Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a top-tier performance tier for Hitman 2, securing the 117th position out of 1795 tested combinations. This placement puts the combo in the top 6.5% of all tested systems, a strong result for a stealth title that often emphasizes both CPU-driven game logic and GPU-heavy rendering. The ranking reflects a balanced platform where neither major component acts as a significant bottleneck, allowing the game’s engine to scale efficiently across its various settings. In the broader context of the database, this combo outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, though it sits below the absolute top tier of specialized high-end configurations that often dominate the leaderboard.

How This Combo Ranks

The 117th rank out of 1795 tested combos is a clear indicator of high-end performance for Hitman 2. This represents the top 6.5% of all recorded configurations, placing the system well ahead of the median tested platform. The data suggests that this pairing is substantially faster than typical gaming rigs, with the measured frame rates reflecting a system capable of handling the game’s most demanding scenarios at high resolutions. The position is particularly notable because Hitman 2 is a title from 2018, meaning modern high-end hardware like the RTX 4080 SUPER and the Core i5-14600K significantly overpowers the game’s requirements, resulting in exceptional headroom for maximum visual fidelity. While the rank is impressive, it is not the absolute pinnacle, indicating that a few more specialized or higher-clocked combinations, such as those with flagship CPUs or top-tier GPUs, can still outperform this setup in specific scenes. The combo’s strength lies in its consistency across different resolution and quality presets, as evidenced by the measured FPS data, rather than in any single extreme performance spike.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant force in this pairing for Hitman 2, primarily due to its massive memory bandwidth and high core count. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This is a critical asset for a game like Hitman 2, which can have large, detailed environments with many dynamic objects and lighting effects. The 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores ensure that the game’s rendering pipeline is handled with ease, even when ray-traced effects are enabled. At 1080p High settings, the GPU produces an average of 171.7 FPS, demonstrating that the card is nowhere near its limits. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows, but it still maintains playable frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 44.2, which is still acceptable for a stealth game where precision is more critical than twitch reflexes. The GPU’s boost clock of 2550 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz allow it to sustain these high outputs, and its 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance ensures that even the most complex shader calculations are completed quickly. In terms of rival comparisons, the RTX 4080 SUPER’s average benchmark score of 53610 places it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, a marginal difference that translates into similar real-world performance in most titles.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a predictable scaling pattern across resolutions and settings, highlighting the GPU as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves an extraordinary 301.3 FPS, which drops to 171.7 FPS at High and 123.2 FPS at Ultra. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is still able to feed the GPU enough data to saturate its capabilities, but the GPU becomes more constrained as visual quality increases. Moving to 1440p, the average FPS at Low is 192.1, which falls to 111.6 at High and 83 at Ultra. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings results in a 35% FPS drop, showing that the GPU is beginning to feel the pressure of additional pixels. At 4K, the scaling is more dramatic: Low settings yield 106.1 FPS, Medium drops to 76.1, High to 61, and Ultra to 44.2. The jump from 1080p High to 4K High represents a 64% reduction in frame rate, from 171.7 to 61 FPS. This steep decline confirms that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the bottleneck at 4K, as the CPU’s performance headroom is still significant. In contrast, the Core i5-14600K, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is less likely to be the limiting factor until frame rates reach extremely high values, such as the 301.3 FPS at 1080p Low. The data suggests that for a 4K experience, the user will need to compromise on settings to maintain a smooth frame rate, while 1440p offers a sweet spot with 111.6 FPS at High.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows that 1440p High provides a strong balance, achieving 111.6 FPS. At 4K, High settings yield 61 FPS, which is playable, but Medium at 76.1 FPS or Low at 106.1 FPS offer smoother experiences if frame rate is prioritized over visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in terms of overall GPU performance?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT’s score of 53489. This indicates a very close performance margin between the two cards.

Q: Is the Core i5-14600K a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 301.3 FPS, suggesting the CPU can keep up with the GPU in less demanding scenes. However, at 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 44.2, indicating the GPU becomes the limiting factor due to the pixel count.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking in the database for Hitman 2?

A: The combo ranks 117th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the top 6.5% of all tested systems.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 171.7 at 1080p High to 61 at 4K High, representing a 64% decrease in frame rate.

Q: Does the GPU’s memory bandwidth play a significant role in this game’s performance?

A: The 736.3 GB/s bandwidth is crucial for handling large textures and complex scenes, especially at 4K where the frame rate at Ultra is 44.2 FPS, showing that memory throughput is sufficient to avoid severe stuttering.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K serves as a capable companion to the RTX 4080 SUPER, providing the necessary compute power to avoid holding back the GPU in most scenarios. This processor features 14 cores (a hybrid design of performance and efficiency cores) and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. These specifications allow the CPU to handle the game’s AI, physics, and scene management tasks with ease. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which has an average score of 49062, a mere 0.2% difference from the i5-14600K’s 49166 average. This indicates that the CPU is competitive with high-end previous-generation parts. In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 301.3 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU is still managing to feed the GPU adequately. However, at 4K Ultra, the CPU utilization is likely lower, as the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache is beneficial for the game’s level-of-detail streaming, and the 20 threads ensure that background tasks do not interfere with gameplay. Overall, the data indicates that the i5-14600K is not a weak link in this combination, and its high single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4642) is well-suited for the game’s engine, which often relies on a few primary threads for core simulations.