Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

The measured frame rates for this combination reveal a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, but surprisingly capable of pushing well beyond 144Hz at 1080p with lower presets. The Intel Core i5-14600K, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, provides ample headroom for Hitman 2's simulation logic, while the RTX 5070 Ti's 16GB of GDDR7 memory and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth become the primary scaling factor as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. The data shows a clear hierarchy where the GPU dictates performance at 4K, but the CPU's single-thread strength (boosting to 5.30 GHz) keeps minimum frame pacing stable even at high refresh rates.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows indicate that Medium settings at 1440p offer the most balanced experience, delivering 136.4 FPS average — comfortably above the 120Hz threshold while maintaining acceptable visual quality. At 1080p, Medium produces 216.6 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh monitors but may be overkill for most displays. For 4K, High settings at 55.4 FPS present the best playable option, as Ultra drops to 40.4 FPS which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth stealth gameplay.

Low settings provide the highest frame rates across all resolutions, with 287.5 FPS at 1080p and 187.5 FPS at 1440p, but these come at a significant visual cost in a game where environmental detail aids gameplay. The jump from Low to Medium costs roughly 25% performance at 1080p (from 287.5 to 216.6 FPS) but yields substantial visual improvements. At 4K, the gap between High (55.4 FPS) and Medium (75.4 FPS) suggests that High preset may be applying expensive effects that don't proportionally benefit the experience — Medium at 4K offers a 36% performance increase over High while still looking respectable.

CPU Role

The Core i5-14600K's 14 cores (6 performance and 8 efficient) and 20 threads provide substantial multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881. However, Hitman 2's engine relies more heavily on single-thread performance, where this chip excels with a Geekbench single-core score of 2803 and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency during complex crowd simulations and AI routines.

The data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor in any measured configuration. At 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work, the system reaches 287.5 FPS, indicating the processor can feed frames at extreme rates. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4270 places it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, shows only a 0.2% difference in average benchmark score (49062 vs 49166), meaning the i5-14600K is competitive with flagship processors from the previous generation. Interestingly, the i5-14600KF is 0.4% faster in aggregate benchmarks, which is within noise but hints at minor binning variability.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 Ti's 16GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which becomes crucial at 4K where texture streaming demands are highest. The GPU's boost clock of 2452 MHz and 8960 shading units provide substantial compute throughput (43.94 TFLOPS FP32), yet the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (40.4 FPS) shows that even this powerful card struggles with maximum settings in Hitman 2. The GPU's average benchmark score of 52086 places it in the 87th percentile, with its closest rival being the RTX 4080 at a 0% deltaPct — these cards are effectively tied in raw compute performance.

The VRAM capacity appears sufficient even at 4K Ultra, as the measured frame rates don't show signs of texture thrashing. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 32974 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6604 confirm its position in the upper tier of graphics cards. At 1080p, the GPU still has headroom, as evidenced by the 287.5 FPS at Low settings, but the scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 35% performance drop at High settings (165.2 to 102.4 FPS), indicating that rasterization load increases significantly with resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this system achieve 144 FPS at 1080p with high settings?

A: Yes, the measured 165.2 FPS average at 1080p High exceeds the 144Hz threshold, and even Ultra settings at 1080p maintain 124.1 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combination?

A: At 4K High settings, the system delivers 55.4 FPS, which is playable but below 60 FPS. For a smoother experience, 4K Medium provides 75.4 FPS, while 4K Ultra drops to 40.4 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 Ti compare to the RTX 4080 in this context?

A: The two cards have identical average benchmark scores (52085 vs 52086, a 0% deltaPct), suggesting nearly interchangeable performance in Hitman 2.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, the drop from Medium (216.6 FPS) to Ultra (124.1 FPS) represents a 43% reduction. At 4K, the same settings comparison shows a 46% drop (75.4 to 40.4 FPS).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking, as frame rates scale consistently with GPU load across resolutions. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking and strong single-thread scores support this.

Q: What causes the large FPS gap between 1080p and 4K High settings?

A: The 3x reduction in frame rate (165.2 to 55.4 FPS) indicates the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at 4K, with the 896.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8960 shading units being taxed by the fourfold increase in pixel count.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a predictable but steep performance degradation as resolution increases. At High settings, the system produces 165.2 FPS at 1080p, 102.4 FPS at 1440p, and 55.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 38% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear — moving from 1440p to 4K costs more proportionally than from 1080p to 1440p, which suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth (896.0 GB/s) and pixel fill rate (235.4 GPixel/s) are being saturated at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling pattern changes: 287.5 FPS at 1080p drops to 187.5 FPS at 1440p (35% decrease) and then to 96.7 FPS at 4K (48% decrease). The consistent ~35-48% drops across settings indicate that the GPU's compute resources are the bottleneck at all resolutions, but the CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p Low (287.5 FPS) shows it can feed the GPU faster than the GPU can render. The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 124.1 FPS at 1080p falling to 76.7 FPS at 1440p and 40.4 FPS at 4K — a total 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K, highlighting how Ultra settings amplify the GPU's workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 287.5 FPS on Low, 216.6 FPS on Medium, 165.2 FPS on High, and 124.1 FPS on Ultra. The 1080p results show that even the most demanding preset stays above 120 FPS, making this resolution ideal for esports-style play or high-refresh monitors. The step from Low to Medium costs 24.7% performance, while Medium to High costs 23.7%, and High to Ultra costs 24.9% — a remarkably consistent ~25% penalty for each tier increase.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 187.5 FPS (Low), 136.4 FPS (Medium), 102.4 FPS (High), and 76.7 FPS (Ultra). The 1440p results show a similar pattern but with more pronounced drops at higher settings. The gap between Low and Medium is 27.2%, Medium to High is 24.9%, and High to Ultra is 25.1%. Interestingly, 1440p Ultra (76.7 FPS) is still playable, though it falls below the 100 FPS threshold that many gamers prefer.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 96.7 FPS (Low), 75.4 FPS (Medium), 55.4 FPS (High), and 40.4 FPS (Ultra). The 4K results reveal that only Low and Medium settings maintain playable frame rates above 60 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 26.5%, and High to Ultra is 27.1%, which is slightly steeper than at lower resolutions, suggesting that 4K Ultra is pushing the GPU's 16GB VRAM and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth to their limits.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 175th out of 1795 tested combos for Hitman 2, placing it in the top 10% of all configurations. The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's strong single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core score of 2803) and the GPU's high-end capabilities. Given that the CPU sits in the 93rd percentile and the GPU in the 87th percentile, the combined rank of 175 suggests the pairing is well-matched, with neither component dragging down the overall performance.

The data shows that this combo outperforms many systems with more expensive components due to the efficient pairing of the i5-14600K's 5.30 GHz boost clock with the RTX 5070 Ti's 2452 MHz boost clock. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 32974 indicate both components are operating at their expected performance levels. The rank of 175 out of 1795 means there are only 174 configurations that achieve higher frame rates in Hitman 2, which is impressive considering the game's release date of 2018-11-12 and the hardware's modern architecture. The combination's performance at 1080p High (165.2 FPS) and 1440p High (102.4 FPS) demonstrates that it is optimized for high-refresh gaming, while its 4K capabilities (55.4 FPS at High) make it a viable option for resolution-focused players willing to dial back settings.