Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 produces a highly specific performance profile in Hitman 2, one that is defined more by the graphics card’s limits than the processor’s capabilities. The data shows a combo that comfortably handles 1080p and 1440p gaming at medium-to-high settings, but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K, where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, contextualizes the combo’s overall rank, and examines the distinct roles of the CPU and GPU in shaping these results.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination in Hitman 2?

A: The combo ranks 1837 out of 3001 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the 61st percentile of all tested systems. This indicates it is a mid-pack performer, capable of solid frame rates at lower resolutions but not a top-tier contender for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 86 FPS, while the Medium preset yields 114 FPS. The Low preset pushes to 152 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset offers a smooth experience, but the Medium preset provides a significant 28 FPS boost over High, making it the optimal choice for maximizing frame rate without a drastic visual downgrade.

Q: How does the frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The measured average FPS drops from 86 at 1920x1080 to 55 at 2560x1440, and finally to 29 at 3840x2160. This represents a 68% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, a steep decline that points heavily toward the GPU being the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests that VRAM capacity is not the primary issue. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth. While VRAM usage is not measured, the performance drop from 1440p to 4K is more consistent with the GPU's raw compute limits (13.17 TFLOPS FP32) being overwhelmed by the pixel workload, rather than running out of memory.

Q: How does the i5-14600K's CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 4345P. It is also 0.7% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX and 0.8% slower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245. These are marginal differences, indicating the i5-14600K is evenly matched with its closest competitors in general processing power.

Q: What is the best 4K settings preset for this combo?

A: According to the measured data, the Low preset is the only 4K option that provides a playable frame rate, with an average of 52 FPS. The Medium preset averages 39 FPS, High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra drops to 22 FPS. Users seeking 4K will need to compromise significantly on visual fidelity to achieve smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 achieves a rank of 1837 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2. This position, just inside the top 61% of all systems, suggests that while the setup is far from the weakest, it is also not optimized for this specific title's highest demands. The rank reflects a system that is well-balanced for mainstream gaming but falls short of the performance needed to compete with high-end configurations in the game's most demanding settings.

This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's performance ceiling. The RTX 5050's average benchmark score of 21035 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (0.6% higher score) and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (1.6% lower score). This puts the GPU in a performance bracket that is solid for 1080p and acceptable for 1440p, but it is outclassed at 4K. The CPU, by contrast, is a top-tier performer, with a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The i5-14600K's average score of 48618 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, showing that it is not a limiting factor in this pairing. The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's lower one is a clear indicator that the system's overall rank is dragged down by the graphics card in Hitman 2, where the game's engine scales significantly with GPU load.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of settings presets for the RTX 5050 at each resolution. For the best experience, the choice of preset depends entirely on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering an average of 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS. This provides a high-refresh-rate experience with a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The High preset, at 86 FPS average, is also viable but sacrifices 28 FPS for marginal visual gains. The Low preset, at 152 FPS, is unnecessary for most users unless targeting a 144Hz or higher monitor, as the Medium preset already provides a smooth and responsive experience.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is again the sweet spot, with an average of 73 FPS and a minimum of 62 FPS. This ensures the frame rate stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset, at 55 FPS average, is a borderline choice, dipping below 60 FPS which may be noticeable on a standard 60Hz display. For a locked 60 FPS experience, Medium is the recommended setting.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. The only preset that achieves a consistently playable frame rate is Low, with an average of 52 FPS. The Medium preset, at 39 FPS average, is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action, while High (29 FPS) and Ultra (22 FPS) are not recommended for a smooth experience. For 4K, users must prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, making Low the only sensible choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions: performance scales inversely with both resolution and graphical preset quality. The most complete data is available for the Medium preset, which includes minimum and maximum FPS values, offering insight into frame time consistency.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are highest. The Low preset delivers an average of 152 FPS. The Medium preset averages 114 FPS, with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS, showing a tight frame time distribution. The High preset averages 86 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 64 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly but remain playable. The Low preset averages 97 FPS. The Medium preset averages 73 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. The High preset averages 55 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 41 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates fall below the 60 FPS threshold for most presets. The Low preset averages 52 FPS. The Medium preset averages 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS, indicating noticeable frame dips. The High preset averages 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 22 FPS.

The data shows a clear trend: the gap between the Low and Ultra presets widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 88 FPS (152 to 64). At 1440p, the difference is 56 FPS (97 to 41). At 4K, the difference narrows to 30 FPS (52 to 22). This compression of the performance range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck, as the pixel fill rate demands overwhelm the shading and texture processing capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the defining component in this combo's Hitman 2 performance. Its architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz. With 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, the card's compute capabilities are quantified by its 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The GPU's memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). This configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the limited bus width and memory capacity become apparent at 4K, where the demand for texture data and pixel throughput increases exponentially.

The benchmark results position the RTX 5050 in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 21035. Its nearest rivals show it is closely matched with the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (score 21153, 0.6% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (score 20713, 1.6% lower). This places the GPU in a competitive mid-range segment. In Hitman 2, the GPU's role is critical: it is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's limitations are exposed at 4K, where even the Medium preset cannot maintain a stable 40 FPS. The GPU's 130 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it is a power-efficient card, but its performance ceiling is clear in this game's most demanding scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K serves as a high-end processing foundation that is rarely the bottleneck in this combo. The CPU features 14 cores and 20 threads, operating at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This Raptor Lake architecture is built on a 10 nm process and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 24 MB of shared L3 cache.

The CPU's benchmark performance is exceptional, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 48618 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (score 48698, 0.2% higher), the AMD EPYC 4345P (score 48470, 0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (score 48287, 0.7% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (score 48995, 0.8% higher). This suggests the i5-14600K is a well-balanced processor that can handle any modern game's CPU demands without breaking a sweat.

In Hitman 2, a game that relies heavily on CPU for AI, physics, and game logic, the i5-14600K's 20 threads and high boost clock ensure that the processor is not a limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p with the Low preset, where the GPU is least stressed, the frame rate reaches 152 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine limit rather than a CPU bottleneck. The CPU's role is to provide a stable and high-performance platform that allows the GPU to operate at its full potential, and the data indicates it does so effectively.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior of this combo in Hitman 2 provides clear evidence of the GPU being the limiting component at higher resolutions. The average FPS at High settings shows a linear decline with increasing pixel count: 86 FPS at 1080p, 55 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% drop from 1440p to 4K, for a total decline of 66% from 1080p to 4K.

This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU workload is largely independent of resolution. Instead, the frame rate drops proportionally with the increase in pixel count, which is the classic signature of a GPU that is running out of pixel processing and memory bandwidth. The RTX 5050's 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 13.17 TFLOPS of compute are simply insufficient to handle the 4K workload at high settings.

The data from the Medium preset also supports this conclusion. At 1080p, the Medium preset averages 114 FPS, while at 4K, it drops to 39 FPS, a 66% reduction. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 33, which is quite low, indicating that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent frame times. The scaling behavior clearly demonstrates that users who want to play Hitman 2 at 4K with this combo will need to significantly reduce settings to the Low preset, which yields an average of 52 FPS, or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a more comfortable experience.