Hitman 2

Hitman 2 presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system where the GPU is consistently the primary constraint, with the CPU's substantial headroom going largely unused. This combination, ranking 1651 out of 1795 tested combos, shows that the RX 580's age and 8 GB of GDDR5 memory are the defining factors in this game's performance ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a stark and predictable collapse in performance as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 77 FPS, but this drops to 52.4 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 27.9 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 32% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 64% decrease from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the scaling is purely a function of pixel count and the GPU's ability to fill those pixels.

This steep decline points directly to the RX 580 as the limiting component. The 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are simply overwhelmed at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system produces only 8.4 FPS, making the game unplayable. Even at 4K Low, the 27.9 FPS result is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is not the bottleneck here; if it were, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU workload per frame is largely resolution-independent. Instead, the consistent drop-off confirms that the GPU is saturated at every resolution above 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in Hitman 2?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 77 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 8.4 FPS on Ultra to 27.9 FPS on Low, all of which are too low for a playable experience.

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

A: The RX 580's average benchmark score is 13559, which is 0% different from the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13564) and 0.1% different from the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 (13549), placing it in a tight performance cluster with those older cards.

Q: How much faster is the CPU compared to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K (49166) and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062).

Q: Is the 8 GB of VRAM sufficient for Hitman 2?

A: The data suggests it is not sufficient at higher settings and resolutions. The dramatic drop from 77 FPS at 1080p Low to 32.5 FPS at 1080p Ultra indicates the GPU is running out of resources, likely including VRAM capacity, as texture quality and detail levels increase.

Q: What is the playable resolution for this combo?

A: The only resolution where all settings presets are playable is 1920x1080. At this resolution, even the Ultra preset achieves 32.5 FPS, which is playable but not smooth, while High and Medium presets offer 46.4 FPS and 59.2 FPS respectively.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the definitive bottleneck in this pairing. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus and a memory clock of 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective), it offers a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and it has 2304 shading units. These specifications, while respectable for its 2017 release, are clearly outmatched by Hitman 2's demands at higher settings.

The benchmark results show that the GPU's performance is highly sensitive to settings changes. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is a 44.5 FPS difference (77 vs 32.5). This is a massive swing that highlights how the RX 580's compute and memory resources are stretched thin by the game's visual effects. The GPU's percentile rank of 53 versus all GPUs indicates it sits just above the median, but its nearest rivals include the GeForce GTX 950 and GTX 570, which are significantly older architectures. The 14 nm Polaris 20 chip, with its 5,700 million transistors, struggles to maintain playable frame rates beyond 1080p, making it the clear limiting factor in this analysis.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 580 combination ranks 1651 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, which is a poor result for a CPU that is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's low rank is a clear indicator of a severe imbalance.

This ranking suggests that the GPU is holding back the entire system. The data implies that swapping the RX 580 for a more powerful GPU would dramatically improve the combo's rank, as the CPU has ample headroom to support higher frame rates. The gap between the CPU's potential and the combo's actual performance is the single most important takeaway from these numbers. The 0.4% performance delta between the i5-14600KF and its closest rival, the i5-14600K, is negligible, meaning the CPU choice is not the issue. The issue is the GPU, which is dragging the entire combo down to a rank that is significantly worse than what the CPU could deliver with a more balanced graphics card.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a powerful processor that is vastly underutilized in this configuration. With 14 cores (6 performance and 8 efficiency), 20 threads, a base clock of 3.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, it has the computational muscle to handle Hitman 2's AI and physics calculations with ease. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile and high-performance part.

The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32889 and a single-core score of 4643. Its Passmark multithread score is 38697, and its percentile rank of 93 indicates it outperforms 93% of all CPUs. However, in Hitman 2, these capabilities are not the limiting factor. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (77 FPS) is likely CPU-bound, but at higher settings and resolutions, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck. The data shows that the CPU is not being taxed to its limit, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates drop so dramatically with resolution increases. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would be similar across resolutions. The i5-14600KF is essentially waiting for the RX 580 to catch up, which it never does.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 77 FPS, while Medium settings yield 59.2 FPS. High settings drop to 46.4 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 32.5 FPS. The 1080p resolution is the only one where all presets are at least playable, with the jump from Low to Medium costing 17.8 FPS and from Medium to High costing another 12.8 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. Low settings average 52.4 FPS, Medium settings average 38.1 FPS, High settings average 30 FPS, and Ultra settings average 24.1 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is harsh, with Low settings losing 24.6 FPS and High settings losing 16.4 FPS. At this resolution, only Low and Medium settings are consistently above 30 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system is overwhelmed. Low settings average 27.9 FPS, Medium averages 18.3 FPS, High averages 17.2 FPS, and Ultra averages just 8.4 FPS. None of these results are playable for a smooth experience, and the 4K resolution should be avoided entirely with this hardware. The data shows a clear pattern: 1080p is the sweet spot, 1440p is borderline, and 4K is not viable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which delivers an average of 59.2 FPS. This provides a smooth frame rate that is close to the 60 FPS target, while still offering a significant visual improvement over Low settings. The 17.8 FPS cost from Low to Medium is a worthwhile trade-off for the added detail.

For players who prioritize frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 77 FPS is the fastest option. However, this comes at the cost of visual fidelity. For a more visually rich experience, 1080p High at 46.4 FPS is playable, but the 12.8 FPS drop from Medium makes it a less attractive option. Ultra settings at 1080p should be avoided, as the 32.5 FPS average is below the standard for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, Low settings at 52.4 FPS is the only recommendation, as Medium at 38.1 FPS is too choppy for a stealth game where precise timing is required. The 1440p High and Ultra presets are not recommended. The 4K resolution is completely off the table, as even Low settings fail to reach 30 FPS. The best balance of performance and visual quality is clearly the 1080p Medium preset, which offers a playable frame rate without sacrificing too much detail.