 4K, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution, leaving the GPU as the primary constraint.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 93 versus all CPUs places it in the top 7% of processors, and its average benchmark score of 49166 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The 0.2% lead over the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and 1% lead over the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H show that the i5-14600K is competitive with higher-core-count alternatives in synthetic benchmarks, which translates to solid gaming performance in this title.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the data points to the High preset at 1440p as the optimal choice. At 2560x1440 High, the combo delivers 79.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a 31% improvement over the Ultra preset's 60.4 FPS while still offering high-quality visuals. The 1440p High setting is the sweet spot because it avoids the steep performance penalty of Ultra while maintaining a smooth experience.

At 1080p, the High preset at 128.2 FPS is recommended for users with 120Hz or 144Hz monitors, as it provides a high refresh rate experience without the 36% frame rate loss seen when moving to Ultra (94.4 FPS). For competitive play where maximum frame rate matters, the Low preset at 223.6 FPS is the clear choice, but this sacrifices the visual fidelity that Hitman 2's stealth gameplay benefits from.

At 4K, the data shows that only the Low preset (78.1 FPS) achieves smooth playback. The Medium preset at 55.1 FPS is borderline, and High at 40.7 FPS is noticeably stutter-prone. For 4K users, the recommendation is to use Low settings to prioritize frame rate, or accept the Medium preset if visual quality is paramount and a 50-60 FPS range is acceptable. The Ultra preset at 34.8 FPS is not recommended for any scenario, as the visual gains over High are minimal while the performance penalty is substantial.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most consistent experience relative to its performance cost. At 1080p Medium, 165.5 FPS is achieved, at 1440p Medium 107.7 FPS, and at 4K Medium 55.1 FPS. This preset provides a solid middle ground, but the High preset at 1440p remains the best overall recommendation for a balanced experience.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core i5-14600K + AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination ranks 612th out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 66th percentile of all tested hardware pairings. This is a solid but not outstanding result, indicating that while the components are capable, there are many other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in this specific game.

The rank reflects the GPU's 79th percentile standing versus all GPUs, but the combo's 612th position suggests that the pairing is not optimized for Hitman 2's specific engine demands. The CPU's high percentile (93rd) does not boost the combo's rank as much as expected, which reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the limiting factor in most tested scenarios.

The data shows that the combo is better suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming, where its rank would be higher relative to 4K results. The 612th rank out of 1795 places it in the top 34% of all combos, which is respectable for a mid-range to upper-mid-range pairing. However, the 4K results — particularly the 34.8 FPS at Ultra — drag down the overall assessment, as many competing combos achieve higher 4K frame rates.

Compared to the combo's individual component rankings, the GPU's 79th percentile and CPU's 93rd percentile suggest that a different GPU pairing with this CPU could yield a better overall rank in Hitman 2. The data indicates that the RX 9070 is the weaker link in this combination for this game, as its performance class is below what the CPU can support, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's strength could enable higher frame rates with a faster GPU.