Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018, demonstrates remarkably scalable performance with the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination. The measured data reveals a clear progression where average frame rates decline as resolution increases, with the most substantial drop occurring at the highest fidelity settings. This pairing exhibits classic GPU-bound behavior at 4K, while lower resolutions expose more of the CPU's capability.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 302 at 1920x1080 to 103 at 3840x2160, representing a 66% reduction in throughput. This dramatic decline indicates that even at minimal graphical demands, the 4K pixel count becomes the limiting factor. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern, dropping from 227 FPS at 1080p to 77 FPS at 4K, a 66% decrease as well. High settings yield 172 FPS at 1080p versus 58 FPS at 4K, a 66% drop. Ultra settings produce 126 FPS at 1080p and 43 FPS at 4K, again a 66% reduction.

The consistency of this 66% scaling penalty across all four presets is notable. It suggests that the rendering pipeline in Hitman 2 handles resolution increases uniformly, regardless of the complexity of the visual effects enabled. The data shows that the gap between 1080p and 1440p is narrower than between 1440p and 4K. For instance, at High settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS from 172 to 110, a 36% loss, while moving from 1440p to 4K reduces it from 110 to 58, a 47% loss. This non-linear scaling points to the pixel fillrate and memory bandwidth of the RTX 4080 becoming progressively more strained as resolution climbs.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 43 sits below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay. The 4K Medium setting, at 77 FPS, offers a more playable experience, while 4K Low at 103 FPS provides ample headroom. The scaling data indicates that the RTX 4080 is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the CPU's role diminishes with higher pixel counts. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the 302 FPS figure suggests the CPU is doing significant work to feed the GPU, yet the overall system remains balanced enough to deliver extremely high frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K brings 14 cores and 20 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This processor, based on the Raptor Lake architecture, demonstrates strong single-thread performance in synthetic benchmarks, scoring 2064 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 2491 in Geekbench single-core. These scores are relevant to Hitman 2, which typically relies on a few primary threads for game logic and scene management. The CPU's L3 cache of 24 MB shared across the cores helps maintain data locality for the engine's entity systems.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p where frame rates exceed 300 FPS at Low settings. The 302 FPS average suggests that the i5-14600K's single-thread performance is sufficient to avoid becoming a hard ceiling, even at such high output. The benchmark results for the CPU place it in the 90th percentile against all processors, indicating top-tier capability. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H with a delta of -0.2% and the AMD EPYC 4345P with a delta of 0.3%, showing the i5-14600K sits in a tightly contested performance band.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and a Geekbench multicore score of 16673, provides ample reserve for background tasks and the game's AI systems. However, the data shows that increasing the resolution from 1080p to 4K does not change the CPU's relative contribution; rather, it shifts the bottleneck entirely to the GPU. At 1440p High, the 110 FPS average indicates the CPU is still feeding the GPU adequately, but at 4K Ultra with 43 FPS, the CPU is clearly waiting on the GPU to complete frames. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz is critical for maintaining high minimum frame rates in crowded scenes, though the measured data does not include min FPS for High and Ultra presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz, combined with 9728 shading units, deliver substantial compute throughput. In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 scores 34457 in Passmark G3D and 6567 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 86th percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, is just 0.1% higher in average benchmark score, indicating the two cards are nearly identical in raw compute.

The GPU's role in Hitman 2 becomes dominant at higher resolutions and quality settings. The measured data shows that at 4K, the RTX 4080 is the clear limiting component. The drop from 77 FPS at Medium to 43 FPS at Ultra represents a 44% performance penalty for enabling the highest quality effects. This penalty is smaller at 1440p, where Ultra produces 81 FPS versus 145 FPS at Medium, a 44% difference as well. At 1080p, the penalty is 45% (227 FPS at Medium versus 126 FPS at Ultra), showing consistent scaling of the Ultra preset's additional load.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Hitman 2 at all tested resolutions, as the game does not appear to exceed memory limits even at 4K Ultra. The memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s supports the high frame rates seen at 1440p and 1080p, where the GPU is processing many pixels per second. The RTX 4080's FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS provides the raw compute needed for the game's lighting and shadow calculations, which become more intensive at Ultra settings. The data indicates that the GPU's performance headroom at 1080p allows the CPU to drive frame rates to 302 FPS, but at 4K, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the binding constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 255th out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 7% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the strong synergy between the CPU's high single-thread performance and the GPU's substantial rasterization power. In the context of the combo rank, being at position 255 means there are 254 other pairings that achieve higher average frame rates, likely involving even more powerful CPUs or GPUs, such as those with higher benchmark scores.

The CPU's percentile of 90 and the GPU's percentile of 86 indicate that both components are in the upper echelon of their respective categories. However, the combo rank of 255 out of 3711 suggests that in Hitman 2 specifically, this pairing performs slightly below what the individual component percentiles might imply. This could be due to the game's engine favoring certain architectures or the specific balance of CPU and GPU workloads. The nearest rival combos would likely include the RTX 4080 SUPER, which has a 0.1% higher GPU benchmark score, or CPUs with slightly higher average scores like the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, which is 0.8% above the i5-14600K in average benchmark. These marginal differences in component scores can translate to a few FPS in-game, which can shift the combo ranking by several positions.

The measured data shows that the combo performs best at lower resolutions where the CPU can stretch its legs, achieving 302 FPS at 1080p Low. At 4K Ultra, the combo's rank would be lower due to the GPU's limitations, but the overall rank of 255 reflects the average performance across all tested settings and resolutions. The data being measured, rather than estimated, adds credibility to this ranking, as it reflects actual gameplay scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers high frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 302 FPS, Medium yields 227 FPS with a minimum of 193 and maximum of 261, High achieves 172 FPS, and Ultra manages 126 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is never CPU-bound in a problematic way, as even the lowest minimum FPS recorded (193 at Medium) is well above the refresh rates of most monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops but remains highly playable. Low settings deliver 193 FPS, Medium produces 145 FPS with a range of 123 to 167 FPS, High reaches 110 FPS, and Ultra falls to 81 FPS. The 1440p Medium figure of 145 FPS is particularly strong, offering a balance of visual quality and smoothness. The minimum FPS of 123 at Medium suggests occasional dips, but these remain above 120 FPS, ensuring consistent responsiveness.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become evident. Low settings yield 103 FPS, Medium produces 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 89, High drops to 58 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. The 4K Medium setting, with a minimum of 66 FPS, is the lowest setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS. The 4K High and Ultra settings fall below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, users must select Medium or lower settings. The data shows a clear progression where each resolution step halves the effective performance headroom, with Ultra at 4K being the most demanding scenario tested.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, all settings provide playable frame rates, but Ultra at 126 FPS is the best choice for visual fidelity while still exceeding 120 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset at 227 FPS offers extreme smoothness for competitive play, but the visual trade-off is significant. For most users at 1080p, Ultra provides the best balance of image quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset at 81 FPS is viable for 60 Hz displays and provides the highest visual quality. For users with 144 Hz monitors, the High preset at 110 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains a high average while delivering better visuals than Medium. The Medium preset at 145 FPS is also a strong option for those prioritizing frame rate, but High offers a better compromise between fidelity and speed. The data shows that 1440p High at 110 FPS is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a 47% improvement over Ultra while still looking excellent.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. The Ultra preset at 43 FPS is not recommended for general play, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 58 FPS is close to 60 but may exhibit occasional dips. The Medium preset at 77 FPS is the best recommendation for 4K, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS. The Low preset at 103 FPS is an option for users who prioritize frame rate over all else, but Medium offers significantly better visuals for a modest FPS cost. For 4K gaming with this combo, Medium settings deliver the best experience per the measured rows.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 172 FPS.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: No, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 43 FPS, which is below 60 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 123 FPS, with a maximum of 167 FPS.

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

A: The i5-14600K scores 2064 in Cinebench R23 single-core, and its nearest rival in average benchmark score, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, is 0.8% higher overall, while the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.2% lower.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low?

A: The average FPS at 1080p Low is 302, while at 4K Low it is 103, representing a 66% reduction.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Hitman 2?

A: The combo ranks 255th out of 3711 tested combinations.