Hitman 2

The benchmark data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 reveals a pairing that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher settings, while the processor ensures headroom at lower presets. This combination ranks 1470 out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of the database, a position driven primarily by the GPU’s age and memory capacity rather than CPU throughput.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows show a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and playability. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 133.3 FPS, which is the highest average recorded for this combo. Medium drops to 97.5 FPS, High to 77.3 FPS, and Ultra to 57.6 FPS. For competitive or high-refresh-rate play, Low is the only preset that keeps the average comfortably above the 120 FPS threshold. However, the jump from Low to Medium costs 35.8 FPS (a 26.9% reduction), which is substantial, while the step from Medium to High costs another 20.2 FPS (20.7%).

At 1440p, the situation changes. Low yields 83.3 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium falls to 64.4 FPS and High to 49.4 FPS. Ultra at this resolution is 36.1 FPS, which is borderline for a stealth game that benefits from consistent pacing. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for a balance of image quality and fluidity, provided the user accepts a 64.4 FPS average. At 4K, all presets are below 43 FPS, with High at 25.3 FPS and Ultra at 16.4 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable at that resolution regardless of settings.

For the best experience per the measured rows, 1080p High at 77.3 FPS offers a strong compromise: it retains most visual detail while staying above 60 FPS, which is the minimum for a responsive stealth title. If the user prioritizes frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 133.3 FPS is the pick, but the 56.0 FPS gap between Low and High indicates that the GPU is not the sole bottleneck at lower settings, hinting at CPU headroom that is being unused.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 is the limiting factor in this pairing. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus and a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, the card is adequate for 1080p but struggles with higher resolutions. The measured FPS drops from 77.3 at 1080p High to 49.4 at 1440p High, a 36.1% reduction, and then to 25.3 at 4K High, a further 48.8% drop. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU that runs out of memory bandwidth or capacity as pixel count rises. The card’s boost clock of 1680 MHz and base of 1365 MHz are modest by modern standards, but the architecture’s 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs are the true constraints.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 16074. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which scores 15996 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, which scores 16351 (1.7% higher). This indicates the RTX 2060 sits in a tight performance band, but the 6 GB memory is a specific liability for Hitman 2, which is known for large, detailed environments. The 4K Ultra preset yielding 16.4 FPS is not a matter of shading power alone; it reflects the card being overwhelmed by texture and geometry data beyond its memory capacity. The 12 nm process node and 445 mm² die size suggest a design that was efficient for its era, but end-of-life production status means no driver optimizations are likely to close the gap.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF provides far more compute capability than the RTX 2060 can utilize in this game. With 14 cores, 20 threads, a base clock of 3.50 GHz, and a boost of 5.30 GHz, the CPU is a modern powerhouse. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889 and single-core score of 4643 place it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 49166 average (0.4% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which scores 49062 (0.6% lower). This means the 14600KF is statistically tied with those parts, with deltas under 1%.

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. At 1080p Low, the 133.3 FPS result suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the GPU is still delivering frames well above the refresh rate of most monitors. However, the FPS scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (133.3 to 57.6) shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase. The CPU’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) ensure that latency-sensitive tasks, such as AI pathfinding in stealth scenarios, are handled without stutter. The 125 W TDP is high for a mid-range chip, but the performance headroom is evident: at 4K Low, the combo achieves 42.7 FPS, which is still GPU-bound, as the CPU can push far more frames if given a faster graphics card.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1470 out of 1795 tested configurations, which places it in the 18th percentile of the database. This low rank is surprising given the CPU’s strength, but it is a direct consequence of the GPU’s position. The RTX 2060’s average benchmark score of 16074 is just 58% of the top GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all within 1.8% of its score. This means the combo is not an outlier; it is representative of a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. The rank suggests that in a database dominated by newer graphics cards, this pairing will be outperformed by any combo with a GPU in the 75th percentile or above, regardless of CPU.

The deltaPct values for the CPU’s rivals are all under 1.5%, confirming that the 14600KF is not the source of the low rank. For example, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698 (1.4% lower), and the AMD EPYC 4345P scores 49595 (0.5% higher). These differences would not meaningfully alter Hitman 2’s FPS. The GPU’s rivals, such as the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786, 1.8% lower), are also close. The rank is therefore a reflection of the RTX 2060’s absolute performance, not a mismatch between the two components. In practical terms, this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can deliver playable frame rates, but it is not competitive at higher resolutions or with modern GPU-heavy titles.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are steep and reveal the limiting component. At 1080p High, the combo averages 77.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the average falls to 49.4 FPS, a 27.9 FPS decrease (36.1%). At 4K High, the average is 25.3 FPS, another 24.1 FPS drop (48.8%). This pattern repeats across all settings: Low goes from 133.3 to 83.3 to 42.7 FPS; Medium from 97.5 to 64.4 to 32.1 FPS; Ultra from 57.6 to 36.1 to 16.4 FPS. The percentage drops are not linear—they accelerate as resolution increases, which is a hallmark of a GPU hitting memory bandwidth limits.

The data indicates that the CPU is never the primary constraint at these resolutions. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS would remain flat or drop only slightly when going from 1080p to 4K, because the GPU would be idle waiting for instructions. Instead, the FPS halves or worse at each step, meaning the RTX 2060 is saturated. The 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for 4K textures and high-detail geometry, especially with only 6 GB of VRAM. At 4K Ultra, the 16.4 FPS result is nearly a slideshow, and even 4K Low at 42.7 FPS is below the 60 FPS target. The conclusion is that this combo is a 1080p machine, with 1440p viable only at Low or Medium settings. The CPU’s headroom is wasted at higher resolutions, as the GPU cannot translate its compute potential into frame rate. For users with this pairing, dropping resolution is the only lever that meaningfully improves performance.